Often, small things give me hope when big things feel so oppressively bleak.
Julien Baker
My harmonies on 'Me & My Dog' are a little extra.
Passivity is a tacit endorsement of evil we are too afraid to oppose actively.
Spotify stresses me the hell out.
It's not like a choice to have an identity politics discussion when you're living it all the time. And if it's uncomfortable, well then maybe the way that we need to deal with that is by letting things be uncomfortable.
I hope we can dismantle the idea that the entire south is sitting on our porches spitting tobacco and hating gay people.
It's super cool to me when my manager screencapped Sharon Van Etten saying my album is great on Twitter and I about cried 'cause she's a hero. And that led to... I got to have lunch with her! I got to meet a hero!
The more blessings or resources you have at your disposal, the more I become aware of... how should I steward this? It's supposed to be an investment that I can turn around and create art that gives something to other people. Ugh, that sounds like the most Miss America answer of all time.
I had a hot-pink mohawk in high school, and when I came out everyone was like, 'We don't care.'
All of my favorite hymns are admissions of faults, and finding redemption even in those.
I don't think that you can just walk through life without all of your experiences informing your perspective on the world.
There are people who are explicit and people who are implicit, right? Like I say, 'I think there is a God,' but I've seen Christian metalcore bands do altar calls at their shows and be like, 'Come get saved right now.' I think there's a subtler way, which is to say I'm being honest with my beliefs.
Cameron Esposito is a musician and podcaster from the States and she's hilarious.
There are bands who write of emotions that are very heartbreaking, touching, or relatable, but they'll be like concept records, they're about fictional characters.
Every girl is a singer. I wanted to learn the solos and play lead guitar. I would meticulously teach myself solos so when dudes were like, 'Oh, you're a girl, you can't play guitar,' I could rip these insane Telecaster blues solos and tell them, 'Yeah, I can burn up a fret board.'
I adopted this idea whether I was going to end up making music for three people in a bar or Wembley Stadium, I was always going to do music.
My dad took me to the skate park every single weekend to see alternative bands.
My parents were always playing records: My mom was really into the Beatles and Fleetwood Mac, and my dad was more Billy Squire, Whitesnake, '80s hair metal. But I think there's that crucial point where you become an adolescent and you don't want to listen to your parents' music.
If I can say so without sounding presumptuous, I want to model women being collaborative instead of competitive.
Many of my songs just come together in quatrains because that's how a hymn goes.
I think it's possible for Tennessee to be flipped to a Democratic majority, which would be beneficial to enacting policies that I would like to see, but beyond party allegiance, we have an opportunity to involve ourselves in change that will empower us not just now but in the future.
Those parts of myself that are too ugly or dangerous are precisely the things I feel convicted to share.
Everybody wants to have an empirical analysis of a relationship ending, but sometimes there's not that much clarity, and that's OK.
Everyone I know has a predilection for sharing words.
I played with a band, and the lead singer would always introduce me as 'the 13-year-old lead guitarist.' I didn't want to be a novelty, like 'Oh, she has three arms! Check her out.' But I've learned to accept it as more of a compliment.
I feel really privileged to have gracious and merciless people with a lot of perspective and patience in my life.
I love Hank Williams, he's the original emo kid. Some of his lyrics remind me of, like, Promise Ring lyrics.
Songs like 'Everything To Help You Sleep' or 'Claws in Your Back' took a little bit more grappling with the actual poetry for me to feel comfortable with the song. And there's a little bit more song crafting going on, and I had a specific idea in mind of the imagery I wanted to evoke.
I hate those articles - this is a pet peeve of mine - like move over X, here's the new Y. And it's just like, X didn't become obsolete because there's a person doing a similar thing. You also don't have to be like the new old-thing, you're just the current you-thing.
A lot of artists I like end up being queer. Or maybe it's a subconscious thing that you can identify of, like, 'Oh this person understands the nuances of the romantic narrative of a queer person, or the social narrative of a queer person.' And then you discover, lo and behold that they are a queer person.
The thing that is comforting about being a touring musician is whenever I say bye to my friends, I'm like, 'I don't know when I'll see you again but it'll be sooner than I think and if it's not soon then it won't matter.'
I am voting in the midterm elections because I believe that when people engage with their local government, it reminds those placed in power that they are public servants who will be held accountable for their decisions.
When I was in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade, Green Day was my formative entry to punk. I wish I could say I was listening to Minor Threat and Black Flag, but I wasn't. Bay Area punk bands were doing it right.
Sometimes you want to complain and be like, 'Why? Life is so horrible.' But it doesn't change that there are redeeming qualities and a universal capacity for redemption and grace. There are still things that make it worth it and bearable.
Writing songs has always been a process where I divulge a lot, just because music is a tool for me to sift through and process intense emotions. But having music be my primary occupation has changed how I interact with art.
I can make a record with six-part string arrangements and the best musicians in the world and have it be not genuine. I'd rather make a genuine record that I truly stand behind and have it fall where it may.
We think empathy is innate, but it's not. It's a muscle you're working.
We always have a great time touring Germany, but one of my favourite museums in the world is Museum Ludwig, an incredible contemporary art museum in Cologne. I could spend all day in it.
I didn't grow up on country and blues, I was just a kid listening to VH1 and then I realized I needed to expand my musical horizons. Now I have a deep appreciation for southern heritage music.
When I talk about what I'm feeling, I can get outside of it and analyze it. I think that process, especially on 'Sprained Ankle,' happened after it was recorded. All of those songs are just documentations of how I felt at that time. I was writing them because I needed to.
I love 'Exit West' by Mohsin Hamid. It's a magical realism retelling of the refugee experience, where people find these magical doors that transport them to another country.
Especially in the sphere of social activism, I think we tend to unwittingly conceptualize progress or revolution as black and white and having a clear beginning and end.
It's like a cosmic joke that people dream to perform in front of a huge crowd. But it is a welcomed challenge. I hope I always have that positive apprehension.
The midterms are a chance for people to vote out those they believe are failing to address the concerns of citizens.
Connecting with people who are able to maintain a sense of humility is really useful.
With my own music, I'm much more reluctant to say, you know, 'This record slaps!'
Writing from life is how I feel most comfortable.
My music is not always about getting my ideas heard, it's about letting other people feel empowered to have their ideas heard by example.
Music is everything. Evidence of the divine. The possibility of man to be good. The possibility of improving our surroundings and expressing ourselves. All of these things are collapsed together in my mind.
Some songs just fall out of you. And some you have to wrestle out like an abscess.
