It was like I was asking for attention, but I didn't really want attention.

What could be more experimental than me writing a straight up love song?

A lot of Appalachian music has a certain haunted, foggy feel to it; a certain sinister quality. And that transcends who is singing it. I think it's good if an artist can represent some kind of culture that they either aspire to ignite, or that they themselves experience.

When you listen to the Anthology of American Folk Music, or anything like that - a compilation of garage bands from the Northeast in the early '60s - you're not necessarily listening to the band and thinking about the lead singer, or the story of the group, or the context or the mythology of the group. You're just listening to the song and whether or not it has a hook.

I collaborate a little bit with different aspects of my own mind. I kick my own ass instead of kicking other people's asses.

I've been going through some personal things that have stirred up a lot of old wounds.

I don't have anything to prove.