I don't care whether they're men or women, that's bullshit. A good writer can get into any gender, can get into any mouth. When I write I may be a Brando creep, or a girl laying on the floor, or a Japanese tourist, or a slob like Richard Speck. You have to be a chameleon when you're writing.

I don't know why, the very first word on my very first record is 'Jesus.' I still invoke him as an entity to reckon with.

I started resenting how much art robs from life. I'd go to a party and I couldn't enjoy myself, even sexually. All I could think was how I was going to reinvent the experience into a piece of art.

I think some of that hopelessness of my generation got passed on to later generations - the sense of uselessness.

My parents had three kids right after the Second World War, and we were all sort of sickly. Then I had a fourth sibling, with very serious asthma. The medical bills... So my parents always struggled.

Pissing in a river, watching it rise.

I want to be around a really long time. I want to be a thorn in the side of everything as long as possible.