Ezra Koenig Quotes

Musicals don't get enough credit for being so surreal. It's like an alternate universe.

Making every record is a process full of tough times.

Some people say video games rot your brain, but I think they work different muscles that maybe you don't normally use.

Tom Cruise is one of the most successful actors of all time.

My dad has a really great record collection that basically went up to the year I was born: 1984.

I think that anybody who's anti-selfie is really just a hater. Because, truthfully, why shouldn't people take pictures of themselves? When I'm on Instagram and I see that somebody took a picture of themselves, I'm like, 'Thank you.' I don't need to see a picture of the sky, the trees, plants. There's only one you.

I still think that if you're excited about something, you have to work at it.

When Obama came to power, there was a lot of talk about a post-racial America.

I could Google image search 'the sky' and I would probably see beautiful images to knock my socks off. But I can't Google, you know, 'What does my friend look like today?' For you to be able to take a picture of yourself that you feel good enough about to share with the world - I think that's a great thing.

I feel like you constantly have to prove why you deserve to continue to exist.

Growing up listening to rap music, you almost feel like you should have haters. That's an important part of being a successful musician. It's a good thing, I guess.

I go to great pains to find the best yogurt and granola.

I'm down with Spotify. I don't know all the financial details but generally it's a great resource.

My dad grew up in a working-class Jewish neighbourhood, and I got a scholarship from my dad's union to go to college. I went there to get an education, not as an extension of privilege.

It's so easy for anyone to deal with their own guilt of being a middle-class white music fan by pointing to other people who they perceive to be richer than them, whiter than them.

As an artist you have the luxury of maybe presenting an issue in a certain way, as opposed to actually solving it.

I'm pretty sure that the Walkmen are the band that I've paid to see the most in my life.

No part of Manhattan these days really has the same vibe I get from a Ramones song or a Velvet Underground song.

A writer once asked what I'd say if i ever met my biggest hater. I paused, thought deeply and said, probably 'suk a dog dik, motherfuker

You can be 24 and continue to live like you're at college, or even continue to live like you're in high school. Or you can put on a shirt and tie and pretend to be an adult.

I still to this day get the most inspiration from rap lyrics.

Rapping and singing are not two polar opposites. There's so much middle ground. And I think there's a lot of people who find that middle ground.

If kids and teenagers can get into a band, it's probably not because they think it's brainy.

I remember the first pangs of stress arriving at the end of school. Once I graduated I had to get a full-time job, worry about health insurance, saving money, paying rent - things I'd never thought about before.

If you're lonely, bored, or unhappy, remember you are mad young. There is so much time to meet new people and go to new places.

There aren't that many people walking about who are a total class stereotype.

I like how Ralph Lauren creates a mystical world through his clothing.

All I know for sure is that issues like race, like class, are always best approached with compassion and open-mindedness.

Sometimes I surprise myself with how dissatisfied I am with seemingly satisfying experiences.

But you know what? When I die, everybody is invited to come take a selfie at my funeral. Except for my enemies. They're not invited to the funeral, period.

It's really hard to even talk about the internet without seeming instantly corny.

It's pretty cool that people will pay for something even though they don't have to. It's totally different now to back in the day. Now you're paying for a record because you believe in the band. In the future that will be the only time people will pay for albums, because there's some kind of connection.