“I think it’s really easy to be the altruistic hero of your own narrative and story.”

We were a very crunchy, sort of hippie-dippy family.

I don’t really have any interest in recording at places that are institutionalized for recording.

All my favorite songs ever are love songs. Probably topped by ‘The Luckiest’ by Ben Folds.

I stopped telling people what lyrics meant to them when I saw them tattoo it on them, because it clearly meant much more to them than it ever did to me.

Imagine if somebody was like, ‘Who’s the next Timothee Chalamet?’ It’s like, he’s currently Timothee Chalamet.

It’s important to recognize when a song remains important to you.

I was on a TV show called ‘Glee.’ I mean, I was on the real tail end of that show; it was already way past its peak. But still, for me aged 17 landing something like that was a big deal.

I’m not a control freak in that like I boss everybody around, but like a control freak and like, I like knowing exactly what I get to do that day and having a say.

I don’t analyze songs because I think it will make me a better songwriter, I just do it out of sheer curiosity.

I’ve learned a lot from my mom and my dad. I learn a lot every time I watch Billie perform.

A lot of the time, in pop music especially, there’s reverb. And the reason is that reverb makes vocals sound better 99% of the time. It makes the notes ring out.

Definitely for me and my sister, wherever we are the most comfortable is where the best music’s going to be made.

I always wanted to be on tour or making albums.

To me, as a producer, I always want something to set stuff apart.

I usually don’t like to annoy people in asking to work with them.

I’m just obsessed with music I guess.

It’s not easy that everything you do, everybody has to come in and critique it and give their opinion. Sometimes it does help me and sometimes it hurts me as a person. That’s life. I have feelings.

My dear, old age is like an airplane flying in a storm. Once you’re in it there’s nothing you can do. You can’t stop a plane, you can’t stop a storm, you can’t stop time. So you might as well take it easy, with wisdom.

Sometimes its easier to focus on the pain you’ve felt. Instead, think of the strength you’ve gained.

Your life is not going to be easy, and it should not be easy. It ought to be hard. It ought to be radical; it ought to be restless; it ought to lead you to places you’d rather not go.

It is always much easier, I have discovered, to make people cry or gasp than to make them think.

Kindnesses are easily forgotten; but injuries! what worthy man does not keep those in mind?

Why should it be easy to do something that, if done well, two or three times, will make your family rich for life?

Sometimes the easiest way to appreciate ourselves is by looking through the eyes of someone who loves us.