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There’s a point in Jack Antonoff’s new Bleachers album, everyone for ten minutes, when you notice that it sounds like he’s tracing the map back to the band’s beginnings. Speaking with Kyle Meredith, Antonoff unpacked how the record accidentally became an origin story, starting with the DIY experiences of his teenage years before spiraling into grief, fractured relationships, hope, and the weird randomness of existence itself. Somewhere in there, the guy behind records by Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, and Lorde also ended up writing what might be his most personal Bleachers album yet. Listen to the episode above orwherever you get your podcasts.
“The first two songs are very specifically about leaving,” Antonoff says, explaining how the record unexpectedly formed a narrative once he stepped back from it. “I remember leaving for my first tour and feeling like I was leaving the ancestral pact.” That idea hangs over much of the album, especially as he reflects on generations shaped by survival, stability, and practicality instead of art. “The point of life for generations was just to live,” he says. “This idea of dreams and passions were so dangerous.”
But Antonoff doesn’t stay in despair for long. In fact, he argues that hope keeps sneaking into his writing whether he intends it or not. “The act of writing is hopeful,” he explains. “You wouldn’t do it if you didn’t believe.” That philosophy ties directly into advice he once got from Bruce Springsteen: “’If you spend your life touring and making albums, that’s a great life.’ Sounds silly, but you know, nowadays it’s like you have to do all these things. Like, I don’t want to be an actor… I don’t want to have a fucking clothing line. But what once used to be called a Renaissance person has now become almost the norm. And I really just always every day, every day I say I just want to make records and tour. As if that’s like some fucking trad shit.”
The conversation eventually lands on religion, community, and Antonoff’s belief that live music has become one of the last genuinely spiritual experiences left standing. “I think what I do and what the band does on stage is closer to Jesus Christ’s version of church than any of these fucking megachurches I see,” he says. “Love, community, honesty, taking care of each other… You know, no one starts a war in the name of music. Bunch of idiot fans online, but you know, no one’s dying.” Elsewhere, he talks about the fearlessness that followed losing people at a young age, admitting it changed how seriously he takes failure. “Try holding a dead person,” Antonoff says bluntly. “Failure is not that big a deal.”
Listen to Jack Antonoff talk about Bleachers’ everyone for ten minutes, and more in the new episode above or by watching the video below.
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