3 December 2020 Ezra Koenig I grew up listening to Jay-Z, and I think the first time I really became obsessed with learning and thinking about lyrics was when I started listening to rap I was 11, 12, and started becoming aware of music beyond the familiar.
3 December 2020 Ezra Koenig 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.
3 December 2020 Ezra Koenig I do think sometimes there’s danger in guest appearance mania. I’ve seen too many examples that sound cool on paper, like ‘Oh, get that guy to sing the hook on that guy’s song,’ and then that’s all it is. It’s a cool idea that sounds good on paper.
3 December 2020 Ezra Koenig 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.
3 December 2020 Ezra Koenig I don’t like to generalize but I’ve had nothing but bad experiences with Mexican food in Europe.
3 December 2020 Ezra Koenig It’s cool to have instruments lying around because they give you different ideas.
3 December 2020 Ezra Koenig My dad has a really great record collection that basically went up to the year I was born: 1984.
