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I just imagine that every song in and of itself is great, but when you add them all up, it's too much of me maybe.

Stephen Malkmus

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Stephen Malkmus
Age: 58
Born: 1966
Born: May 30
Guitarist
Musician
Singer
Singer-Songwriter
Songwriter
Santa Monica
California
Stephen Joseph Malkmus
Great
Much
Every
Add
Imagine
Maybe
Song

More quotes by Stephen Malkmus

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Maybe I don't have the patience to make a virtue of necessity - the patience to carry something all the way through, and to actually say something. Lately, the songs are more jagged and they don't really lend themselves to that. I just take it one bit at a time.
Stephen Malkmus
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I thought The Doors were the greatest band for a while.
Stephen Malkmus
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What we're doing now, it's usually more based on records that I've bought or a projection of what I can do well now and the inner dynamics of playing with the people I'm playing with, Janet Weiss and Joanna Bolme, what we come up with. What works for us doesn't, like, have that much relation to the past.
Stephen Malkmus
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It's normally in the morning, just playing around. And I'm not saying everything I make is great, but that's what I do. I can't even remember how I wrote stuff.
Stephen Malkmus
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A good voice isn't so important. It's more important to sound really unique.
Stephen Malkmus
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My wife says that I changed people's lives or ways of thinking and that I should always be proud and grateful. If I'm dismissive of what we do sometimes, a little bit, she's like, I was a fan, you changed my life, or whatever. That's what she says.
Stephen Malkmus
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Something taken off the page can sound great, I guess. Usually it doesn't. It seems like lately Pitchfork is trying to champion lyric writers more.
Stephen Malkmus
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It's just a compulsion to create something new and stay busy. I don't know how to do anything else. It was never exactly right. Those records came out in spite of their flaws. And because of their flaws they were good.
Stephen Malkmus
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But we're still rehearsing and planning to make a new album next year. We have some really good new songs that we've already been playing on that last tour that we just finished.
Stephen Malkmus
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I know the world doesn't need maybe another of [a particular type of song] - the same thing again - but you can't help yourself. And some people like it, but you kind of know in your heart that it's a lesser version of what you've done before. But maybe it has a good tempo, or it feels fresh, but it's still not.
Stephen Malkmus
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I would just imagine there's a criticism for just about everything, if you want to take something down. No one's invincible. The Jicks are a work in progress and we don't think everything we do is the bee's knees or something, we're just trying our best to get turned on by what we're doing.
Stephen Malkmus
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I didn't really like confessional poetry or things. They seemed sort of dated to me, or just corny.
Stephen Malkmus
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That's why you go to a nice studio. You can get a magic take. You don't really have to do anything to it.
Stephen Malkmus
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I just don't think people listen. I mean, they can't listen to a whole album closely without checking their iPhone or wanting to skip to their favorite song, or putting something else on, practically. That's why the zone out is a good thing.
Stephen Malkmus
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I'm not sure if you can blame everything on the American way of life, but the United States are big. So, if you have a lot of people there, the percentage of stupid people is bound to be higher.
Stephen Malkmus
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I really do think everybody can sing.
Stephen Malkmus
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When I see four young kids in a band, I think, That looks really fun, no matter how shitty they are. You develop your own thing, and get excited about your band name. It's all so harmless.
Stephen Malkmus
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I think most musicians know if they make the same record twice, even if they say they don't.
Stephen Malkmus
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So much of rock lyrics is just a mirror of real feeling. It doesn't feel dangerous to me. They just feel like rock lyrics.
Stephen Malkmus
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George Oppen wasn't a larger than life personality, but I'm not either. And he lived a long time, so he was happy. Going down in flames is fine, too.
Stephen Malkmus