Kevin Parker Quotes

'MMMBop' took about a year to actually get completed. The chorus idea had really been around for a long time, and then we built the song around it.

The original 'Don't Let It Get to You' started with a beat. The drums came first. All the musical and lyrical elements were written over those drums.

I'd say 99 per cent of the time I write on my own, just with my guitar, and then it's trying to figure out what it needs in a production sense.

I know melody. I know rhythm; I know bass guitar; I know the piano. I know everything about music that helps build the music that go along with creating the whole art form, you know what I'm saying?

I sit and write songs alone and then get together with people to help me flesh it out into a recording.

There's two facets to writing a song. There's you sitting in your room writing the sentiments of the song; the lyrics, the melody and the changes, and then there's the part where you go into the studio and you put clothing on it.

The actual writing of a song usually comes in the form of a realisation. I can't contrive a song.

We love great melodies and great songs that have great hooks and melodies, so we start a little bit more on that side as opposed to other people that start more lyric-based. Sometimes we'll do it the other way.

Usually I write the songs at home and then I bring them in to the band; when we play them as a band, that's kinda how we figure out the feel of how they're going to be presented on the record or live.

I feel like a hit will come whenever it does, but I don't want to sit in a studio trying to figure out the magic formula and mixing spices and trying to come up with the perfect song.

When it comes to production and the overall sound, I don't really have a lot of intentions with it. I start off with melody and a lyrical idea, and then build off of that story.

And I like messing around in the engine room of music. Seeing what happens in the rhythm section area.

I'm not really into the whole lyrics thing; I just like to make music that people like to listen to.

So I'll set a cycle in motion and pop it into record and I'll lay down a drum pattern, a bass line, a keyboard and guitar part, and once the groove is going I launch into the song and sing my song over the top.

I think there's a good pop song in pretty much anything.

I wrote 'Actor' all on the computer. I didn't touch any instruments until I was in the studio. So while I had all these ornate arrangements, I didn't have any songs.

For me, making music just starts with a simple melody, and lyrics will come sometime after that.

We knew we wanted to put a lot of melody into it - a lot more than what we did on our first album.

When we make records, it's hard to pinpoint one thing that inspires a record. It's usually a number of different things that lead to inspiration or wanting to write something down and share it with someone.

I really wish I knew what I was doing because I'd be writing hit songs every minute.

I work very hard on getting the songs as direct and examined as I can before I go in the studio.

When I listen to a record, or when I'm making a record, I listen to everything. I listen to the drums, the bass, the voice, the arrangement. I listen to the whole piece as an ensemble.

I wrote the tunes and sang only nonsense words. Then came Moore and dressed them with the lyrics.

There's always a group of songs that I'm working at. Some of them are 10 years old, and some of them are just a few weeks old. I'm always trying to adjust these songs to some position where I can bring them to completion.

Sometimes it's really quick, and sometimes it's really long. There's no formula for writing songs.