Freddie Gray was a story I followed closer than others, for whatever reason, in this larger narrative of police brutality.
— Stephen Malkmus
Pop music catches on like a meme. It just takes a little bit of tinder, and it can become a phenomenon. You have to break through that wall a little bit. Why it happens, I don't really know.
I had another version of 'We Dance' that was kind of glam-rock. It was a little 'Taking Care of Business' mixed with Simon and Garfunkel. But on the album, I did it in a down-and-out way, like the Frogs or David Bowie or something - a little torch song thing.
I've tried to rap, and I cannot do it.
I have a thing for Baltimore: the word itself, the place - I don't know where it comes from; it's just a weird city. I have a song called 'Baltimore,' but I'm not from there. I've driven through there a lot. We've played a couple of shows there, but it's not a big market. Some good bands come from there, though. Animal Collective and Beach House.
I'm not saying I look at those pictures all the time and think, 'Wow, I was hot.' Just, you know, I think everybody deserves to be objectified at least once in their life.
With Pavement, we had no managers and never had a lawyer. We got lucky with not signing any bad deals.
I'm a junior - like Dinosaur Jr.
I hate being tan.
But, then again, I wouldn't call myself an indie-rock supporter even if there are some really good bands out there and there will always be some real good new bands.
I like that band Get Hustle. They're cool live. I haven't heard their records, though.
I think the focus of the media changes. At the moment the more electronic stuff like trip-hop was the flavor of the month, just a little while ago. It all depends on the angle, from which point of view you see it.
If a voice is just too nice, without an edge, it kinda all flows by. You forget it. You don't listen to the lyrics.
The lyrics are different from Nick Cave songs and lyrics. His songs are very narrative.
We were delighted to have Nigel as a producer. The only problem is that Nigel is so famous that he seems to dominate most interviews without being there.
Well, yeah, I sang to some songs on the radio or in the shower.
When you get older, you have to wrestle with what's appropriate behavior a little bit more. Am I not acting too old or too young?
I listen to things that are popular and try to think about it in a mathematical way.
'Summer Babe' is the start of Pavement front-loading their albums with the catchiest song first.
I'm into Zwan. Zwan was good.
I would be happy to produce groups, like John Cale - he was in the Velvet Underground, and then he went on to produce these bands.
I'm a fan of the Grateful Dead.
I am good at just looking in the kitchen and getting stuff on the table and keeping the mess minimal. There's an art to the drudgery.
I've always been attracted to negative influences - I thought that meant you were smart.
A good voice isn't so important. It's more important to sound really unique.
I don't even think my voice is really good.
I never decided to start singing, to be a singer.
I'm more into describing a scenario and I move around in that scenario.
If you want to be negative about the whole thing you can say all guitar bands after the Beatles were just a waste of time because the Beatles were the best. I think it's far better to give new records a try.
There's no point that an album should sound like a watered down version of another album.
We're not on a desperate mission to write chart compatible stuff.
What producers did was mostly recording in the studio, so it never changed our sound just that much.
I know why Migos are popular - they're good, and they make great videos, and they're funny.
I wouldn't say that 'Wowee Zowee' was a success. We probably had a chance, had I focused a little more, to capitalize on the attention the band got for 'Crooked Rain.'
'Silence Kid' starts with a broken classic-rock intro. It's funny to hear us do that. Obviously, we weren't skillful rock stars. Then it's spinning through a lot of hooks really fast, and all of a sudden, it's over.
John Waters is a genius.
If I watch a basketball game, I don't really care if a guy hit a three-pointer with three seconds left. I mean, I can like that. But I'm more interested in who drafted him and what makes him special.
A lot of work - unattributed, with no dollars - goes into taking care of kids.
In this achievement-based lifestyle, most of us have certain boxes we're checking to make us useful humans. But a lot of things you do as a parent are kinda invisible. There's a lot you achieve - just getting dinner on the table - that are more than making a song.
I'll cover just about anything - except for a Kid Rock song.
Almost every band has somebody who's the main songwriter and who has a vision, a very clear idea of how a song should be.
I guess the majority of people who want to ban certain musicians are the ones who are so proud of everything America stands for.
I really do think everybody can sing.
I'm not sure if you can blame everything on the American way of life, but the United States are big. So, if you have a lot of people there, the percentage of stupid people is bound to be higher.
Lou Reed is something like a personal favorite of mine, but you could always put me into that drawer of singers who can't really sing, who speak their songs.
We always did our own mixing.
We're probably a couple of freaks who've created their own little universe, are living in our own little world and that's the only place where we can survive.
