For me, music was an age/time/place thing. One day I woke up and realized I was done. That was many years ago.

There is no place in the world like Australia. Not even its beautiful neighbor New Zealand.

I am not immune to the lure of a signed record, flier or set list. The fact that your music heroes potentially had, in their own hands, the record you now have in yours is kind of cool. When the musician has departed, it can give the thing a unique power.

People are best on records and books because you can turn them off or put them back on the shelf.

Airports in major cities, like LAX, are trippy environments. It is at once a national and international gathering of those in transition: The euphoric, emerging from planes, their journey at an end, and the determined, about to depart.

The arts in America exist in spite of America, not because of America.

Sometimes when you meet a musician you are a fan of, and he or she isn't the friendliest person, you walk away from the experience wondering if you will ever be able to listen to their music again.