There is a dysfunctional strangeness to Los Angeles that doesn't exist in any other western city. The roads are crumbling, no-one knows what they're doing, the city government barely works.

The good thing about working alone is I get a lot done and I can experiment more. The bad thing is I miss out on the gregarious, social way that most musicians work.

One simple word: ugh. Is something still considered a conspiracy if it's played out right under our noses?

My reason for becoming a vegetarian was simple: I loved (and love) animals

I'm envious of people who can sleep as long as they want. I have the circadian rhythm of a farmer.

The good thing about not being drop-dead gorgeous is that as time passes, I don't have much to worry about. I have friends who are actors and every day they look in the mirror with trepidation.

Could you look an animal in the eyes and say to it, 'My appetite is more important than your suffering'?

I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I'll go to it laughing.

Ignorance is the parent of fear.

Dogs have boundless enthusiasm but no sense of shame. I should have a dog as a life coach.

I like noise. It's always puzzled me why one of the goals of contemporary recording is to get rid of noise and to eliminate any element of a performance.

If men were necessary in the procreation process, they'd have gone the way of the dodo bird long ago.

I just don't want to die the same day Castro dies

I started writing one afternoon when I was twenty, and ever since then I have written every day. At first I had to force myself. Then it became part of my identity, and I did it without thinking.

We always long for the forbidden things, and desire what is denied us.

I lost everything. When I was 28 years old, I lost my home, my job, my partner. I had many people die in my life. I felt like a total victim.

At least in my case, a very simple, regular, happy life makes for better writing.

I don't think anyone cares whether you're working or not. I have the luxury now of not having to support anyone and not really needing a whole lot of money.

It's a very bad thing when people exterminate other people, and people persecute minorities.

Nothing inspires more reverence and awe in me than an old man who knows how to change his mind.

The God of religion exists only in our minds. The real God exists but we can never comprehend him in our minds