Science is, rightly, searching for drugs to arrest ageing or to slow the advance of dementia. But the evidence suggests that many of the most powerful factors determining how you age come from what you do, and what you do with others: whether you work, whether you play music, whether you have regular visitors.
I've loved music always, and my music fire was lit by Elvis Presley, really, and all that was happening back then.
There are people from lots of different fields in my department. In my lab, they come from computer science, education, psychophysics, psychology, music - and we all work together, and it feels very comfortable. All the careers I've had have been interdisciplinary; working in a studio is like being an engineer and a musician and a therapist.
It's harder to do anything in the public eye now, in terms of if you're worried about scrutiny or being judged negatively. It's not as much of a free ride. If you're someone who's making film or TV or music, or any kind of art form now, there's a billion outlets, and they all have an opinion.
The thing I find frustrating about rock music is, how different can you make an acoustic drum kit sound, an electric guitar and vocals?
It's hard to write music for specific things, because I'm always writing just to write.
The roots of Cuban music are in my head.
I believe that for all of us, there was this one moment in our early life when we started being obsessed about music, somehow feeling how 'big' it is and is what it can give us. For me, this was when I got to be as a 9-year-old on stage, performing in Verdi's Otello in the children's choir.
When I'm meditating on an idea, I try to let the idea completely saturate me to the point where I feel like I'm covering myself in it or totally immersing myself in it, so that everywhere I'm looking, everywhere I'm going, it's through the lens of that idea. And that's sort of what I do with the music - I try to lose myself in it.
I've been gearing up for this future of writing a lot of new music by digging into my favorite old stuff, and twisting it around and highlighting the things I really love.
There was so much great music around in the '60s, stuff like The Small Faces, but I also love The Jam.
Since I was 14, I wanted to make music, but I think I would also have made a good policeman. When I was eight, I wanted to be one so I could tell people off.
Music is always there, but if you're asking me my first love, it's film.
I was raised on gospel. I remember hip-hop and rock music were secular, so basically, for my first ten years living in Detroit, I was on gospel. But when I moved to Houston, that's when I got to open up my musical horizons.
Now that I have a thousand albums in my car all the time, I listen to more music. I was too lazy; I always had the same five discs in there. I'd never think to change it.
Ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to play music that I liked, and even when I was in cover bands when I was a teenager we only played cover tunes that we liked. That was the simple morality that I grew up with.
I don't really know how music and comedy are similar. I try never to dissect it theoretically or academically.
I want to take people away from the ugliness and sadness around us every day and bring beautiful, deep music to as many people as I can.
There's no real music on television unless it's music television, and then it's expensive videos, which people like me can't do.
Just because I grew up a white guy in America doesn't mean that's the music of my life.
Secondarily, I think films that are driven by music also terrify studios.
I wanted to create a bridge between experimental music and pop.
I wouldn't do the music thing if it weren't for my brother, who's a producer. He understands me and helps my vision come to life.
As a musician myself, it annoys the hell out of me to watch an actor trying to play a guitar out of time with the music.
Music is always going to be only as sophisticated as the culture that consumes it.
As an example, one of the schools I have been studying is too small to compete effectively in most sports, but participates with vigor each year in the state music contests.
My son, Walker, has a band called The Dust Busters. You know, he plays banjo, fiddle, guitar, and mandolin, so a lot of my interest in that kind of music comes from him constantly listening to this stuff. He's taught me the history of it. It's remarkable how these young kids are now turned on to more traditional old-time music.
A lot of country music is sad. I think most art comes out of poverty and hard times. It applies to music. Three chords and the truth - that's what a country song is. There is a lot of heartache in the world.
Ultimately, when I go back to the stage, I want to be able to do everything. I want to be able to do music and comedy and all that stuff; that's what all this stuff is leading to.
I've always been a fan of music. I listened to a whole lot of oldies - I never really listened to rap music that much.
I became interested in folk music because I had to make it somehow.
Most game music is based on loops effectively.
I'm not sure it's a better music world of appreciation and performance. I think the listener is a different guy, and listening is something he does in passing, with other stuff going on. There's less care and understanding of the relationship between the song and the listener.
When I started getting so many haters and closed doors, I decided to prove that it could be done. I was a divorced single mother of three at the time and a size 12 - not your typical model artist that labels feel work for the music industry.
The clarinet is not so dominant in Israeli music as it is in klezmer. I heard klezmer when I was growing up, but for some reason I avoided it. I listened to Louis Armstrong instead. But the sense of melody is the connection between jazz and klezmer.
Oh, stuff the critics. I don't care. Too many people are snooty about classical. Look, I wasn't brought up in a home where we listened to classical music. It was a singing teacher that thought it would be best for my voice. Then I moved into crossover. And if that makes the music accessible to more people, then great.
