--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that our work and our music…" description: "\"I think that our work and our music stands on its own without this knowledge about our identity around it. But I also think that we very consciously de..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/049/ben-hopkins-18342_consciously_i-think-that-our-work-and-our-music-stan_59280.jpg" --- # I think that our work and our music stands on its own… ![“I think that our work and our music stands on its own without this knowledge about our identity around it. But I also think that we very consciously decided not to hold back that part of ourselves, but to be very vocal about who we are, kind of what experiences we've had in life, and how we…” quote by Ben Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/049/ben-hopkins-18342_consciously_i-think-that-our-work-and-our-music-stan_59280.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/049/ben-hopkins-18342_consciously_i-think-that-our-work-and-our-music-stan_59280.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/049/ben-hopkins-18342_consciously_i-think-that-our-work-and-our-music-stan_59280.jpg) > “I think that our work and our music stands on its own without this knowledge about our identity around it. But I also think that we very consciously decided not to hold back that part of ourselves, but to be very vocal about who we are, kind of what experiences we've had in life, and how we identify.” [Ben Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hopkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker argues that their art can be appreciated independently of personal identity, yet they choose to openly share their background and experiences to enrich its meaning. **In simple terms:** Balancing artistic autonomy with personal transparency. Key Takeaway Identity can deepen artistic resonance. Themes self‑expression authenticity artistic integrity identity politics narrative cultural context Mood proud reflective empowering Type personal statement artist manifesto When to use this quote - interview about creative process - public performance with personal storytelling - media profile on artist’s background - panel discussion on representation - educational workshop on art and identity Key Concepts artist’s voice personal narrative audience perception social identity Practical Applications - use in branding that highlights personal story - incorporate in marketing to connect with diverse audiences Questions to Reflect On - How does sharing personal identity affect audience interpretation? - When might an artist choose to conceal aspects of their background? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [I would say totally, but not consciously. We decided to do this I dont know when before a lot of changes happened. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/medeski-martin-and-wood/i-would-say-totally-but-not-consciously-we-decided-to-do-this-i-dont/) [Medeski Martin And Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/medeski-martin-and-wood/) > [I don't think I consciously decided to write for the young adult audience; my subconscious decided for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-frost/i-don-t-think-i-consciously-decided-to-write-for-the-young-adult/) [Mark Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-frost/) > [Conversations about money, culture, power, class - it's at the center of my identity. I think it's a combination of being born to immigrant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/su-chin-pak/conversations-about-money-culture-power-class-it-s-at-the-center-of/) [Su-chin Pak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/su-chin-pak/) > [If work is part of your identity, think very carefully before you give it up. Giving it up won't make you a better mother;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-marzollo/if-work-is-part-of-your-identity-think-very-carefully-before-you-give/) [Jean Marzollo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-marzollo/) > [It’s hard to find backbone.I never had crisis of identity. But I think many Americans have it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalia-makarova/it-s-hard-to-find-backbone-i-never-had-crisis-of-identity-but-i-think/) [Natalia Makarova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalia-makarova/) > [Maybe I had a 'secret identity,' but then when you think about it, don't we all? A part of ourselves very few people ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-busiek/maybe-i-had-a-secret-identity-but-then-when-you-think-about-it-don-t/) [Kurt Busiek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busiek/) > [I think it's too easy to just say that there is a direct and necessary conflict between black identity and gay identity. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-amaechi/i-think-it-s-too-easy-to-just-say-that-there-is-a-direct-and/) [John Amaechi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-amaechi/) > [There's a point with every record we've made that the album starts to assert its identity, and I think that's kind of what happened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dwane/there-s-a-point-with-every-record-we-ve-made-that-the-album-starts-to/) [Ted Dwane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dwane/) > [When we talk of identity, we often think of groups such as black Muslim lesbians in wheelchairs. This is because identity only seems to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grayson-perry/when-we-talk-of-identity-we-often-think-of-groups-such-as-black/) [Grayson Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grayson-perry/) > [“Elliott was disarmingly bright, according to everyone who knew him, an avid reader of Dostoevsky, Kafka, Beckett, Stendhal, Freud, the Buddha, all of whom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-todd-schultz/elliott-was-disarmingly-bright-according-to-everyone-who-knew-him-an/) William Todd Schultz > [Still uncertain as to our identity, we think that what matters in the work world is gaining attention and making friends. And these misconceptions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/still-uncertain-as-to-our-identity-we-think-that-what-matters-in-the/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Your own material is your identity, and I think that's what you need to stick to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-frampton/your-own-material-is-your-identity-and-i-think-that-s-what-you-need/) [Peter Frampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-frampton/) > [Glam really did plant seeds for a new identity. I think a lot of kids needed that - that sense of reinvention. Kids learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/glam-really-did-plant-seeds-for-a-new-identity-i-think-a-lot-of-kids/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [An important purpose for mortality is to help us learn to recognize and to choose the positive even though the negative more fully surrounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-eadie/an-important-purpose-for-mortality-is-to-help-us-learn-to-recognize/) [Betty Eadie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-eadie/) > [“Yet of course nationalism is always “imagined”; identity is what you think you are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-e-fuller/yet-of-course-nationalism-is-always-imagined-identity-is-what-you/) [Graham E. Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-e-fuller/) ## More by Ben Hopkins > [I'm in a car so much on tour that I often just ask my friends to DJ and ask them what they like. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hopkins/i-m-in-a-car-so-much-on-tour-that-i-often-just-ask-my-friends-to-dj/) [Ben Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hopkins/) > [I want to say that our shows are safer-spaces shows. Don't push anyone or affect anyone's space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hopkins/i-want-to-say-that-our-shows-are-safer-spaces-shows-don-t-push-anyone/) [Ben Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hopkins/) > [When fringe groups gather, there is power in that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hopkins/when-fringe-groups-gather-there-is-power-in-that/) [Ben Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hopkins/) > [People who pigeonhole us for our queerness are not people I'm interested in knowing. They're so boring. How dare you be so boring? Grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hopkins/people-who-pigeonhole-us-for-our-queerness-are-not-people-i-m/) [Ben Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hopkins/) > [There is power in organization. There is power in a community. People have always wanted to destroy communities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hopkins/there-is-power-in-organization-there-is-power-in-a-community-people/) [Ben Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hopkins/) > [What we do is provide a suggestion. We say, 'We're queer. We're going to do this; we're going to open up the space to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hopkins/what-we-do-is-provide-a-suggestion-we-say-we-re-queer-we-re-going-to/) [Ben Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hopkins/) > [The most radical thing about our lives is getting to be in a visibly filled-out queer crowd every night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hopkins/the-most-radical-thing-about-our-lives-is-getting-to-be-in-a-visibly/) [Ben Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hopkins/) > [I'd say, at the end of the day, you know, from a songwriting practice standpoint, you write songs to make yourself feel something true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hopkins/i-d-say-at-the-end-of-the-day-you-know-from-a-songwriting-practice/) [Ben Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hopkins/) > [When I started playing music, I was more of a character. Now I'm just me with a cool outfit on. I'm more comfortable being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hopkins/when-i-started-playing-music-i-was-more-of-a-character-now-i-m-just/) [Ben Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hopkins/) > [Ben Hopkins is a very nervous, neurotic kind of person who is afraid of not being liked by people all the time. But, Monster-Me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hopkins/ben-hopkins-is-a-very-nervous-neurotic-kind-of-person-who-is-afraid/) [Ben Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hopkins/) > [I feel like with PWR BTTM, Liv and I tried to create something that was kind and cared about the people who come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hopkins/i-feel-like-with-pwr-bttm-liv-and-i-tried-to-create-something-that/) [Ben Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hopkins/) > [When you're a queer person put in the spotlight, you're supposed to have all the answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hopkins/when-you-re-a-queer-person-put-in-the-spotlight-you-re-supposed-to/) [Ben Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hopkins/) > [I think that when you're queer, you grow up with these kinds of men who might have made you feel small because of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hopkins/i-think-that-when-you-re-queer-you-grow-up-with-these-kinds-of-men/) [Ben Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hopkins/) > [I think the earnestness of what we're saying and what other bands like us are totally saying - or other queer bands - is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hopkins/i-think-the-earnestness-of-what-we-re-saying-and-what-other-bands/) [Ben Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hopkins/) > [Like my gender, sometimes things don't come out right the first time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hopkins/like-my-gender-sometimes-things-don-t-come-out-right-the-first-time/) [Ben Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hopkins/) [Explore all 35 Ben Hopkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hopkins/) ## More Consciously quotes > [“The only sure path is to live consciously, moment to moment, as you let go of the outcome.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-kasl/the-only-sure-path-is-to-live-consciously-moment-to-moment-as-you-let/) Charlotte Kasl > [When you do not consciously relate to your body, your mind does not relate consciously to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/when-you-do-not-consciously-relate-to-your-body-your-mind-does-not/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [I never consciously set out to model myself after Upton Sinclair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schlosser/i-never-consciously-set-out-to-model-myself-after-upton-sinclair/) [Eric Schlosser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schlosser/) > [Enlightenment doesn't mean you know anything. It doesn't mean you don't know anything. It means that you've returned to the source, consciously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightenment-doesn-t-mean-you-know-anything-it-doesn-t-mean-you-don/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Consciously or subconsciously, we become slaves to debt and social obligation. As a result, we end up more committed to the minutia and less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romany-malco/consciously-or-subconsciously-we-become-slaves-to-debt-and-social/) [Romany Malco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romany-malco/) > [“Something in us recognizes magic when we encounter it. Whether we believe in it consciously or not. It affects us and the choices we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffe-kennedy/something-in-us-recognizes-magic-when-we-encounter-it-whether-we/) Jeffe Kennedy > [“When you consciously choose to do what you love, life becomes a pleasure and ceases to be a chore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-leigh-mercree/when-you-consciously-choose-to-do-what-you-love-life-becomes-a/) [Amy Leigh Mercree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-leigh-mercree/) > [It is often tragic to see how blatantly a man bungles his own life and the lives of others yet remains totally incapable of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-often-tragic-to-see-how-blatantly-a-man-bungles-his-own-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Whatever we become in life we either "let happen" or we consciously CREATE to be. One puts you in a VICTIM pit, the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-mitchell/whatever-we-become-in-life-we-either-let-happen-or-we-consciously/) Tina Mitchell > [I am consciously selective of the work that I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mithila-palkar/i-am-consciously-selective-of-the-work-that-i-do/) [Mithila Palkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mithila-palkar/) > [“The Matrix can feel like a pretty hopeless place. I get that. Nobody in his or her right mind (a tiny minority, admittedly) wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/the-matrix-can-feel-like-a-pretty-hopeless-place-i-get-that-nobody-in/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [It is important for us consciously to say, or claim, only the things we want rather than what we do not want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-l-johnson/it-is-important-for-us-consciously-to-say-or-claim-only-the-things-we/) [Darren L Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-l-johnson/) > [“YOU are becoming a new species. The vibrations in and around you are increasing in speed. YOU are all adjusting to these higher dimensional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-seiler/you-are-becoming-a-new-species-the-vibrations-in-and-around-you-are/) [Elaine Seiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-seiler/) > [“We need to learn how to live consciously and, trusting ourselves, purposefully on that inevitable balance point between form and emptiness, relative and absolute,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/we-need-to-learn-how-to-live-consciously-and-trusting-ourselves/) [Lama Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-surya-das/) > [Every time you connect, a little bit more clarity stays around the love, a little bit more space opens up around it. your mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsoknyi-rinpoche/every-time-you-connect-a-little-bit-more-clarity-stays-around-the/) [Tsoknyi Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsoknyi-rinpoche/) Browse all 197 Consciously quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think that our work and our music stands on its own without this knowledge about our identity around it. 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