I split it up into working on the two narrative pieces that can tell a story. The scariest thing was whether I'd be any good performing live again. It was such a long time since I'd done any live work. It's so different for me than recording. Every night my audiences were what I would dream of. You could just feel their support.

The great thing about art on any level is that it can speak to all people if it's achieved properly.

Artists shouldn't be made famous. They have this huge aura of almost god-like quality about them, just because their craft makes a lot of money. And at the same time it is a forced importance... It is man-made so the press can feed off it.

I think as a mature artist, you're probably always trying to undo the compromises of one's self [in general]. It's not necessarily to do with youth.

The whole positioning and atmosphere of the song ["King of the Mountain"] was to build up this thunderstorm that would take us all onstage off into a story where we were suddenly in the middle of the ocean.

Clothes are such a strong part of who a human being is.

I haven't actually seen a Lady Gaga tour, but I do think she's very good.