The end goal is to make a piece that everybody has ownership over and everybody's proud of because everybody contributed to it. I think there's a communist, socialist vibe to 'Portlandia' to make it work.

If you have, especially with siblings, something like the competition for mom's affection, it just never goes away.

I saw Sleater Kinney perform back when I was in college.

Different actors have different rhythms. My goal as a director is to let these guys get their best work out.

I like to do comedy, but I'll be perfectly honest, I prefer to do drama and more character-driven-based stuff, generally.

For me, when you are talking about perfect songs, you're talking about Gershwin, 'Someone To Watch Over Me.' Or Larry Hart and Richard Rodgers. Or some of the great Cole Porter songs, whether it's 'Night and Day' or some of the comedy songs. Or Irving Berlin, of course.

I could write a joke song really easily, but I think something that might be true for my generation is that there's a certain irony or detachedness expected of us, even though we really feel sincere. So the only way to sincerity is through a joke.

You never heard of a comedy team that didn't fight, did you?