Kurt Vile

“Around '93, the radio started playing 'Loser' by Beck and 'Cut Your Hair' by Pavement, and then I got way into Pavement. That was kind of a gateway drug into indie rock. I got all their B-sides, and I got that 'Hey Drag City' comp, so I got into all those Drag City bands.”

“I feel like when I say something sad, I mean it.”

“When I leave a recording session, there is usually a lot of paranoia or superstition on my part, like I'm afraid to hear what we've done.”

“My favorite kind of song is the most beautiful song that you love so much and it's so good it makes you want to cry a little bit. Any jam can sound like that on a certain day.”

“The real reason I was lo-fi before was really just because that's what I could afford.”

“Even when I played in little league as a kid, I liked making friends, but I didn't want to be there, really.”

“I'm the kind of performer who gets lost on stage. I can tap into this soulful haze.”

“If I had known I'd be on Matador back then in my childhood, it would have blown my mind.”

“I'm joking all the time with my friends, even when we're talking about serious things.”

“I like to laugh at dark things.”

“Cigarettes are the worst thing in the world for you.”

“Anybody that's from somewhere that's made it in music outside of New York or L.A., if it's a unique enough place, they'll always say, 'Dude's from Minnesota!' Or wherever, you know? So that's how I got the Philly connection.”

“I want really badly to just be funny in a movie but be close to myself.”

“I had a really fun time working with the HARRYS guys and their whole crew.”

“I think if you just travel in general, it allows you to step outside of yourself and whatever you're familiar with.”

“I feel like my music is like - there are always new influences in there.”

“If I sit in the same square room and work on something too long, I feel like you just go mad.”

“Humor is important. Nothing against bands that are always a downer, but the reality is - it just becomes theater.”

“It's gotta feel natural. I'm always into that, and after awhile, if I am working on a song too long and trying to make something out of it that it's not... it's best just to stop and move on.”

“I've gotten a lot more paranoid in my older age.”