I Smoked This Joint And Then It

Well, After Zombie Birdhouse Came Out, I Toured Behind It In The Fall Of 1982, Into The Spring, And In The Summer In The Far East. At That Time, I Found My Work Self-referential; It Was Getting To Be Rock Songs About A Rock Singer Who Lived A Rock Life On The Rock Road, And I Was Starting To Wonder What I Would Be Like To Rent My Own Apartment, What It Would Be Like To Have A Checkbook.

The Most Successful Stuff Is Sold To You As Indispensable Social Information. The Message In The Music Is, 'we Are Terribly, Terribly Slick And Suave, And If You Listen To Us, You Can Probably Get A Leg Up In Society, Too.'

You Know What I Think You Get Scared Of More - Especially Me, After Touring For So Long And Being In Bands For So Long - You Start To Associate Certain Behavior With The Music. It's Like People Associate Having A Cigarette With Having A Cup Of Coffee, Or Lunch.

I Don't Get My Bliss By Listening Over And Over To People In The Street Thinking, "boy, Is It That Good?" Even Though Every Time I Hear It That's What I Think. But I Get It In Human Situations. There Is This Little Voice That Is Going, "the Reason You're Able To Enjoy Your Life Now Is That You Made It In Rock'n'roll And People Are Giving You Free Visas All Over The Place. Dude, You Are Being Spoiled".

In 1965, When Great Young White Artists In The English-speaking World Were Successfully Re-channeling Hillbilly And Black Music - You Know Bob Dylan, Ray Davies, Pete Townsend, Keith Richards - They Didn't Get Any Money At First. They Were All Broke.