I knew that I had to find my own voice, both figuratively and literally.

It wasn't my natural inclination to get into writing protest songs.

Zen Buddhism is a discipline where belief isn't necessary.

Sometimes a little compromise isn't a bad thing. You don't need to be precious about it.

The public so often want to freeze the artist in a moment in time when they were at their peak, and they want the artist to revisit it over and over again as if it was something authentic.

I like to explore a lot of textural, arrangement aspects in the studio.

I don't listen to a lot of music any more and even the people I've loved for years - the Nick Drakes of this world - I can't go back to them and listen to them over and over.

Creating a decent pop song is a challenge - and occasionally, once in every decade - it's kind of fun to do that.

I'm obsessed with books.

During the lifetime of Japan I became very neurotic, very paranoid.

Passion warms up the soup of love cold in the vessel of the soul

Greatness rarely comes easy.

Guilt: I'm sorry. I made a mistake. Shame: I'm sorry. I am a mistake.

Let me in, immigration man, can I cross the line and pray, I can stay another day? Won't you let me in, immigration man? I won't toe your line today, I can't see it anyway.

Mr. President, we've taken off our "Kick Me" sign.

I'm certainly much happier when I feel that the work is good.

However, when it can be proved to me that there is immortality, that there is resurrection beyond the gates of death, then will I believe. Until then, no.

Someone left the cake out in the rain. I don't think that I can take it, cause it took so long to bake it, and I'll never have that recipe again. Oh, no.

Men are shallow - we don't remember things like women do. Or we don't bring it up and blurt it out at inappropriate moments. When bridges are trying to be built, we don't detonate them.

Men will die for an opinion as soon as for anything else.