I didn't want to be the girl who posed in 'Playboy' and then - by the way - made some music.

There are things about the production I'm not crazy about though. People mix records to be heard in cars and to have the bass incredibly loud so the vocals have to fight with everything so there's no dynamic left, and that's kind of a bummer. That may not be my taste but I'm not going to go, "Kanye's not very good," because he's pretty badass. It's a difference in taste, like the New Pornographers and myself have different taste in production as well but it all works out in the end.

If you want to be noticed as a drop of water, why would you move to the ocean?

I was raised to be modest to the point of fanaticism. In my family, we don't talk about ourselves to each other. Vanity is considered the worst possible sin. I've gotten better about having to describe things. If you're going to make a record and people are going to write about you, it's your responsibility to answer questions. It's validating - I'm just very clumsy.

Making music makes me feel vulnerable in the best possible way. It gives me a feeling of balance.

I don't think it's important for everyone necessarily, and I totally respect that because everyone writes differently.

You're not supposed to totally know what's happening. The songs are supposed to give you clues so you can fill in the blanks.