Sometimes you definitely need to just let go. You need to sort of forget everything.

I want to be accessible to a certain type of person who wants to walk around with their eyes open, or at least is open to the idea of change.

I would always consider myself to be political with a small "p," although it makes me mad when people say politics should be kept out of music.

If you are a Steve Earle and you're up on a platform and there are people out there listening to you, say something to them. Tell them something valuable. Tell them something they need to know. It doesn't have to be dictatorial, it just has to be informative.

Sometimes you definitely need to just let go. You need to sort of forget everything.

Music is politics - it always has been and it always will be.

It would be a horrible business, a horrible sort of culture if you didn't have the candy pop as well as the real hard-hitting stuff. And I love some pop music.