Jens Lekman Quotes
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I became paranoid for a long time: I thought that people were out to harm me.
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Really, to me, a really good evening would be a comedian, followed by a band, followed by a really good DJ.
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When I was working on 'Night Falls Over Kortedala,' I was listening a lot to 'Graceland,' the Paul Simon record. I really got into the lyrics on that album. The opening line is so brilliant, the way he sets the scene.
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There's so much nostalgia for music from the past.
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I don't want music to be a museum.
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I wouldn't write about something that I haven't experienced myself.
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I've never felt at home in Kortedala, or in Gothenburg, so I always felt like I needed to go somewhere and find some kind of perspective on things.
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My aim is for every song to have a purpose - for you to be able to say, 'This song is about this.' But love and heartbreak are some of the most abstract subjects.
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It was never part of how I imagined my music, and I watched in awe at how this ukulele troubadour image suddenly devoured the Jens Lekman I had planned so carefully.
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This is one of the reasons I'm so interested in stories. Because everyone has a story in their life, and when their story doesn't make sense, that's when we get depressed, I think.
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I've established a certain voice over my albums. It can be an obstacle, but in the end, I think it's a strength, because I can build upon that voice, which is ultimately very much mine.
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I feel like the few times in my life when I really felt like I love my own story is when I've been the happiest.
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I need to write a sitcom, but something with warmth, not one where the dad comes home and he's treated like an idiot.
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The 'sent' folder of my email program is really my biggest inspiration and my biggest source of lyrics. That's where I go to pick up a lot of the lyrics that I'm writing.
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I struggled with a lot of doubts around my songwriting and around what I was and what my purpose and mission were.
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The whole thing with playing on a stage with mics and all that has always been kind of uncomfortable to me.
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'Postcards' was just a way of slapping myself in the face and saying, 'You can do anything! Just go for it!'
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I went to Legoland in Denmark when I was five, I think, but I went to Germany when I was 17 to have a little adventure after graduation.
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When you're writing about difficult things and darker issues, it's nice to offer some sort of light at the end of the tunnel. Some sense of hope. Sometimes, the best way to do that is by offering it in the music, so that you can dance your way out of the darkness.
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Christmas music is usually more concentrated pop music in a way. It's meant to make us feel good, and it's meant to make us like we belong somewhere.
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In the past, I used to rely on the randomness of working with samples, which was a good way because it threw you in a completely different direction. You just thought, 'What if I take this samba drum and combined it with an '80s synth line or something from this record?'
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I like short beards. Not a big fan of the bigger beards.
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I don't like irony and sarcasm very much. But I do like it when you think someone is telling you a joke, and then you discover it's serious.
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It's weird talking about the album as a living being with its own thoughts and direction, especially if you're the one creating it.