Lou Reed is the most important definitive writer in modern rock. Not because of the stuff that he does, but the direction that he will take it.

The public, obviously, they takes things in a very simplest fashion and so they should. That's why we have such wonderful television.

And these children that you spit on as they try to change their worlds are immune to your consultations. They're quite aware of what they're going through.

It amazes me sometimes that even intelligent people will analyze a situation or make a judgement after only recognizing the standard or traditional structure of a piece.

I don't know where I'm going from here, but I promise it won't be boring.

I suppose for me as an artist it wasn't always just about expressing my work; I really wanted, more than anything else, to contribute in some way to the culture that I was living in. It just seemed like a challenge to move it a little bit towards the way I thought it might be interesting to go.

I haven't changed my views much since I was about 12, really, I've just got a 12-year-old mentality.When I was in school I had a brother who was into Kerouac and he gave me On The Road to read when I was 12 years old. That's still been a big influence.