I didn't really listen to rock 'n' roll until I moved to LA. We would ditch school, go get high, put on Zeppelin IV and just bug out.
The fans of 'The Hunger Games,' of the book, are very passionate. It's funny: Even at my concerts there are people holding up 'Cinna' signs.
I never sit down to write or say, "Today, I have to record something." I wait to hear it and then I go for it.
There's definitely an old school element to my music, but I also think it's modern.
I'm very much about the environment, I'm very much about health, about being able to, at the very least, eat organic, whole foods that are healthy for us. And then, of course, everyone being able to eat and at least have a humane way to live. There's enough for everybody, but unfortunately, there's a lot of greed and a lot of ego.
Let's look at human interactions. I really believe that there is a way for us to settle disputes nonviolently, using our minds, using all of that was given to us.
Are things getting better with each generation? Yes. It's quite interesting to be living in these times, for me to witness an African-American being elected president. It's quite extraordinary.
I'm more hungry now than I was 11 years ago. Which is great because I see a lot of artists that have been out for a long period of time. They get kind of fat.
There's nothing more that we love than having a close, personal, open relationship, and I believe that's what God wants.
Personal relationship with God is not all just the ceremony and not the religion of doing something because you were told that's what you have to do; it's relationships, it's like we have relationships with our families, with our friends, with our loved ones.
Life, the moment. Where the magic is. That's what really keeps me motivated, alive, hungry. I'm still as excited and motivated now as I was twenty-five years ago, and that's because I really live for those moments. And that's where the art comes from, that's where the music is born, that's where it all appears. I love it.
I'm experiencing the mood to go out and share the music. I don't look at these concerts as a platform for people to watch me, look at me. No, a tour is about an interaction. A thing, myself, a band, and the people who support what I do and enjoy what I do.
I'm looking forward to going out at the concert with a clear head, with a clear mind, with a clear spirit and experiencing whatever it is. It's great.
It's a trip to have a Greatest Hits record. It's a trip.
A lot of people pretty much only listen to the chorus.
For the last few years, it's been so chic for everybody to be miserable. Like if you're in with the cool crowd, you can't be happy.
Eventually you're going to have a digital transfer anyway when you make a CD, so it doesn't matter as long as what you're hitting first is what you want it to be.
I don't think about the styles. I write whatever comes out and I use whatever kind of instrumentation works for those songs.
I feel like I'm only in the beginning of my career. I've only made five albums. It's not a lot.
I'm not one of those artists who refuses to play their hits. I find that ridiculous. Hits are a blessing.
I wanted to make something that sounded very pure, organic, and personal. I wanted to make music that was timeless.
I think it'd be a real nightmare to put a record out and sell 20 million copies and then that's it.
After listening to "Machine Gun" I have to take a nap.
At 10 o'clock in the morning I'd go right in the studio. It feels good to be there in the morning before the day starts to mess with you - I don't mean in a negative way, but before I'd speak to a lot of people or get into anything, I'd go in there and just see what I felt. A lot happens in the morning for me in the studio.
I was an actor when I was a teenager and it could have been the direction that I headed in. But music and my relationship with music is quite deep, and it really is the nucleus of my creativity. So I gave up acting so I could pursue music fully, and I never thought about really going back. And then [director] Lee Daniels met me and wanted to work with me, and that's how it started.
