When I did have a little bit of commercial success, it really didn't suit my temperament at all. I'm a terrible public person.

People make such a big deal about how people in bands look, especially if you're a girl.

I find myself a fascinating subject.

The way I see it, all the popular singers are strippers.

People need meanings to everything. People want you to intellectualize every choice you make.

To me, success was not having to have a boss and not having a day job. I've been living my own version of success since the early '90s when I first got signed. I haven't had a job since then.

I like visiting LA, but I wouldn't want to live there.

I'm a neo-Luddite.

I tend to fall for the archetypal, talented, charismatic rock boy.

My soul is fine, thanks.

Some of the songs are so crazy, the words are so crazy... it's hard to believe I was so crazy.

The most rabidly religious people are the most rabidly evil.

As long as there are religions, there are going to be people who are hiding their rottenness behind the veil of religion.

David Ortiz is a genius. He's incredible to watch. Over and over, he hits home runs that are simply transcendent.

My knees are ticklish.

You can learn so much just by doing, not by listening to anybody.

The first kiss between two people is something really good in life.

My first guitar was a Gibson Challenger.

It makes me feel good to have some comforting effect on someone that needs comfort.

I'm not a very good advice-giver.

If you want to achieve things in life, you've just got to do them, and if you're talented and smart, you'll succeed.

When I did have a little bit of commercial success, it really didn't suit my temperament at all. I'm a terrible public person.

Just do what feels right.

Once I picked up an electric guitar, I lost interest in piano, and I just wanted to rock. I studied piano for so long, I got burned out on it.

I never really expected to win the hearts of the masses.

Baseball is more than a game. It's like life played out on a field.

Although I'm a huge fan of Ben Kweller, I don't think I'd cover one of his songs, simply because there's just so much of my own stuff I wanna do.

To make big steps, you've got to take action yourself and not listen to other people.

I'd just like to inspire people to be themselves and do what they want and not conform to the rigid guidelines of the music or entertainment business.

I don't really care about money. I find money boring and accounting boring, so I'm probably not going to ever make a lot of money.

I'm full of contradictions.

A heart that hurts is a heart that works.

All I'm trying to do is to keep going and keep evolving.

At heart I am a librarian, a bird-watcher, a transcendentalist, a gardener, a spinster, a monk.

Doing interviews can sometimes mess up my head. It makes me feel dirty. It's frustrating how the press recycles a quote to death.

Every song brings back memories, like I remember where I wrote all these songs. 'Universal Heartbeat' was my apartment in New York City. 'My Sister' was at my apartment in Boston. I remember places and I remember what I was thinking when I wrote it.

Everything's been a struggle for me.

For a long time, music was hope. Now it seems music isn't enough to make me happy. It used to be that's all I needed to keep going. Now I need other things to take up the other parts of my life.

From the beginning, I've always had a knack for catchy melodies. But I went through a period when I was trying to be rock n' roll and have a rock n' roll attitude. I was fighting my nature by trying to play really hard and sing really hard. But at a certain point, I realized that I loved syrupy pop music with tons of harmony.

Harmonies come really naturally to me. I don't have to labor too hard over them. I'll sing a lead vocal, and then I will immediately have all of these other ideas for vocal harmonies. I think that some of the most fun parts of recording, for me, are the vocal harmonies.

Human relations, I mess them up, and they let me down.

I always believe that a person can learn so much by just jumping into something and trying to do it rather than having someone else teach you everything.

I am not dead inside. I still care about right and wrong.

I can't believe I got a major-label record deal. My music was quirky, and my voice was so odd and high and girlish, it was like a weird novelty act.

I could make a whole album with no one else involved at all. It would be a total, unadulterated expression of myself. Because whenever you have others playing on a project, their influence becomes a part of it.

I don't believe songs that try to say everything in a simple slogan.

I don't buy a lot when I travel, but when I do, I like to send gifts from wherever I am. It's fun to find the local post office.

I don't feel bad or scared about getting older in terms of my looks or anything like that. I'm not afraid of my face changing. I enjoy seeing my face change. I think it's really interesting. I wouldn't want to have same face for my whole life. It would be boring to look at the same face in the mirror for 80 years.

I don't have anything to prove anymore. I don't have a record deal, no one has any expectations, I'm in a position of freedom. I don't need anyone's approval.