--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we found an ashtray in the studio…" description: "\"If we found an ashtray in the studio, we'd try to play it and find a part for it in a song.\" — Dusty Hill" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9d/dusty-hill-7832_ashtray_if-we-found-an-ashtray-in-the-studio-we_347596.jpg" --- # If we found an ashtray in the studio, we'd try to play it… ![“If we found an ashtray in the studio, we'd try to play it and find a part for it in a song.” quote by Dusty Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9d/dusty-hill-7832_ashtray_if-we-found-an-ashtray-in-the-studio-we_347596.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9d/dusty-hill-7832_ashtray_if-we-found-an-ashtray-in-the-studio-we_347596.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9d/dusty-hill-7832_ashtray_if-we-found-an-ashtray-in-the-studio-we_347596.jpg) > “If we found an ashtray in the studio, we'd try to play it and find a part for it in a song.” [Dusty Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusty-hill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creativity can turn unexpected objects into artistic elements, encouraging experimental use of found items. **In simple terms:** Use odd things as inspiration for music. Key Takeaway Embrace experimentation. Themes creativity music experimentation Mood playful curious Type inspirational experimental When to use this quote - studio sessions - live performances - soundtracks - collaborative jams Key Concepts found objects sound design innovation Questions to Reflect On - What everyday object could become a musical instrument? - How do you decide what to keep? A Different Perspective Not all found items produce useful sounds; may waste time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ashtray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashtray/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [In the studio, I do try to have a thought in my head, so that it's not like a blank stare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-crawford/in-the-studio-i-do-try-to-have-a-thought-in-my-head-so-that-it-s-not/) [Cindy Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-crawford/) > [I've always found music inspired me in the studio to try to do new things. If someone comes out with a new album, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ofili/i-ve-always-found-music-inspired-me-in-the-studio-to-try-to-do-new/) [Chris Ofili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ofili/) > [Hands, matches, an ashtray. A ritual beautiful and bitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/hands-matches-an-ashtray-a-ritual-beautiful-and-bitter/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [“I had a dream about you. You had just died, and I was debating putting your body into either a coffin or a shoebox.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-had-a-dream-about-you-you-had-just-died-and-i-was-debating-putting/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Let's try and create scenes that are about something... About something deeper than this ashtray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-de-maat/let-s-try-and-create-scenes-that-are-about-something-about-something/) [Martin de Maat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-de-maat/) > [“smarting and smoke was hanging thick in the air while the ashtray on Karras’s desk was mounded high with ashes and the twisted butts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-peter-blatty/smarting-and-smoke-was-hanging-thick-in-the-air-while-the-ashtray-on/) [William Peter Blatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-peter-blatty/) > [“Air was filtering out of my two collapsing lungs. Water rose, bubbling to enter, and I would have died of instantaneous pneumonia - something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/air-was-filtering-out-of-my-two-collapsing-lungs-water-rose-bubbling/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“If someone burns out your eye I will take your socket and use it for an ashtray.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/if-someone-burns-out-your-eye-i-will-take-your-socket-and-use-it-for/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“Me and Mama never did like the smell of cigarettes but after Daddy died, sometimes we would light one up and put it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandi-morgan-denkers/me-and-mama-never-did-like-the-smell-of-cigarettes-but-after-daddy/) [Sandi Morgan Denkers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandi-morgan-denkers/) > [“She’s finished her cigarette but hasn’t put it out properly, so it’s still smoking in the ashtray. I crush mine into it, grinding until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/she-s-finished-her-cigarette-but-hasn-t-put-it-out-properly-so-it-s/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“She reached into an alabaster box and pulled out a violet cigarette that also exactly matched her eyes. Some people just don't know when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-k-wolf/she-reached-into-an-alabaster-box-and-pulled-out-a-violet-cigarette/) Gary K. Wolf > [“Six pull-tabs lay in the ashtray like scales from a mermaid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/six-pull-tabs-lay-in-the-ashtray-like-scales-from-a-mermaid/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“My mother, sitting at the kitchen table, the steam rising from her cup entwining with the smoke curling from her cigarette resting on an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/my-mother-sitting-at-the-kitchen-table-the-steam-rising-from-her-cup/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I think an ashtray is the most fantastically real thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-hirst/i-think-an-ashtray-is-the-most-fantastically-real-thing/) [Damien Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-hirst/) > [After all these years, I definitely associate having a pen in my hand with having an ashtray just out of eye line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/after-all-these-years-i-definitely-associate-having-a-pen-in-my-hand/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## More by Dusty Hill > [I don't know if it was a single-blade or one of those straight-edge razors, but I used to play in bands that were, like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-hill/i-don-t-know-if-it-was-a-single-blade-or-one-of-those-straight-edge/) [Dusty Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusty-hill/) > [I was 19 or 20 the last time I shaved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-hill/i-was-19-or-20-the-last-time-i-shaved/) [Dusty Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusty-hill/) > [Every album is unto itself, so whatever sounds we need to come up with, like way back when, we needed horns. So we invented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-hill/every-album-is-unto-itself-so-whatever-sounds-we-need-to-come-up-with/) [Dusty Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusty-hill/) > [Vegas to me is a place like Hollywood or New York where you can walk around and people recognize you but it's like, hey,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-hill/vegas-to-me-is-a-place-like-hollywood-or-new-york-where-you-can-walk/) [Dusty Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusty-hill/) > [I love recording and I love everything - videos, everything like that - but playing live is what does it for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-hill/i-love-recording-and-i-love-everything-videos-everything-like-that/) [Dusty Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusty-hill/) > [We're serious musicians. And we dont want our shows to be circuses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-hill/we-re-serious-musicians-and-we-dont-want-our-shows-to-be-circuses/) [Dusty Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusty-hill/) > [Today, there's so many different types of music out there that it's difficult to keep up. Things do change; it's only natural.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-hill/today-there-s-so-many-different-types-of-music-out-there-that-it-s/) [Dusty Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusty-hill/) > [People shouldn't knock the synthesizer. It's an aid, and it depends on how you use it, just like any other instrument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-hill/people-shouldn-t-knock-the-synthesizer-it-s-an-aid-and-it-depends-on/) [Dusty Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusty-hill/) > [Every album has its own character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-hill/every-album-has-its-own-character/) [Dusty Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusty-hill/) > [People got to know us from hearing us live because there wasn't much publicity or radio airplay for a long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-hill/people-got-to-know-us-from-hearing-us-live-because-there-wasn-t-much/) [Dusty Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusty-hill/) > [All we did was take what we were and brought it forward. We obviously had a great amount of pride in being from Texas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-hill/all-we-did-was-take-what-we-were-and-brought-it-forward-we-obviously/) [Dusty Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusty-hill/) > [I just like to play and I'm always ready to be back onstage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-hill/i-just-like-to-play-and-i-m-always-ready-to-be-back-onstage/) [Dusty Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusty-hill/) > [We live for our concerts. We like a live appearance more than anything else about this business and it bothers us when we put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-hill/we-live-for-our-concerts-we-like-a-live-appearance-more-than-anything/) [Dusty Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusty-hill/) > [I think life is there for you to grab it and be positive. Just look for the good everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-hill/i-think-life-is-there-for-you-to-grab-it-and-be-positive-just-look/) [Dusty Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusty-hill/) > [We all write the lyrics together, but Frank really shines on 'em pretty good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-hill/we-all-write-the-lyrics-together-but-frank-really-shines-on-em-pretty/) [Dusty Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusty-hill/) [Explore all 87 Dusty Hill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusty-hill/) ## More Ashtray quotes > [After all these years, I definitely associate having a pen in my hand with having an ashtray just out of eye line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/after-all-these-years-i-definitely-associate-having-a-pen-in-my-hand/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I think an ashtray is the most fantastically real thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-hirst/i-think-an-ashtray-is-the-most-fantastically-real-thing/) [Damien Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-hirst/) > [“My mother, sitting at the kitchen table, the steam rising from her cup entwining with the smoke curling from her cigarette resting on an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/my-mother-sitting-at-the-kitchen-table-the-steam-rising-from-her-cup/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [“Six pull-tabs lay in the ashtray like scales from a mermaid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/six-pull-tabs-lay-in-the-ashtray-like-scales-from-a-mermaid/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“She reached into an alabaster box and pulled out a violet cigarette that also exactly matched her eyes. Some people just don't know when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-k-wolf/she-reached-into-an-alabaster-box-and-pulled-out-a-violet-cigarette/) Gary K. Wolf > [“She’s finished her cigarette but hasn’t put it out properly, so it’s still smoking in the ashtray. I crush mine into it, grinding until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/she-s-finished-her-cigarette-but-hasn-t-put-it-out-properly-so-it-s/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“Me and Mama never did like the smell of cigarettes but after Daddy died, sometimes we would light one up and put it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandi-morgan-denkers/me-and-mama-never-did-like-the-smell-of-cigarettes-but-after-daddy/) [Sandi Morgan Denkers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandi-morgan-denkers/) > [“If someone burns out your eye I will take your socket and use it for an ashtray.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/if-someone-burns-out-your-eye-i-will-take-your-socket-and-use-it-for/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“Air was filtering out of my two collapsing lungs. Water rose, bubbling to enter, and I would have died of instantaneous pneumonia - something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/air-was-filtering-out-of-my-two-collapsing-lungs-water-rose-bubbling/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“smarting and smoke was hanging thick in the air while the ashtray on Karras’s desk was mounded high with ashes and the twisted butts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-peter-blatty/smarting-and-smoke-was-hanging-thick-in-the-air-while-the-ashtray-on/) [William Peter Blatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-peter-blatty/) > [Let's try and create scenes that are about something... About something deeper than this ashtray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-de-maat/let-s-try-and-create-scenes-that-are-about-something-about-something/) [Martin de Maat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-de-maat/) > [“I had a dream about you. You had just died, and I was debating putting your body into either a coffin or a shoebox.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-had-a-dream-about-you-you-had-just-died-and-i-was-debating-putting/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Hands, matches, an ashtray. A ritual beautiful and bitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/hands-matches-an-ashtray-a-ritual-beautiful-and-bitter/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [“in his hand the heavy, rectangular onyx ashtray that had been on the table. Was he out of his mind? He’d crack her skull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-his-hand-the-heavy-rectangular-onyx-ashtray-that-had-been-on-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“...doing the smoker's comedy act: he hunted automatically for an ashtray, didn't find one, tipped his ashes into the palm of his hand,...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-nell-warren/doing-the-smoker-s-comedy-act-he-hunted-automatically-for-an-ashtray/) [Patricia Nell Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-nell-warren/) [Browse all 33 Ashtray quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashtray/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If we found an ashtray in the studio, we'd try to play it and find a part for it in a song.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dusty Hill" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-hill/if-we-found-an-ashtray-in-the-studio-we-d-try-to-play-it-and-find-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ashtray" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-hill/if-we-found-an-ashtray-in-the-studio-we-d-try-to-play-it-and-find-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9d/dusty-hill-7832_ashtray_if-we-found-an-ashtray-in-the-studio-we_347596.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9d/dusty-hill-7832_ashtray_if-we-found-an-ashtray-in-the-studio-we_347596.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9d/dusty-hill-7832_ashtray_if-we-found-an-ashtray-in-the-studio-we_347596.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If we found an ashtray in the studio, we'd try to play it and find a part for it in a song.” — Dusty Hill", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dusty Hill", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusty-hill/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If we found an ashtray in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-hill/if-we-found-an-ashtray-in-the-studio-we-d-try-to-play-it-and-find-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-hill/if-we-found-an-ashtray-in-the-studio-we-d-try-to-play-it-and-find-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```