In the most recent episode of the PBS animated series “Blank on Blank,“ musician Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips opens up about a near-death experience he had at the age of 17 and how it spurned him to confront the concept of death on a daily basis. The conversation took place during a 2002 phone interview with award-winning journalist Jennifer Van Evra.

I think the idea of sort of confronting this always present idea that people around you are going to die or you’re going to die or… I think it makes living better, it really does. To me, I hate this notion that I would ever forget of how temporary this whole thing is. You know life is worth celebrating and worth living even though we’re all headed to the same hole at the end of the day. Without sort of coming to terms with it you’re not coming to terms with some of the joys of life at the same time.