He emailed me the other day, actually. I guess he heard I had signed a deal to write this book, and he was like: Congratulations, my friend. I’m very much looking forward to reading the finished product.

I’d actually be really interested to hear what he has to say about it, you know, because in a way, like, this book is meant for him. I mean, I have no idea what I’m doing here. I just sit down every once in a while and try to knock out some pages that feel honest, you know, that express something truthful, but the best thing that could come of all this is that someone like Oddvar thinks it’s dope.

One thing I was thinking about recently is like: This will be the first thing I’ve ever created that people can’t play in the background, you know? If you’re reading this book, you’re reading this book. That’s what you’re doing. It’s not like it’s just gonna start playing over the sound system while you’re in the frozen yogurt shop or like, waiting for the dentist or whatever. I mean, sure, yeah, someone could use the book in a way that it wasn’t intended for—they could use it as a doorstop or like, kill a spider with it—but the only way you’re really gonna experience the book is if you sit down with it and read it.

With music, it’s like, sometimes that shit is just forced on you. Sometimes, you’ll be in a restaurant, and you’ll be eating with this girl, and they’ve got music playing in the background, but you haven’t noticed it because the two of you are vibing, and, like, you’re having this next-level conversation and you’re feeling pretty good about where the night is headed, and then, all of a sudden, like, one of your songs comes on, and the whole restaurant turns around and looks at you. They’ve all known that you’ve been there the whole time. Like, obviously, they all tracked that you were there when you first walked in, but they’ve been cool about it up until now, because, you know, when you’re in that kind of restaurant, the people eating there don’t really freak out that easily over celebrities, or at least, like, they’re rich enough or “in the scene” enough to know that that wouldn’t really be a good look for them. But now your song is playing over the sound system, and you’re right there, and so they can’t hold it together anymore. Everyone feels like they just have a total pass to turn around in their chairs and stare at you like: What’s he gonna do? What’s gonna happen? And it’s like: What are they expecting, you know? Do they think I’m gonna start singing along? Do they think I’m gonna get up on the table and do the dance routine from the video? But you know, that’s music. That’s what it’s like to put sounds out into the world.