The best I can say is that it's better for me to write about despair and darkness than to be incapable of getting off the sofa. It's better to write about suicide than to contemplate it too heavily.

A rock'n'roll band needs to be able to get under people's skin. You should be able to clear the room at the drop of a hat.

I forever felt that I've fallen right between the crack of way too young for the first generation of classic rock 'n' roll and too old to be brand-new. It's hard.

The ones that love us least, are the ones we'll die to please.

The soul of rock 'n' roll is mistakes, and making mistakes work for you. The people who shy away from mistakes and play it safe have no business playing rock 'n' roll.

Stick with your heart and you'll be fine.

Reading music is like listening to flowers. I don't understand the concept.

Nobody can miss you unless you go away.

It's fun, but the fun is where it always was. I mean, it's still fun to strap on my Les Paul in the basement and turn up the Marshall amp. I'm still 15. I still enjoy that as much as I ever did.

The hack songwriter will write the absolute truth every single word, whether it makes a great song or not.

I'm beyond caring what anyone expects of me anymore.

But I was learning forgiveness didn’t have to be about granting absolution for sins but being able to find freedom from pain.

If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is the significance of a clean desk?

As far as a job, actors get treated a lot better than writers so I definitely prefer acting. A writer has to make his own coffee and an actor has somebody bring them coffee.

I used to get drunk in venues after my shows and sign the walls "Ed was here." So if you see that, it was me.

But the truth is, I've never wanted to be a movie star - and I've been pretty clear about that.

Beauty is something we can affirm and intend to have more of. What happens then is our perceptual ability, no matter where we are, expands in that direction.

The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.

I simply want to tell the story of my experiments with truth...as my life consists of nothing but those experiments.

If you use Hollywood as the test tissue for mankind, what could the prognosis be?

I root for all movies, but I especially root for good comic book movies. It's the best, most interesting genre going right now.