It seems like the more I punish myself, the better it's been. What it is, I'm relentless and I never give up. I never take the easy way out.

As a young concert-going person, I was never enamoured with celebrities who would walk out to feature in certain songs and then walk off.

I've created several musical trends, really. That's not because I'm so far out and fabulous. It's because most bands have no ideas of their own. They're so desperate they'll grab at any old straw.

Americans being upright and forthright and honest and true to themselves is a very hard concept.

I love books, and all the best ones are people analysing their own emotions. You can learn from that.

Until I see an Arab country, a Muslim country, with a democracy, I won't understand how anyone can have a problem with how they're treated.

I mean, the genuine roots of culture is folk music.