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
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