I think when you get into your 30s, you start to realize all of the patterns you have in your life and all of the stuff that you're avoiding. It's a terribly unsung period in people's lives. I can't think about many artists who have sung about it, because it's so not sexy.
I realized that even though I had this urge, this longing, to write about other people, in order for it to be emotionally gripping, I needed to be in there somehow.
I've always been interested in listening to people's stories.
It always feel like people are doing more grown-up things than you are.
I wouldn't write about something that I haven't experienced myself.
I think it's healthy that people that work in a creative field look for inspiration in a different creative field.
Really, to me, a really good evening would be a comedian, followed by a band, followed by a really good DJ.
There's so much nostalgia for music from the past.
I start writing songs first as an entertainer, and I like funny stories that wrap up with dignity.
I need to write a sitcom, but something with warmth, not one where the dad comes home and he's treated like an idiot.
Australia's beautiful, but I'm not too into Australian culture.
Once I release a song, it's not just about me or the people... I write about. They're my stories, but they're not really mine any more.
I think a lot of my songs are very silly and very stupid, written to entertain people, but in the end, I always come to that last line, and I feel that I have to wrap this up with a bit of dignity and a little tear in the eye; otherwise, the joke would be on the characters in the song.
I realised that music controls me more than I control music. I had to write songs that were convincing me that things would get better.
When I was working on 'Night Falls Over Kortedala,' I was listening a lot to 'Graceland,' the Paul Simon record. I really got into the lyrics on that album. The opening line is so brilliant, the way he sets the scene.
I've started listening to music in a new way after I started running. When it comes to running, I really got into the idea of track listings that way, too.
I remember when I grew up and Dad would take me to kindergarten in the morning, and you could smell the chips in the air from the factory nearby.
When it comes to heartbreaks and disappointments, I often have to be more or less done with them to be able to write about them. Then you might ask why I would write about them at all, but I think I owe it to the Jens of the past.
I think of the Jens Lekman in the songs as a completely different person who's stealing my stories.
I think that's a responsibility I have, to not leave the listener with complete dread or depressing, dark thoughts, but to leave a little door open so that you can dance your way out if you want to.
