"It's funny how the hippies and the punks tried to get rid of the conservatives, but they always seem to get the upper hand in the end."

"The English can be a very critical, unforgiving people, but criticism can be good. And this is a country that loves comedy."

"I would like to teach music. It's weird the way they teach music in schools like Julliard these days."

"If nothing else, I have money."

"People that complete other people's vision are understated."

"Football is a fertility festival. Eleven sperm trying to get into the egg. I feel sorry for the goalkeeper."

"I'm a bit of a nerd, I wouldn't mind working in a shop selling records, or having a radio show where I could play obscure singles."

"When I was a teenager in Iceland people would throw rocks and shout abuse at me because they thought I was weird. I never got that in London no matter what I wore."

"Usually when you see females in movies, they feel like they have these metallic structures around them, they are caged in by male energy."

"I sometimes fall into the trap of doing what I think I should be doing rather than what I want to be doing."

"Now that rock is turning 50, it's become classical in itself. It's interesting to see that development."

"Nature is our chapel."

"The reason I do interviews is because I'm protecting my songs."

"I do believe sometimes discipline is very important. I'm not just lying around like a lazy cow all the time."

"I love being a very personal singer-songwriter, but I also like being a scientist or explorer."

"I always wanted to be a farmer. There is a tradition of that in my family."

"It's incredible how nature sets females up to take care of people, and yet it is tricky for them to take care of themselves."

"I'm not going to talk like I know about politics, because I'm a total amateur, but maybe I can be a spokesperson for people who aren't normally interested in politics."

"Maybe I'll be a feminist in my old age."

"I am one of the most idiosyncratic people around."

"I get embarrassed listening to my last CDs. I've got a lot of work to do, let's put it that way."

"Compared to America or Europe, God isn't a big part of our lives here. I don't know anyone here who goes to church when he's had a rough divorce or is going through depression. We go out into nature instead."

"I love England. It's no coincidence it's the first place I moved to for a more cosmopolitan life, which is the only thing Iceland lacks."

"There is this stereotype of Icelanders all believing in spirits, and I've played up to that a bit in interviews."

"I'm a fountain of blood. In the shape of a girl."

"People are always asking me about eskimos, but there are no eskimos in Iceland."

"For a person as obsessed with music as I am, I always hear a song in the back of my head, all the time, and that usually is my own tune. I've done that all my life."