I had a really fun time working with the HARRYS guys and their whole crew.
— Kurt Vile
I really like Cold Cave.
I like to laugh at dark things.
I'm obsessive when I get an idea in my head.
We'll play somewhere like London, playing to 2,000 people easy, and every time you play with more people, you think, 'You're a rock star,' and it makes you laugh. I guess I am, but I'm also, you know, not.
I like the idea of having money.
Finger-picking, in general, is a hypnotic thing. I feel like I'm more A.D.D. all the time, so the music has to be hypnotic.
Everybody goes up and down throughout their lives.
'Street Legal' is like a cult classic. It's pretty cheesy at times, but you learn to embrace it.
Anybody that's from somewhere that's made it in music outside of New York or L.A., if it's a unique enough place, they'll always say, 'Dude's from Minnesota!' Or wherever, you know? So that's how I got the Philly connection.
All of my surroundings influence my songwriting. It's autobiographical, although I leave enough space so it's relatable.
Around '93, the radio started playing 'Loser' by Beck and 'Cut Your Hair' by Pavement, and then I got way into Pavement. That was kind of a gateway drug into indie rock. I got all their B-sides, and I got that 'Hey Drag City' comp, so I got into all those Drag City bands.
People do get mad at me for falling asleep sometimes, and it's the most frustrating thing. I can't help it. What am I gonna do?
When I was a teenager, I was mostly getting tapes and CDs, and somebody hipped me to the fact that you can get things on vinyl that are not necessarily available on any other fomat.
I'd say the best thing the Violators and I have done is to dominate the U.S. with an arsenal of smash hits.
I'm not cynical, but the reality is that life is mortal. Terrible, sad things happen. Everybody loses friends and family. I'll be on tour and get really scared if my wife won't answer her phone within one minute. I'm sensitive.
I'm the kind of person who will set time aside to do something and then do everything but that thing.
That Yo La Tengo record, 'Painful,' has got some real awesome, noisy, mellow heartbreakers.
That's one of my favorite Matador records: Cat Power, 'You Are Free.'
When I leave a recording session, there is usually a lot of paranoia or superstition on my part, like I'm afraid to hear what we've done.
Australia is a wild place.
I had a wacky job driving a forklift for an air freight company. That was the worst.
Life is mortal. There are all these rewards and consequences. Sometimes you embrace them, and sometimes they knock you over.
'Smoke Ring' was a downer, then 'Wakin' was an upturn.
I've developed this routine at home. I wait for the kids to go to bed; then my wife falls asleep. Then, it's dark and quiet enough for me to work on songs.
I can be chill. That's a side of me that I like. But then, I can also be not so chill. I can get a little stressed out.
I think that I identify with Philadelphia for a lot of reasons. Without even thinking about it, I called myself 'Philly's Constant Hitmaker' when I first got a MySpace, before I had any real hits. It was kind of just a funny slogan, basically lifted from the Rolling Stones' first album, 'England's Newest Hit Makers.'
People can have their punk ideals, but I don't really care about that kind of thing.
When I was 20, I moved up to Boston with my girlfriend, who's now my wife. She went to grad school, and I met a bunch of cool friends there.
I've been known to just pass out instantaneously, like, anywhere.
I like New York. I like Philly. I like San Fran. I like when people are stoked. But Chicago's a real music town, and they're really good to us there. There's just something in the air there; people are just really stoked about music. Every time I go there, I have a great time, and the fandom is really heartwarming.
I get to come home to my family. It's awesome, just constant adventure, never a dull moment. So much life.
I write a lot when I'm feeling bummed, but other times, you get locked in, and it's totally personal. If you're really low and writing, you're not thinking about anybody at all.
I actually often write about writing music and being in that zone.
I really love that 'I Can Feel the Heart Beating as One' Yo La Tengo record a lot.
Every time I play with somebody, your perspective gets a little extended. It always rounds you out a little more in some way.
I love polished pop music, but stuff like Neil Young's Crazy Horse vibe or Waylon Jennings, that stuff is raw and real.
John Prine in particular... just the chord changes combined with the words. He definitely can make you cry a little bit. Just a little bit.
My favorite kind of song is the most beautiful song that you love so much and it's so good it makes you want to cry a little bit. Any jam can sound like that on a certain day.
Love is intense, and sadness is intense.
My music has to be funny and sad and happy and loving; it's gotta have it all. When somebody's just too dark all the time, it's just drama. Or if somebody's too funny? Well, I like being too funny sometimes.
I always sort of liked Mesa/Boogies, but I wasn't sure if they were cool or not cool.
I walk around a lot. People come up to me and say 'Hi,' but not that often. I mean, I get it plenty often, but sometimes I wish they'd come up to me more! I mean, I'm just a regular guy.
I go in and out of mental funks all the time 'cause it comes with the territory.
I think 'She Drives Me Crazy' is hilarious and good.
My cousin used to make fun of me for liking stuff like C+C Music Factory. I didn't have any tapes; I just liked their song on the radio. We liked that because that was what we had access to.
I've always been a deep sleeper; because I come from such a large family - there are 10 kids - I could sleep through anything. Even with my last day job, I'd sleep in later and later and start coming in an hour-and-a-half late. I got fired twice before I really got fired.
There's too many favorite songs, so I'll just say right now my favorite song of all time is 'Poison' by Bert Jansch.
I've got an amazing family. My wife is really smart. She's guided me the whole way. With children, you see them grow up, so it's like you're forever young. They are totally innocent and so unjaded. Watching them grow up makes you go through it again yourself.
A lot of getting a song done is booking the studio time.
