I'm very blessed, mainly because even though my family is mostly in show business, it's really centered around music. My parents were very successful in many ways, but they weren't necessarily top of the charts. We were never wealthy because of music. We always had to work and we always had to struggle a little bit, and I think at the end of the day that's been very good for me, because I have a sense of it being very ephemeral.

I find so many songwriters today are missing an element ... either the production is amazing but the songs aren't, or it's the other way around.

And you will believe in love And all that it's supposed to be But just until the fish start to smell And you're struck down by a hammer.

I think I've done a pretty fantastic job, but of course I want to sell millions of records.

My greatest experiences in the theatre and the most religious experiences in my life - of which going to the opera is one for me - have been with the Romantic composers' repertoire: it's Wagner, it's Strauss, Verdi, Puccini. That era gets me every time.

Being uncool is being pretty much the coolest you can be.

Some people go to Berlin to get more cutting edge; I went and started wearing lederhosen and going to visit baroque palaces.