So tell me about throwing a piano in the East River

"I had this old piano to get rid of in my room and I wanted to just leave it on a street corner—it was such a beautiful thing that I wanted it to affect someone else somehow. Then I got this idea to drop it into the water. I was thinking about how people talk about political change as just a drop of water in the ocean, and I wanted to make more than a drop—I wanted to make a big splash. Basically, I went to a friend and said I wanted to do this piece and I would sell it to him for the price of taking care of me if I got busted, lawyer fees and whatever else. If nothing happened, it would be free. I would call it "What The World Needs Now Is A White Piano In The East River." He was into it, and then it just started taking on so much meaning. It felt like if the point of what I had tried to say on Louden Up Now was missed, this could be me making that point again. And part of it was still about rebelliousness, even as a 34-year-old, doing what wasn't expected. I didn't have anything prepared beforehand, but at the moment I just honestly said I thought the world would be a better place if everybody followed their crazy dreams. That's all it had been up until that point: a crazy dream. Then I played a few bars of "What The World Needs Now Is Love," the Burt Bacharach and Hal David song, and pushed it in. It was one of the most incredible feelings I've ever had."
Nic Offer of !!! as interviewed by The A.V. Club