If there is a perfect book to start the year with it has to be Rebecca Mead's My Life in Middlemarch.

First love is alright, as far as it goes. Last love – that’s the one I’m interested in.

The problem for most people as they get older is that they start to buy into their own bullshit to the extent that they just have to eliminate from their inner sanctum anyone who is going to really challenge it. But I think all bandmates of U2 were lucky enough to have the four of us respect and regard each other to the extent that we're kind of always looking out for one another, so none of us can get away with buying into the bullshit.

I'm a minimalist at heart. If a song doesn't need a solo, I'm not going to force one into it.

Running my hands really fast up and down the fretboard... I mean, anybody can do that. It's the Guitar Olympics, and I can't think of anything more pointless.

A trumpet sounds pretty much like a trumpet, and that's true of a lot instruments; pianos sound like pianos, but there's something about the guitar - the range of possibilities is much broader.

Advertising and art are getting all mixed up. I think some of the most exciting pieces of TV are the commercials.