It was a nice relief to be able to work on individual songs.

You can't really come into a concept record objectively, because you immediately associate it with Yes, stuff from the 1970s that punk rock kicked against, the pretentiousness.

I wish I had a better range, but I really have a super-limited one. Barely a tenor, dips into baritone - that's about it.

An old bandit adage: A bell is a cup until it is struck.

Prog-rock and concept records and some ambitious projects were kind of anathema post-punk. They were destroyed with the advent of punk rock. You don't necessarily need to have a degree in music composition to play in a rock band anymore, which is a great thing.

If Broadway musicals were as popular as they were in the 20s, 30s, and 40s, then people like Sufjan Stevens and Iron & Wine would be writing for Broadway, which would be amazing. As it stands, it's the worst stuff that's mired in pop music.

Music has been already devalued by the consumer. There's an expectation that it should be free so the race to the bottom has already been won.