--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Music television is all about the…" description: "\"Music television is all about the media-oriented version of what it is to be a rock star; it's not about what Bob Dylan or Jimi Hendrix were about - wh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e4/patti-smith-394_bob_music-television-is-all-about-the-media_1581303.jpg" --- # Music television is all about the media-oriented version… ![“Music television is all about the media-oriented version of what it is to be a rock star; it's not about what Bob Dylan or Jimi Hendrix were about - which included great images, sure, but they had spiritual and political and revolutionary content, too.” quote by Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e4/patti-smith-394_bob_music-television-is-all-about-the-media_1581303.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e4/patti-smith-394_bob_music-television-is-all-about-the-media_1581303.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e4/patti-smith-394_bob_music-television-is-all-about-the-media_1581303.jpg) > “Music television is all about the media-oriented version of what it is to be a rock star; it's not about what Bob Dylan or Jimi Hendrix were about - which included great images, sure, but they had spiritual and political and revolutionary content, too.” [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rock music should convey powerful social and political messages, not just image. **In simple terms:** Music should inspire change, not just entertain. Key Takeaway Seek art with meaningful messages. Themes art politics culture Mood critical passionate Type cultural political When to use this quote - activist concerts - political songwriting - media critique Key Concepts media studies revolutionary art Questions to Reflect On - What messages do you want your favorite songs to convey? - How can you support artists with strong social purpose? A Different Perspective Commercial pressures can dilute artistic intent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bob/) [Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dylan/) [Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great/) [Hendrix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hendrix/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [Media Oriented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media-oriented-5973725/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Music Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-television-993115/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Revolutionary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutionary/) [Revolutionary Content](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutionary-content-4971473/) [Rock star](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rock-star/) [Rocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rocks/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) [Television Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television-media-4846057/) ## Related quotes > [Television is a media of crisis, which means that television is a media of accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/television-is-a-media-of-crisis-which-means-that-television-is-a/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [Online is a revolution. The Internet is a revolution. And we should be revolutionary in the content that we put on it rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-smith/online-is-a-revolution-the-internet-is-a-revolution-and-we-should-be/) [Shane Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-smith/) > [I think music on television is just uniformly dreadful. It is mundane, it says nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sherman-palladino/i-think-music-on-television-is-just-uniformly-dreadful-it-is-mundane/) [Amy Sherman-Palladino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sherman-palladino/) > [MTV has gone from Music Television to Maternity Television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alisa-gattus/mtv-has-gone-from-music-television-to-maternity-television/) [Alisa Gattus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alisa-gattus/) > [The Internet has changed how young people listen to music. Television programs like 'American Idol' changed how people listen to music. It was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hilburn/the-internet-has-changed-how-young-people-listen-to-music-television/) [Robert Hilburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hilburn/) > [Its funny, my first TV credit was CMT, Country Music Television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-bargatze/its-funny-my-first-tv-credit-was-cmt-country-music-television/) [Nate Bargatze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-bargatze/) > [I wanted 'The South Bank Show' to reflect my own life and that of the team around me; to stretch the accepted boundaries and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvyn-bragg/i-wanted-the-south-bank-show-to-reflect-my-own-life-and-that-of-the/) [Melvyn Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvyn-bragg/) > [I refuse to believe that Hendrix had the last possessed hand, that Joplin had the last drunken throat, that Morrison had the last enlightened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-refuse-to-believe-that-hendrix-had-the-last-possessed-hand-that/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [In 1974, when I started working with the material that became 'Horses,' a lot of our great voices had died. We'd lost Jimi Hendrix…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/in-1974-when-i-started-working-with-the-material-that-became-horses-a/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [ “\[Jimi Hendrix\] dreamed of amassing musicians from all over the world in Woodstock and they would sit in a field in a circle and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/jimi-hendrix-dreamed-of-amassing-musicians-from-all-over-the-world-in/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [What I wanted to do in rock 'n roll was merge poetry with sonic scapes, and the two people who had contributed so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/what-i-wanted-to-do-in-rock-n-roll-was-merge-poetry-with-sonic-scapes/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Who I am as a guitarist is defined by my failure to become Jimi Hendrix.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/who-i-am-as-a-guitarist-is-defined-by-my-failure-to-become-jimi/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [I feel close to people like Jimi Hendrix because I connect with his music. Not the man but what he did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-feel-close-to-people-like-jimi-hendrix-because-i-connect-with-his/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [Hendrix rehearsed different drummers, before we met Mitch Mitchell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-redding/hendrix-rehearsed-different-drummers-before-we-met-mitch-mitchell/) [Noel Redding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-redding/) > [Jimi Hendrix played loud and free, Sergeant Pepper was real to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-stewart/jimi-hendrix-played-loud-and-free-sergeant-pepper-was-real-to-me/) [Al Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-stewart/) ## More by Patti Smith > [I had a really happy childhood - my siblings were great, my mother was very fanciful, and I loved to read. But there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-had-a-really-happy-childhood-my-siblings-were-great-my-mother-was/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [As a citizen, hopefully I'm humanist. As an artist, I'm free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/as-a-citizen-hopefully-i-m-humanist-as-an-artist-i-m-free/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [ Sometimes \[people\] seem to think I came out of the womb, you know, cursing, with an electric guitar. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/sometimes-people-seem-to-think-i-came-out-of-the-womb-you-know/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [“Inside it he inscribed a few lines of poetry, portraying us as the gypsy and the fool, one creating silence; one listening closely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/inside-it-he-inscribed-a-few-lines-of-poetry-portraying-us-as-the/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Who can know the heart of youth but youth itself?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/who-can-know-the-heart-of-youth-but-youth-itself/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [“I clawed through a thick web of the culture’s consciousness that I hadn’t known existed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-clawed-through-a-thick-web-of-the-culture-s-consciousness-that-i/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Ultimately, we are not seeking others to bow to, but to reinforce our individual natures, to help us suffer our own choices, to guide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/ultimately-we-are-not-seeking-others-to-bow-to-but-to-reinforce-our/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [If I'm taking a picture of Brancusi's grave, I know that there's something of him, of his mortal remains, beneath my feet, and there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/if-i-m-taking-a-picture-of-brancusi-s-grave-i-know-that-there-s/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I'm certain, as we filled down the great staircase, that I appeared the same as ever, a moping twelve years-old, all arms and legs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-m-certain-as-we-filled-down-the-great-staircase-that-i-appeared-the/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/in-art-and-dream-may-you-proceed-with-abandon-in-life-may-you-proceed/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [New York is the thing that seduced me. New York is the thing that formed me. New York is the thing that deformed me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/new-york-is-the-thing-that-seduced-me-new-york-is-the-thing-that/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I don't wanna be equal with anybody. I wanna be above equal. I don't think most people are equal to me. I'd like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-don-t-wanna-be-equal-with-anybody-i-wanna-be-above-equal-i-don-t/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I think I'm constantly in a state of adjustment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-think-i-m-constantly-in-a-state-of-adjustment/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Somehow I started introducing writing into my drawings, and after a time, the language took over and I started getting very involved with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/somehow-i-started-introducing-writing-into-my-drawings-and-after-a/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I'm okay with roaming around the world in my bunk for days on end. Maybe every third day I'll get a shower or stumble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-m-okay-with-roaming-around-the-world-in-my-bunk-for-days-on-end/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) [Explore all 595 Patti Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) ## More Bob quotes > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I think anyone that grew up in the '70s and '80s grew up with Bob Barker and Wink Martindale and I think that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-fieri/i-think-anyone-that-grew-up-in-the-70s-and-80s-grew-up-with-bob/) [Guy Fieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-fieri/) > [ Except in these latter-day songs, \[Bob\] Dylan is a grizzled old prophet who's already been to hell and back. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/except-in-these-latter-day-songs-bob-dylan-is-a-grizzled-old-prophet/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [Over the past 50 years Bob Hope employed 88 joke writers who supplied him with more than one million gags, and he still couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-murphy/over-the-past-50-years-bob-hope-employed-88-joke-writers-who-supplied/) [Eddie Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-murphy/) > [I like men who are very cool but who are also so brilliant that they are almost insane. Sean Penn, Gary Oldman, Bob Dylan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jolene-blalock/i-like-men-who-are-very-cool-but-who-are-also-so-brilliant-that-they/) [Jolene Blalock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jolene-blalock/) > [I was very engaged by the folk music movement.Bob Dylan; Joan Baez; Peter, Paul and Mary. And then I sort of discovered world music,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/i-was-very-engaged-by-the-folk-music-movement-bob-dylan-joan-baez/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [ The most recent incarnation of \[Bob\] Dylan has been the traveling journeyman/ charlatan who sings roots music, snarls dark lyrics that make "All Along… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/the-most-recent-incarnation-of-bob-dylan-has-been-the-traveling/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [Well. We’ll just have to hope that this wasn’t a loup-garou, I guess.” “If it was a louper, you’d know,” Bob said wisely. “In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/well-we-ll-just-have-to-hope-that-this-wasn-t-a-loup-garou-i-guess-if/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [Because of my tremendous respect for Bob Barker and for the show's high standards of professionalism I consider this a tremendous honor that few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-west/because-of-my-tremendous-respect-for-bob-barker-and-for-the-show-s/) [Randy West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-west/) > [That's who I wanted to be like was Bob Dylan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/that-s-who-i-wanted-to-be-like-was-bob-dylan/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [Everybody who I ever cared about has told me that they like my music: Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Al Green, The Spinners, Smokey Robinson.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-hall/everybody-who-i-ever-cared-about-has-told-me-that-they-like-my-music/) [Daryl Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-hall/) > [Bob's work gleaned from hoofing, from vaudeville, from ballet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-reinking/bob-s-work-gleaned-from-hoofing-from-vaudeville-from-ballet/) [Ann Reinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-reinking/) > [Producing Bob Dylan was pretty much a spectator sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-kooper/producing-bob-dylan-was-pretty-much-a-spectator-sport/) [Al Kooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-kooper/) > [Listen, the story of the United States is this: One kid, without anything, walks out of his house, down the road, with nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-bone-burnett/listen-the-story-of-the-united-states-is-this-one-kid-without/) [T Bone Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-bone-burnett/) > [I figure if I keep my health, I have no intention of retiring. I love to work. I want to be like Bob Hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/i-figure-if-i-keep-my-health-i-have-no-intention-of-retiring-i-love/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) [Browse all 886 Bob quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bob/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Music television is all about the media-oriented version of what it is to be a rock star; it's not about what Bob Dylan or Jimi Hendrix were about - which included great images, sure, but they had spiritual and political and revolutionary content, too.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Patti Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/music-television-is-all-about-the-media-oriented-version-of-what-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bob" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/music-television-is-all-about-the-media-oriented-version-of-what-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e4/patti-smith-394_bob_music-television-is-all-about-the-media_1581303.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e4/patti-smith-394_bob_music-television-is-all-about-the-media_1581303.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e4/patti-smith-394_bob_music-television-is-all-about-the-media_1581303.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Music television is all about the media-oriented version of what it is to be a rock star; it's not about…” — Patti Smith", "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": "Patti Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Music television is all about the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/music-television-is-all-about-the-media-oriented-version-of-what-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/music-television-is-all-about-the-media-oriented-version-of-what-it/#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 } } ] } ```