You don't really reference the Bible or old blues lyrics enough to belong to that crowd.

I've got to start. You know what, that'll be my next project. Or maybe I'll just reference the A.A. Big Book instead.

Harry Nilsson?

Yeah, I think for earlier albums I listened to a lot of Nilsson. But he's maybe a touch precious to be optimal. See! You see what a snob I am. If it's not exactly what I do I'm not into it. Because I try to do exactly what I like.

Do the Beatles remain the gold standard for you?

You know, I think it's just the state of mind I'm in now, but I can't listen to the Beatles records anymore, I've just heard them too many times. I'm going to stay away from them for a few decades so I can hear them fresh again.

Are there any songwriters currently working whom you really admire, who write songs in the way that you like them to be written?

Well, Elliott [Smith], poor thing, until he died. I don't know.

Were you ever concerned about becoming just a poster child for major label injustice?

Yeah, I got asked about that a lot. And the reality is, once I was off I just didn't care, I just didn't give it a second thought. It's OK to complain for a bit but then you have to do something about it. And I felt like I'd done something about it, so I didn't need to keep complaining.

If a label like Nonesuch or ANTI -- one of the big labels that seems to be genuinely artist friendly -- wanted to put out your next record, would you consider it?

No. I'd consider it if New West wanted to, but only because the owner is a friend of mine. I'd love to do a project with him, he's awesome.

The press for your new record compares it repeatedly to a novella. Have you ever written fiction?

No, I'm a terrible, terrible writer.

Who are some of your favorite authors?

Fitzgerald short stories, that's my favorite stuff. Edith Wharton, Hemingway, J.D. Salinger. The old classics.

Unless there's something else interesting you want to talk about I think we're done.

The things that are interesting to me wouldn't be interesting to anyone else. I could talk for another half-hour about boxing. There's nothing more boring than someone who's got a hobby and just keeps going on and on about it. Dylan boxes! I'd love to spar with Dylan.

I think he'd be mean.

I bet he wouldn't be so mean in the ring, though. That's a really interesting thing about boxing. You can't be mad. You can't be mad at someone if they hit you. You can't bring anger into it. When we all spar, you have such respect for each other, and you know how hard everybody's working. It's a lot of camaraderie. Like emotionally you're more careful with each other because physically you're less careful.

Last question, other than music, what are the things you love most in the world?

Just boxing. Right now, that's it. Music and boxing.

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