(Not to mention all over EWsBest Albums of 2017list.)

I didnt do it because I wanted to fill my time.

I did it because thats just how life works.

You worked on many of these projects at the same time.

Its very easy to keep those separate.

The part where there is a thread is what you learn from people.

Its more that you watch someone be very open, and then youre more inspired to be open.

I see the thread, but its not something thats necessarily obvious to other people.

I dont have specific sounds that I like.

You dont think theres a Jack Antonoff sound?

I never hear it in the moment, like, That so me!

Ive heard other people say that.

Im fascinated by it.

I wish I could hear it.

I go out there and find a lot of different sounds and bring them back.

I hear the way they play drums and take it back to my little studio at home.

I went out to Atlanta and messed around with theOrganized Noizeguys for a while.

Im really proud of that.

Lorde and I put that right before the bridge on Sober.

Its so random, but its not just a cool production trick.

The song would be less without it.

You work mostly fromyour home studio.

I never want to lose that.

I know producers who rent out 25,000-person arenas and listen to the way sh sounds on those speakers.

It makes total sense, if you think about it.

But Im more effective coming from a place of Imagine if everyone heard this!

not Everyone is going to hear this.

What were thereputationsessions like?

An album or song should feel that way too.

The sessions were just her and I.

She is great at remembering the heart and soul of the process.

Some people forget it sometimes something works and everyone starts to rewire it.

Would you start from scratch or would she show up with ideas and demos?1989was different.

I would send her tracks, and she would write to that.

We didreputationsitting in the room together.

Things would just happen in the room.

It was a special time.

The last song on the album, New Years Day, doesnt sound like anything else on the record.

Not only that, but it was the quickest [song to record].

You hear things clicking.

Those are the scratch takes we did that very quickly.

But we just sat there:Thats the song.

You want a song to sound like itself.

You dont want to get the perfect tune.

You dont want to get the absolute perfect vocal take or the perfect panning or compression.

You just want it to sound like itself.

You want to feel like youre home within the song.

You just want the song to feel like itself.

I dont know what we would be thinking if we tried to f with it.

Im so proud of it because, personally, I think its some sort of hint at the future.

In the past youve expressed some discomfort with the idea of being this juggernaut pop hitmaker.

But my way of doing it is: I would never write a song for someone.

I would write a songwithsomeone.

Ive always had no clue about how that part of the industry works and, truthfully, no interest.

Why would I want to sit down and write a Rihanna song?

I dont want to write a Rihanna song.

I dont know what Rihanna wants.Sheknows what she wants.

Theres this idea that, out in California, there are these factories of music, and there are.

The records I make are made in one room with one other person.

In my space, we just craft it to be something that we think is worth standing behind.

Its not a diss on anyones process.

Its not what I do.

Its a different industry.

I dont pull up Spotify playlists.

I dont look at whats happening on the charts.

I wasnt in L.A. trying to write pop songs over and over again.

I want to ask you about touring this Bleachers album.

The worst thing in life is when you dont feel.

Im celebrating having been through something.

Its worth celebrating to me.

That is the connection.

The tour has been the best.

Ive never enjoyed touring more in my life.

Its a wave that you’re able to ride.

Sometimes its tears, and sometimes its screaming.

[But everyone is] there for the same reason.

Its really pure, and its a big part of whats keeping my head up these days.

The way I saw it was, I wanted to make this big absurd gesture about moving on.

From the fan perspective, it was one of the greatest things I ever did, I think.

I shared a really big part of myself with people.

It was a beautiful, beautiful thing.

And it was small.

Only a couple thousand people got to see it.

Now its gone, and that was the whole point.

I loved the rapid speed with which things can reach people these days, but that shouldnt be everything.

Certain things should exist in legend.

I took the bedroom out on one tour, and if you saw it, you saw it.

It was about that moment, and that moment is over.

Theres no bedroom anniversary tour in 20 years.And I think you need that.

Not everything is meant to be monetized, not everything is meant to be mass-produced.

From the very start I was like, No, no nothing.

Were going to lose money on this, and thats fine, but its strictly an art project.

If people think its goofy, thats a bummer.

If they get it, that will be really beautiful.

But this isnt going to be so-and-sos exclusive.

It was what it was.