In the end, I'm lucky enough to travel the world and make albums and not have to worry about not having a job.

Whatever it is that my heart wants, I'll do it, which is different than I used to be. I used to tell my heart what it wanted.

Obviously, artists need to make money and stuff like that, but if you do something good or if you make good art or make good stuff, the wealth will find you in some way.

There's all this talk of music needing a monetary value, this ownership of music, even that it needs a physical form. But intrinsically... it's music. It should be better than that.

It is ironic that American women now need to be fortified by the inspiration of the women of the Arab Spring, who risked so much to win basic human rights.

All too often, when creative people pick out someone else's creative work as an inspiration, what they end up with is very, very far from the original.

My brother had the courage to come out in 1978, when equality was still a distant dream.

I find inspiration in many places. Sometimes music gives me the kernel of a story. Sometimes it's dissatisfaction with the plot of a movie or a book that gets me thinking. Sometimes it's love of a movie or book.