--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am interested in the highbrow/lowbrow…" description: "\"I am interested in the highbrow/lowbrow synthesis. My sensibility, I am proud to say, is middlebrow.\" — Robert Christgau" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/robert-christgau-9660_i-am_i-am-interested-in-the-highbrow-lowbrow_1557314.jpg" --- # I am interested in the highbrow/lowbrow synthesis. My… ![“I am interested in the highbrow/lowbrow synthesis. My sensibility, I am proud to say, is middlebrow.” quote by Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/robert-christgau-9660_i-am_i-am-interested-in-the-highbrow-lowbrow_1557314.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/robert-christgau-9660_i-am_i-am-interested-in-the-highbrow-lowbrow_1557314.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/robert-christgau-9660_i-am_i-am-interested-in-the-highbrow-lowbrow_1557314.jpg) > “I am interested in the highbrow/lowbrow synthesis. My sensibility, I am proud to say, is middlebrow.” [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. A self‑identified middle‑brow perspective seeks to blend high and low culture, valuing both sophistication and accessibility. **In simple terms:** Middle‑brow mixes elite and popular tastes. Key Takeaway Embrace diverse influences without pretension. Themes culture class taste identity balance Mood reflective curious analytical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - reading literary criticism - attending concerts - curating playlists - writing reviews Key Concepts highbrow lowbrow middlebrow synthesis Questions to Reflect On - How do you define “high” vs “low” culture? - Can blending erase valuable differences? A Different Perspective May dilute distinctiveness of each tradition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Highbrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/highbrow/) [I am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-am/) [Interested Highbrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interested-highbrow-5834476/) [Middlebrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middlebrow-1920443/) [Proud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proud/) [Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say/) [Say Middlebrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-middlebrow-5834474/) [Sensibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensibility/) [Synthesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/synthesis/) [Synthesis Sensibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/synthesis-sensibility-5834475/) ## Related quotes > [“For Seabrook this 'nobrow' state - where the old brow distinctions no longer seem to apply - is not only a dumbing down of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-foster/for-seabrook-this-nobrow-state-where-the-old-brow-distinctions-no/) [Hal Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-foster/) > [The middlebrow, I hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/the-middlebrow-i-hate/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [Publishing has gone very middlebrow. It's turned its back on legacy of modernism and gone into a humanist mode. When people go through art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-mccarthy/publishing-has-gone-very-middlebrow-it-s-turned-its-back-on-legacy-of/) [Tommy McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-mccarthy/) > [I don't see myself as particularly highbrow. I am much more populist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-slade/i-don-t-see-myself-as-particularly-highbrow-i-am-much-more-populist/) [David Slade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-slade/) > [“Thankfully existing only in SMALL pockets within our discipline, is “intellectual” snobbery. It’s a hushed but ugly truth that people are made to feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-sealy/thankfully-existing-only-in-small-pockets-within-our-discipline-is/) [Sandra Sealy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-sealy/) > [“There's no difference between pulp fiction and highbrow fiction, one is as good as the other, the only difference is the aura they have,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/there-s-no-difference-between-pulp-fiction-and-highbrow-fiction-one/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [If anybody gets highbrow around the studio, out he goes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/if-anybody-gets-highbrow-around-the-studio-out-he-goes/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [I can't think of anything worse than calling Shakespeare 'highbrow,' because on the one hand, it's brilliant writing. But his plays were popular. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-dalton/i-can-t-think-of-anything-worse-than-calling-shakespeare-highbrow/) [Timothy Dalton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-dalton/) > [A highbrow is the kind of person who looks at a sausage and thinks of Picasso.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-highbrow-is-the-kind-of-person-who-looks-at-a-sausage-and-thinks-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A highbrow is a man who has found something more interesting than women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-wallace/a-highbrow-is-a-man-who-has-found-something-more-interesting-than/) [Edgar Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wallace/) > [“Hey Highbrow. Next time remember to tuck and roll.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naima-simone/hey-highbrow-next-time-remember-to-tuck-and-roll/) [Naima Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naima-simone/) > [I personally do not write highbrow music. If I do, it's by accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-getty/i-personally-do-not-write-highbrow-music-if-i-do-it-s-by-accident/) [Gordon Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-getty/) > [A highbrow is a person educated beyond his intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brander-matthews/a-highbrow-is-a-person-educated-beyond-his-intelligence/) [Brander Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brander-matthews/) > [“the highbrow weeklies whatever they do? He can’t. He’s been conditioned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/the-highbrow-weeklies-whatever-they-do-he-can-t-he-s-been-conditioned/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [I'm not all that enthralled by show business, and I'm not that much of a highbrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-m-not-all-that-enthralled-by-show-business-and-i-m-not-that-much-of/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) ## 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 Highbrow quotes > [I'm not all that enthralled by show business, and I'm not that much of a highbrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-m-not-all-that-enthralled-by-show-business-and-i-m-not-that-much-of/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [I can't think of anything worse than calling Shakespeare 'highbrow,' because on the one hand, it's brilliant writing. But his plays were popular. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-dalton/i-can-t-think-of-anything-worse-than-calling-shakespeare-highbrow/) [Timothy Dalton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-dalton/) > [“Hey Highbrow. Next time remember to tuck and roll.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naima-simone/hey-highbrow-next-time-remember-to-tuck-and-roll/) [Naima Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naima-simone/) > [I don't see myself as particularly highbrow. I am much more populist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-slade/i-don-t-see-myself-as-particularly-highbrow-i-am-much-more-populist/) [David Slade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-slade/) > [“the highbrow weeklies whatever they do? He can’t. He’s been conditioned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/the-highbrow-weeklies-whatever-they-do-he-can-t-he-s-been-conditioned/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [A highbrow is a person educated beyond his intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brander-matthews/a-highbrow-is-a-person-educated-beyond-his-intelligence/) [Brander Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brander-matthews/) > [I personally do not write highbrow music. If I do, it's by accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-getty/i-personally-do-not-write-highbrow-music-if-i-do-it-s-by-accident/) [Gordon Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-getty/) > [A highbrow is a man who has found something more interesting than women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-wallace/a-highbrow-is-a-man-who-has-found-something-more-interesting-than/) [Edgar Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wallace/) > [A highbrow is the kind of person who looks at a sausage and thinks of Picasso.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-highbrow-is-the-kind-of-person-who-looks-at-a-sausage-and-thinks-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If anybody gets highbrow around the studio, out he goes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/if-anybody-gets-highbrow-around-the-studio-out-he-goes/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [“There's no difference between pulp fiction and highbrow fiction, one is as good as the other, the only difference is the aura they have,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/there-s-no-difference-between-pulp-fiction-and-highbrow-fiction-one/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [“Thankfully existing only in SMALL pockets within our discipline, is “intellectual” snobbery. It’s a hushed but ugly truth that people are made to feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-sealy/thankfully-existing-only-in-small-pockets-within-our-discipline-is/) [Sandra Sealy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-sealy/) > [“Philip Johnson is a highbrow. A highbrow is a man educated beyond his capacity. His house is a box of glass — not shelter.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/philip-johnson-is-a-highbrow-a-highbrow-is-a-man-educated-beyond-his/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [There can be no two opinions as to what a highbrow is. He is the man or woman of thoroughbred intelligence who rides his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/there-can-be-no-two-opinions-as-to-what-a-highbrow-is-he-is-the-man/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Once, the arts were opera, ballet, classical music, and everything else deemed highbrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvyn-bragg/once-the-arts-were-opera-ballet-classical-music-and-everything-else/) [Melvyn Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvyn-bragg/) [Browse all 16 Highbrow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/highbrow/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am interested in the highbrow/lowbrow synthesis. 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