His belief in the power of music to convey ideas - not just entertain - has filtered down to musicians in every field, from alt-rock to hip-hop, from Bruce Springsteen and U2 to Arcade Fire and Kanye West. Popular music is different because of Johnny Cash.
Interpretation
Music has the ability to communicate profound ideas beyond mere entertainment, influenced by Johnny Cash's legacy.
This quote emphasizes Johnny Cash's significant impact on popular music, highlighting how his belief in music's potential to convey deep ideas transcended traditional entertainment. As a result, he has inspired a wide range of musicians across various genres to approach music as a medium for expression and messaging, not just a source of pleasure.
In practice
In a speech at a music awards ceremony, one could quote this to highlight the importance of artistic expression.
I don't start a novel until I have lived with the story for awhile to the point of actually writing an outline and after a number of books I've learned that the more time I spend on the outline the easier the book is to write. And if I cheat on the outline I get in trouble with the book.
Photographers are always imposing
His friends said, "Why do you have that ugly thing hanging there?" and Bull said, "I like it because it's ugly." All his life was in that line.
You get to thinking that because you've written 50 or 100 songs, you think maybe you know how to do it. But when they're not coming along, you're just as in the dark as you ever were. When they're coming along, there's nothing to it. Sometimes it's so easy, it's like you're a court stenographer.
The truest writers are those who see language not as a linguistic process but as a living element.
An artist has to train his responses more than other people do. He has to be as disciplined as a mathematician. Discipline is not a restriction but an aid to freedom. It prepares an artist to choose his own limitations.
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