I'm sure that a lot of my friends - even though they're curious about the music of nations that are not on their radar - still don't know what Kuwaiti music sounds like.

The first question [American college kids] asked me was, 'What state is Kuwait in?' They thought Kuwait was in America.

If you've ever seen album covers for Arab female pop stars, it looks like the designer was paid five dollars to make them, and the extreme femaleness is astounding.

I'm fascinated by evil queens. They're very alluring and repellent at the same time, and I'm into that dichotomy.

The vast majority of women musicians function under singular names like 'Cher' 'Madonna'. They have to get married almost immediately to preserve their honour.

There are very few pop people I'm interested in working with.

I feel like there is an emphasis against teaching geography in American schools. Americans don't say, "I'm going to Germany." They say, "I'm going to Europe."

I was one of five out of 100 people who passed the test, which just proved to me how little Americans are taught geography.

I've never been to China. I only know what the West is telling me about China.

I had a story-telling mother; she's written novels and short stories. So I feel like maybe I'm staying alive by telling tales.

My music doesn't exist in a vacuum; there's a script and there's an actor and it's about to come together.

I think one of the reasons I haven't been doing music is because I think that some of my performance, like, needs are being taken care of in other mediums.

Unlike the objective of far too many companies, manufacturing is not about a quick exit. It is centered on long-term value creation.

Time--our youth--it never really goes, does it? It is all held in our minds.

I answer not, and I return no more.

Workaholism is a block, not a building block.

Social reform is the desperate decision to remove corns from a person suffering from cancer.

Empires are not brought down by outside forces, they are destroyed by weaknesses from within.

Follow up the interview with a phone call. If Carrot Top can figure out how to use a phone, so can you.

Understanding precedes peace.

To be recognised by a whole country is incredible. This is massive.