Yeah, it's pretty hard not to be completely cynical these days.

I'm drawn to the stuff that's maybe a little bit on the fringe. Part of that is just practical sometimes. We can't compete with the major labels for some acts, so you figure, "Okay, what could I introduce to people, or what do I like that is within my means?"

If I'm feeling that I have an angle or something to say or something where in a way I'm having a conversation with myself, that's immensely pleasurable.

Well, Marx is having a comeback. I hear him mentioned a lot in terms of the global financial situation and the general sense of injustice out there. A lot of economic experts in America refer to him without actually using the M word, but he's around.

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

To some extent I happily don't know what I'm doing. I feel that it's an artist's responsibility to trust that.

The arts don't exist in isolation.