Kevin Parker scrolls comments about his music “until I find the negative ones”.
Photo: Famous Pictures
Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker goes looking for negative comments on his music.
The 39-year-old musician admitted he scrolls through social media looking for reactions to his work, and even when he sees dozens of supportive messages, he can’t help but look for those who are more critical.
He told RUSSH magazine: “It’s weird these days. Depending on which pocket of the internet you look at, you’ll find completely different reactions.
“I’ll go on YouTube or Instagram, and there’ll be so much positivity, but I’ll still scroll until I find the negative ones. We all do it right?”
Kevin admitted that releasing a record can feel “violating” because it no longer belongs just to him.
He said: “It’s this baby that you’ve been growing for a year, two years, this thing that you’ve stressed and cried and laughed over – and danced to yourself and loved and hated.
“This thing you’ve had following you around for so long, and then it’s suddenly seeing the light of day and being shared with the world.
“It’s just such an overwhelming idea, you know?
“The idea of these songs that were once yours, and now are not yours; they belong to the world now.
“That transition weighs quite heavily on the artist, I think.
“Sometimes it even feels a little violating. Because they were yours, and now they are not.”
The Australian star finds songwriting a “rollercoaster” because things don’t always come easily to him, but, other times, the songs just flow.
He said: “I feel like some lyrics I have to pace around the house for days and months just to squeeze them out.
“But sometimes words just fall out of you into the song
“That’s one of the most rollercoaster-like elements. Some days you feel like Nick Cave and sometimes you feel like… not Nick Cave.
“Sometimes you feel like everything you say is profound, and sometimes you just feel like you’ve got nothing to give.”
Kevin has learned how to deal with writer’s block.
He said: “I just step away. Your own mood isn’t something that is very easy to control. You come back when it’s ready.”