Funny Jens

This is probably one of the funniest interview I've seen.
Well, it's not really even an interview.
Just some questions asked by fans, and answered by Jens Lekman.
The reason why I like him so much is that we have the same birthday!
So, I think we have many personalities in common, as I can tell from his songs.
And his songs are great, I reckon...
Do impossible things
Here we go ~

If you would create an dream band, which persons would be in it?

i'd have a monkey on bass, a panda on drums, an octopus on accordion, a wolf on vocals. they'd all have human qualities though, the wolf for example would be gay but does not come out until the 3rd record for which they take a giant step in a more balearic pop direction. this is where the octopus puts the accordion back in the latin pop tradition.

Have you still got you budgies, and do you think that they are good pets?

they're my best friends.

What's up with the bandaid you wear in some pictures?

i woke up one morning three years ago when a photographer was banging on my door. i fell and hit my forehead against the doorknob. i was ready to have my picture taken with a bloody face but she told me to clean myself up and so i did. then she complained all the time and said "there should be more red in the picture". well, duh....

What would you think about joining an organisation for young people with pensioner tendencies?

ouch, that hurt.

Have you got any intentions to release the song Eureka, and why hasn't it been released offically yet?

it's on the kullaberg dvd (not released yet) but the reason i never recorded it properly is because it grew old. it never meant anything to me, it was just a silly song with a nice melody for me. but people liked it so i played it.

oh actually ... now i remember. that song was called "Ulrika" first. and i wrote it for my keyboardplayer. i can't remember if i had feelings for her or something but i remember changing the title to Eureka after she got a boyfriend.

You seem to have some masochistic tendencies, considering you sing about wanting to be someone's dog or being traded for a cigarette lighter. Do you like the idea of someone else taking care of you so that you can concentrate on being the fool in love?

no. i wanted to be someone's dog in a friendly way for a friend who was sad. and trading myself for a lighter... that might make me cheap but not masochistic. i do get very absorbed by a person i am in love with or care for, but do not want to be dominated, punished or hurt either emotionally or sexually which is my definition of masochistic. ..
it does take a lot of concentration to be a fool in love though.

I read somewhere that you liked mariah carey's songs. wich one's your favourite?

fantasy and we belong together

Have you ever cried on stage?

i havent really cried since i was ten or something. it's one of those fucked up things, i know several of my male friends who also can't cry. i was told by people (not my family) when i was young that crying was weak.

Are the texts of your songs pure imagenary, or has they sometimes a true background?
(is your inspiration all in your head or are you inspired by the reality?)

i am always inspired by reality as i remember it. it's interesting though, if you would go back in time to revisit your memories as they happened you would be shocked of how much your mind reconstructs the
past.

What is the best gift you every recieved from a fan?

well, i got this cigarbox in london earlier this year. packed with small things, old photos, rocks, feathers... it was great.

here's a wishlist if people want to give me things:
any kind of clothes, pants, shirts, socks, sweaters, hats, jackets... it's always good cause you can't bring 30 pair of pants and you smell really bad when you sit in a van and sleep on someones floor and play show after show. if you make clothes and want me to wear them there's a much better chance for that than getting your band a recorddeal.
i also like good dark chocolate and cheap jewelry.

What's the nicest or most unexpected thing someone has said after/during a show?

during a show in tucson:

guy - get the fuck out of new mexico !
me - ??? but we're in arizona.
guy - uh yeh, but you had to get the fuck out of new mexico to.. get here.... and now you're here... and ... i'm so happy.

Do you have any good pick-up lines?

My favourite was last weekend when a girl handed me her cellphone and said it's for you. Then she ran out of the club and called me from a payphone. I mean, if you can't get someones phonenumber you might as well give them your phone.
Then you'll know the number!

# 2 was also this weekend. I was talking to someone famous at the P3 Guld awards, i don't know his name or why i was talking to him. He said: you look like a potsmoking golfer, do you have any weed on you? I replied: No, but I have a golfclub in my pocket. At the moment it sounded good, then it turned out he had taken it as if i was hitting on him and later on his boyfriend wanted to kick my head in.

What happened to the releases you planned for 2006 but were then shelved in december (new album and eps, etc)?
Any chance they'll be released this year?

No.What i did was not to put them on the shelf, I actually erased them. For a long time I was fantasising of someone breaking into my place and stealing my computer or that it would be destroyed in a fire or something. I tried uninstalling my firewall so someone could hack it and erase my harddrive.

And eventually I just realised that it was obvious I wasn't happy with it and all I neeeded to do was to press the delete button myself. After that I got a little triggerhappy and continued erasing about 200 old songs. But it felt good. I don't like the past. I'm not such a big fan of the future either. I like the present, 2006. I am currently working on other songs and have made quite a progress lately.

How do you typically go about when writing and composing your songs?

I wake up early. From the night before I have carefully folded four clean towels and hung them on a chair. I feed the birds from my window. On my desk there is a bowl of red apples, I take one bite, then put it back waiting until the bite turns brown. I spin on my chair, a dirty thought passes through my head but I let it be. As a young magpie lands on my window sill I slowly wipe my sweaty forehead with one of the towels.

Then I lie down for a few hours. When I wake up it is late and I buy the evening paper, carefully reading every word. I open my window and throw breadcrumbles to the young magpie. Occasionally I throw small rocks at him with the message "Life is hard" written in tiny red letters. Then I have supper and I go to bed.

Why won't you let your records be available to a wider audience?

I have a whole bunch of people working hard to spread the main full length records all over the world. I have nothing against those records being available everywhere and if it's those records you're thinking of it's only a question of demand. But I sometimes make limited ecords , tour ep's , vinyls etc ... because I am still uncomfortable with the idea of my music being everyone's property. Some songs I only want to share with those who really really want it.

This is from a fan site of Jens Lekman. Clink to see more Ask Jens.