When everything is lonely I can be my best friend.

I think in a lot of ways unconditional love is a myth. My mom's the only reason I know it's a real thing.

As long as I can buy records and books and maybe some clothes, I'm pretty stoked. I don't need a yacht or anything.

On every Bright Eyes record, there's some kind of sound collage that begins it. Some of them have dialogue, some don't. I like it because it can kind of slow down the attention span a bit. It's a way to draw you in to the rest of the record.

When you look at what people consider success in the music industry, it's just terrible music.

I drug your ghost across the country, and we plotted out my death. Every city and memory we whispered "Here is where you rest." Well I was determined in Chicago but I dug my teeth into my knees And I settled for a telephone, sang into your machine: "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.

In a way, to have whatever people talk about as "crossover success," I think it means you start making bad music. I mean, when I'm flipping through the channels and see the VMAs or something, I don't really see any music there.