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I couldn't imagine what it's like to be a journalist talking about music. You're left with empty descriptions; you probably have to make up a sort of weird cocktail of band influences and references to other music to get your point across.

I'm always very careful to make the distinction between music criticism and music journalism. A lot of people don't. But criticism doesn't require reporting. You can write criticism at home in your underwear. On the other hand, journalism takes legwork - you have to get out there and see things and talk to people.

Also there's two sides of it, I mean, a band like us, at our level and the way we have to promote ourselves and usually radio just completely turns their back on us, at the same time I think Mp3s help promote us somewhat, spreading the word about the album and stuff.

Distributing the music is so easy it's moot. So now the delicate art of calling attention to your music means everything. Marketing is distribution.

I don't need a sensationalized headline to sell music or to bring attention to my music. It's the music and it's always been about the music.

Music is a lens through which to see who we are. Every phrase of every piece of music is trying to tell a story.

If part of the purpose of making an album is to get some radio play, then you might as well think about that. But that's not really how we picked the songs.

Music helps me tell my story. That's where I can really be heard. But there's so much focus on the things that aren't music.

With music, there's a conversation happening. You're hearing what's going on right now, with people's emotional states, in a communal way, and listening to that is really - it's both informative and so generous. It's like emotional news.

I always say this about my music, and music in general: Music is like a time capsule. Each album reflects what I'm going through or what's going on in my life at that moment.