Musician

The lion's share of what I listened to in the Eighties, what really affected me, was coming from Britain.

I feel like, every single decision I make and every single album I make, it's all about letting go. Letting go of the past and just getting on with it.

I loved the whole New Romantic, New Wave thing... New Order, Soft Cell, Depeche Mode, Gary Numan, Blancmange, Yazoo.

I'm very proud that I have learned German and Russian. Especially Russian, because of how difficult and beautiful it is and because of how much I struggled in the beginning to get my head around how it works.

I'm not a big punk fan, but I love a good, solid screamer.

There's an incredible amount of pain involved in being a human, but this humorous stuff is essential in overcoming it.

I've kept going to therapy to find out why my perspective is so skewered and why I'm filled with rage. It's so I can live in this world alongside these other people who seem to be what is desired and what the world wants.

I have trouble with things like Facebook. It presents such a warped vision. I get sick of people's opinions about every little thing and this warped view that everyone is as happy as a pig in garbage.

The 1980s were all about synths for me, and it never went away after that.

Part of what I do, after feeling invisible for a long time, is make an effort not to be invisible any more.

The thing is I don't feel like my story is special. I don't feel like it's different to anybody else.

I'm a seriously flawed individual, but I guess everybody is.

I don't want to leave the house, and I don't want to settle down.

The lead character in 'Adaptation' is pretty much me but with more talent. Every time I watch 'Adaptation,' I feel very emotional because it makes me be kinder to myself and see the human situation a little more clearly.

I know I'm likeable, but living with me is different. Yes, I can be charming. That desire to please people and learning what to do to charm their socks off is something many of us do. But you get into a relationship, and the party's over at some point. They see the real you.

People have always painted me like a pessimist, like somebody who sees the glass half-empty. But I think the fact that I keep showing up and saying, 'No, there must be a way for me to live in this world,' that shows I'm an eternal optimist.

I'm angry because I was so scared for so many years about just being myself.

It took me a long time to find my own voice, even after I started making my own music.

I don't feel like I'm writing music for gay people. I'm a gay man who is writing music about one tiny little experience of what it's like to be a human on this planet.

Icelanders love to speak English. Their English is a joy to hear because of how colloquial and idiomatic it is, but they appreciate your efforts with Icelandic.