I'm just writing songs about how I feel or about how people I know feel.

Playing things too safe is the most popular way to fail.

I don't really like New York better than Portland. It's just a different place.

But I was also doing odd jobs around Portland, like spreading gravel and transplanting bamboo trees.

Theres a bunch of Elvis Costello records that made all the difference between feeling like a total freak and feeling like ... only a freak. A freak among other freaks

I didn't have a hard time making it. I had a hard time letting it go.

Everything means nothing to me

I truly hope the future will bring me something to feel nostalgic about, because there's really nothing much so far I can remember fondly.

Somewhere where people aren't so mad would be nice, but I don't know if there is anywhere like that.

Music is worth doing just because. It doesn’t have to be justified by some political point of view, and it’s kind of insulting to the music to make it a tool for something else.

Haven't laughed this hard in a long time. I better stop now before I start crying. Go off to sleep in the sunshine...I don't want to see the day when its dying.

Small caterpillars still become big butterflies.

Every success is built on the ability to do better than good enough.

One must be very particular about telling the truth. Through truth one can realize God.

Marriage changes things because there's a lot more at stake. You can't get too toxic because you have to live together. No one can reach for the nuclear button too quickly.

All of the qualities that you need to be a good opinion columnist tend to be qualities that aren't valued in women.

I try to find different ways of expressing myself. Without that I will die.

The essentials of leadership are all about the use of one's talent in the interests of society.

No good water comes from a muddy spring. No sweet fruit comes from a bitter seed.

As a storyteller I was influenced by the Moscow underground, where it was common to be apolitical.