--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've never been good at being nostalgic…" description: "\"I've never been good at being nostalgic, and I've never been able to focus on sound without having a voice that's very here-and-now.\" — Jenny Hval" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92b/jenny-hval-18252_able_i-ve-never-been-good-at-being-nostalgic_2478844.jpg" --- # I've never been good at being nostalgic, and I've never… ![“I've never been good at being nostalgic, and I've never been able to focus on sound without having a voice that's very here-and-now.” quote by Jenny Hval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92b/jenny-hval-18252_able_i-ve-never-been-good-at-being-nostalgic_2478844.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92b/jenny-hval-18252_able_i-ve-never-been-good-at-being-nostalgic_2478844.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92b/jenny-hval-18252_able_i-ve-never-been-good-at-being-nostalgic_2478844.jpg) > “I've never been good at being nostalgic, and I've never been able to focus on sound without having a voice that's very here-and-now.” [Jenny Hval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-hval/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She feels disconnected from nostalgia and prefers immediate, present‑focused experiences over reminiscing about the past. **In simple terms:** She lives in the present, not the past. Key Takeaway Embrace the now, let go of longing. Themes present‑moment nostalgia focus creativity Mood contemplative introspective Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - live in - creative work - personal reflection - overcoming nostalgia Key Concepts existentialism mindfulness artistic identity Questions to Reflect On - How does focusing on the present shape your art? - What do you lose by avoiding nostalgia? A Different Perspective Nostalgia can limit future vision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Focus Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus-sound-840414/) [Having Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-voice-527566/) [Here and now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/here-and-now/) [Nostalgic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgic/) [Nostalgic Ve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgic-ve-840415/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Sound Having](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound-having-840416/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) ## Related quotes > [I think you can only be nostalgic for something you've lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-jarmusch/i-think-you-can-only-be-nostalgic-for-something-you-ve-lost/) [Jim Jarmusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-jarmusch/) > [You have to have a certain amount of grit in your sound, and having real synths and talking certain elements outside your computer can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deadmau5/you-have-to-have-a-certain-amount-of-grit-in-your-sound-and-having/) [Deadmau5](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deadmau5/) > [You can't improve sound by having only silence. The problem is to use each at the proper time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/you-can-t-improve-sound-by-having-only-silence-the-problem-is-to-use/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [I like the idea of imagining a sound and feeling a sound and then having it come out through your body, through an instrument.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/i-like-the-idea-of-imagining-a-sound-and-feeling-a-sound-and-then/) [Tod Machover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/) > [We live here and now. Everything before and in other places is past. Mostly forgotten. What could, what should be done with all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/we-live-here-and-now-everything-before-and-in-other-places-is-past/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [I've played shows with injuries before but unfortunately cannot overcome having no voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-church/i-ve-played-shows-with-injuries-before-but-unfortunately-cannot/) [Eric Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-church/) > [I love having my voice on my songs now, but it also means a lot to hear that another artist likes your song enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-hurd/i-love-having-my-voice-on-my-songs-now-but-it-also-means-a-lot-to/) [Ryan Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-hurd/) > [Years ago, I carved out an identity, and it has always been about having a voice to tell people about stuff I love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-trunk/years-ago-i-carved-out-an-identity-and-it-has-always-been-about/) [Eddie Trunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-trunk/) > [Having a voice unlike another means you've "found yourself" as a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-klein/having-a-voice-unlike-another-means-you-ve-found-yourself-as-a-writer/) [Lee Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-klein/) > [Both love and democracy depend on voice -- having a voice and also the resonance that makes it possible to speak and be heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-gilligan/both-love-and-democracy-depend-on-voice-having-a-voice-and-also-the/) [Carol Gilligan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-gilligan/) > [The artists who have inspired me the most in my life are the ones who have really had something to say and stand up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-keys/the-artists-who-have-inspired-me-the-most-in-my-life-are-the-ones-who/) [Alicia Keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-keys/) > [Having your voice heard makes you feel more involved and somewhat important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jrue-holiday/having-your-voice-heard-makes-you-feel-more-involved-and-somewhat/) [Jrue Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jrue-holiday/) > [I don't mind that if I ever star in movies, they'll likely be mine. That's okay, because my great role models - Woody Allen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/i-don-t-mind-that-if-i-ever-star-in-movies-they-ll-likely-be-mine/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [I'd always been quite quiet growing up, and singing was a way of having a voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leona-lewis/i-d-always-been-quite-quiet-growing-up-and-singing-was-a-way-of/) [Leona Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leona-lewis/) > [I went through some tough times because if you're used to having a voice in contemporary culture and all of sudden, you don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-ford/i-went-through-some-tough-times-because-if-you-re-used-to-having-a/) [Tom Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-ford/) ## More by Jenny Hval > [The body should not just be something you see. It's also the inside of it. It's frightening and abstract and much more than pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hval/the-body-should-not-just-be-something-you-see-it-s-also-the-inside-of/) [Jenny Hval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-hval/) > [I'm very interested in the visual world because I'm also very interested in feminism. I find that the world of watching takes us into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hval/i-m-very-interested-in-the-visual-world-because-i-m-also-very/) [Jenny Hval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-hval/) > [I'm always going back and forth between wanting to do stuff that's abstract and stuff that's just telling everybody to listen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hval/i-m-always-going-back-and-forth-between-wanting-to-do-stuff-that-s/) [Jenny Hval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-hval/) > [I'm constantly reading and trying to enlighten myself to how the world works in its silent ways to make everything seem normal when it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hval/i-m-constantly-reading-and-trying-to-enlighten-myself-to-how-the/) [Jenny Hval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-hval/) > [Soft things are terrifying. They're the real signals of death. Images of strength can never be that terrifying. It's the images of weakness that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hval/soft-things-are-terrifying-they-re-the-real-signals-of-death-images/) [Jenny Hval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-hval/) > [I've always been a fan of reading art catalogues from exhibitions, and plays, and I've worked with a surrealist German playwright, Heiner Müller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hval/i-ve-always-been-a-fan-of-reading-art-catalogues-from-exhibitions-and/) [Jenny Hval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-hval/) > [I really hated being the Norwegian girl in every single conversation in Australia, so I tried to make my Norwegian-ness invisible, speaking like whoever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hval/i-really-hated-being-the-norwegian-girl-in-every-single-conversation/) [Jenny Hval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-hval/) > [I've always been so interested in the way the body feels when singing or being on stage, or being in the audience for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hval/i-ve-always-been-so-interested-in-the-way-the-body-feels-when-singing/) [Jenny Hval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-hval/) > [Health is so important now, it's ridiculous - the body has become frightening, this thing that will kill you if you don't keep really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hval/health-is-so-important-now-it-s-ridiculous-the-body-has-become/) [Jenny Hval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-hval/) > [I went through various phases of different accents - I get ridiculously obsessed with different accents, different regional ways of using the voice, different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hval/i-went-through-various-phases-of-different-accents-i-get-ridiculously/) [Jenny Hval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-hval/) > [I couldn't even have a guitar. But I got a three-track recorder that was so small that I could take it with me. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hval/i-couldn-t-even-have-a-guitar-but-i-got-a-three-track-recorder-that/) [Jenny Hval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-hval/) > [I've studied film a lot, so I know much more about film than music, but I don't think I could have made films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hval/i-ve-studied-film-a-lot-so-i-know-much-more-about-film-than-music-but/) [Jenny Hval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-hval/) > [When I write stuff that's provocative, I want people to think about that, too. I'm in between a pop musician and an artist in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hval/when-i-write-stuff-that-s-provocative-i-want-people-to-think-about/) [Jenny Hval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-hval/) > [When you're outside of genre, you can expose more vulnerability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hval/when-you-re-outside-of-genre-you-can-expose-more-vulnerability/) [Jenny Hval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-hval/) > [I'm inspired by that rawness in very direct communication. My work is not meant to keep people happy or give them an escape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hval/i-m-inspired-by-that-rawness-in-very-direct-communication-my-work-is/) [Jenny Hval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-hval/) [Explore all 35 Jenny Hval quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-hval/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) [Greg Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-perry/) > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) [Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've never been good at being nostalgic, and I've never been able to focus on sound without having a voice that's very here-and-now.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jenny Hval" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hval/i-ve-never-been-good-at-being-nostalgic-and-i-ve-never-been-able-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Able" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hval/i-ve-never-been-good-at-being-nostalgic-and-i-ve-never-been-able-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92b/jenny-hval-18252_able_i-ve-never-been-good-at-being-nostalgic_2478844.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92b/jenny-hval-18252_able_i-ve-never-been-good-at-being-nostalgic_2478844.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92b/jenny-hval-18252_able_i-ve-never-been-good-at-being-nostalgic_2478844.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I've never been good at being nostalgic, and I've never been able to focus on sound without having a voice…” — Jenny Hval", "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": "Jenny Hval", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-hval/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I've never been good at being...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hval/i-ve-never-been-good-at-being-nostalgic-and-i-ve-never-been-able-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hval/i-ve-never-been-good-at-being-nostalgic-and-i-ve-never-been-able-to/#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 } } ] } ```