Ariel Pink

“I don't want any injustice brought against the bullies. Bullies just don't know any better. Anyone who is crying about police brutality or victimization as an adult needs to stop it and realize the privileges we have in this country.”

“I had a very active inner life as a kid. There's a good album or two worth of stuff that I can bring out on a rainy day if I have a loss for inspiration or whatever - even now.”

“I was definitely a thespian of sorts in elementary school. I went to a real small private school, and every year, I participated in the talent shows and the school plays - all of 'em.”

“R Stevie Moore was obviously a huge influence and is still a very big influence in my life.”

“The media lies to us all the time, and we always believe the media.”

“If you spend the first 30 years of your life only trying to look good, you're not going to know yourself very well. If you got it, flaunt it.”

“When I get to do whatever I want, I'm perfectly happy. I've found that the best scenario is that I just do what I do, and if somebody wants to be part of it, they should work as a conduit for what vision I have. They should help me complete the universe.”

“Maybe by making people feel uncomfortable, I tap into that uncanny quality that is a part of the scariest, weirdest things that you remember happening to you when you were a kid.”

“Ariel Pink never really existed because he was always Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, but then people started doing interviews with Ariel Pink as if Ariel Pink existed.”

“I really wanted to make the worst thing: the thing that even people who liked bad, terrible music wouldn't like - the stuff that people would ignore, always. Something really, really stupid. Something that is destined for failure.”

“My music has always been my solo project.”

“I think I've been lucky enough to have had an extended adolescence. I'm a lot like I was when I was 15.”

“I love everybody. You have to embrace all facets of humanity; love and accept everyone as being part of yourself.”

“I love it when other people can come up with ideas and tell me what to do.”

“In the years between 2000 and 2004, I always got the feeling that people were just starting to hear about me, and they were all late to the game. I'd be out playing shows for records that I recorded back in 1999 that were just coming out.”

“Oh, I had my gothy phase, but I was never a troublemaker or anything like that. I was a little bit introspective, a little bit morbid. I was small for my age, so I was bullied and that kind of stuff.”