--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When Sonic Youth wrote music, we would…" description: "\"When Sonic Youth wrote music, we would rehearse for months before anybody heard anything.\" — Lee Ranaldo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/lee-ranaldo-4745_anything_when-sonic-youth-wrote-music-we-would-re_1125707.jpg" --- # When Sonic Youth wrote music, we would rehearse for months… ![“When Sonic Youth wrote music, we would rehearse for months before anybody heard anything.” quote by Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/lee-ranaldo-4745_anything_when-sonic-youth-wrote-music-we-would-re_1125707.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/lee-ranaldo-4745_anything_when-sonic-youth-wrote-music-we-would-re_1125707.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/lee-ranaldo-4745_anything_when-sonic-youth-wrote-music-we-would-re_1125707.jpg) > “When Sonic Youth wrote music, we would rehearse for months before anybody heard anything.” [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative work often requires extensive preparation before public release. **In simple terms:** Preparation precedes public sharing. Key Takeaway Invest time in rehearsal. Themes creativity process discipline Mood contemplative motivational Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - band rehearsals - studio recording - live performance Key Concepts Music production collaboration Questions to Reflect On - How much rehearsal is enough? - When should you trust first instincts? A Different Perspective Perfectionism can delay sharing valuable work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [In theatre, you rehearse for months and then perform. That way, you're totally in-sync with your character, the other characters, and the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirti-kulhari/in-theatre-you-rehearse-for-months-and-then-perform-that-way-you-re/) [Kirti Kulhari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirti-kulhari/) > [I teach class. I study music. I rehearse. I coach people. That's it. I'm doing exactly what I want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-morris/i-teach-class-i-study-music-i-rehearse-i-coach-people-that-s-it-i-m/) [Mark Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-morris/) > [In Sonic Youth, at the end of 'Expressway to Yr. Skull,' we'd tap on the backs of our guitars to get this low-level feedback,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/in-sonic-youth-at-the-end-of-expressway-to-yr-skull-we-d-tap-on-the/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [During the whole time in Sonic Youth, I was happy to put my energy into that. It would have been very difficult to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/during-the-whole-time-in-sonic-youth-i-was-happy-to-put-my-energy/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [As far as we're concerned, we're always Sonic Youth, and we're always making a Sonic Youth record. We just see it so much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/as-far-as-we-re-concerned-we-re-always-sonic-youth-and-we-re-always/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [When Sonic Youth writes music, we write everything in a very communal way. It doesn't matter who brought something in initially; it all gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/when-sonic-youth-writes-music-we-write-everything-in-a-very-communal/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [Sonic Youth was not a singer-songwriter band. It was an electric collective. And, whatever else people's perceptions of Sonic Youth were, it was always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/sonic-youth-was-not-a-singer-songwriter-band-it-was-an-electric/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [Obviously, Sonic Youth has been a huge part of my life for many, many years, and I love all those guys dearly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/obviously-sonic-youth-has-been-a-huge-part-of-my-life-for-many-many/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [I don't know what the vintage Sonic Youth sound is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/i-don-t-know-what-the-vintage-sonic-youth-sound-is/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [I've been sort of writing sketches for songs on my own forever and putting them down on cassette tapes. Yet for years and years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/i-ve-been-sort-of-writing-sketches-for-songs-on-my-own-forever-and/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [One of the key guitars in my career has been an early-Seventies Fender Telecaster Deluxe that I had before Sonic Youth started and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/one-of-the-key-guitars-in-my-career-has-been-an-early-seventies/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [Sonic Youth has always been the vehicle for my writing, you know, because it's a collective songwriting entity: we write our songs as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/sonic-youth-has-always-been-the-vehicle-for-my-writing-you-know/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [I've been lucky enough to be in this amazing band, and to me, a band is really a collaborative unit, and that's definitely been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/i-ve-been-lucky-enough-to-be-in-this-amazing-band-and-to-me-a-band-is/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [I've always been an acoustic guitar player, and I've pretty much continued to play acoustic guitar throughout all of the Sonic Youth periods. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/i-ve-always-been-an-acoustic-guitar-player-and-i-ve-pretty-much/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [By the time Sonic Youth formed in 1981, my musical tastes had left the Dead behind, but I was always very proud of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/by-the-time-sonic-youth-formed-in-1981-my-musical-tastes-had-left-the/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) ## More by Lee Ranaldo > [We've been around long enough that there have certainly been people at every stage of our career telling us about one or another record…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/we-ve-been-around-long-enough-that-there-have-certainly-been-people/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [I guess I see 'Goo' half as a really New York record because I think there are a lot of really particular New York…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/i-guess-i-see-goo-half-as-a-really-new-york-record-because-i-think/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [It's easier to write about a celebrity, a personality, than it is to dig in and write about the music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/it-s-easier-to-write-about-a-celebrity-a-personality-than-it-is-to/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [I have nothing against change or evolution, and I'm not one of those people who wants the city to be what it was 40…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/i-have-nothing-against-change-or-evolution-and-i-m-not-one-of-those/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > ['Daydream' brought us to the top of the heap of the indie-college market and recognition by all of our peers; 'Daydream' kind of capped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/daydream-brought-us-to-the-top-of-the-heap-of-the-indie-college/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [Signing to a major label was an experiment for us. It was a challenge: working in a big studio with a producer was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/signing-to-a-major-label-was-an-experiment-for-us-it-was-a-challenge/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [New York always has a lot of creativity going on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/new-york-always-has-a-lot-of-creativity-going-on/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [We'd been on Geffen for a long time, and I think we felt that we needed a change. I just don't think we felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/we-d-been-on-geffen-for-a-long-time-and-i-think-we-felt-that-we/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [It's not like we set out to antagonize the audience in any way. We're just presenting our music; it's really much more innocent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/it-s-not-like-we-set-out-to-antagonize-the-audience-in-any-way-we-re/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [One of the things I loved - or I love still - about this Occupy movement is it's got a very gentle core. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/one-of-the-things-i-loved-or-i-love-still-about-this-occupy-movement/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [We got our first significant pieces of press in the 'New York Rocker' from early gigs at CBGB.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/we-got-our-first-significant-pieces-of-press-in-the-new-york-rocker/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [Being a guy who was a geek with tape machines in the early days and really interested in how records get made, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/being-a-guy-who-was-a-geek-with-tape-machines-in-the-early-days-and/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [The world is going to end for each of us in a prescribed time, and you sort of understand that your time is limited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/the-world-is-going-to-end-for-each-of-us-in-a-prescribed-time-and-you/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [My main pedal is the Ibanez Analog Delay, the AD9 or the AD80, whichever one it is. That's my go-to pedal for short delay.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/my-main-pedal-is-the-ibanez-analog-delay-the-ad9-or-the-ad80/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [The Strokes will never get anywhere after that first record.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/the-strokes-will-never-get-anywhere-after-that-first-record/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) [Explore all 107 Lee Ranaldo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) ## More Anything quotes > [I guess I've never really wanted to be anything else. 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I did it for one term, when it was compulsory, and I hated it. Tennis was the main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-mitchell/i-never-did-drama-at-school-i-did-it-for-one-term-when-it-was/) [Luke Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-mitchell/) > [We live in such a special time when literally anything we can think of is possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-willey/we-live-in-such-a-special-time-when-literally-anything-we-can-think/) [Daniel Willey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-willey/) > [You know, I'm from Baltimore; nobody has anything. When somebody had talent, I was hiring my uncle, my cousin, you know? Getting people that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sisqo/you-know-i-m-from-baltimore-nobody-has-anything-when-somebody-had/) [Sisqo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sisqo/) > [I said to my agent, 'I want short, sharp, well-paid jobs because I haven't got time for anything else.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-whitelaw/i-said-to-my-agent-i-want-short-sharp-well-paid-jobs-because-i-haven/) [Billie Whitelaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-whitelaw/) > [I think anything that anyone writes thats any good is going to have a lot of autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-adly-guirgis/i-think-anything-that-anyone-writes-thats-any-good-is-going-to-have-a/) [Stephen Adly Guirgis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-adly-guirgis/) > [If the Bible is correct, and the Earth is only 6,000 years old, that means there were no dinosaurs, and museum curators have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-shock/if-the-bible-is-correct-and-the-earth-is-only-6-000-years-old-that/) [Ron Shock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-shock/) > [Don't do anything drastic like getting your eyebrows tattooed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-lee/don-t-do-anything-drastic-like-getting-your-eyebrows-tattooed/) [Greta Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-lee/) > [Whenever you define family as anything other than a man and a woman married together, you have just introduced an ethical nightmare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-evans/whenever-you-define-family-as-anything-other-than-a-man-and-a-woman/) [Tony Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-evans/) > [No lusting after your neighbor's house - or wife or servant or maid or ox or donkey. 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