I always worry that I'm a dilettante: I know something about lots of things but don't have exhaustive knowledge of much.

I know it's a cliché to say I write for myself, but I write for myself.

I get nostalgic about having lived in Ames, Iowa, even though being a vegetarian in Iowa is not fun.

People will complain that they don't want to wait around for lightning to strike, but why not? If you invest yourself in chance, the potential for disappointment is pretty low.

In the present political situation, it's an interesting phenomenon to look at: what is the appeal of an autocratic leader? Why do people want somebody who yells at them? For most of us, that's so hard to understand. Who wants that? I think there are a lot of people for whom that fulfills some kind of need.

You can get really good reads on your dreams if you think of every character in them as actually being you.

The studio's a collaborative environment. I just try to let people bring their own ideas to the songs and see what happens.