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.

You create a community with music, not just at concerts but by talking about it with your friends.

For years we have been taught not to like things. Finally somebody said it was OK to like things. This was a great relief. It was getting hard to go around not liking everything.

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

I'd like to be known for more than being the guy in the big suit.

Sometimes I write stuff that strangely predicts what's going to happen in my life.

Singing is a trick to get people to listen to music for longer than they would ordinarily.