Life's too short to be shoehorned into a box that isn't for you.
I think a lot of people spend a lot of time talking about what they hate rather than what they love. I don't want to get trapped in that.
Nobody is strong 100 percent of the time, or falling apart 100 percent of the time; sometimes you're doing both at once.
I'm abstaining from romance and the discussion of romance.
I'm sure that a lot of women and men feel differently about it, but for me this isn't about being the girl in the band... it's just about being IN the band, if that makes sense? We're trying to keep it in a pure and genuine place for us and not break it down to gender, because it's just a bit boring and obvious isn't it?
Nothing gets my hackles up like being told I can't do something.
I try not to say exactly what songs are about sometimes, because I feel like it ruins it for people.
A good song to one person could just be something mediocre to somebody else. It's always strange thinking about how songs connect with people.
I like the idea of a record being more than one thing emotionally - human beings go through so many emotions in one day, and I like those things sitting next to each other.
Internet has been really amazing, and I think it's a place of great passion, creativity, and knowledge.
I think a lot of things that people think are complimentary are a little bit condescending, but then we just have to keep doing what we're doing, and being in the band is the important bit.
'Princess' is a good word, as is 'girlish', 'pixie-like' and all these other things. I personally find it a bit boring, it's all been done before. The amount of times you read reviews of bands and it's an all-girl four-piece, and they talk about what the women are wearing... you'll never read a review that's like: "Male singer Thom Yorke, who was dressed in a white t-shirt and jeans..." You would never read that about a man.
It was always very important for us that we presented ourselves as a band, because it's a three-part writing process and it's a three-part decision making process, it's not two producer guys and a girl that sings the songs. It's startling how many people make that assumption.
I have a personal Twitter for band purposes, but I don't use social media a lot. I fall in a weird age gap. I was on band message boards when I was 16, but I was on the early curve of Facebook. I did it for work when I worked in media, and I did it for the band, but I can't relate to the idea that you live your life online.
I learned drumming as a second instrument because I didn't want to sing. Sometimes I would quite like to be left in the back, in the darkness by myself.
I had somebody say to me once, 'You can't make the kind of music you're making and call yourself a feminist.' The door was slammed on them swiftly after that.
I think in reading a few sentences of text you can just tell the tone, and that's something I love in prose writers.
I quite like being removed from the industry stuff so that when we're not on tour and we're writing, we're in a small room and you can't get out physically. I like that mental checking-out aspect - I think it's quite nice.
My dissertation was on the idea of feminine-themed women's magazines, so like how the ideal woman is put across by women's magazines.
I don't know Justin Bieber so I wouldn't want to marry a man I don't know.
If there's a strong melodic thing somewhere, whether that's in a vocal or in a guitar part or a sample. Something that sticks in your brain, that seems to be something that works.
I enjoy working with people. That seems simplistic, but whenever I'm distressed, angry, and want to feel like something can be done about something, it feels better when you surround yourself with people.
Writing with other people is the only way I ever really work. In some ways it's great because it's helpful to someone pull you out of the loop.
No matter how many people try, no matter how many fancy songwriters in Los Angeles try to break it down to a formula... to an extent, there isn't a science to writing great songs, I suppose. For me, it's always about melody - it doesn't matter what genre of music you're writing, if there's a strong melodic thing somewhere, whether that's in a vocal or in a guitar part or a sample. Something that sticks in your brain, that seems to be something that works.
I'd rather work with a grassroots organization than in politics. I'm not sure I'd be the best politician because I don't think I'm good about tactfully tiptoeing around questions in the right way.
