Nick Cave

“To me, I don't write when I'm depressed. If I'm depressed, which is actually rare, I'm not doing anything, you know, and I'm not able to do anything.”

“There are methods to creating a mayhem that sounds different from your usual mayhem. Because mayhem and a heavy drum backbeat end up sounding like Green Day or something. But if you put a different beat within it to create some air and lightness, the chaos comes through better.”

“I love rock-n-roll. I think it's an exciting art form. It's revolutionary. Still revolutionary and it changed people. It changed their hearts. But yeah, even rock-n-roll has a lot of rubbish, really bad music.”

“It's possible to get through life without a religious structure, but I don't think that's a very fruitful way to live.”

“I write hate lyrics really well. It's not every day you can use them, really.”

“My music has to do with beauty, and it's intended to, if not lift the spirits, then be a kind of a balm to the spirits.”

“Despite what people might think, I'm not interested in being dark all the time. I'm actually searching for some kind of light, and I'm always very happy when I can achieve that.”

“I'm a big fan of teatowels and am always on the lookout for a good one.”

“The concept of God in America is very different than it is in England. Because we see the horrendous outcome of religion as being an American thing, in which the name of God has been hijacked by a gang of psychopaths and bullies and homophobes, and the name of God has been used for their own twisted agendas.”

“I'm kind of old-school and love nothing more than sitting, opening a book, and reading it. But I also love listening to audio books.”

“I consider myself to be first and foremost a comic writer. The way I entertain myself - especially in those long and grim hours in the office - is to write stuff I find funny.”

“If beautiful movies can influence you to go out and hug your children, then we have to be honest and say that other movies can inspire you to do bad things.”

“I'm very happy to hear that my work inspires writers and painters. It's the most beautiful compliment, the greatest reward. Art should always be an exchange.”

“I don't really do Japanese interviews. I don't think there's much call for me in Japan.”

“The more settled I've become, the more problematic my characters have become. There was a period when I wrote sensitive and gentle songs and these came at a time when life was at its most destructive. I think you write about what you need, on some level.”

“I suspect the older you get the more invisible you become.”

“I'm not someone who's particularly in touch with the way they feel. I've heard it said that you should be a 'human being' not a 'human doing', but I'm a human doing, very much so.”

“There's always pain around. That's one thing you can guarantee in life - there will always be a surplus of pain.”

“What I'm resistant to is the 'Walk the Line' biopic, where you have this redemptive life done in two hours. It just doesn't wash with me. I've been there and things don't work out that way.”

“My muse is my wife. It's not some vague thing that flutters around the astrosphere or wherever it is. Sometimes as a songwriter you need something to hang a song on, to give it some kind of presence and form. For me, Susie is that.”