Rock'n'roll is an attitude, it's not a musical form of a strict sort. It's way of doing things, of approaching things. Writing can be rock'n'roll, or a movie can be rock'n'roll. It's a way of living your life.
Lester BangsRead
Look at it this way: There are many here among us for whom the life force is best represented by the livid twitching of one tortured nerve, or even a full-scale anxiety attack. I do not subscribe to this point of view 100 percent, but I understand it, have lived it. Thus the shriek, the caterwaul, the chainsaw gnarlgnashing, the yowl and the whizz that decapitates may be reheard by the adventurous or emotionally damaged as mellifluous bursts of unarguable affirmation.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the subjective nature of experiencing life, emphasizing both suffering and affirmation.
In this quote, Lester Bangs explores the duality of human experience, noting how individuals may perceive their life force through the lens of pain and anxiety, which may differ from the more affirmative experiences of others. He acknowledges that while he does not fully endorse this perspective of life as solely a struggle, he empathizes with those who feel trapped in such turmoil and suggests that even chaotic and painful experiences can be reinterpreted as affirmations of existence, particularly for those who have faced emotional challenges.
Themes
LifeAnxietyExperienceEmotionAffirmation
In practice
Example use cases
In a seminar about mental health, this quote can illustrate the complex relationship between anxiety and personal growth.
More from Lester Bangs
All quotes →Don’t ask me why I obsessively look to rock ’n’ roll bands for some kind of model for a better society. I guess it’s just that I glimpsed something beautiful in a flashbulb moment once, and perhaps mistaking it for prophecy have been seeking its fulfillment ever since.
Lester BangsRead
Style is originality; fashion is fascism. The two are eternally and unalterably opposed.
Lester BangsRead
Similar quotes
Memories are like mulligatawny soup in a cheap restaurant. It is best not to stir them.
P. G. WodehouseRead
Men live by intervals of reason under the sovereignty of humor and passion.
Thomas BrowneRead
What is common to many is least taken care of, for all men have greater regard for what is their own than what they possess in common with others.
AristotleRead
I don't think you should have to try to be nice, I think most people are nice. I think being cheerful and nice is just a politeness.
Graham NortonRead
Laughter on American television has taken the place of the chorus in Greek tragedy. In other countries, the business of laughing is left to the viewers. Here, their laughter is put on the screen, integrated into the show. It is the screen that is laughing and having a good time. You are simply left alone with your consternation.
Jean BaudrillardRead
The proclamation of Jesus is not a veneer: the proclamation of Jesus goes straight to the bones, heart, goes deep within and change us. And the spirit of the world does not tolerate it, will not tolerate it, and therefore, there is persecution.
Pope FrancisRead