Most of the songs on this new record are about various aspects of my life that I have been afraid to address in my music in years past. I think the main themes are probably love and self-destruction. I realized that, for all the fun and great times and big shows I've seen so far, it's been really hard for me to keep anything special. It can get a little empty sometimes, so I started writing songs contrasting the bright spots and night clubs of my life. I spent a lot of time addressing the fact that I constantly abuse myself, as well as those around me. It can be a very destructive cycle.
I think that part of me loves our new songs so much because there are so many more levels to them. On one level, they're simple and catchy guy songs, just like on the last record. But on another level, they also have a lot to do with all the things someone dreams about as a young musician, and how silly, sad and helpless it is to think that everyone's going to love you if you're famous. These songs are about the way that my life can get so tied up with these people and things that don't really exist. And about how it's very self-destructive to look at life like I sometimes do. I always stop and ask myself what I think is going to be so satisfying when and if all of these dreams are fulfilled. I can't really tell you why I want most of the things I want, but I want and want and want and want.
Many people have taken the "message" of the lyrics I have written in the past and interpreted them in a way that tends to disturb me a little. The general consensus, after the last CD was released, seemed to be that I was a very angry and egotistical young man who was trying to cut down every woman who had ever burned me before. To me, they weren't about that at all. However, I can see how one would come to that conclusion from all the songs on "Heroes." Back when all those songs were being written, we were a "Music first-Lyrics second" kind of band. I found it more amusing to poke fun of everybody at age 18, than I did to reveal anything of myself. I was afraid of what people would think of who and what I really am, and what I really think about. I still am.
People have accused me, in the past of being a "one-man pity party," but we all have hang-ups and idiosyncratic routines that seem shallow and irrational to others. The "Why do you have to love me? Why can't you just be my friend?" thing is still very present in these new songs. I realize that a lot of people think that it is ridiculous for me to complain about women wanting to share themselves and be with me. People might think I am a big baby who doesn't realize how good he has it, but all I can say is that life isn't always like it seems in the movies. I am tired of hearing "you can have any of these girls that you want" from my friends. Over the last year or two, I have come to realize that life isn't about having any girl you want. That can seem great for a minute or two, and I'm sure that if I was 18 again, that would be a lot better than it is now. That would be a lot more fun five years ago. But I'm 23 now, and despite my blatant cynicism, I don't want just any girl that would throw themselves at me. This band gives a lot to me, and this whole business gives a lot to me, but it takes away too. I lost things that were really important to me. Things that I thought would be with me my whole life. No one really tells you what perils might lay ahead in the rock star brochure. Nothing can prepare you for the people that line up to be "your biggest fans," and nothing can ever prepare you for all the friends you lose and the people that you let slip away when this band and this business are in the middle of your relationship with them. Friends become lovers and lovers fade away. And, all the while, I soak it all in, let it all hurt, and swing from one song to the next. From one period of my life to the next. Every time I pull myself up from all