Mark Kozelek

“Fights are nice because I can hang with my girlfriend and not leave the house. Shows are nice because that's how I can afford $65 pay-per-view fights and to go to Vegas and see them live.”

“I don't know what aids creativity. All I know is that it feels natural to hold a guitar in my hands and sing.”

“I don't make demos. I don't have the interest or the energy or the time. Demos are something you do in the early stages of your career, but when you get going, you just go in and record the song.”

“I'm just writing less of my own music lately - I go in and out of phases a lot. Sometimes there are these accidents that just sort of happen, that are kind of waiting around the corner. I guess Modest Mouse was one of them.”

“'NME' and 'Melody Maker' were saying I was the next Lou Reed or Van Morrison. So, everyone has their own version as to when the height of my career was.”

“When someone important to you, someone that's played a big role in your life, when they're gone... When you write about them or pay tribute to them, you want to do it in a way that's thoughtful.”

“Even on tour, I spend two hours a night singing songs and the rest of the time staring at the back of people's heads on airplanes, some fat guy coughing on me.”

“Songwriting isn't a choice. You're either called upon to bear the burden, or you're not. It's not all fun and games.”

“I found Jerusalem to be a tourist trap. I hope that I don't offend anyone by saying that.”