I've turned down songs that would be much easier to play on the radio that I don't think should be on the album. Maybe I've shot myself in the foot.

I started meeting the right people, like [producer] Dave [Okumu], who explained to me how songwriting is really simple - "just like shitting," he said. "You gotta let it all out." When he put it like that, however disgusting it is, it made a lot of sense to me.

I did my dissertation on Kafka.

I feel like I've got far more gay fans in America... Maybe they caught wind that I have a cute Jewish brother who's gay.

Meanwhile, I get to make an album. I feel like I've been very lucky. There is a guilt when I see people I know who work really hard, then I'm like, "Oh, I've got to do an interview today." I'm so appreciative of all of this, but it does feel like the bubble will burst at some point and it will all have been a dream.

Ice cream is my comfort food.

My grandfather was a Russian-Jewish immigrant who lived in Northern Ireland and apparently when he sang in the synagogue he made everyone cry.