“After my second-to-last record, 'The Greatest', I had gone on tour for a while, and I didn't play an instrument for about five years. And I got kind of - it's not self-esteem or whatever, or anger toward myself - but disappointed in myself that I hadn't been challenging myself to learn musically.”

“Everybody tends to think I'm crazy, which is the biggest problem in my life.”

“For me, the moment the mic is on and it's rolling, it's impossible to vocally relax for some reason. But one day, I'm going to be able to sing the way I sang when I was a little kid, completely open and free. That's, I think, the one thing that's changed: Growing older, I'm not ashamed to hear my voice.”

“From folk to tribal to Cab Calloway, Cole Porter, Gershwin to the Rolling Stones, whose first record was all covers, to country-western, bebop, blues, and even the referencing in classic hip hop to cliched love ballads of the '80s or whatever - that is kinda gone, and that's just terrifying to me.”

“Hip-hop and R&B is mostly what I listen to. I don't have a connection with punk rock - I just never had that experience.”

“I am human and I make mistakes.”

“I don't come from money or an educated family background or any sort of supportive family life, so all of my choices are made on my own.”

“I got more guts than brains, and that's my problem.”

“I got told so many times I needed a manager. For a long time I resisted, and I finally got one so I can pay my mortgage, and it helped me from becoming a homeless person.”

“I moved to Los Angeles to be with a man I loved.”

“I need to be able to face things.”

“I still haven't been able to capture the joy of what it's like when I sing - you know, when I'm by myself, or like when I was a little kid.”

“I think the hardest thing about my life is that I've met so many people all over the world who I love, but they're not friends with each other.”

“I used to want to be a war photographer, and I used to want to be a ballerina and a comedian. I used to want to be a writer. I invalidated myself; it's a mistake for me.”

“If your parents gave you fire to play with when you were two, you'd be standing in fire by the time you were an adult.”

“I'm not a professional entertainer. I'm not Neil Diamond.”

“I've always done things myself. I've never bragged or screamed that I produced a record before. I never told anybody.”

“I've always dressed like a dude.”

“I've never had a clique. It's impossible when you're always traveling.”

“Life is hard and it gets worse and worse and worse.”

“People and their religions don't affect me.”

“People tend to think I'm insane, and I'm really tired of it.”

“Playing the guitar, you kind of lock into a rhythm and a groove, and then it relaxes me to make up lyrics and sing.”

“There's just a lot of stuff that really moves me, and I don't know how to express it, and I just want to try to do the best I can and surround myself with good people who don't invalidate me.”

“Usually, I'll just sit down at a piano or with a guitar, and I'll just be relaxed and playing music. Because that's what relaxes your subconscious. That's why everyone from animals to humans love music.”

“We're always going to remind ourselves of our mistakes and how we do things differently, trying to be a better person or whatever.”