a place that you can go to and a phrase to remember

Brad Frenette, National Post: A lot of your lyrics deal with the [theological] side of things. Your book has an angel in it. What do you believe in?

Josh Ritter: In terms of belief, I would have to say that the things that I believe in the most are songs. I believe that its important to have a place that you can go to and a phrase to remember. Like a pill, almost, that you can take when you need it. Leonard Cohen, he's better than most doctors. That's one thing. I also find that, as Bill Hicks says - the comedian - 'it's better to deal with the light in everybody and forget about the middle man.' And I find that to be very true, and more and more I find that a lot of times to be a writer, to be an artist, to do anything creative in our lives, whether we consider it art or not, we have to ask serious questions. And I find that the more entrenched religion becomes the more difficult it is to ask those questions.

- Musician and novelist Josh Ritter, in interview with the National Post for their sadly now-defunct Arts podcast (you can still download old episodes from iTunes, including one with silaron favourite Kae Sun).