Reaching the 'never have to work again' stage has been squeezed at both ends for artists . What artists lucky enough to get there do is always telling. I like Moore or Lynch's strategy of making what they really want to make, and only that. But it's its own kind of prison, too.

What is art to the artist? I liked Lynch's description of the art life 'drink coffee, smoke cigarettes, make art'. But I don't begrudge artists with ten years careers choosing to walk away and be happy instead.

I think I prefer artists who do what they want and ask their audience to follow (or not) than artists who play their old hits to the delight of their fans, but ... I mean if you're out there delighting people, perhaps that's better than moping at home making difficult stuff.

I remember moaning to my mum when I was a teen that the new Queen album (The Miracle, presumably) wasn't very innovative, and her pointing out that if I listen to a Queen album, 'it will tend to sound like Queen', and I have spent 40 years now wrestling with the implications of that.

If an artist is at the peak of success, what can they do next? What moves do they have? Gurus suggest new moves. Hey, George, we know you are fluent with a guitar but have difficulty articulating why you fancy that woman ... how about a different subject?

And I think it's all about introducing new chaos and madness. As opposed to, say, therapy. I kind of wish John Cleese had embraced the occult instead of finding a therapist who cured him of being funny.