I think one of the dangers of humor is becoming seduced by it and sacrificing the story for a few laughs.

The main reason we understand what we're doing is because we're the individuals doing it. One of the things that surprises me is that all the songs are about me, and it's cool that people care.

When you start becoming a pop star, you think, Hold on a second, maybe my life is different now - maybe all these people that I thought of as celebrities are going to be normal, and when I walk into a room I'm going to be really cool and so is everyone else. But that's not what happens at all - I was awkward, and then I just retreated from any social engagement for about a year.

The idea of being part of this tapestry of humanity is a far more enlightening idea for me than believing you are going to this different place when you die. The magic of reality is far more potent.

I'm not reading any novels right now, though not for lack of trying. Unless they're really good, my attention in most novels tends to sputter out after a hundred pages or so - an awful admission for someone who is trying to write one, but it's true.

I like the idea of characters without shame, who hold nothing back.

Music drives me insane, the incessant presence of music in my life. It informs how I see the world; it drives me crazy