Jens Lekman Quotes
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The way to write really good songs is to write about the things that happen in your life and where you are in the moment, and writing about stuff that happens in your 30s is not the sexiest song subject.
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Contemporary Swedish artists that chose Swedish as their language tended to sing about certain topics and use words I wanted to avoid.
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The idea of printing out something that's as scary as a tumor into its concrete form was something that spoke to me - there is something very liberating about that idea.
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Older men in my family - back to my grandpa - were basically completely bald.
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Summer is always best through a window.
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I think when you get into your 30s, you start to realize all of the patterns you have in your life and all of the stuff that you're avoiding. It's a terribly unsung period in people's lives. I can't think about many artists who have sung about it, because it's so not sexy.
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I think all the best songs do that: they offer some sort of hope and light in the darkness.
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I like telling stories with a sense of humor. But humor can also distance you from the subject you're writing about. I'm interested in using humor as a portal to something a bit more serious.
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I'm not too fond of the typical Australian activities or culture. I'm not into surfing - that's what I'm trying to say.
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I'm very very happy for my hardships and misfortunes: they build character and make you a better person. Even if I think it's something you have to carry with you, it's definitely something that makes you more empathic towards other people, makes you understand people and relationships so much better.
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Making albums is a very lonely process sometimes. Sitting around working on songs, feeling the pressure.
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Some very silly songs can have an almost melancholy feeling when you put it in a different perspective.
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I have a very nice voice.
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Once I release a song, it's not just about me or the people... I write about. They're my stories, but they're not really mine any more.
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You always try different versions of yourself through songwriting. It can get a bit annoying to see them walk around and do their thing when you feel like, 'I'm not that person any more.'
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Sometimes you have to burn yourself to the ground before you can rise like a phoenix from the ashes.
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I realised that music controls me more than I control music. I had to write songs that were convincing me that things would get better.
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I think it's healthy that people that work in a creative field look for inspiration in a different creative field.
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I think there are definitely a lot of subjects I don't share with people, but I'm not sure where that border is.
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I think a lot of my anxieties and fears are things that are very abstract.
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Getting my hair cut is just a very special moment for me. I don't know exactly why, but it's such an intimate, almost religious experience. I'm very careful with who gets to cut my hair.
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I realize that 'Postcards' was like input, and 'Ghostwriting' was output. I had all these frustrations and feelings before I did those two projects. 'Postcards' was something that brought new life and creative inspiration into the record, while 'Ghostwriting' was relieving myself.
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Every wedding is slightly different from the other. But you always get to meet the funny uncle and the weirdo relatives, and there's always someone trying to beat you up for not playing enough Beatles songs or something.
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Even if I wrote a song about math or animals or whatever, there would still be the question, 'Why did you write about that? And what does it say about you?'