Quotes from Devendra Banhart

My number-one hero in terms of interdisciplinary art is Laurie Anderson, but I've always admired anyone who can think way beyond any one medium.

Let's take fashion seriously, but not ourselves so seriously. Or reverse that, maybe don't take fashion so seriously, but take yourself seriously. Actually, don't take yourself seriously, that's for sure. So, yeah, take fashion seriously, just not yourself.

John Cage is someone I got into as a visual artist, before I even knew his music. I don't think a lot of people even know that he does visual art.

I've been doing visual stuff for as long as I've been making records; in fact, for longer.

I grew up around so much new agey stuff. Part of me takes it lightly because I'm so used to it. It was my parents. It wasn't some path I discovered and want to share with people. It's just been a very natural part of my life. There's humor to it and there's seriousness to it, too.

Pay attention to your breathing.

I'm interested in Qawwali and the blues.

I practice Rasayana Buddhism.

I was just a huge fan of Blur, Suede, Elastica and Pulp, of course, even Menswear and Ocean Colour Scene.

I was born with a beard. We're quite hairy down in Latin America. We don't have to use sponges when we wash dishes. We just use our baby beards.

Coming to Canada, I'd really like to see Sasquatch.

As anthropomorphic and surreal people have said my early writing was, to me it was really stock and almost banal in the sense that it was just description, the poetry of comparing: 'Your feet are like A, and your eyes like B.'

I think five percent of all songs can be love songs, and another five percent can be miscellaneous or political, but the rest should just be about medieval feminists.

There is something to mystery. You make up this entire world that you fit into because of what the actual music does to you.

Good art doesn't really have an expiration date on it. That's something to be happy about, if you're making art.

Basho is the great poet of Japan, writing in the second half of the 17th century, but his work is still incredibly fresh.

I collect head shots from bands.

Green is one of my favorite colors.

I sometimes think a movement as rich and wild and incredible as Tropicalismo wouldn't have survived without incredibly catchy music.

I find Mexico exciting to visit, but I think [it] is looked down upon. Mexico is not a very respected place, unless you're Mexican, and even then it's something of a love/hate relationship.

When anyone dies, it's sad.

I'm very lucky my parents were into different kinds of music.

Trying to find comfort in perpetual discomfort has been my life's work.

It only takes one profound experience to change somebody's life.