For me, it has always been about the songs.

Writing short, catchy pop songs was the hardest thing for me to do. The reason boils down to how things are perceived. The most mystifying thing is why a certain combination of words and melody will blow people's minds, while others - which is 99.9 percent of all songs - fall flat. That for me was the search: to discover how to create songs that had that quality.

The songs that hit the radio are different from the rest of the things we do. If you just hear the singles, the crossovers, the stuff on Top 40, you get the wrong idea. When I think Top 40, I think Matchbox 20. We're definitely a rock band.

Sometimes the best songs almost write themselves

I've probably been writing songs in Nashville longer than anybody. My first co-writer was Andrew Jackson,

I love that record, it's a classic. It's one of those songs that if you hear it when you're having a bad day, really hits you. The way he sings it makes you feel the whole world is against you.