There was never a golden era of American radio as far as I can tell.

Sometimes I'm confused by what I think is really obvious. But what I think is really obvious obviously isn't obvious.

I've always felt that sexuality is a really slippery thing. In this day and age, it tends to get categorized and labeled, and I think labels are for food. Canned food.

Super casual music listeners. That's most of the people in the world. And you have to understand, that's why Top 40 radio exists. It's not there for people who seek out music and who love music.

A wise man once said, 'The skill in attending a party is knowing when it's time to leave.'

Love, love will be my strongest weapon

The only thing to fear is fearlessness.

Sometimes before we make a record I go back and listen to a few. It's equally humbling and uplifting.

Be yourself. Follow your heart. I know it sounds obvious, but it's the best advice at anyone ever. Take advice from other people, but take from it what feels right for you.

Never eat broccoli when there are cameras around.

My feeling is that labels are for canned food... I am what I am - and I know what I am.

The sun that warms is also the sun that burns.

The ecstatic beauty and soulful grace of Rumi’s poetry inspires human hearts to believe in possibilities beyond the predictably fatal.

Most of us can as we choose make of this world either a palace or a prison.

All my big mistakes are when I try to second-guess or please an audience. My work is always stronger when I get very selfish about it.

I will have my voice: Indian, Spanish, white. I will have my serpent's tongue - my woman's voice, my sexual voice, my poet's voice. I will overcome the tradition of silence.

What I try to do is produce an atmosphere where musicians want to invest in what they do and give to the recording. I hire those musicians who I know will play something creative and interesting.

Tedium is the bane of immortality.

Postpone joy, it will diminish. Postpone a problem, it will grow.

I learned more about God from the tears of homeless mothers than any systematic theology ever taught me.

Music has that ability to be a magical thing, and I was like, maybe music is the vehicle that transports us to that other world.