Adam Green Mimics the Humor of Leonard Cohen and Mick Jagger

That old line about how dying is easy but comedy is hard? It's especially pertinent when it comes to rock 'n' roll. Adam Green knows this well, and yet throughout his career -- both as a solo artist and member of the Moldy Peaches -- he's managed to be funny without devolving into goofiness, a skill he learned from some of his songwriting heroes.

"It's been kind of nice to see how Leonard Cohen has done stuff with humor," Green tells Spinner, mentioning a singer to whom he's often compared. "But it's very artful."

Cohen's influence can be heard on Green's sixth solo album, 'Minor Love,' a collection that finds the New York City-based singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist dishing out plenty of his trademark dry wit. Green ambles through the disc's 14 tracks, shrugging off heartbreak with clever turns of phrase.

If Cohen seems an obvious inspiration, Green's fans may be surprised to learn which classic-rock icon has had an even bigger impact on his songwriting.

"The Rolling Stones pull it off really well. Mick Jagger is always making all these joke lyrics up, but somehow it still sounds kind of handsome," Green says. "You don't think of the Rolling Stones as being a total joke band or anything. It's just fun, but there's a difference between being fun and it being a joke. That's probably been my role model the most."

Green views songwriting and performing as two completely different things, and when it comes to the latter, he admires those rockers that can lose their minds onstage but carry on meaningful conversation after the show. Case in point: Iggy Pop, who Green met years ago at England's Reading Festival.

At the time, Green was wearing a Robin Hood outfit, as he often did while performing with the Moldy Peaches. Pop didn't hold that against him, and in fact, he'd heard of Green's celebrated "anti-folk" group. The two struck up a conversation, and Green, who had already been a fan, walked away with an even greater appreciation for the legendary Stooge.

"More what he inferred to me than what he said really inspired me performance-wise," Green says. "He's my greatest influence, performance-wise."

And while he's on the subject of influences, Green points out that he's entering his third decade as a recording artist, a tricky period not even Bob Dylan, another of his favorites, was able to successfully navigate. It was in the '80s, after all, that the '60s icon released 'Empire Burlesque,' an album best known for the regrettable blazer Dylan sports on the cover.

"You know, the jacket he's wearing on it -- [he] almost looks like Jerry Seinfeld or something," Green says.