I continue to believe, contrary to the given wisdom, that it's more interesting to have an album - or, indeed, an individual song - which has variety rather than homogeneity.

A definition is death. A definition is the answer to which you must look up the question in the back of your book.

The passage of time is a continuing thing. At 18, youre going to live forever, and you are definitely not at 52, so that is a recurring topic. I still think its the main stuff.

He is trying to decide which of two daydreams he will inhabit.

The crucial question one comes back to is the examination; without that experience is meaningless. And I think it's true that society is becoming more and more passive, less and less fired up with enthusiasm, in many spheres.

Being used to scientific terminology and theory it was always natural for me to push this stuff into songs.

Actually I think Art lies in both directions - the broad strokes, big picture but on the other hand the minute examination of the apparently mundane. Seeing the whole world in a grain of sand, that kind of thing.