I think everyone's pretty much the same underneath. The collective unconscious is a real thing. There's only a few emotions, and we all have them. There's, like, seven emotions. So personal is universal. Everyone experiences confusion, joy and pain, just in different forms.
A heart that hurts is a heart that works.
If you want to achieve things in life, you've just got to do them, and if you're talented and smart, you'll succeed.
I've finally learned to love my voice for its uniqueness.
I don't make money on the road, and so there's less and less incentive for me to do it when I don't have that adolescent desire for whatever it is, glory or fame.
Harmonies come really naturally to me. I don't have to labor too hard over them. I'll sing a lead vocal, and then I will immediately have all of these other ideas for vocal harmonies. I think that some of the most fun parts of recording, for me, are the vocal harmonies.
The first kiss between two people is something really good in life.
I tend to fall for the archetypal, talented, charismatic rock boy.
I've been embarrassing myself publicly for over 20 years. Why should I stop now?
I find myself a fascinating subject.
Some of the songs are so crazy, the words are so crazy... it's hard to believe I was so crazy.
What does it mean to a person whose identity is very wrapped up in the music she makes, if her worth is measured by how many records she sells?
My soul is fine, thanks.
I'm totally committed to the cause of individuality. That's the only thing I stand by: independence.
David Ortiz is a genius. He's incredible to watch. Over and over, he hits home runs that are simply transcendent.
Once I picked up an electric guitar, I lost interest in piano, and I just wanted to rock. I studied piano for so long, I got burned out on it.
As long as there are religions, there are going to be people who are hiding their rottenness behind the veil of religion.
People in L.A. don't have to brace themselves against the cold; they slack off permanently, and their brains turn to mush.
Popular culture is filled with girls.
To make big steps, you've got to take action yourself and not listen to other people.
I'm a neo-Luddite.
Songwriting is like editing. You write down all this stuff - all this bad, stupid stuff - and then you have to get rid of everything except the very best.
In this world, where everything happens so fast, it's hard to sit back, take the time and contemplate.
For a long time, music was hope. Now it seems music isn't enough to make me happy. It used to be that's all I needed to keep going. Now I need other things to take up the other parts of my life.
I love playing in front of people. I feel powerful, 'cause I don't have to really say anything - I'm just singing.
I want to paint. That is probably going to sound so pretentious coming from someone who's been a musician.
Everything's been a struggle for me.
My guitar playing has not developed as much as I think it could because I never practice. I only play when I'm writing or recording or when I'm playing on tour. When I'm sitting around at home, I never play.
I could make a whole album with no one else involved at all. It would be a total, unadulterated expression of myself. Because whenever you have others playing on a project, their influence becomes a part of it.
What happens when your dream comes true - when the spotlight is on and then it moves away?
I don't think I'm romantic at all. I have a lot of faith in the right thing happening. I don't really hope for a lot of particulars, I just have faith that the right thing will happen most of the time.
Music is so hard. It's a struggle to get people to care. It's hard to make an impact in today's world because people aren't buying records anymore.
I never felt happy with the idea that part of what I do is to be an object to be looked at. I thought of my public persona as an entity separate to myself.
My whole life was writing, recording and touring over and over again. At some point I realised I wasn't enjoying myself any more.
I'm not a very good advice-giver.
I'm full of contradictions.