Despite my own doubts of being marketable or crushworthy, my goal was to write a record of peppy pop songs, hopefully without annoying anybody.

We're probably a couple of freaks who've created their own little universe, are living in our own little world and that's the only place where we can survive.

Lou Reed is something like a personal favorite of mine, but you could always put me into that drawer of singers who can't really sing, who speak their songs.

If a voice is just too nice, without an edge, it kinda all flows by. You forget it. You don't listen to the lyrics.

A good voice isn't so important. It's more important to sound really unique.

I'm not sure if you can blame everything on the American way of life, but the United States are big. So, if you have a lot of people there, the percentage of stupid people is bound to be higher.

I think most musicians know if they make the same record twice, even if they say they don't.

We're not on a desperate mission to write chart compatible stuff.

I didn't really like confessional poetry or things. They seemed sort of dated to me, or just corny.

The lyrics are different from Nick Cave songs and lyrics. His songs are very narrative.

We always did our own mixing.

I believe the spreading of Catholicism to be the most horrible means of political and social degradation left in the world.

I have learned it’s best to face down the trouble. Otherwise it will grow into a monster. We don’t have time for monsters.

While neurological studies have tried to identify components responsible for fear and greed, the impact on finance is less clear.

You don't get gushers of revenue by raising tax rates. You get it through expansion.

The best teacher of children, in brief, is one who is essentially childlike.

Music is indeed the Universal Language.

I write in Arabic and prefer writing my stories by hand. I need a cup of tea or coffee when I write. When I was in Syria, I was addicted to tea, but now I'm addicted to Starbucks.

I believe what Irenaeus said - the glory of God is a human being fully alive.

As a ballplayer, I would be delighted to do it again. As an individual, I doubt if I could possibly go through it again.