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" You can't manufacture inspiration, so a lot of it is still a waiting game for me. There's still a lot of mystery to songwriting. I don't have a method that I can go back to - they either come or they don't. "

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" I have on many occasions spoken my mind from stage. I have offered organizations table space by the merch booth. I have donated a dollar-a-ticket, or the entire guarantee, to different causes. I have registered voters. I have played on behalf of political candidates. "

Conor Oberst

Table

Political

Space

" When you write a song, the goal is not to convey the details of your life. You should write a memoir or something if that's what you're going to do. "

" I try to keep the idea that there's an audience in as little space in my mind as possible, but you can't erase it entirely, the idea that when you're sitting down to write a song, people are going to hear it. "

" If there's a song that stops meaning anything to me, then I'll quit playing it. "

" Art is essentially communication. It doesn't exist in a vacuum. That's why people make art, so other people can relate to it. "

" I like science fiction. Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick and Vonnegut, and I really like Margaret Atwood, 'The Handmaid's Tale.' And you know, so much of science fiction has to do with predicting what's to come, so I think that's really interesting. "

" It seems like everything I do musically I tend to lose a few fans and gain a few fans, and it all kind of evens out. "

" I'm a real music fan, so I listen to all kinds of music all the time. I listen to a lot of what my friends or people I know are listening to. I'm always checking out new bands. "

" The fact that anytime you think you really know something, you're going to find out you're wrong - that is the rule. The moments where you think you have something figured out, those are the exceptions. "

" It's very strange when people get so focused on what a song means, what actual events inspired a song. That gets people really excited for some reason... But that's what's great about music - however people interpret it, whatever they see, is what I want to be there for them. "

" I really believe in the way the energy can consolidate in certain geographical spots. You can find it in a lot of different places, beautiful natural spots, or if you look at Islam or Judaism or Christianity, these ideas of holy places. "

" I would prefer to be a little nervous, because when you stop being nervous is kind of when you stop caring. "

" The first music I ever got into was the '80s alternative bands that my brother listened to, like The Cure and The Smiths and R.E.M. and Fugazi. I can remember specifically saying The Cure was my favorite band back in second grade. "

" I find that moving keeps me optimistic, the idea of what's going to be down the road a bit or around the next bend. "

" When I started writing songs, I was doing it for myself and a small circle of friends. And gradually, over the years, an audience became involved. "

" When I run into a person or a kid that comes up and gives me the spiel about, 'Hey, I got your record at this time in my life, and it really helped me,' that stuff totally still rings true. If you're standing there talking to someone, it's really easy to tell if they're being authentic or not. And that's great. "

" If you think about the concept of reincarnation, it's essentially uploading yourself and your spirit into a new form, a new hard drive as it were. "

" I've always been slightly preoccupied with death or whatever those kind of silly big questions people will tell you to not spend your time worrying about. "

" No lies, just love. "

" Art is basically communication, and I think everyone who's a music lover has had that experience where a record or a recording has kept you company when no one else is around. And I think that is what I'm hoping that people get out of my music. "

" My family is Catholic. I went to a Catholic school, that kind of thing, so that was my childhood for sure. "

" Joe Arpaio needs no help from me getting attention. For years he has been a beacon of bigotry and intolerance for all the world to see. The list of human and civil-rights abuses he's committed in Maricopa County is long and well documented. "

" I think there are some songs that stand the test of time better than others for sure. I think some songs go out of favour; I'll get sick of a song for a while, and I won't play it; then it'll make a comeback. "

" I'm proud that with 'Bright Eyes' we've always experimented and tried to make a different record every time out. "

" I have a lot of friends that take that position of extreme cynicism, and I just can't let myself go to that place. It's just too easy, and it's just too defeatist. "

" Once you realize that everyone is in the same boat, that everyone is just as insecure and childlike as everyone else, that all these jokers in D.C. ruining our world are just greedy kids grabbing for marbles - I think that realization means you're an adult. "

" I prefer career artists that have spent time honing their craft, as opposed to, 'I won a karaoke contest on a reality show and now I have a record.' That's such a drag. The music that comes out of it is so poor. "

" I remember having to quit school and quit my job. I just sort of moved all my stuff into other people's places. Within, like, six months, I was able to earn enough money from touring to rent a place again. "

" Life is always surprising to me. When you think it's going to get dull, it never really does. "

" I like the Alice in Wonderland sculpture in Central Park. I love how it's been rained on forever and looks worn down by time. "