--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was the first records editor at Rolling…" description: "\"I was the first records editor at Rolling Stone, and there were no rules. There was nothing to fall back on as to how do you write about this kind of m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/980/greil-marcus-10438_attention_i-was-the-first-records-editor-at-rollin_3201075.jpg" --- # I was the first records editor at Rolling Stone, and there… ![“I was the first records editor at Rolling Stone, and there were no rules. There was nothing to fall back on as to how do you write about this kind of music, so people were trying absolutely everything with a great sense of freedom and experimentation and success and failure, and a feeling of, “My…” quote by Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/980/greil-marcus-10438_attention_i-was-the-first-records-editor-at-rollin_3201075.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/980/greil-marcus-10438_attention_i-was-the-first-records-editor-at-rollin_3201075.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/980/greil-marcus-10438_attention_i-was-the-first-records-editor-at-rollin_3201075.jpg) > “I was the first records editor at Rolling Stone, and there were no rules. There was nothing to fall back on as to how do you write about this kind of music, so people were trying absolutely everything with a great sense of freedom and experimentation and success and failure, and a feeling of, “My God, people are actually paying attention to this. Let’s pretend they aren’t because we don’t want to be intimidated by what somebody might think of what we’re saying.” [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Absence of rules in music journalism sparked creative freedom, leading to experimentation and both success and failure. **In simple terms:** No rules foster creative risk‑taking. Key Takeaway Embrace experimentation. Themes creativity freedom journalism music risk innovation Mood analytical nostalgic Type historical reflective When to use this quote - writing about new music - producing experimental art - media innovation Key Concepts Avant‑garde cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance freedom with quality? - When does experimentation become excess? A Different Perspective Lack of structure can cause chaos and inconsistency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Experimentation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experimentation/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Intimidated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intimidated/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Paying Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paying-attention/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Rolling stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rolling-stone/) [Rolling stones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rolling-stones/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Success and failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success-and-failure/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I couldn't believe that people went to see 'Saw,' that people actually lined up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-whannell/i-couldn-t-believe-that-people-went-to-see-saw-that-people-actually/) [Leigh Whannell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-whannell/) > [Most people actually think I'm more like my mom because we're interested in the same things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-bush/most-people-actually-think-i-m-more-like-my-mom-because-we-re/) [Jenna Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-bush/) > [Be careful who you open up to. Only few people actually care. The rest are just nosy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-careful-who-you-open-up-to-only-few-people-actually-care-the-rest/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Bjork for sure. Definitely, I would like to do like something with Tommy Genesis, too. There's a lot of people actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jpegmafia/bjork-for-sure-definitely-i-would-like-to-do-like-something-with/) [JPEGMAFIA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jpegmafia/) > [People actually live with their I'd exposed. They're not good at concealing what's going on inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-actually-live-with-their-i-d-exposed-they-re-not-good-at/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Many people may listen, but few people actually hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-mackay/many-people-may-listen-but-few-people-actually-hear/) [Harvey Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-mackay/) > [The tongue weighs practically nothing, but yet so few people are actually strong enough to hold it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boonaa-mohammed/the-tongue-weighs-practically-nothing-but-yet-so-few-people-are/) [Boonaa Mohammed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boonaa-mohammed/) > [It seems to be the case that for the people who actually are all in with Donald Trump - which is who knows: 35,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fallows/it-seems-to-be-the-case-that-for-the-people-who-actually-are-all-in/) [James Fallows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fallows/) > [The only people that actually like Schiff are media hacks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trish-regan/the-only-people-that-actually-like-schiff-are-media-hacks/) [Trish Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trish-regan/) > [I can't believe that people actually know my first and last name. I think it's really, really, gosh-darn neat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany-murphy/i-can-t-believe-that-people-actually-know-my-first-and-last-name-i/) [Brittany Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittany-murphy/) > [People have actually figured out that Estonia is one of the few post-Communist countries that has a genuine image in people's minds as being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toomas-hendrik-ilves/people-have-actually-figured-out-that-estonia-is-one-of-the-few-post/) [Toomas Hendrik Ilves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toomas-hendrik-ilves/) > [Three-quarters of people say they want to die at home, but only a quarter of people actually do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-butler/three-quarters-of-people-say-they-want-to-die-at-home-but-only-a/) [Katy Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-butler/) > [You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/you-see-in-life-lots-of-people-know-what-to-do-but-few-people/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [“They had tried to reproduce their own attitude to life upon the stage, and to dress up as the middle-class English people they actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/they-had-tried-to-reproduce-their-own-attitude-to-life-upon-the-stage/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“All I can think is that this would be so much easier if we were dealing with a completely different set of people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/all-i-can-think-is-that-this-would-be-so-much-easier-if-we-were/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) ## More by Greil Marcus > [As I write, Johnny Rotten's first moments in "Anarchy in the U.K." - a rolling earthquake of a laugh, a buried shout, then hoary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/as-i-write-johnny-rotten-s-first-moments-in-anarchy-in-the-u-k-a/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [Elvis' early music has drama because as he sang he was escaping limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/elvis-early-music-has-drama-because-as-he-sang-he-was-escaping-limits/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [You're going to react to a painting in a way that the painting demands you react.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/you-re-going-to-react-to-a-painting-in-a-way-that-the-painting/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [No failure in America, whether of love or money, is ever simple; it is always a kind of betrayal, of a mass of shadowy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/no-failure-in-america-whether-of-love-or-money-is-ever-simple-it-is/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [ “\[Listening to a song\] one could experience a freedom from one's physical body, and from one's social body - the mask you wore to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/listening-to-a-song-one-could-experience-a-freedom-from-one-s/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [Records that were the sound of somebody - more often than not, a she - speaking with a voice that had never been heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/records-that-were-the-sound-of-somebody-more-often-than-not-a-she/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [I never could understand - it was impossible for me to get my head around - what the furor was, what the sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/i-never-could-understand-it-was-impossible-for-me-to-get-my-head/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [There is no pop category, let alone any infinitely gene-sliced genre name, to contain the lead in Rihanna's voice in 'Needed Me.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/there-is-no-pop-category-let-alone-any-infinitely-gene-sliced-genre/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [I'm a fan of Oliver Stone. I like his movies, I like his excess, and I think he has a great capacity for empathy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/i-m-a-fan-of-oliver-stone-i-like-his-movies-i-like-his-excess-and-i/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [Bob Dylan continues to release odd and unsettling records, and to do odd and unsettling things on stage. So the term 'still' seems meaningless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/bob-dylan-continues-to-release-odd-and-unsettling-records-and-to-do/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [When you're writing criticism or thinking critically, to draw a very limited minor conclusion from solid evidence is really not thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/when-you-re-writing-criticism-or-thinking-critically-to-draw-a-very/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [My ideal reader is somebody who trips over a copy of my book on the sidewalk; then they pick it up and read as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/my-ideal-reader-is-somebody-who-trips-over-a-copy-of-my-book-on-the/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [I don't know that there's a division between American and British, European, South American, Asian sensibilities when it comes to rock n' roll or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/i-don-t-know-that-there-s-a-division-between-american-and-british/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [We fight our way through the massed and leveled collective safe taste of the Top 40, just looking for a little something we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/we-fight-our-way-through-the-massed-and-leveled-collective-safe-taste/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [“Banishing the love song, people discovered what else there was to sing about.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/banishing-the-love-song-people-discovered-what-else-there-was-to-sing/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) [Explore all 65 Greil Marcus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was the first records editor at Rolling Stone, and there were no rules. 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