A lot of cities are making a real effort, neighborhood by neighborhood, to make themselves into a place where life can be pretty good.

The imminent demise of the large record companies as gatekeepers of the world's popular music is a good thing, for the most part.

This ain't no party, this ain't no disco, this ain't no fooling around.

The idea of making music from an imaginary culture was to give ourselves a set of restrictions and parameters within which to work. Otherwise, we might have just gone on all kinds of creative detours, some of which might have been interesting. But better we confine ourselves to something.

As I define it, rock and roll is dead. The attitude isn't dead, but the music is no longer vital. It doesn't have the same meaning. The attitude, though, is still very much alive - and it still informs other kinds of music.

I couldn't talk to people face to face, so I got on stage and started screaming and squealing and twitching.

I'm afraid that everything will get homogenized and be the same