The speaker is not always the author. [In 'Michael'] I was writing about an erotic situation between two male friends. It didn't strike me as that odd. It seemed like a good subject for a song.

Outsiders. He had this weird contraption of a drum kit where he was playing half with a tambourine in one hand and the floor tom between his legs -- just to experiment with different ways of setting up.

It doesn't matter how adventurous you want to be, you've still got to contain your identity.

Although they might not admit it, I think girls are very aware of the impact that they're having. But they never feel it themselves, and it's impossible to explain. It's like trying to tell a blind person what yellow is.

I didn't grasp the basic principle of being a promoter, which was: Put on music but also generate an income. I was on the dole most of the time.

The best songwriting comes from being as creative as you can and editing it down to the good bits, essentially.