Inside your own self pity there you swim, in sinking down to drown her voice still haunts you, and only with your laughter can you win.

My name had gone stale, and no matter how progressive I got, it was my time to die.

Americans have decided to be stupid and shallow since 1980.

Rachmaninoff made a musician out of me. His 'Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini' was the piece that sent me into raptures. It spoke to me. To me, it was a tender entreaty for the misunderstood.

I wrote 'Big Yellow Taxi' on my first trip to Hawaii. I took a taxi to the hotel and when I woke up the next morning, I threw back the curtains and saw these beautiful green mountains in the distance. Then, I looked down and there was a parking lot as far as the eye could see, and it broke my heart this blight on paradise. That's when I sat down and wrote the song.

The Beginning of Survival is my best album. I am very proud of it, and I am surprised at it, too. I thought some of Travelogue was a little heavy, but I don't think this is heavy.

Eventually, with success, I started to feel more and more isolated - like I didn't have a community of artists.