--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Forget good for you - art should be good…" description: "\"Forget good for you - art should be good to you.\" — Robert Christgau" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd2/robert-christgau-9660_art_forget-good-for-you-art-should-be-good-t_3127003.jpg" --- # Forget good for you - art should be good to you. ![“Forget good for you - art should be good to you.” quote by Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd2/robert-christgau-9660_art_forget-good-for-you-art-should-be-good-t_3127003.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd2/robert-christgau-9660_art_forget-good-for-you-art-should-be-good-t_3127003.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd2/robert-christgau-9660_art_forget-good-for-you-art-should-be-good-t_3127003.jpg) > “Forget good for you - art should be good to you.” [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art should serve the listener’s well‑being, not just artistic ideals. **In simple terms:** Art must benefit you. Key Takeaway Choose art that enriches you. Themes aesthetics well‑being personal taste Mood reflective appreciative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - Choosing music - selecting movies - curating personal libraries Key Concepts Subjective value listener‑centered creation Questions to Reflect On - How does art improve your life? - When do you accept challenging art? A Different Perspective May prioritize artistic innovation over personal comfort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-good/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) [Forget Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget-good-552857/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Good art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-art/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [I was good at art - always good at art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barry/i-was-good-at-art-always-good-at-art/) [Robert Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barry/) > [Art, well good art at least, takes you to a place you go during the experience of it, and then after you experience it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nile-rodgers/art-well-good-art-at-least-takes-you-to-a-place-you-go-during-the/) [Nile Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nile-rodgers/) > [I think all art - if it's good - is a result of really trying to create something that you can't put into words.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ransone/i-think-all-art-if-it-s-good-is-a-result-of-really-trying-to-create/) [James Ransone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ransone/) > [Let us prove to the world that good taste, good art, and good writing can be good selling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/let-us-prove-to-the-world-that-good-taste-good-art-and-good-writing/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Good art and a good life answers questions. Great art and a great life asks questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-blanco/good-art-and-a-good-life-answers-questions-great-art-and-a-great-life/) [Richard Blanco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-blanco/) > [If it's good art, it's good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-branagh/if-it-s-good-art-it-s-good/) [Kenneth Branagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-branagh/) > [“You learn more from bad art than you do from good art, as your mistakes are more important than your successes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/you-learn-more-from-bad-art-than-you-do-from-good-art-as-your/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [Bad art was as good as good art. Grammar and spelling were no longer important. To be clean was no better than to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-tebbit/bad-art-was-as-good-as-good-art-grammar-and-spelling-were-no-longer/) [Norman Tebbit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-tebbit/) > [My argument would be that I don't think there is much that's genuinely political art that is good art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/my-argument-would-be-that-i-don-t-think-there-is-much-that-s/) [Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/) > [“Have you ever considered, bridgeman, that bad art does more for the world than good art? Artists spend more of their lives making bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/have-you-ever-considered-bridgeman-that-bad-art-does-more-for-the/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [Making art, good art, is always a struggle. It can make you happy when you pull it off. There's no better feeling. It's beauteous.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-hirst/making-art-good-art-is-always-a-struggle-it-can-make-you-happy-when/) [Damien Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-hirst/) > [I think good art has good concept behind it. Nothing can always articulate fully the way a Ph.D. candidate can articulate their thesis, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mcmillen/i-think-good-art-has-good-concept-behind-it-nothing-can-always/) [Michael C. McMillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mcmillen/) > [A person cannot forget someone who is good to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/a-person-cannot-forget-someone-who-is-good-to-them/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [To say that a work of art is good, but incomprehensible to the majority of men, is the same as saying of some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-say-that-a-work-of-art-is-good-but-incomprehensible-to-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [A real good artist learns to be a better person through all the changes they've been through. They keep their loving and honesty growing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bradley/a-real-good-artist-learns-to-be-a-better-person-through-all-the/) [Charles Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bradley/) ## More by Robert Christgau > [The idea with a collection is sort of to begin with a kind of bang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/the-idea-with-a-collection-is-sort-of-to-begin-with-a-kind-of-bang/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [People believe that criticism should be objective, whatever that means, but I really don't understand what people mean by that. I guess if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/people-believe-that-criticism-should-be-objective-whatever-that-means/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [“One concept the non-old have trouble getting their minds around is the difference between taste and judgment. It's fine not to like almost anything,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/one-concept-the-non-old-have-trouble-getting-their-minds-around-is/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [You know, criticism began as the province of amateurs, of wealthy men who liked the arts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/you-know-criticism-began-as-the-province-of-amateurs-of-wealthy-men/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [I believe that writing on music is experienced inside your head, is not a physically present in the world, it has a different kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/i-believe-that-writing-on-music-is-experienced-inside-your-head-is/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [Chuck Berry's 'Maybellene' hit the airwaves at about the time Alan Freed got to New York, and it was definitely a song I really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/chuck-berry-s-maybellene-hit-the-airwaves-at-about-the-time-alan/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [I don't think it's such a bad idea that people learn the same history in school. I think it tends to ground people and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/i-don-t-think-it-s-such-a-bad-idea-that-people-learn-the-same-history/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [My wife is more important to me than anything in the world - including music. She's a great editor and companion for all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/my-wife-is-more-important-to-me-than-anything-in-the-world-including/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [You can only adjust to so much history in your life. I still have trouble texting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/you-can-only-adjust-to-so-much-history-in-your-life-i-still-have/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [I've always been a jazz fan, but I don't write much about jazz, because I don't have the chops. But it's really, really hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/i-ve-always-been-a-jazz-fan-but-i-don-t-write-much-about-jazz-because/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [There's a musicologist named Peter van der Merwe whose theory is that the blues generates tune families, and that their similarity to each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/there-s-a-musicologist-named-peter-van-der-merwe-whose-theory-is-that/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [Anyway, you know, when Richard Meltzer said rock and roll died in '68, what he means is Jefferson Airplane were no longer his buddies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/anyway-you-know-when-richard-meltzer-said-rock-and-roll-died-in-68/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [I basically believe that all pop stars create personas and manipulate them. What we relate to are not their real selves; they are projections,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/i-basically-believe-that-all-pop-stars-create-personas-and-manipulate/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [My personal experience has been that in my free bohemian subculture, I'm not unique.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/my-personal-experience-has-been-that-in-my-free-bohemian-subculture-i/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [If you wanna write non-fiction you have to be interested in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/if-you-wanna-write-non-fiction-you-have-to-be-interested-in-the-world/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) [Explore all 71 Robert Christgau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Forget good for you - art should be good to you.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Christgau" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/forget-good-for-you-art-should-be-good-to-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/forget-good-for-you-art-should-be-good-to-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd2/robert-christgau-9660_art_forget-good-for-you-art-should-be-good-t_3127003.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd2/robert-christgau-9660_art_forget-good-for-you-art-should-be-good-t_3127003.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd2/robert-christgau-9660_art_forget-good-for-you-art-should-be-good-t_3127003.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Forget good for you - art should be good to you.” — Robert Christgau", "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": "Robert Christgau", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Forget good for you - art...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/forget-good-for-you-art-should-be-good-to-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/forget-good-for-you-art-should-be-good-to-you/#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 } } ] } ```