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New Jersey Home News and Tribune (US)
November 24, 1998

On the messages she gives to fans:

"Say, as a writer, you talk about something very sexual and then you bring violence into it... You better know what elements your'e dealing with. It's not about right or wrong, we all have violence in us and we all have sexuality in us. But you've got to be clear about what you are doing."

On responsibility of other artists:

"I think there are certain people whose songs really piss me off because they are very clear about what they are doing. They are turning people on and yet they are shaming them for being turned on, when they were teasing the whole time. I'm not mentioning names because that's not important. But you are talking about quite a few people."

On using sexuality to grab attention:

"If you're doing shock for shock's sake, that's kind of boring... because that's easy to do, a cheap trick. But if you shock people because people are very closed [that's a different story]. It is a very politically correct time. Politically correct to the point of dishonesty. It's not about respect for other people any more. It's about shame for what you feel. As a writer, I surround myself with a really good sounding board. I have really smart woman friends who will challenge me about certain topics and I have to be willing to withstand the assault because at the end of the day you have to be responsible as a writer. I'm responisible for the 'pig shot.' I knew exactly what I was doing."

On the "pig shot":

"The beauty of that shot is that what is more threatening than anything is that there is a beauty to it. There is a beauty to bringing shame to yourself. It's incredibly powerful when you can look at things you have been embarassed about and about certain thoughts you had. You can look in the mirror and say, 'Yeah I thought of that, as ashamed as I may be.'"

On working with the band:

"It's very challenging because you have to work more as a relay team, you know, it's a fine balance of adding instrumentation that supports the songs. Sometimes the piano pulls back a little bit, and sometimes that means the piano comes foward. You always have to try to find the soul of the piece you are arranging.... When you have other people with you, you can't just start adding 60 bars... you are trading a bit of that for the primal rhythm you get with skins and low end. There is just something about skins and low end that you can't substitute. Me, by myself, thats separate. You can't trade one for the other because they are very different worlds."

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