The voting booth joint is a great leveler; the whole neighborhood - rich, poor, old, young, decrepit and spunky - they all turn out in one day.

Something about music urges us to engage with its larger context, beyond the piece of plastic it came on-it seems to be part of our genetic makeup that we can be so deeply moved by this art form. Music resonates in so many parts of the brain that we can't conceive of it being an isolated thing.

On a bike, being just slightly above pedestrian and car eye level, one gets a perfect view of the goings-on in one's own town.

I subscribe to the myth that an artist's creativity comes from torment. Once that's fixed, what do you draw on?

That's the one for my tombstone... Here lies David Byrne. Why the big suit?

I came to New York to be a fine artist - that was my ambition.

There's more good music being made now than ever before.