If you're religious or not, the world and society lacks as much of community spirit as it had.

I do think that really great music will divide people, and people will love and hate it at the same time.

I think in music there is just something inherently spiritual in singing together and harmonizing, and gospel is the truest form of that.

I have my own goals in my head in terms of things that would be great to happen.

When you write songs, you try to tap into something that isn't straightforward in your head. Whatever you're feeling most strongly about usually comes out in your writing.

No matter how much you love someone, you still want to have you own way.

No matter how hard we try, we are at best imperfect people. When we allow sin, we allow our imperfections to show.

Don't ever let anyone tell you that things can't be changed, that things can't be done. The can and they will, if we are united in what we believe.

Chris Brown beat you because you're not pretty enough.

I wish I was this dark genius artist - like Richard Pryor or something.

It is astonishing how much more people are interested in lengthening life than improving it.

You talk of our having an idea; we do not have an idea. The idea has us, and martyrs us, and scourges us, and drives us into the arena to fight and die for it, whether we want to or not.

Just being alive is such a gift, but nobody ever told you to be thankful to existence.

When I was teaching, I gave a lot of my mind and anxiety to it. There was always something clenched and anxious in me until the classes were over.

It's only rock and roll, my god! It's not rocket science.