Music can make the cerebral accessible, the subconscious hummable. It communicates our shared needs and desires as sentient beings better than any other medium.

You know, if I can survive marching band, I can survive anything.

My mom. She really encouraged me. That's the trouble with education: Unless you have a really supportive parent, you get left behind.

I really don't care what people say. It's amazing that feminism continues to exist at all, considering how much counter-feminism is out there.

There's a side of me that identifies with Aileen Wuornos.

Love is such a fleeting emotion. It's such a small part of the things you do in your life.

In New York City, when they develop something, they never use the old buildings. It's so wasteful. Why not use what's there?

Public radio is the last oasis of free and independent music. For satellite radio channels, you have to subscribe; commercial stations are as corporate as basic cable.

I will say that art may well be the only thing that lasts, so I guess it's worth trying.

I never know how to get off the phone, so I'm terribly admiring of people who can.

I kind of go for the MGM version of every musical style.

A campaign is about defining who you are - your vision and your opponent's vision.

The opportunity to write for the 'L.A. Weekly' has been one of the better breaks that has come my way in a long time.

I've learned that a family can have little glitches without being labeled dysfunctional.

Making sure that the geography and timelines work is always the hardest part of writing. But you owe it to the readers to get it right!

To me, there's two types of songs, good and bad. And I just like to stick with the good ones.

Not a single person whose name is worth remembering lived a life of ease.

I don't want to be a playwright, I want to be a rock and roll star.

Directing is a tremendous art.

Even for the people who are color-blind to any degree, I believe their experience would also be affected [ in Lords of Rainbow ] if everyone else too only perceived the world in colorless monochrome.

Vietnam helped me realize who the true heroes really are in this world. It's not the home-run hitters.