The Counting Crows front man talks about the group's new double album, Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings, hitting stores March 25.
What's the concept behind the album?
I had a song called 1492, and it inspired a record about dissolution, which was Saturday Nights. While we were finishing that, I started to think of a companion piece, about what you do with your life once you've wrecked it. That became the Sunday Mornings record.
When you're writing, do you ever think, This would be a great single?
Singles are a waste of time. You have no idea what would make a good single. They're bad for us, because the kind of song [executives] want to put on the radio is a misrepresentation of what our records really sound like.
Do you enjoy the relationship you've developed with fans on your blog?
I like to be honest. We have arguments online about Justin Timberlake. I thought his first record was fantastic. We had this argument for ages about how uncool that was. And it's like, I can't be uncool—I'm the rock star.
Will you ever change your hair?
I don't know. When I was a kid, I spent my life looking in the mirror and thinking, I don't get it—that's not me. The first time I got dreads, I caught my reflection in a window. And it was the first time that I saw me. It was like the first time I wrote a song—I'm defined now.