Having listened to great songwriters like James Taylor and Carole King, I felt there was nothing new that was coming out that really represented me and the way I felt. So I started writing my own stuff.

Women don't try to use me.

I write songs about stuff that I can't really get past personally - and then I write a song about it and I feel better.

To be honest, I think kids have got a lot more going on than adults. They've got their heads screwed on a lot better.

What I treasure most at any moment is intimacy, surprise, a sense of mystery, wit, depth and love. A handful of cherished friends offer me this, and the occasional singer or film-maker or artist. But my most reliable sources of electricity are Henry David Thoreau, Shakespeare, Melville and Emily Dickinson.

There is no innovation and creativity without failure. Period.

The idea that I'm 45 doesn't mean that I have no creativity. I'm like a student: it's the same - it's not a war!

Against expectations I was charmed by Gehry's Edgemar development, which housed the Santa Monica Museum of Art, and positively awed by the Bilbao Guggenheim. That Gehry is a great artist I have no doubt, but talent and determination are no warrant against confusion, nor are they a guaranty to produce great art.