To me, a political song is also a personal song. Most political activism has been driven by empathy for other people and the desire for a world that's less divisive. Even if songs aren't overtly political, they can make a listener more empathetic.

I need some meaning I can memorize. The kind I have always seems to slip my mind.

Since the songs were written over a five-year period, I think these are little snapshots. Some people call it political or topical, but I think each song is self-contained. I think it fits together as a picture of the last half-decade of time.

Cause a costume can be comfortable It can make you feel more beautiful It can even make you look like someone else But it's still you, so there's nothing you can do Like a bad habit, the one you couldn't kick, there it always is And it's nothing that no doctor's gonna fix.

It seems like everything I do musically I tend to lose a few fans and gain a few fans, and it all kind of evens out.

I kind of go in waves with reading. Sometimes I read all the time, and sometimes I can't get settled enough to focus.

I do think that music has a special ability to get behind enemy lines and win hearts and minds.