--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As I define it, rock and roll is dead…" description: "\"As I define it, rock and roll is dead. The attitude isn't dead, but the music is no longer vital. It doesn't have the same meaning. The attitude, thoug..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/david-byrne-1206_alive_as-i-define-it-rock-and-roll-is-dead-the_1493359.jpg" --- # As I define it, rock and roll is dead. The attitude isn't… ![“As I define it, rock and roll is dead. The attitude isn't dead, but the music is no longer vital. It doesn't have the same meaning. The attitude, though, is still very much alive - and it still informs other kinds of music.” quote by David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/david-byrne-1206_alive_as-i-define-it-rock-and-roll-is-dead-the_1493359.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/david-byrne-1206_alive_as-i-define-it-rock-and-roll-is-dead-the_1493359.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/david-byrne-1206_alive_as-i-define-it-rock-and-roll-is-dead-the_1493359.jpg) > “As I define it, rock and roll is dead. The attitude isn't dead, but the music is no longer vital. It doesn't have the same meaning. The attitude, though, is still very much alive - and it still informs other kinds of music.” [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rock and roll as a genre may fade, but its rebellious spirit lives on in new music. **In simple terms:** Genre fades, attitude persists. Key Takeaway Embrace the spirit, not just the style. Themes music culture legacy Mood reflective energetic Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - music education - creative inspiration - cultural analysis Key Concepts genre evolution cultural influence Questions to Reflect On - How can you channel the attitude into new creations? - What aspects of the spirit are timeless? A Different Perspective Focusing on nostalgia can hinder innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Rock and roll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rock-and-roll/) [Rock and roll music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rock-and-roll-music/) [Rock n roll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rock-n-roll/) [Rocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rocks/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [People say I ve huge Attitude , but I dont know the meaning of Attitude yet ! :-P](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sweety/people-say-i-ve-huge-attitude-but-i-dont-know-the-meaning-of-attitude/) [Sweety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sweety/) > [ Humor \[in a scene\] is not jokes. It is that attitude toward being alive without which you would long ago have jumped off the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shurtleff/humor-in-a-scene-is-not-jokes-it-is-that-attitude-toward-being-alive/) [Michael Shurtleff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shurtleff/) > [Rock and roll music - people want records. For me, it's the whole thing - the package. I don't get satisfaction from buying an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-tuff/rock-and-roll-music-people-want-records-for-me-it-s-the-whole-thing/) [King Tuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-tuff/) > [My influences were mostly gospel. 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I think they do. And although it's really hard to believe, I have my doubts. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/human-beings-have-the-incredible-capacity-for-denial-i-think-they-do/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [I remember talking with Arcade Fire after their first record, when they were getting all kinds of offers from major labels, and I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/i-remember-talking-with-arcade-fire-after-their-first-record-when/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [I ride my bike almost every day here in New York. It's getting safer to do so, but I do have to be fairly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/i-ride-my-bike-almost-every-day-here-in-new-york-it-s-getting-safer/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [I've been asking myself: 'Why put together these things - CDs, albums?' 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Why? Am I not an attraction?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/i-wave-to-the-double-decker-buses-from-my-bike-but-the-passengers/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [Technology has altered the way music sounds, how it’s composed and how we experience it. It has also flooded the world with music. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/technology-has-altered-the-way-music-sounds-how-it-s-composed-and-how/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [A lot of that worked itself out in the recording.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/a-lot-of-that-worked-itself-out-in-the-recording/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [I came to New York to be a fine artist - that was my ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/i-came-to-new-york-to-be-a-fine-artist-that-was-my-ambition/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [Sometimes the European and North American public like some things to be exotic and kept at arm's length. They don't want sometimes to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/sometimes-the-european-and-north-american-public-like-some-things-to/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [Why not invest in the future of music, instead of building fortresses to preserve its past?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/why-not-invest-in-the-future-of-music-instead-of-building-fortresses/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) [Explore all 274 David Byrne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. 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Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. 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We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. 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"That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As I define it, rock and roll is dead. The attitude isn't dead, but the music is no longer vital. It doesn't have the same meaning. 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