Jack Antonoff

“When you start writing songs on your own, there's no Bible, there's no one around you, so you're just writing, and you're left with, like, the dead space in your head to know if it's a good song or an interesting concept.”

“Black and white creates a strange dreamscape that color never can.”

“The way that people have gotten on board with me is the most encouraging thing in the world, but it's all very connected to the 14 years I've been on tour with Steel Train, even my band before that, Outline, and then fun. and now Bleachers.”

“You can be a man who loves a woman but love someone the way a gay man loves another man or a woman loves a woman.”

“I don't really love roller coasters because I feel like they're filled with germs and make me nauseous.”

“If you're lucky enough to find anything in life that gives you five seconds, let alone an hour, of relief from life, you should try to do it forever.”

“If you're in a conversation with me, the last thing I'll probably say when I'm walking away is, 'Thank you and sorry.'”

“I've worked so hard for so long, and everyone's reaction has made me feel like... almost like they trust me, which is just a wonderful feeling. It pushes me to write things better and better.”

“I went to high school in New York City. So, I grew up in New Jersey my whole life, and I was watching all the people and all the kids that I met there become so jaded.”

“I'm not super into sports.”

“When you go all over the world for work, your dream vacation is your bedroom.”

“I hear my songs being sung by females before I change them and make them into my voice.”

“I have my cousin's jacket from when he was at war in Iraq. He never came home. It's incredible to have something that is so personal but that I also feel relatively comfortable wearing.”

“When I started playing in bands, we had to be apologetic for what we did. We had to be apologetic because the mainstream was so bad.”

“Human rights, no matter whom they affect, are something that should matter to all of us. It's always been a part of my life.”

“In this business, it's important to constantly do things that you don't know how to do. I love touring and making records, but I've learned how to do that, so sometimes you just have to dive in and try it.”

“It's really easy to end up on the 'Daily Mail' if you put yourself in situations where you'll end up on the 'Daily Mail,' and it's really easy to not if you don't do that.”

“You have to believe that people don't want what you think they're going to like, you know? They want what you like. Once you start doing that, you actually start connecting with people.”

“The only people playing the roles of classic rock stars are hip-hop artists, now. Kanye's stage persona, and the way he approaches making albums, and the way he wants to be better than everyone else? That's reminiscent of Freddie Mercury. That's reminiscent of the Beatles.”

“I think it's all about making records when you're inspired to make them.”