I love the sad songs with their maudlin, self-deprecating, almost funny lyrics. As an Englishman, they make a lot of sense.

Most artists never get a chance to be Picasso, but that doesn't mean you would stop painting.

The state of radio is not great. It's like playing the lottery. The chances of hitting are mind boggling slim.

I come from a place where there's a lot of musical families.

I'm never worried about being upstaged. I love to have the best, most individual people come in and see if we hit on something.

For a long time I was trying to be poppier and younger. I didn't want to be on public radio or do any of that stuff for older people. Then I realized that that is exactly what I listen to.

I don't try to stop myself from becoming too personal. I just put it all out there. If anything, I try to remind myself to be as honest as possible all the time. Why hold back?

Country music was the music I was brought up on. It's the music that's closest to my heart and the music that speaks to me the most, and it's always been a big influence on my own songwriting.

Everyone's different, but it was fun for me to work with Garth Hudson. He's from 'The Band.' They are a massive influence, that was a big thrill. He's completely out of his mind.

I do think it's probably true to a certain extent that you tend to sing music that fits your voice. If you're Lou Reed, you're unlikely to become a country singer.

Even for the people in the business who are real music lovers it's really about putting things in the right boxes, and my style doesn't fit into a box.

The madness of faith is a very different thing from the madness of Enlightenment Reason.

A lie is the most sacred private property on Earth. Governments claim it is not theirs, and that their critics are the rightful owners.

Supercomputers will achieve one human brain capacity by 2010, and personal computers will do so by about 2020.

Arts, crafts and sciences uplift the world of being, and are conducive to its exaltation. Knowledge is as wings to man's life, and a ladder for his ascent. Its acquisition is incumbent upon everyone.

We came from the sea originally, now we're going back in it. Don't go in it, unless you're in a boat.

Sell practical, tested merchandise at a reasonable profit, treat your customers like human beings - and they will always come back.

Life is a tightrope between two errors: generalizing the wrong particular and particularizing the wrong general.

Look to see what you most desire in your life, then ride that feeling all the way to creation.

Those things that are the most obvious are the very things we've most likely to overlook.

The foundation of the true joy is in the conscience.