I was grateful to be away from all that familiarity, to have a chance to do something anonymously.

A year's a long time, but it also flickers past in no time at all.

And of course, pop music is all about memorability and simplicity and positive messages and a little dash of joy.

I wrote the album [Metals] in the fall. In about four months, I went from zero to finished. It usually takes forever.

I've never been drawn to concert DVDs because they take away the part of the equation that's most important to seeing a live show: getting jostled around and feeling the energy in the room. I definitely didn't want to make one of those.

I said I'd stop for a year, which was inconceivable to me and everyone around me. It seemed like so long. But then, after that year, I looked up and I still hadn't gotten my land legs back at all.

Now, there's just so much imagery. Imagine what our grandkids are going to be able to see of us?