My favourite pastime used to be sitting on a park bench watching people. But after 'Jagged Little Pill,' the eyeballs turned, and I was the watched one.

Anger has been a really big deal for women: how can we express it without feeling that, as the physically weaker sex, we won't get killed. The alpha-woman was burned at the stake and had her head chopped off in days of old.

I think fame became exciting for me in the late '90s because I could actually use it as a means to an end. I could actually have it help me serve my vocationfulness.

There was a period of time during the 'Jagged Little Pill' era where I don't think I laughed for about two years. It was a survival mode, you know. It was an intense, constant, chronic over-stimulation and invasion of energetic and physical literal space.

I'm quite obsessed with the idea of nailing the girl friendship. It's such an art, so delicate.

We live, in North America in general, if I'm given the indulgence of selling us down the river, in a culture of fear of this connective sense of spirit.

I am a firm believer that one way to become enlightened is to be so relaxed, as relaxed as you possibly can be.

My son was five months old, and I built a makeshift studio in my living room so that I could do the attachment parenting approach and write the record at the same time. That was fortuitous, that we could build that in the house.

Only traumatised people want to be famous.

I want to poke holes in the erroneous beliefs about what fame provides. It won't raise your self-esteem, it won't create profound connection, it's not going to heal your childhood traumas, it's only going to amplify them. You're going to be subject to a lot of criticism and praise, both of which are violent in their own ways.

My own approach has always been to push intense emotions down and attempt to deal with them later. When I was younger, I was terrified to express anger because it would often kick-start a horrible reaction in the men in my life.

There were websites erected to figure out how to kill Alanis. I just do not need to see this; it's not good for anybody.

Part of being famous is offering up this blank screen upon which people can project everything, and it's a sacred act, putting yourself out there, in a way that lots of celebrities aren't steeled for; they're not prepared for the degree to which people define them.

Typically, I would run away from conflict and write about it - that was easier than staying and dealing face-to-face with humans; that's terrifying for me.

I've always been really opinionated, and mixed with being really open hearted, open to people shifting what I think all the time, but I like to speak with conviction.

Women are so powerful they're scary, and the incentive to squash this has been going on for so long that some of us actually believe we're subordinate.

I highly recommend getting older! There's less tendency to people-please.

A lot of preconceived notions that I had about fame and status and money and joy and pain, and all of these things that I thought I knew, I didn't.

I've been surrounded by a lot of people who felt that external success would result in them feeling good about themselves. But it just seems extremely unfulfilling to me.

For me, a life without expectation results in a life with inspiration.

I was so ready to become a mom. Actually, I was ready secondarily to become a mom. I was so ready to have the intimacy and commitment of marriage.

When people ask me who I'd want to have dinner with, dead or alive, I always say, 'John Lennon.' I just feel that he was an artist who was, in his own way, committed to wholeness and authenticity in a not dissimilar way that I am years later.

I couldn't be touring unless my husband was on the road with me, taking care of our son while I'm onstage and doing interviews.

Alpha men are very turned on by the alpha woman, really high chemistry, really fun to work with, probably really fun to have affairs with, but there's not sustainable harmony in that lack of complement. There can only be one person in the driver's seat.

In 1995, I was thrust into the role of reluctant, flag-waving feminist and emotionally-focused artist/advocate.

The fear of this delicate and fierce feminine has more to do with our fear of being vulnerable again, getting hurt again, than it does by our actual distaste for the beauty of the feminine and Her qualities.

In the face of patriarchy, it is a brave act indeed for both men and women to embrace, rather than shame or attempt to eradicate, the feminine.

I love to get to the underbelly of why people are up in arms about anything. Really, what I see is a big shadow in the West, in America especially, and everyone's afraid of looking stupid. But the truth is, I'm a genius and I'm stupid at the same time.

I think a beautiful quality that's a biological, hormonal imperative for women, whether they have children or not, is that we're built to be empathic. For me, it was finally being maternal in an appropriate way instead of trying to mommy ex-boyfriends.

The spirituality that I experience sometimes touches on religion, in that I resonate with the thread of continuity that permeates through all religions. But in terms of it being a concretized, organized part of my life, it's not.

I don't want to offend people and I don't want to be mean, but social commentary and comedy for me are part and parcel. I think the greatest social activists are comedians.

I've just always felt it's an incredibly empowering thing, particularly for young women, to capitalize on their coordination and their strength. It's a very empowering thing to feel strong in your body.

My greatest achievement is being able to write records that are real snapshots of what's going on in my life. I won't repeat myself for the sake of commerce, or to please other people.

Variety is important when it comes to exercise. I don't do anything that bores me to tears.

My main objective with every album is to capture a moment in time, which usually makes the whole process very relaxing. I only discover in retrospect when looking back at the songs how my life is going!

As a kid, I was listening to Aretha Franklin, Etta James and hip-hop as well as music my parents were listening to, like Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen.

I'll be writing records until I'm dead, whether people like it or not! I can't not write; if I don't, then I get really depressed. I'll keep going, I promise!

Knowing that people make my songs their own is what keeps me going.

I like to make pasta with puttanesca sauce and arugula salad.

I was 9 when I wrote 'Fate Stay with Me.' It was this fictional song about romance gone wrong.

Do I appreciate the idea of jealousy, revenge and all these so-called dark qualities? Yes. Do I write these songs in order to engage in some public war with someone? No.

Your political views really denote your spiritual views.

I'd rather talk to people about their personal spiritual practices or what they believe love is. I'm born to do that. Could I enter into the political realm and dive into that? Sure, but I don't think I would want to do that.

The thing you can't underestimate is the true fan's intimacy. So Lady Gaga or anybody's true fan, I don't think they're going anywhere. There are people who are into commitment. If they're connecting with an artist, I think they'll be there over the long course.

I won't say too much but Conor McGregor, he likes to set a lot of traps. But they're things I would never get caught up in. The guy isn't exactly known for his cardio either, so I'd crumble him. Make it look easy.

I've pictured myself fighting a whole bunch of people. Not only the Max Holloway, but also Conor, Cejudo, Korean Zombie, even Khabib Nurmagomedov.

A lot of times we're being portrayed as thugs, but anyone who really knows us understand that we work hard, we diet hard, the commitment is full on. But alot of people don't see that. Some of the nicest and most respectful people I've ever met are in this sport. I truly believe that, and there's a lot of fighters that live by that.

You know, martial arts is all about respect and discipline and it's always been about that. But again, people are starting to forget that, people are missing that, and this is where I believe I can help and it's good for our sport.

You know, people are always asking, 'What's your brand?' and, 'What are you all about?' Then you get other people saying, 'You need to do what Connor McGregor does.' But that's not me. That's not who I am. I'm not going to talk trash and build off the bad boy image.

I pride myself on being a family man. I pride myself on being respectful and hardworking. That's just me.