Kevin Parker Quotes

I'd love to do the straight music thing, but that's kind of against our mission, which is to rebel against the serious singer-songwriter mentality.

I didn't follow the standard rules of bass playing, and many musicians on many different instruments who became noteworthy for their unique or particular style did a very similar thing.

My favorite band of all time is The Clash. The thing I love about The Clash is they started out as guys who could barely play three chords. They dabbled in reggae, punk, rap, jazz. They came to a sound that could only be defined as The Clash. It was impossible to say what it was. I admire them for that.

From our music in general, we've always fought the idea that we had to fit into a box or fit into a certain category.

When you say, 'Man, what kind of music does Outkast make?' You be like, 'They make Outkast music.' What kind of music does N.E.R.D. make? They make N.E.R.D. music. I want to be one of those people, because there's so many layers to the music I create that I don't want people to expect me to do one thing.

The most important thing is that you honor that musical integrity, whether you make music that sounds like ABBA or you make music that sounds like Void.

I don't have a classical-music mentality. I haven't been taught that way, and it doesn't fit my character, either.

My ambition is to further create a signature sound, a signature spirit, that makes some kind of contribution to music in general.

When I listen back to my music and everyone else that's out there, I'm aware that there's something I can do that the next guy doesn't do.

I wanted to make good records. But my problem is I've got a low boredom threshold, so I wanted it to look and sound different with each album, which is really tantamount to suicide, cause people lose it, they lose it - they say: 'I like that, and that's not this.'

I think of a band like Animal Collective where they really follow their own sound and I think that's a really important thing to do. You can find an audience if you can find your voice.

I really love music that's on the periphery of not fitting into a clear genre. I felt like I was constantly being described as something I didn't really feel like I identified with.

Historically, musicians know what it is like to be outside the norm - walking the high wire without a safety net. Our experience is not so different from those who march to the beat of different drummers.

I don't think that there's much that sets me apart from other musicians, but I think there are definitely things that set me apart from other kinds of artists. I feel that musicians do it their own way, write their own songs and put on a great live shows.

I made a point when I made the Ugly Casanova record to not write a song and then say, 'This is a Modest Mouse song' or 'This is an Ugly Casanova song.' The people who were open to it not being a Modest Mouse record liked it.

Every piece has its own identity which we develop by the rule 'We know no limits.' We follow the inspiration of the moment and don't worry if what we're playing is alternative, progressive or fusion rock.

I realized pretty soon that I have to do more than just play bass in the background way. So, I developed a kind of playing which only a handful of musicians accepted.

When I started playing in bands, we had to be apologetic for what we did. We had to be apologetic because the mainstream was so bad.

I always look for the weirdest note to land on. I felt that that was the least I could do for the great musical traditions which I've spawned.

I study what's happening in music. I want to sound different than everybody else.

I like what Dumbfoundead and Awkwafina are doing, but I think I'm just trying to do something different.

I listen to all kinds of music and sometimes I try to do something that's referential to an era or a genre, but it still sounds like me.

I spent my whole musical career trying to be different and make songs that people think shouldn't go together... go together.

The Peas is the mothership you always go to. But when you able to bring something new to the table, it makes you stand out as an artist. I am not chasing the same things as Fergie or Will.i.am.

I don't want to be trending. Instead of pursuing ideas of being more radio-friendly and... commercial, I want to go harder at being more creative.