I've Never Understood People Who Play Up

It Was Writing About Music For Npr - Connecting With Music Fans And Experiencing A Sense Of Community - That Made Me Want To Write Songs Again. I Began To Feel I Was In My Head Too Much About Music, Too Analytical.

The School Systems At My Childhood Had Enough Money Or Enough Parent Involvement That They Felt Like Learning Music And Songs, And Exploring The Whole Pop Or Classical Canon, Were Just As Important As Algebra Or Biology. Music Is Such A Visceral And Tactile Experience For A Kid, And To Just Replace That With Video Games Or Something That Doesn't Have The Same Sort Of Physical Impact Would Definitely Be A Poor Choice, And Have A Negative Impact.

I Am A Horrible Visual Artist. I Can't Fix A Car, Sew, Knit, Cook, Etc. Statistically, There Is More I Don't Do Than Do.

There Was This Kind Of Wackiness That Was Really Embraced And Put On A Pedestal. It Was Before The Millennium. We Were Envisioning A Future That Was Mostly Idealistic. I Think That Came Crashing Down A Little Bit In 9/11, Or A Lot. There Is Something About Portland That Does Seem To Still Exist In This Total Idealistic World And Total Idealistic Mind Frame, And I Think That's What Dream Of The '90s Is Talking About.

After Sleater-kinney Broke Up In 2006 I Had Very Little Desire To Play Music. It Took Well Over Three Years Before Picking Up A Guitar Meant Anything To Me Other Than An Exercise.