Lykke Li Quotes

I never wrote music for the mainstream.

My music isn't mainstream music.

We went into that knowing that we were never going to sell a major record 'cause we didn't sound like these bands, so I just thought this was an opportunity for us to make the kind of records that we wanted and make some money at the same time.

It's not like I set out to be 'the indie guy.'

I'm not a mainstream country artist, and I never will be.

I've always made music on my own, but I didn't think there was a platform for that, so I thought I had to pretend it was a band.

I preferred rock when it was in the dark, when it was a secret between me and the audience, when it wasn't mainstream.

Indie rock is just as susceptible - if not more susceptible - to all the gross things about people becoming total ass clowns in music, and only worrying about money and image. I'm not interested in being a part of that.

When Punk Rock happened, it created an opening in the culture... it made it ok to think you could play music, even though you had no musical training.

I look for things that are left of center, something you've only seen your whole life, but never heard. Hit it! With a stick! I have a guitar made out of a 2x4 that I bought in Cleveland.

It does not matter how badly you paint so long as you don't paint badly like other people.

I'm not a manufactured artist. Nobody taught me how to be a proper artist.

I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music world and have been able to play exactly what I have wanted the way I have wanted.

I knew that I tend to always gravitate to the indie side of things.

I just do whatever I do, and put it out there without tryin' to cater to anybody. If you like it, you like it.

I associate creativity with independent music.

I'm definitely a cult artist.

I'm not making music for people who like Disney shows. I make music for people who like music.

I didn't want to be on a major label. I wanted all the attention and the noise to go away because I wanted to be something a little bit more substantial.

This music isn't Top 40, we really stand out from anyone.

Phish has never had anything to do with any trends at all in America.

Mixtapes have always been a guerrilla-style means of moving music.

We've been allowed to operate unmolested on the fringes of the music scene, really. That's where we enjoy it most.

At WSX I think I was very much trying to figure it out on my own and we were creating our own style and our own thing. I can only speak for myself, I was not trying to be anything. I was not trying to be like anyone else.

I never identified with 'indie,' I don't like that word.