"Opening lines, over the sound of ticking The sound you are hearing is not a technical problem. It is not a musical cu…"

"In one week I’ll be thirty. Three-zero. Older than my Dad was when I was born. Older than Napoleon was when he ... di…"

"So that’s where we are. It’s a Saturday night in January, 1990, in my apartment on the edge of SoHo; I’m trying to wo…"

"It's no big deal. What's thirty? Just, you know, the end of youth."

"Goddamn it, I am looking forward to it!"

"I realize I've forgotten how to play the piano completely. Holy shit, have I forgotten how to play the piano because …"

"And if there's enough buzz the show might be produced and if the show is produced it might be a hit -- and if it is I…"

"The lights from the prison barge flicker in her eyes."

"6 AM. The sky glows. Somewhere a bird chirps. I want to shoot it."

"I want to write music. I want to sit down right now at my piano and write a song that people will listen to and remem…"