We spend millions of dollars to remove pain from our lives. It's why so many people get hooked on painkillers. The body becomes addicted to painlessness. That tells you a lot.

If I'm in L.A. for longer than 20 days, I'm looking for work, because I don't do vacations.

Cynicism is only intellectual sloth.

It took me until my teenage years to realize that I was medicating with music. I was pushing back against my stupid school uniform, instructors who called me by my last name and my classmates, who, while friendly enough, were not at all inspiring.

I would like to be able to gently drift in and out of existence when I wanted to.

As far as what people think of me, maybe my stuff should just be put online for free downloads when I'm gone.

If you have an idea of what you want to do in your future, you must go at it with almost monastic obsession. [...] You have to go at it single-mindedly and let nothing get in your way.