A lot of times good, pristine recordings prevent the listener from getting emotionally involved in the music.

When I was very young, I played in a punk-rock band, but I also studied music theory and classical music.

There are so many musicians, friends of mine, who play shows for ten people a night, or always desperately wanted a record contract. So even if every person on the planet loathes me, I have nothing to complain about. My job is not a bad job, so I can't complain.

One of the central flaws in the state of contemporary music is that the major record companies have failed to incorporate that simple fact into their business plans. They've come into an industry that's based on idiosyncratic artists and tried to erase every idiosyncratic aspect out of it.

All of us little bald white guys wearing glasses kind of look the same.

For my most of my career I've been a falling-down drunk. Most of my interviews were done hungover, and for a while it was great.

When you're signed to a big label you're always in the position of convincing them, especially now because labels are barely keeping the lights on, so getting them to spend a little bit of money is really hard.