I didn't want to be a soul singer.

In Cleveland, music was always a big part of my life. That's really where I cut my teeth.

I've written hundreds of songs, and I tend to think that my instincts are pretty good when it comes to what people are going to like and what people aren't going to like.

Art brings to life things that can seemingly be dead, and can put a fresh perspective on things that are living. It's so important we keep creating.

Writing for other people is easier than writing for myself - it's not as personal.

I'd rather be a poor singer/songwriter doing what I love than get rich from selling my soul.

I wrote 'Don't Stop' just like I wrote 'Pumped Up Kicks' - I didn't try to make either a hit. I just wanted to write a song I liked.

Arcade Fire has kept their indie cred. They will sell out stadiums yet still have underdog status. But when you're a band like Coldplay, people are waiting to knock you down.

I love to honour people and to write positive songs about them.

I don't like to write the same song twice.

I had really bad grades in high school and didn't want to go to college, and my dad said, 'Why don't you move to L.A. or New York and pursue music? You've always been good at it.' It was the first thing that made sense to me and... It was the right move.

I wanted to be an attorney all the way up until I was 17.

Mophonics is kind of a creative home for me.

Foster the People wouldn't exist without Mophonics.

I look at bands like the Beach Boys, Hall & Oates and Blur, and those are the bands I want to be in company with because their songwriting is intelligent, and yet you don't need to be a musical genius to pick it up.

We're not trying to be a mega-pop-band, but we also wouldn't be opposed to selling millions of records, either.

People worship anyone in the entertainment industry. You can be a used-car salesman and have a television commercial on the local station, and that makes you a celebrity.

At the end of the day, I use music to be able to communicate to people.

I was afraid of the sophomore slump even before our first record came out. It was a very real fear because I'd watched so many bands I'd loved in the past not deliver. I knew it was a very real thing. I didn't know why it happens, but I'd been thinking about it a lot.

There are a few songwriters in bands I really relate to that write a certain type of joy, because a lot of artists don't really write joy. It's a thing only a few people do.

I think artists throughout the history of time have always been controversial and have been a voice to speak to public culture in a way that a politician can't because they'll lose their constituency.

Walking into the studio making 'Scared Hearts Club,' it was important for us as artists to write a joyful record, but using joy as a weapon because joy is the best weapon against oppression; it's the best weapon against depression.

I truly believe that love is greater than politics.

I think that there's a difference between being an entertainer and being an artist.