VIK HAVE YOU EVEN BEEN UNABLE TO PERFORM? BYRNE I must say that I have. VIK HOW IMPORTANT IS SEX IN YOUR LIFE? BYRNE It is something I think about all the time. And that I don't have nearly as much as I'd like. But perhaps it is important for a creative person to always be sexually insecure. VIK DO YOU HAVE SEXUAL FANTASIES? BYRNE A few, but they change all the time. I think a real sexual fantasy repeats itself over and over. I don't always have the same one. My fantasies are quite conventional. Like you meet or see someone and imagine things involving this person the following night. But that's all. VIK DO YOU BELIEVE IN FIDELITY? BYRNE Well... in a way, I do. Fidelity became even more important after I realized that, as animals, fidelity doesn't come naturally to us. VIK HAVE YOU EVER BETRAYED OR BEEN BETRAYED BY SOMEONE YOU LOVED? BYRNE I know I have betrayed people I loved and that I have probably been betrayed, too. It's not a very good feeling [laughing]. VIK ARE YOU A JEALOUS PERSON? BYRNE I can be. But not often. I'm more professionally jealous. When I see someone who did something really creative, that I adore, I become jealous [laughing]. VIK ARE YOU OPEN TO CRITICISM FROM OTHERS? BYRNE Not really. I think offering advice is difficult. People must be very sweet when giving advice, you know? It must be said in such a way that the other person doesn't realize he or she is being advised. The reason why I do things in a certain way is because that's how I'm supposed to do them. VIK WHO ARE YOUR IDOLS? BYRNE [Thinking] Lots of people. Artists, some writers, movie directors. But less and less.

VIK ANY NAMES? BYRNE There's Dave Eggers, a writer who publishes a literary magazine [McSweeney's, www.mcsweeneys.com] that I like not because of the text, but because of its graphic design. I love it. Sometimes a book can be conservative, but with a crazy design! I called him and asked who did it, and he said "I do!" VIK WHAT ABOUT MUSICIANS? BYRNE Björk is very creative. I also admire people like James Brown and have other influences, such as the Velvet Underground. All people from 20 years ago! The current ones... It's a little confusing for me. I heard a country singer called Roseanne Cash. She sings straight from the heart. But it's not revolutionary. VIK WHEN DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED WITH "WORLD MUSIC?" BYRNE I already researched music back in high-school. I went to many band rehearsals, and several of these had African percussionists. I listened and thought: "What is this?" I'd go to the library and spend days in research. I found out there were so many things, so many kinds of music... And that its values are the same in any culture. VIK LET'S TALK ABOUT BRAZILIAN MUSIC. WHAT BRAZILIAN ARTISTS DO YOU LIKE AND DISLIKE? BYRNE Well, from last time I went [to Brazil], I remember Lenine. He's very good. I also listened to and liked songs from northeastern Brazil, bands like mundo livre s.a., Mestre Ambrósio, and Chico Science. What I dislike? It's hard to say, I don't know it that well. VIK WHAT ABOUTO YOUR PARTNERSHIP WITH MARISA MONTE IN "ÁGUAS DE MARÇO?" BYRNE Marisa Monte and I ran into each other a few times, I watched a few of her shows. The people from the Red Hot album [released in 1992] had already called me to cut a song in their first record. I did a rather corny version of one of Cole Porter's songs. Then they asked me to do another one, a bossa nova or something for Red Hot + Rio [1996]. I said I'd like to record "Águas de Março," which I think is beautiful and a little surreal. VIK AND WHAT WAS THE PARTNERSHIP LIKE? BYRNE It was very exciting for me. I'm fascinated by the musical knowledge and sophistication of Brazilian artists as compared to American ones, who are generally rather stupid in musical terms. It was great insight. Brazilian artists are more knowledgeable.