Ezra Koenig
If kids and teenagers can get into a band, it's probably not because they think it's brainy.Collection: Brainy
Some people say video games rot your brain, but I think they work different muscles that maybe you don't normally use.Collection: Work
My dad grew up in a working-class Jewish neighbourhood, and I got a scholarship from my dad's union to go to college. I went there to get an education, not as an extension of privilege.Collection: Dad
I go to great pains to find the best yogurt and granola.
I'm pretty sure that the Walkmen are the band that I've paid to see the most in my life.
I went to Columbia University because I knew I wanted to go to a school that was academically rigorous. I prided myself on getting good grades, but I also hated it.
Sometimes you want to dress a certain way... that doesn't always reflect your pedigree.
I still to this day get the most inspiration from rap lyrics.
Anyways, trying to express yourself to the press is often like arguing with a hysterical person.
I'm a huge fan of the Bay Area so I always love coming to San Francisco.
I grew up listening to Jay-Z, and I think the first time I really became obsessed with learning and thinking about lyrics was when I started listening to rap; I was 11, 12, and started becoming aware of music beyond the familiar.
I do think sometimes there's danger in guest appearance mania. I've seen too many examples that sound cool on paper, like 'Oh, get that guy to sing the hook on that guy's song,' and then that's all it is. It's a cool idea that sounds good on paper.
Rapping and singing are not two polar opposites. There's so much middle ground. And I think there's a lot of people who find that middle ground.
It's so easy for anyone to deal with their own guilt of being a middle-class white music fan by pointing to other people who they perceive to be richer than them, whiter than them.
My dad has a really great record collection that basically went up to the year I was born: 1984.
In Europe, I always have fun bike riding in Amsterdam.
I don't like to generalize but I've had nothing but bad experiences with Mexican food in Europe.
Musicals don't get enough credit for being so surreal. It's like an alternate universe.
It's cool to have instruments lying around because they give you different ideas.
Playing 'Tetris' for 15 minutes is like meditation.
Growing up listening to rap music, you almost feel like you should have haters. That's an important part of being a successful musician. It's a good thing, I guess.
Making every record is a process full of tough times.
Well, growing up in the '90s, my first true love was ska music.
I still think that if you're excited about something, you have to work at it.
As an artist you have the luxury of maybe presenting an issue in a certain way, as opposed to actually solving it.
When Obama came to power, there was a lot of talk about a post-racial America.
All I know for sure is that issues like race, like class, are always best approached with compassion and open-mindedness.
It's pretty cool that people will pay for something even though they don't have to. It's totally different now to back in the day. Now you're paying for a record because you believe in the band. In the future that will be the only time people will pay for albums, because there's some kind of connection.
I remember the first pangs of stress arriving at the end of school. Once I graduated I had to get a full-time job, worry about health insurance, saving money, paying rent - things I'd never thought about before.
You can be 24 and continue to live like you're at college, or even continue to live like you're in high school. Or you can put on a shirt and tie and pretend to be an adult.
I like how Ralph Lauren creates a mystical world through his clothing.
No part of Manhattan these days really has the same vibe I get from a Ramones song or a Velvet Underground song.
There aren't that many people walking about who are a total class stereotype.
Just because I grew up a white guy in America doesn't mean that's the music of my life.
I think that anybody who's anti-selfie is really just a hater. Because, truthfully, why shouldn't people take pictures of themselves? When I'm on Instagram and I see that somebody took a picture of themselves, I'm like, 'Thank you.' I don't need to see a picture of the sky, the trees, plants. There's only one you.Collection: Thinking
If you're lonely, bored, or unhappy, remember you are mad young. There is so much time to meet new people and go to new places.Collection: Lonely
I feel like you constantly have to prove why you deserve to continue to exist.Collection: Like You
But you know what? When I die, everybody is invited to come take a selfie at my funeral. Except for my enemies. They're not invited to the funeral, period.Collection: Funeral
Sometimes I surprise myself with how dissatisfied I am with seemingly satisfying experiences.Collection: Sometimes
We live in such extreme times that I think we all have a responsibility to be aware of what's happening and talk about it.Collection: Responsibility
I could Google image search 'the sky' and I would probably see beautiful images to knock my socks off. But I can't Google, you know, 'What does my friend look like today?' For you to be able to take a picture of yourself that you feel good enough about to share with the world - I think that's a great thing.Collection: Beautiful
A writer once asked what I'd say if I ever met my biggest hater. I paused, thought deeply and said, "Probably 'suk a dog dik, motherfuker.'"Collection: Dog
If I can't do that at age 33, I'll probably never be able to do it. As you enter your thirties, things get a little more squiggly, with life spreading out in different directions. All of that makes me think that now's the time to do what you really want to do and not have that same type of youthful anxiety about every step.Collection: Thinking
Tom Cruise is one of the most successful actors of all time.Collection: Successful
It's really hard to even talk about the internet without seeming instantly corny.Collection: Corny
One of the things I've always loved about anime is that, even though it comes from Japan, it's so international - so much of the big anime I love takes place in Italy or France or New York.Collection: Anime
I'm down with Spotify. I don't know all the financial details but generally it's a great resource.Collection: Details
If kids and teenagers can get into a band, its probably not because they think its brainy.Collection: Teenager
For you to be able to take a picture of yourself that you feel good enough about to share with the world - I think that's a great thing.Collection: Thinking