Putting your ego aside and confronting your weaknesses and just letting things happen is hard. Not to use a Scientology term, but it's difficult to do an emotional or an artistic audit. Annie E. Clark More Quotes by Annie E. Clark More Quotes From Annie E. Clark What I did with my first records was, my writing process was that I didn't touch any instruments to write it, so I was making it all on the computer, and really the arrangements were coming first, the intricate thing. Annie E. Clark records writing firsts I don't even wanna say female guitar-players, just guitar-players, because music of all things doesn't need to be gendered and stratified, that's so boring. Annie E. Clark female guitar player I'm first and foremost a guitar player. I've been playing since I was 12, which is over half of my life. I like the physicality of it; you can strangle it or make it sing. I wouldn't say I'm a very technical player, though. I'm more intuitive - it's always more about chasing an abstraction. Annie E. Clark guitar-player player An mp3 is a compressed form of data. It's not the full spectrum. It's never going to sound as good as a record. I think one thing people forget is that every technological advance we fetishize had its place in time. CDs are usually an hour long because that's the amount a CD could hold - not because that's the optimal amount of time for any given musical expression. Side one and side two? That's a product of vinyl. But that's not necessarily dramatic form - you could argue that that was three acts. Annie E. Clark long people thinking I had brief glimpses of emotional catharsis while writing. I remember reading something Philip Roth wrote about how he writes every single day, but it's almost as if he has amnesia every morning - he has almost zero confidence that anything will come but he just sits down and plugs away. And at the end of the day it feels like a miracle: "How did I do that?" I had a similar experience where it was just about putting in the hours and being present. Annie E. Clark reading writing morning There's always something extremely personal in the songs, but I may change the point of view from what I actually experienced. Annie E. Clark views may song The most important thing is setting up these directives for yourself. Like, "I'm only going to use these three colors - go!" That's why Einstein wore the same thing every day; you don't want to have to reinvent the wheel every morning. Annie E. Clark color important morning Music is kind of a strange business, and it's too weird of a job to have mean, conniving people around. Annie E. Clark jobs mean people I wouldn't say I'm a very technical [guitar] player. I'm more intuitive - it's always more about chasing an abstraction. Annie E. Clark chasing guitar player I think anything that you can't poke fun at is a little too precious. Annie E. Clark littles fun thinking I think cults are probably a little less scary. To me, it's scarier that 25 people would wear robes and jump up and down and try to convert everyone to happiness than a Kool-Aid suicide. Annie E. Clark suicide people thinking It's pretty amazing, someone having that kind of charisma - and it still happens in micro and macro forms - to convince a whole gaggle of people to kill themselves. Or put on robes and jump up and down. That takes a very charismatic leader. Annie E. Clark kind leader people I wanted to give the songs a run for their money, to see if they stood on their own without a lot of accoutrements. It made more sense - and it was easier, too - to go out alone and see if these songs could get in a couple of fistfights and still be standing. Annie E. Clark couple running song I'm a bit of a vagabond - a person who loses time and space because you don't know where you are. Annie E. Clark vagabonds where-you-are space I was a lusty kid who loved Tennessee Williams. Sexy plays. [For musicians] there are so many that it's hard just to say one. Certain things, like the first time you hear A Love Supreme, you're floored. It takes whatever you were listening to and blows a hole in it. Annie E. Clark sexy blow kids Checking voicemail is like, "When's the other shoe going to drop?" I'm always afraid it's going to be terrible news I don't want to hear. Annie E. Clark news shoes want I have a phobia of checking voicemail. I watched a lot of TV as a kid, and everything is, like, you're gonna get kidnapped, or somebody's gonna die, or killer bees are going to take you out. I'm a very anxious person. Annie E. Clark killers tvs kids Everybody's got a dark side, but mine doesn't include being around people who are mean. Annie E. Clark dark mean people I like to deal with my dark side in a creative way, and just sing about killing people instead of actually doing it. Annie E. Clark creative dark people I'm first and foremost a guitar player. I've been playing since I was 12, which is over half of my life. Annie E. Clark guitar half player
