Smile, the worst is yet to come.

You need a sanctuary. Somewhere where it doesn't feel like it's being tainted by everybody's opinions and other people's money. I think I'm kind of homesick right now.

I really wanted to focus on my songwriting, or songwriting with other people. I wanted to go learn from other people who were really good at the classic, more traditional idea of songwriting.

There's something really precious in that - if you try to tame something that's meant to be wild you wind up jeopardizing the nature of why it exists.

I think, being a male singer, I always hate another great male singer's voice before I can love it, unless it's just really far from what I do.

I enjoy writing in a lot of different styles, so I pushed to find that vicious place, or that vulnerable place, and let it exist as intensely as I could.

Everybody's able to pour into each other creatively, and pop into the studio and pop out. It feels like a community. As an artistic community I think it's really cool.

If you want to conform, then how can you change?

Why am I trying to be somebody? I am somebody.

I've never bought a boxed set DVD or anything like that.

Everything that is profound loves the mask: the profoundest things have a hatred even of figure and likeness.

Necessity is cruel, but it is the only test of inward strength. Every fool may live according to his own likings.

Well, if you've got a one-in-a-million girl don't let her get away; cause the next one-in-a-million girl is a million girls away.

General principles should not be based on exceptional cases.

There could not be a more stark contrast between Wisconsin and Illinois.

And I started to cry again, realizing that it must be changing him, too, this man who was kind enough to be a soul but strong as only a human could be.