I play music a lot but on my own mostly, so it was nice to be around other people. There was a certain sense a relief in the physical act of just playing and being with other musicians.

When I'm singing I try not be a singer with a capital S. I just try to get it out so I feel comfortable with it.

I was a latecomer to politics. Maybe I'm just very slow. I got to everything when everyone else had left.

What I like about popular culture is its accessibility, and I've covered popular songs because they are amazing things.

On the whole, I tend not to listen to my peers.

I don't find the business easy. The moment you start talking about the business, you start sounding like someone in Spinal Tap.

I understand why Vladimir Putin is very popular in Russia - he's probably the first Russian leader to not apologize for being Russian. People always pin it down to one man, but there's hundreds of millions of Russians of various sorts. Putin does seem to be very popular in Russia, if only because he stands up for Russians wherever they are, which is exactly what Americans do with Americans, of course.