--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've never conceptualized much of what I…" description: "\"I've never conceptualized much of what I write about. Maybe, once I'm onto something, I'll conceptualize a finished record. I want the songs to tie tog..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/conor-oberst-1535_armchairs_i-ve-never-conceptualized-much-of-what-i_2162783.png" --- # I've never conceptualized much of what I write about… ![“I've never conceptualized much of what I write about. Maybe, once I'm onto something, I'll conceptualize a finished record. I want the songs to tie together and make sense together. I'm not like, "Oh, I want to explore this idea." That's just not how the creative process works for me. It's more…” quote by Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/conor-oberst-1535_armchairs_i-ve-never-conceptualized-much-of-what-i_2162783.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/conor-oberst-1535_armchairs_i-ve-never-conceptualized-much-of-what-i_2162783.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/conor-oberst-1535_armchairs_i-ve-never-conceptualized-much-of-what-i_2162783.png) > “I've never conceptualized much of what I write about. Maybe, once I'm onto something, I'll conceptualize a finished record. I want the songs to tie together and make sense together. I'm not like, "Oh, I want to explore this idea." That's just not how the creative process works for me. It's more like something strikes me, or finds me, and then I wrestle with it after that. I don't sit back in my armchair, like, "What kind of philosophy can I explore today?"” [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes his creative flow as reactive, not pre‑planned, letting ideas find him before he refines them. **In simple terms:** He creates by responding to ideas, not by planning. Key Takeaway Allow inspiration to arrive, then shape it. Themes creativity spontaneity process Mood introspective creative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - songwriting - painting - writing drafts Key Concepts improvisation artistic intuition Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your best ideas? - How do you balance spontaneity with structure? A Different Perspective May miss strategic direction without planning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Armchairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/armchairs/) [Conceptualize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceptualize-1461770/) [Conceptualize Finished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceptualize-finished-4596447/) [Conceptualized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceptualized-2450720/) [Conceptualized Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceptualized-write-4596446/) [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Creative process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-process/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Find me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/find-me/) [Finished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finished/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Like something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-something/) [Make sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-sense/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Records](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/records/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes/) [Ties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ties/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I've come to understand that life is best lived, not conceptualized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/i-ve-come-to-understand-that-life-is-best-lived-not-conceptualized/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [The meaning of life is that it is to be lived, and it is not to be traded and conceptualized and squeezed into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/the-meaning-of-life-is-that-it-is-to-be-lived-and-it-is-not-to-be/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Life is better lived than conceptualized. — This writing can be less demanding should I allow myself to indulge in the usual manipulating game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/life-is-better-lived-than-conceptualized-this-writing-can-be-less/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Philosophy begins with the understanding that you cannot just observe or experience and then report what you see, because how you conceptualize and symbolize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-gendlin/philosophy-begins-with-the-understanding-that-you-cannot-just-observe/) [Eugene Gendlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-gendlin/) > [To perceive is to categorize, to conceptualize is to categorize, to learn is to form categories, to make decisions is to categorize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/to-perceive-is-to-categorize-to-conceptualize-is-to-categorize-to/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [Just because I try to read a lot of stuff doesn't mean I can fully conceptualize all of these intense, big, abstract ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ransone/just-because-i-try-to-read-a-lot-of-stuff-doesn-t-mean-i-can-fully/) [James Ransone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ransone/) > [Going back to high school and college, I believed I would be involved in public service. I literally could not conceptualize anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-de-blasio/going-back-to-high-school-and-college-i-believed-i-would-be-involved/) [Bill de Blasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-de-blasio/) > [Visualize, empathize, conceptualize, strategies, formalize, scrutinize and realize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasneem-hameed/visualize-empathize-conceptualize-strategies-formalize-scrutinize-and/) [Tasneem Hameed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasneem-hameed/) > [“How you conceptualize meaning matters. If you hold that it is outside of yourself and must be tracked down, you have one idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/how-you-conceptualize-meaning-matters-if-you-hold-that-it-is-outside/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [The more invested I am in my own ideas about reality, the more those experiences will feel like victimizations rather than the ups and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-richo/the-more-invested-i-am-in-my-own-ideas-about-reality-the-more-those/) [David Richo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-richo/) > [My apartment is basically a couch, an armchair, and about four thousand books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/my-apartment-is-basically-a-couch-an-armchair-and-about-four-thousand/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [The kind of approach I take is different from much of experimental philosophy. Although the experimental philosophers and I are certainly in agreement about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/the-kind-of-approach-i-take-is-different-from-much-of-experimental/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [I once sang 'Summer Nights,' from 'Grease,' at a bar in Melbourne with John Travolta, who's a good friend of mine. He looked cool…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-jackman/i-once-sang-summer-nights-from-grease-at-a-bar-in-melbourne-with-john/) [Hugh Jackman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-jackman/) > [Here, as in so many other cases, however, it turns out that a very commonsensical idea looks far less attractive when one examines some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/here-as-in-so-many-other-cases-however-it-turns-out-that-a-very/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [She sits in her usual ample armchair, with piles of books and unopened magazines around her. She sips cautiously from the mug of weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/she-sits-in-her-usual-ample-armchair-with-piles-of-books-and-unopened/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) ## More by Conor Oberst > [Every time I finish a song... most of the time it's in my own head, like this sounds too much like a Townes Van…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/every-time-i-finish-a-song-most-of-the-time-it-s-in-my-own-head-like/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [Because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town. You can save face but you won't ever save your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/because-the-truth-is-that-gossip-is-as-good-as-gospel-in-this-town/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [There's nothing that the road cannot heal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/there-s-nothing-that-the-road-cannot-heal/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [I've given up trying to understand what people think about me. It seems like a lot of people don't like the music we make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/i-ve-given-up-trying-to-understand-what-people-think-about-me-it/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [You can't manufacture inspiration, so a lot of it is still a waiting game for me. There's still a lot of mystery to songwriting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/you-can-t-manufacture-inspiration-so-a-lot-of-it-is-still-a-waiting/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [Cause I swear that I'm dying, slowly but its happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/cause-i-swear-that-i-m-dying-slowly-but-its-happening/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [In a way, to have whatever people talk about as "crossover success," I think it means you start making bad music. I mean, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/in-a-way-to-have-whatever-people-talk-about-as-crossover-success-i/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [Men with purple hearts carry silver guns and they will kill a man for what his father has done. But what my father did,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/men-with-purple-hearts-carry-silver-guns-and-they-will-kill-a-man-for/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [There's a major underlying idea as you grow up that you need to just save your money and get that affordable housing at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/there-s-a-major-underlying-idea-as-you-grow-up-that-you-need-to-just/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [To finish a song is the best feeling in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/to-finish-a-song-is-the-best-feeling-in-the-world/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [I've been part of running a label since I was a kid, so I understand how it works. But the more and more I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/i-ve-been-part-of-running-a-label-since-i-was-a-kid-so-i-understand/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [I'm ripe for the picking for the Scientologists - one of those creeps. Someone's got to find me. Some little weird cult can just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/i-m-ripe-for-the-picking-for-the-scientologists-one-of-those-creeps/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [When I run into a person or a kid that comes up and gives me the spiel about, 'Hey, I got your record at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/when-i-run-into-a-person-or-a-kid-that-comes-up-and-gives-me-the/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [My dad, who plays guitar and piano and was in cover bands, along with my older brother, Matt, taught me guitar and stuff. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/my-dad-who-plays-guitar-and-piano-and-was-in-cover-bands-along-with/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [I think there's a weird self-affirmation thing that happens in popular music in general. It seems like every song I hear on the radio…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/i-think-there-s-a-weird-self-affirmation-thing-that-happens-in/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) [Explore all 230 Conor Oberst quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) ## More Armchairs quotes > [She sits in her usual ample armchair, with piles of books and unopened magazines around her. She sips cautiously from the mug of weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/she-sits-in-her-usual-ample-armchair-with-piles-of-books-and-unopened/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [Here, as in so many other cases, however, it turns out that a very commonsensical idea looks far less attractive when one examines some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/here-as-in-so-many-other-cases-however-it-turns-out-that-a-very/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [I once sang 'Summer Nights,' from 'Grease,' at a bar in Melbourne with John Travolta, who's a good friend of mine. He looked cool…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-jackman/i-once-sang-summer-nights-from-grease-at-a-bar-in-melbourne-with-john/) [Hugh Jackman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-jackman/) > [The kind of approach I take is different from much of experimental philosophy. Although the experimental philosophers and I are certainly in agreement about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/the-kind-of-approach-i-take-is-different-from-much-of-experimental/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [My apartment is basically a couch, an armchair, and about four thousand books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/my-apartment-is-basically-a-couch-an-armchair-and-about-four-thousand/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [Joe Calzaghe is next. If he gets himself out that armchair, gets himself back in the gym, let's have a fight for the British…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-froch/joe-calzaghe-is-next-if-he-gets-himself-out-that-armchair-gets/) [Carl Froch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-froch/) > [Internalist approaches to epistemology, I believe, have a great deal of intuitive appeal. Internalists believe that the features in virtue of which a belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/internalist-approaches-to-epistemology-i-believe-have-a-great-deal-of/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [It is my dream to create an art which is filled with balance, purity and calmness, freed from a subject matter that is disconcerting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/it-is-my-dream-to-create-an-art-which-is-filled-with-balance-purity/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [I'm an armchair psychologist, I suppose, and I like to kind of sit around and guess and pretend I know what's going on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hardy/i-m-an-armchair-psychologist-i-suppose-and-i-like-to-kind-of-sit/) [Tom Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hardy/) > [That makes sense, I suppose. But for me, reading is an adventure. It makes me an armchair traveler and takes me places I shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lee/that-makes-sense-i-suppose-but-for-me-reading-is-an-adventure-it/) [Laura Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lee/) > [I discourage passive skepticism, which is the armchair variety where people sit back and criticize without ever subjecting their theories or themselves to real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-ferriss/i-discourage-passive-skepticism-which-is-the-armchair-variety-where/) [Tim Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-ferriss/) > [They were having an argument as old and comfortable as an armchair, the kind of argument that no one ever really wins or loses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/they-were-having-an-argument-as-old-and-comfortable-as-an-armchair/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Because I saw my parents relaxing in armchairs and reading and liking it, I thought it was a peaceful grown-up thing to do, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maeve-binchy/because-i-saw-my-parents-relaxing-in-armchairs-and-reading-and-liking/) [Maeve Binchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maeve-binchy/) > [Must you go? I was rather hoping you'd stay and be a ministering angel, but if you must go, you must." "I'll stay," Will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-you-go-i-was-rather-hoping-you-d-stay-and-be-a-ministering-angel/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I have now and again tried to imagine the perfect environment, the ideal conditions for reading: A worn leather armchair on a rainy night?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-have-now-and-again-tried-to-imagine-the-perfect-environment-the/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) [Browse all 71 Armchairs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/armchairs/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've never conceptualized much of what I write about. Maybe, once I'm onto something, I'll conceptualize a finished record. I want the songs to tie together and make sense together. 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