Playboy.com: You're living in Los Angeles now. How did you end up there?

Morrissey: Honestly, it was just somewhere I happened to find myself. I didn't intend to, but I had become somewhat disillusioned with the cloud formations in England. So I itched to go somewhere, and suddenly I'm here.

PB: What's your impression so far?

M: Well, of course, it's exactly as everybody says. It's an insane place, but it's a beautiful place. I find the landscapes to be absolutely beautiful. The architecture is beautiful. And the people are trying to be beautiful.

PB: Are there things you miss about England?

M: I miss the common knowledge of daily gossip. Because England is so small, everybody knows exactly the same thing. Everyone has exactly the same experience. Everybody watches exactly the same things on television and hears the same radio, which of course never happens in this country because it's like many countries stuck together. In England, there's a certain common experience everybody has. I miss that. I also miss the humor. Los Angeles has not discovered humor.

PB: Is that why you recorded the new record in England?

M: Well, the studio we used in England, Hookend Manor, is actually the most fantastic place in Europe. It had nothing to do with the musical or political climate at all.

PB: In the way you work, do your surroundings influence the way the record ends up sounding? Would it have made a difference if it were in L.A., France or wherever?

M: Well, people tell me it would, but I'm not too sure. As long as your immediate surroundings and the room that you're in are calming, it doesn't really matter if you're in Winnipeg or Toledo.

PB: Spoken like a man who has never been to Toledo.

M: I was born in Toledo.

PB: Toledo, Ohio?

M: Yes.

PB: Really?

M: No. I'm just kidding. [Laughs]

PB: Well, having been to Toledo, you can't spend much time there without it influencing you. It's kind of a dreadful place.

M: Is it anything like Kalamazoo?

PB: It's actually quite a bit like Kalamazoo.

M: Well, you see, it's all a matter of personal taste, because I liked Kalamazoo.

PB: It's been seven years since your last album. What have you been doing with yourself?