I just want to write good songs that people love, which is a tough thing to do.

There's nothing wrong with being a loser, it just depends on how good you are at it.

Music to me is the air I breathe it's the blood that pumps through my veins that keeps me alive

A man once asked me, what's punk? I kicked over a trash can and said that's punk. He kicked over a trash can and then asked me again, Is that punk? I replied no. That's just trendy.

School is practice for future life, practice makes perfect and nobody's perfect, so why practice?

You can't change the wind but you can set your sails.

Making mistakes is a lot better than not doing anything.

To do something that you feel in your heart that's great, you need to make a lot of mistakes. Anything that's successful is a series of mistakes.

‎The day you become old is the day you're not looking for new experiences anymore.

It's better to regret something you have done than to regret something you haven't done.

Punk has always been about doing things your own way. What it represents for me is ultimate freedom and a sense of individuality.

He cries. 'Please! I don't want to die.'I lean over. My hair smothers him.'Then you should never have been born, ' I say.

... cynicism is the only tool that can scrape away the tint off rose-coloured glasses.

I don't think with any book you get used to people falling in love with the story. It's been incredible just to realize your books are being read. It's a pretty amazing feeling.

I try to be a good human being and keep up with what's going on in the world by reading and staying in touch with the current events.

There are ... two kinds of people in this world, those who long to be understood and those who long to be misunderstood. It is the irony of life that neither is gratified.

When you die at 72, no matter what you die of, it's natural causes. Even if you get hit by a truck, it's natural causes. 'Cause if you was younger, you'd have got out the way!

I wanted my anger to be valid, and the only way to do that is to be fairly attractive.

California is beautiful to look at, but you can't be a part of it like you can in Michigan.

When I got heartbroken at 20, it just felt like someone had spiraled a football right into my skull. At 40, it feels like someone had driven a 757 right through me.

I would not change [my past work] anymore than I would airbrush a photo of myself.