I've been lucky to be able to make the records I've wanted to make. The record company has never pressured me to cut certain songs.
You can't second-guess your audience. You can only do what you think is right. If you do that, your audience will appreciate you.
A woman comes to a table, and you're supposed to get up. Period. But I don't always do it. In general, you're supposed to do it every time. But sometimes you're seated against the wall, and it's awkward.
My music has always been sort of in between categories. Sometimes record stores - back when there were record stores - they'd put my records in the country music section, but other record stores would put my records in the pop or even the rock section. As long as it's in the store somewhere, I'm OK with it.
Somehow you can tell the difference when a song is written just to get on the radio and when what someone does is their whole life. That comes through in Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson. There is no separating their life from their music.
You don't have to have anything in common with people you've known since you were five. With old friends, you've got your whole life in common.
