I like the guitar-driven music of Nirvana at its peak. At that point, I thought there was a lot of really exciting music coming out.

The irony is of course that my career has lasted a whole lot longer than some of the people I've parodied over the years.

When I was a kid, I thought I was going to be an architect, because when I was 12 years old I had a guidance counselor that convinced me that that was the best career choice for me.

One of the hardest things I've had to deal with in my career is keeping my material topical even though I only release albums every three or four years.

I remember someone once said there is a practical aspect to my designs, and I remember thinking, 'That doesn't sound so creative,' but that is actually the truth. There is a practicality to it. I don't design just to design. There is a reason and, hopefully, an interesting reason behind it - that is where my creativity comes in.

The definition of comedy is 'unsafe space' - you can't control what people laugh at.

I think, in general, when you're doing comedy, you're having a good time regardless of the comedy table tennis that you're playing. I think you want that, too: you're rooting for two characters to be together, and you should feel that even when they're angry at each other, they're still in synch with each other.

After I quit being a lawyer in '95, I was having a lot of trouble writing. Then I read somewhere that Willa Cather read a chapter of the Bible every day before she started work. I thought, 'Okay, I'll try it.' Before each writing session, I started to read the Bible like a writer, thinking about language, character, and themes.