Believe Quote by Michael Stipe
“There tend to be two different drives that lead young people toward music. One is that music provides an escape; it takes you away from the unhappiness or torture of where you are and makes you feel less alienated-you believe there is a place you fit in somewhere else. The other is a sort of transcendent, spiritual feeling in the purity of music.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: 1990s, R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe
Music drives people either as an escape from pain or as a transcendent spiritual experience.
In simple terms: Music offers escape or spiritual uplift.
Key Takeaway
Explore music’s role in coping or growth.
Themes
escape
spirituality
music
Mood
introspective
hopeful
Type
motivational
philosophical
When to use this quote
- adolescence
- stress relief
- creative inspiration
- community gatherings
Key Concepts
psychology
aesthetics
identity formation
Questions to Reflect On
- What does music help you avoid?
- How does music connect you to something larger?
A Different Perspective
Escapism can avoid confronting real issues.
![“At the [teenage] time, I did have an inkling of my sexuality. And I had an inkling that I was different from other people in ways beyond my sexuality. But I didn't get into music because I thought, Oh, these people will understand me.” quote by Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/956/michael-stipe-6714_different_at-the-teenage-time-i-did-have-an-inklin_64270.jpg)
![“I simply constructed a project to try to snap Kurt [Cobain] out of a frame of mind. I sent him a plane ticket and a driver, and he tacked the plane ticket to the wall in the bedroom and the driver sat outside the house for 10 hours. Kurt wouldn't come out and wouldn't answer the phone.” quote by Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/208/michael-stipe-6714_answers_i-simply-constructed-a-project-to-try-to_117192.jpg)
![“[Columbia House] magazines were how I found out about the punk world going on in New York. Because of what I read, at the age of 15, I hounded the local record store to order a copy of Horses [1975] for me by Patti Smith.” quote by Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b4f/michael-stipe-6714_age_columbia-house-magazines-were-how-i-foun_159607.jpg)
