There's not a lot of precedent for weird, bald musicians in the Lower East Side making records in their bedrooms and going on to sell a lot of copies of the record. Especially if you look at the pop climate.

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.

I'm not Catholic but the Virgin Mary fascinates me because she's like a folk hero.

As a New Yorker you can't help but be proud of the fact that so much music and culture started here. Punk rock, jazz, hip-hop and house music started here, George Gershwin debuted 'Rhapsody in Blue' here; the Velvet Underground are from New York.

I think we’re like farm animals before an earthquake.

Most artists, you know, you spend their entire lives learning how to play music and write songs, and they don't really know how the music business works.

I'd rather be around broken people who have a degree of humility, and just get on with their work.