Julien Baker on why she prefers "listeners" to "fans"
[Photo by: Nolan Knight]
We caught up with Julien Baker for issue 353 to talk more about Turn Out The Lights, her whirlwind of a few years—and the relationship she has with her fans or, as she'd prefer to call them, “listeners.”
Read more: 14 saddest lyrics of all time, from Brand New to Knuckle Puck
“It feels almost weird saying 'fans,' because I guess there are fans of my music, but I don't ever want to conceptualize someone as being a fan of me, lest it be something that pads my ego. So I'm always like, listeners. People who listen to my music,” Baker explains.
“Sometimes people will come up to me and talk to me about the songs. Sometimes it's very casual, and people are funny about it, and they're like, 'Hey, your songs mean a lot to me, do you think we could grab a hardstyle photo?' In which case I'm like, 'Sick!'…
“But every once in awhile, maybe one or two times a tour, something super-intense will happen, and I'll get a letter or explanation. Somebody will say, like, 'Hey. You helped me come out,' or 'I just recently got sober, and your music means a lot to me.' Those are the most beautiful, meaningful exchanges that I get.”
In her story, Baker talks more about her new album and how she's using the planet's finite sources of empathy. Pick up the new issue to give her feature a read!
What are your thoughts on Julien Baker's new album? Let us know in the comments below!
