Sometimes you don’t even realize those things when you’re making it. You’re unconscious of the forces of nature pushing you forward. It’s quite a remarkable document of a band still very young. We’re little ponies in there trying to harness this energy. On the other hand, we are embarked on our future. That’s all you can hope for from a debut... See more

“I’m so grateful that she was such an iconoclast. She was unlike anybody else that had come along before, and that gave people a chance to explore who they were.” — Justin Vivian Bond musician

Patti Smith I was completely green. I had never worked with a producer. If John couldn’t win, he would step back and challenge me. “OK, you want to improvise ‘Birdland’? You want to wing it? Then really do it.” I was not easy to challenge because I was very self-assured. I had more self-assurance than talent, perhaps. When I achieved something, I... See more

Matt Berninger Poetry is like ice skating, whereas songwriting to me feels like swimming. With songwriting, you’re down in the water and you’re really reacting to the music, whereas with poetry, you’re on the top. All through “Horses” you hear someone who is probably more comfortable in poetry starting to become a singer and a songwriter, starting... See more

There were other things in the notebook, some conversation bits and things. “Don’t talk to me that way. I’m not listening.” Only Tom would put that in a song. I wrote it, but I would have never put it in a song. He said to me, “Don’t be afraid to steal from yourself.”