Courtney Barnett
Courtney Barnett
Courtney Melba Barnett is a singer-songwriter and guitarist from Melbourne, Australia. Known for her witty, rambling lyrics and deadpan singing style, she attracted attention with the release of her debut EP, I've Got A Friend Called Emily Ferris. International interest from the UK and North American music press came with the release of The Double EP: A Sea Split Peas in October 2013. At her well-received performances at the CMJ Music Marathon, Barnett was mentioned by both Rolling Stone and...
NationalityAustralian
ProfessionRock Singer
Date of Birth3 November 1987
CountryAustralia
I hate going anywhere. I'm really excited to travel and play all these different places, but if I had it my way, I would stay inside, maybe go to the back garden or walk around the corner to the shops. That's it.
When I was on the road with Billy Bragg, it was cool because I was doing the whole thing solo and travel a lot by myself, which I quite like. I mean, I love being with friends, but it's kind of nice having that alone time.
You can't read when you're traveling with other people; it always feels a bit rude.
What's funny about the slacker thing, people project an image of what they think a musician is: young, slack, unemployed - like a really romantic idea of a poet, writer or musician - which isn't really true a lot of the time. I don't reckon you would know anything about me if I wasn't moderately hard-working.
When I started Milk! Records, it was a pretty non-profit making venture.
Everyone writes in whatever way feels comfortable to them. People write songs because maybe they don't feel so comfortable talking about whatever matters.
I grew up listening to hipster jazz and classical records... we went and watched ballet and orchestras - lots of cool stuff. Which I'm really grateful for - it's pretty nice being introduced to that when you're little.
Obviously, the more you tour, the more comfortable you get.
Leaving the house is a big enough occasion for me, so getting on a plane and flying across the world and playing to a room full of people is just out of this world.
I have a normal life; I don't do anything crazy.
Dad sometimes sends me texts saying, 'Just heard you on the radio, thumbs up', or whatever. So that's pretty cute.
We're a very success-driven culture, which is such a downer at times. Even if you don't think that way, you're forced to think that way. Everyone is trying to subconsciously out-do everyone else.
Sometimes I have something stuck in my head and that directs the rhyme that I'm writing with.
I grew up listening to Nirvana, and then went through some bad 90s pop stuff - a lot of Australian one-hit wonders.