I think jazz was just seeking respect and validity because a lot of people didn't believe it was a viable art form, and then they got a lot of attention in Europe. A lot of bands that can't catch flies in the US have these followings in Europe, [but] it's less and less the case. American audiences are way more sophisticated and adventurous than anyone thinks that they are.

There is something comforting about going into a practice room, putting your sheet music on a stand and playing Bach over and over again.

I guess I'm attracted to more archaic words because they can be imbued with more meaning, because their definition is elusive.

There's always that struggle between me wanting to keep [song] new and fresh and then be - I can never get with pop songs being so repetitive.

I really believe there's more honesty in one live show than there may be in my whole output.

I'm coming from a place that's more experimental and indulgent already, so for the last 10 years, it's been more like, "How can I defend my own sensibilities by writing a nugget of a little catchy pop song?" That's how I'm stretching myself, by writing something really simple.

Songwriters can sort of get away with murder. You can throw out crazy theories and not have to back it up with data or graphs or research.