I resent the implication that I'm less of a musician and a worse person for not appreciating certain works.

Real sadness is such an all-encompassing intense thing that it takes you out of your humdrum existence. If you can still function, you want to show it while it's peaking. So when people tell you to cheer up, it's not always the best thing.

Why not invest in the future of music, instead of building fortresses to preserve its past?

It's not music you would use to get a girl into bed. If anything, you're going to frighten her off.

Analysis is like a lobotomy. Who wants to have all their edges shaved off?

My favorite term for a new kind of performance is "security theater." In this genre, we watch as ritualized inspections and patdowns create the illusion of security. It's a form that has become common since 9/11, and even the government agencies that participate in this activity acknowledge,off the record, that it is indeed a species of theater.

I've never had writer's block.