Angel Olsen Quotes

I’ve been writing a lot of songs in twos, songs that are like twins in my mind.

‘Sweet Dreams’ is such a dark-sounding song, but it’s about not taking anything for granted; share yourself with others after you have first spent some time with yourself.

The family that raised me are awesome people and they are my mother and my father and my brother and my sister. I’ve never viewed them as these “strangers” that took over. It’s never been this crazy, dramatic, Lifetime-movie situation. It’s been chill.

I just want to scream: “I’m being honest, I swear!” Maybe it’s embarrassing, but I don’t care anymore.

It’s hard to force a relationship with a stranger even if they happen to be someone you happen to share blood with.

People are buying more vinyl now than they did in the late ’90s or 2000s. I like having different mediums of the record. It’s always interesting to see how the tapes end up looking because they are so tiny.

In high school I was in a band called Goodfight, but it was more me running around on stage. It was very punk inspired. Then I started to get into indie-rock and older music and decided I wanted to write my own stuff. I quit the band. Around 16 or 17, I started recording myself at home on keyboard and piano.

You get to a certain age and it really occurs to you: “My mother and my father will not always be here. My spouse or my girlfriend or boyfriend are here right now, but someday they won’t be.” You realize that you need to like yourself.

My first ever tour of my music was in the Netherlands. I didn’t really have a grace period to grow or anything; people just started booking for me. I feel pretty lucky.

A lot of people ask me if I’m OK. I’m capable of crazy – a lot of people are – but I’m OK.

I guess that in a lot of ways, my writing is more of a character to me than something that I feel personally attached to.

I sometimes write as if I were talking to myself, or to a mirror, or to someone for the last time. There’s this element of confrontation.

It’s a bit of a weird thing to know that (my music) has translated to that many people.

I’d rather people interpret the songs and get whatever they can out of them instead of thinking about me crying in a room with a guitar.

I’m not trying to prove that I’m capable of doing many things.

If you can’t be psyched about your own thoughts, then how are you supposed to have a meaningful interaction with anyone?

My family life, my adoption – it could be related to the songs, but I think the songs are deeper than that. They’re not just about this experience.

I’m sure that the meaning of the songs that I’ve written will change for me over the years, the same way that I can’t even say what inspired some of the songs that I’ve been singing for a long time anymore.

Sometimes I’ll hit a note and sometimes I don’t. Why not at least try?

When people disappoint you, it’s just as much your responsibility to be aware of it and what you don’t want.

I don’t believe people when they say their songs have nothing to do with their personal life.

People should know each other because they want to, because they have things in common.