What do you actually need? Food, clothing and shelter. Everything else is entertainment.

People in the Middle East may consider the U.S. an evil hegemony that has tainted their culture, but when I look at the growth of racial and ethnic tolerance and understanding in my generation in the U.S., and see those sentiments make it around the world, it makes me feel proud.

The Internet helps break down so many barriers. People start to see what's happening around the world, they feel more of a oneness and they get information all at the same time, so that helps.

When I started out, I wrote the songs, recorded the songs, mastered, mixed, did the artwork, made the packaging and did the distribution, all myself. Now I understand what everyone's jobs are, who is doing them right, and who isn't.

We live in an era of consumerism and it's all about desire - based consumerism and it has nothing to do with things we actually need. What do you actually need? Food, clothing and shelter. Everything else is entertainment. It's just the idea that we're so wasteful. I think a lot of self - identity and inner - personal development is hampered by consumerism and capitalism because we see ourselves as a reflection of the TV, rather than as a reflection of the people who are around us, truly.

Music critics think of lyrics first and don't consider melody but so many songs are lyrically depressing but musically great, and that's why they become classics.

Music, especially as an adolescent, helps to build identity because that's when people start developing a sense of self. You can kind of tell based on what music a person listens to what kind of person they'll be pretty much for the rest of their life.