At first I was laboring under the impression that Chinese lyrics didn't rhyme. That turned out to be untrue - they don't rhyme in translation.
Stephin MerrittThe adventure is when people don't know what they're doing at all. Like, I think that the first pop band to use synthesizers as their main instrument and take it seriously was probably Silver Apples. And they sure didn't know what they were doing, and they sure don't sound like anything else.
Stephin MerrittThere's already a great deal to do writing the songs. And if I were completely in control of it, nobody would be able to say "this song doesn't work."
Stephin MerrittSerious music isn't listened to in a casual setting. You don't want to listen to that in headphones on the subway.
Stephin MerrittNever try to do anything artistic when you're feeling something overwhelming. It's like driving a car: If you're experiencing road rage, pull over.
Stephin MerrittWell, things hold up even if they sound dated. It can be very difficult to listen to 80s pop songs with really, really gigantic smashed drum sounds. You just want to turn that gated reverb down on the snare. It sounds wrong now. It sounds amateurish. And ugly. But at the time it sounded state-of-the-art. So yeah, I think it's important not to sound state-of-the-art in a way that anybody else is going to sound. Or you'll quickly sound like yesterday's state-of-the-art.
Stephin Merritt