I will be the focal point for however long I decide to play. Half of me likes that idea and half of me doesn't, but once the adrenaline kicks in, I'll probably really enjoy it.

When people meet me I think they're surprised to find out I'm not always angst-ridden.

I always hate explaining away songs, because for me they mean something, and for other people, they'll mean something absolutely different.

I lead two totally separate lives. There are times when I have to slip into rock star mode.

Anything that I write comes from the soul.

I don't think I've ever tried to be anything other than a weirdo.

I'm not advocating violence but I think somebody should shoot Simon Cowell.

It creates a conflict of interest - what songs would I use for me, and what would I use for the band.

I do a cover of a Velvet Underground song, and they were one of the most important bands, for me.

When I write love songs, people think they're really soppy - but I see love as a consolation for the boredom of life.

Once I'd chosen the songs, it seemed like it would just be a question then of recording them. But it's a case of trying to re-invent the songs; taking them in different directions.

Religion is the opium of the poor

...And eventually, he (Charles Manson) testified to an empty court, as Bugliosi had convinced the presiding judge Older, that Manson's hypnotic powers might convince the jury he was innocent.

We say in a democracy that good ideas will drive out bad ones, so if the good ones aren't there, we're left with the bad ones

I can't afford to have thoughts in my head about me that God doesn't have in His.

I want to be remembered as someone who tried to bring the story of our ancestors to the broadest possible audience. I want to be remembered as a man who loved his race.

I would love to do some characters that have greater vulnerability. I don't know why. I know I can play these roles, but they're certainly not the only roles I can play.

Over the years a photo-mania developed. At times, photographic images have signaled a way forward and gotten me out of a bind.

Tragically, one of the rarest commodities in our culture is empathy. People are hungry for empathy, They don't know how to ask for it.

Sometimes I spit on my mother's portrait for pleasure.

Probably? So you're asking me to trust my life to steel wool and peanut butter?" "Poisoned peanut butter." "Cal, I don't care if it's nuclear peanut butter.