These Questions Go To Eleven: Lights

Each week ZIO asks a different musician the same 11 questions via email. Visit Zoom In Music weekly for a new installment or subscribe to the RSS feed.

She might not know it yet, but the 22 year-old electro-pop singer-songwriter known as LIGHTS is going to have one hell of a fanclub. As a multi-instrumentalist comic book geek who also stars in the Marvel's motion comics series Audio Quest, the Toronto native is like a living, breathing fanboy fantasy.

With over 17 million plays on her Myspace page, a 2009 Juno Award for New Artist of the Year under her belt, and a debut album, The Listening, that hit American stores last week, she's going straight to the top, too. But as this installment of These Questions shows, she's still possessed of that distinctly Canadian politeness, even when talking about stuff she doesn't like.

1. What music was played in your home while you were growing up?

I was subject to a lot of what my dad was into, like the Beatles, Supertramp, Eric Clapton, Genesis, ELO, and Springsteen. I'm thankful to this day for it because these are some of the great songwriters, and to have their music subconsciously influencing me at a young age probably did me good as a songwriter today.

2. Who is the best artist we have probably never heard of?

One I can think of off the top of my head is Shad, a fantastic Canadian rapper. He's creative and clever and positive. Check out his awesome remake of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air intro on youtube called "The Old Prince Still Lives at Home".

3. What is your favorite song lyric?

"You bring me up to the state of emergency, it's where I want to be." from "Joga", by Björk. So much emotion and meaning packed into so few words.

4. What song do you want played at your funeral?

I wouldn't mind someone throwing on the World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King soundtrack, or maybe the Lord of the Rings soundtrack. That way my death will feel so much more epic than it probably will be. Either that or "Both Sides Now" by Joni Mitchell. "I've looked at clouds from both sides now" will take on a whole new meaning.

5. What is your favorite b-side?

One of my favourite b-sides is "Bloody Well Right" by Supertramp. I remember first hearing it when I was a kid and thinking, "Can you say 'bloody' that many times in one song?" My dad told me it was a British thing.

6. Which medium do you prefer: vinyl, cd, or download?

Call me 2001, but I still love CDs. I love to experience all the artwork and put it on the shelf with all the others. Having a hard copy makes me value the music that much more.

7. Which artist would your fans be surprised to find out you like?

I'm a fan of a lot of different genres, but one of my favourite bands of all time is Rage Against the Machine. It's empowering and energizing to me, and lyrically makes me think. I've also been a long-time fan of Cradle of Filth.

8. What musician would you choose to cover one of your songs?

I can start this one off by saying I would be flattered if anyone wanted to cover my music! But if only one artist in the world was allowed and it was my choice, I would love to hear an Animal Collective version of one of my songs. They would probably add three times as many vocals and five times as many parts, it would be wonderful, and probably far better than my version.

9. Who is the most overrated artist?

Generally I don't get too bitter about people that have seemingly more success than they deserve, because the truth is, real talent and hard work are rewarded with longevity. The artists you still see and hear of today even after many years are there because they deserve it, and their work has sustained them. A flash in the pan phenomenon will not have the same staying power.

10. What musician or band do you wish you’d seen play live in their prime?

I would have loved to see Joni Mitchell in her prime. She's not only got a fantastic voice and songstress (and Canadian!), but she also paved big steps for respectable and credible female musicians today.

11. What non-musical influences do you have?

If you ask me, everything audio has a visual partner. That being said, I'm inspired by artwork and movies and comics, even games. When I was a kid I set up a studio in my attic bedroom, and named it "Starry Night Studios" after the Van Gogh work I had on the wall. Staring into a beautiful piece of art can invoke musical ideas just as much as being in a miserable mood can. I lose my head in comics and in games like World of Warcraft, even old sci-fi flicks like Logan's Run and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. When my head is out there I don't feel boxed in by the silly pop-songwriting box, it's liberating.