If I have a song that I feel is really one of my best songs, I like it to have a formal studio recording because I believe that something being officially released on a studio record gives it a certain authority that it doesn't quite have if it comes out on a live album or is just a part of your show, you know.

I like narrative storytelling as being part of a tradition, a folk tradition.

When I got into "Anna Karenina" and "Brothers Karamazov" and "Crime and Punishment," that was the stuff that - that had a big effect on me, because it was so psychological.

You need two things to remain very, very present. You need to continue to write well and engage yourself in the issues of the day. And you have to continue to make good, relevant records.

If you're good, you're always looking over your shoulder.

I tend to be pessimistic. I want to believe in hope.

Sometimes, at night you could hear the whole damn city crying.