I think that, with anything creative, you should have the freedom to experiment, and that experimentation means not feeling totally responsible for how other people perceive it. Conor Oberst More Quotes by Conor Oberst More Quotes From Conor Oberst I think there's a weird self-affirmation thing that happens in popular music in general. It seems like every song I hear on the radio is like, "Listen to me roar!" or "This is my fight song!" Conor Oberst fightingsongthinking Popular music is all about traveling at the speed of you and elevating the individual as the highest thing in the world. Conor Oberst individualspeedworld Each Desaparecidos's song has a seed that it came from. We're trying to take that and broaden it out and make it resonate with people. Conor Oberst songtryingpeople In a way, to have whatever people talk about as "crossover success," I think it means you start making bad music. I mean, when I'm flipping through the channels and see the VMAs or something, I don't really see any music there. Conor Oberst meanpeoplethinking I've given up trying to understand what people think about me. Conor Oberst tryingpeoplethinking If there's ever a kid out there that can't afford to buy the music, I still want them to hear it, and hopefully they'll go to the show, or buy a T-shirt from the band. That's the idea. Conor Oberst bandkidsideas It's in vogue to have a cause and give money in charity. But to actually speak up and say something like, I'm pissed about this" - that doesn't seem to be very popular unless you're writing a blog or tweeting. Conor Oberst charitywritinggiving I've been part of running a label since I was a kid, so I understand how it works. But the more and more I learn about it, the less and less interested I am in it. Conor Oberst labelsrunningkids It's hard to get people to focus on one idea. Conor Oberst focuspeopleideas Rastafarianism and reggae music have always kind of resonated with me. Those ideas of redemption, liberation and overcoming oppression through music, weed and community. Fighting evil through love and music, I think it's just a really powerful idea. Conor Oberst weedpowerfulfighting Much of appreciating art or music is really the interpretation of the listener. To a certain extent it's projection - it's what people need or lack in themselves that they then put upon these people that they admire. Conor Oberst appreciatepeopleart I think different musical collaborators bring out different qualities in my songs and I like that. Conor Oberst musicalsongthinking Maybe there's a different story when it comes to hip-hop or different genres, but as far as rock music goes, I think there is a sort of fear of saying things people might be apt to criticize. Our band is the opposite of that. Conor Oberst rocksoppositesthinking We, the Desaparecidos, are perfectly prepared for people to hate what we're saying or not like what we're saying. Conor Oberst preparedhatepeople My feeling is that I think writers in general tend to be self-conscious and it takes a bit of a leap of faith or just not giving a sh-t to write something you know people are going to criticize. Conor Oberst selfwritingthinking Desaparecidos try to be the opposite of apathetic. There are so many young people in America that are apathetic. Conor Oberst oppositesamericapeople We're going to sing about things that matter to us. The balancing act is to present these ideas but also make the music exciting and sort of fun enough that even if you're not paying attention to the lyrics, you might still like the songs anyway. That's the idea. Conor Oberst songfunideas I think that hip-hop is more of an individual effort. That means you're an artist from the streets, they expect you to rap about the streets, because that's what happens there. Conor Oberst rapmeanthinking I believe that vinyl will outlast CDs. There's no reason for it, but it stays around because there are still people that want them. Conor Oberst cdsbelievepeople I'll never understand how destroying families through deportation benefits our society. How we treat the undocumented says a great deal about us as a people and whether or not we'll continue to fulfill the fundamental American promise of equality and opportunity for all. Conor Oberst equalitysocietyopportunitypeople
