Date: April 10, 2011
Author:Tegan Quin
Publication: teganandsara.org
Headline: February 2011 -Ask Tegan

Julia writes:
Hey Tegan!
Say you woke up one morning and discovered that you knew the answers to any question that popped into your head or that someone asked you. If you wondered what your future was going to look like, you'd immediately know. If you wondered who was going to win the Stanley cup, or what song lyrics you should write, they would pop into your head fully-formed. Would you feel happy, being in control and knowing what was what, or would you feel sad, that life had lost some of the joy of uncertainty and pleasant surprises? Also, have you read Fahrenheit 451? It's a good quick read, especially for book lovers.
Thanks,
Julia


Hey Julia,
If I could know the answer to any question I thought of I think it would probably make me very sad. If I had some control over how the world worked along with the ability to see the future perhaps it would be different but...I think knowing everything but not having the ability to change it would be sad. I also think that life would just not work if we knew what was coming next. I am a Virgo and love to be in control so I struggle with now knowing what is coming next, but I work at it and enjoy being in the dark more and more! ha. I will check out the book suggestion! Thanks!
-Tegan

Heather writes:
Hey Tegan,
I was wondering if you and Sara ever wished you could go back and do a video for a song from a previous record? Or, were there songs you wanted to do a video for but just ran out of resources? (time/money/record cycle etc) Thanks so much!
-Heather


Hi Heather,
We definitely always have a few songs we want to do videos for that we don't get around to making and its always about money. The label only approves 3 videos per record usually. I think all of our songs could potentially be great videos as long as we work with the right people. I think The Ocean would have been really fun as a video. I think Where Does The Good Go was SCREAMING for a video too! I don't actually really like making music videos. I feel uncomfortable being an "actor" or on camera but..its fun when its all over with!
Thanks for the question!
-Tegan

Ashley writes:
Hey Tegan!
I've noticed that when Tegan and Sara songs gets covered by signed musicians, it's usually by a male fronted band. For example, Alkaline Trio covering Wake Up Exhausted, Age of Rockets coveringHell, Cancer Bats covering So Jealous etc.Have you noticed this trend? If so, why is it that you think professional musicians who cover Tegan and Sara songs are usually men? P.S. You inspire me.


Ashley,
Thanks for the great question! Lots of girls have covered our music too but you are right when you say that its typically men in signed acts that cover our songs. I think it is more likely that a comparison would be made if a women covers a women whereas a man covering a women sounds so different its easy to allow the song to be its own entity. When we pick songs to cover we often pick POP songs or Male artists to cover because we don't want to reinvent something that sounds like us already. So perhaps that's why?
Thanks!
-Tegan

Christine writes:
Hey Tegan,
I just read this recent interview with Linda Perry and and she said this about her songwriting, which I think is really interesting: "I'll write things and not know what its meaning is for years". I wonder if you can relate to this. Have you ever written something and then years later you had a totally different view on it? I hope this translates, because I'm german. I think I have to thank you not only for the great music you create but also for improving my english with your lyrics, your interviews and your hilarious stage banter. So thank you!


Hey Christine,
Thanks so much for taking the time to send in a question! I definitely feel like there have been songs in my past that I have written and not necessarily known what I was working through or getting at. Sometimes its years later or just when the song itself is complete and I am able to listen back that I am clear on what it was I was trying to convey. Art and music are a place for artists to work through things too and I think sometimes its hard to know what's always happening inside..and so listening back allows me to listen from a different perspective than the one I was writing in.
Take care,
-Tegan

Realtin writes:
"I wish there was a giant red button that said "erase" on it and I could push it at any time and wipe the internet clean of all photos/interviews/videos." This was a quote from Sara in her recent interview with afterellen.com. Do you feel the same way? If you could pick one thing from your life/career that could be erased from the internet what would it be?


Hey Realtin,
Um, I think Sara feels that way more than I do. I don't typically look at those old images or listen to our earlier music so I don't feel as sensitive. I think that I realized a few years ago that we ALL have those photos and moments in our history and that not too many people care or judge those earlier years with much intensity so I've let it go. I do think that the internet has given us so much good stuff but has also allowed our past to never go away. Ha. That can sometimes be tough. But I just try not to think about it. Those crazy hair cuts and weird clothes were cool at the time...so I have to just let it go!
Thanks for the question!
-Tegan

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