Q: What else were you listening to?

A: I was listening to the Killers and Keane...But I never really liked one artist more than any other, I always just liked songs. I always received music that way: a song is the most important thing.

Q: On some of these songs, the protagonist is breaking up with someone or begging to get his lover back. How do you deal with the fact that people are going to pick these lyrics apart and assume it is about your personal life?

A: You just don't participate.

Q: But you're going to get asked it 8 million times.

A: I don't feel a need to answer those types of questions. The one thing I can say is a lot of the lyrics and the writing on this album were thoughts and feelings I had after I had done films. And what I mean by that is, I got to play these characters in these movies. Just like Johnny Cash plays characters in his songs. He didn't really shoot a man in Reno.

Q: In what other ways did the four films you've done since “Justified” influence the making of the album?

A: Mostly the ideas on this record are like screenplays. That's another thing that makes it 180 degrees from “Justified.”

Q: You'll spend much of 2007 on the road, including stopping in Las Vegas. What do you like about touring?

A: Everything. You get a sense of camaraderie. You're there with your crew and your band and everybody's in it for the same reason. It's crazy, no question. You make lifelong friendships. You do so much leading up to the tour, you're so exposed, you do so many interviews and so many awards shows, then when I get to the tour, I crave that seclusion. You play to 18,000 people every night. So how do you offset that? Mainly, I plan the days off around golf. We're going to be in Vegas, let's have a day off there so we can play some golf.