--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I gave up music criticism because of the…" description: "\"I gave up music criticism because of the increasingly obvious conflict of interest. I couldn't say anything bad about the records when I might be meeti..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a44/stephin-merritt-18370_conflict_i-gave-up-music-criticism-because-of-the_320058.jpg" --- # I gave up music criticism because of the increasingly… ![“I gave up music criticism because of the increasingly obvious conflict of interest. I couldn't say anything bad about the records when I might be meeting that person's manager backstage an hour later.” quote by Stephin Merritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a44/stephin-merritt-18370_conflict_i-gave-up-music-criticism-because-of-the_320058.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a44/stephin-merritt-18370_conflict_i-gave-up-music-criticism-because-of-the_320058.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a44/stephin-merritt-18370_conflict_i-gave-up-music-criticism-because-of-the_320058.jpg) > “I gave up music criticism because of the increasingly obvious conflict of interest. I couldn't say anything bad about the records when I might be meeting that person's manager backstage an hour later.” [Stephin Merritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephin-merritt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He stopped reviewing music to avoid bias when personal connections could affect his opinions. **In simple terms:** He quit to stay honest. Key Takeaway Maintain integrity over convenience. Themes ethics conflict of interest integrity Mood reflective serious Type advice ethical When to use this quote - music reviews - industry events - networking - career decisions Key Concepts journalism bias professionalism Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance honesty with networking? - Can you stay impartial in close-knit fields? A Different Perspective May limit career opportunities if strict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conflict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict/) [Conflict of interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict-of-interest/) [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/management/) [Meetings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meetings/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [There will be this mix of people like me who write for major national newspapers and amateur critics, practitioner critics, whose primary way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-teachout/there-will-be-this-mix-of-people-like-me-who-write-for-major-national/) [Terry Teachout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-teachout/) > [Wine is similar to music in that it's a purely experiential realm, and it's a purely subjective practice. That's sort of the funny thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-d/wine-is-similar-to-music-in-that-it-s-a-purely-experiential-realm-and/) [Mike D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-d/) > [Music criticism should be to musicians what ornithology is to the birds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuja-wang/music-criticism-should-be-to-musicians-what-ornithology-is-to-the/) Yuja Wang > [I think that female musicians are constantly fighting an uphill battle in general. Even when I'm not writing heartbreak songs... the fact that songwriting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marissa-nadler/i-think-that-female-musicians-are-constantly-fighting-an-uphill/) [Marissa Nadler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marissa-nadler/) > [I do see value in music criticism. Most of the criticism I have received over the years has been very good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/i-do-see-value-in-music-criticism-most-of-the-criticism-i-have/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [I did a lot of music criticism. I don't think much of it was any good. I think I wanted to show off a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/i-did-a-lot-of-music-criticism-i-don-t-think-much-of-it-was-any-good/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [I'm always very careful to make the distinction between music criticism and music journalism. A lot of people don't. But criticism doesn't require reporting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-azerrad/i-m-always-very-careful-to-make-the-distinction-between-music/) [Michael Azerrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-azerrad/) > [I got the writing bug in the fourth grade when a poem of mine was published in the school newspaper. 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We know he's going to come out later… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stephanopoulos/we-learned-that-president-elect-donald-trump-intends-to-keep-his/) [George Stephanopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stephanopoulos/) > [“The popular media and conventional wisdom, including the medical profession's traditional approach to nutrition, have created and continue to perpetuate this problem through inadequate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-hoggan/the-popular-media-and-conventional-wisdom-including-the-medical/) Ron Hoggan > [I am so passionate about Pakistan cricket that I would never ever put myself in a position where there will be a conflict of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickey-arthur/i-am-so-passionate-about-pakistan-cricket-that-i-would-never-ever-put/) [Mickey Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickey-arthur/) > [“By 1952, the University of Minnesota nutritionist Ancel Keys was arguing that high blood levels of cholesterol caused heart disease, and that it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-taubes/by-1952-the-university-of-minnesota-nutritionist-ancel-keys-was/) [Gary Taubes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-taubes/) > [Good law includes a commitment to transparency and an insistence that no person or entity with a conflict of interest should have influence on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-romer/good-law-includes-a-commitment-to-transparency-and-an-insistence-that/) [Paul Romer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-romer/) > [“ Solution #1. ELIMINATE PAYOFFS IN CLINICS TO PROMOTE VACCINATIONS. It should be illegal for doctors to accept bonuses or other incentives from insurance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-heartland/solution-1-eliminate-payoffs-in-clinics-to-promote-vaccinations-it/) stephen heartland > [ \[Donald Trump\] has moved to admit that there is a conflict of interest now and he needs to do something. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-l-eisen/donald-trump-has-moved-to-admit-that-there-is-a-conflict-of-interest/) [Norman L. Eisen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-l-eisen/) ## More by Stephin Merritt > [The adventure is when people don't know what they're doing at all. Like, I think that the first pop band to use synthesizers as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephin-merritt/the-adventure-is-when-people-don-t-know-what-they-re-doing-at-all/) [Stephin Merritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephin-merritt/) > [Well, things hold up even if they sound dated. It can be very difficult to listen to 80s pop songs with really, really gigantic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephin-merritt/well-things-hold-up-even-if-they-sound-dated-it-can-be-very-difficult/) [Stephin Merritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephin-merritt/) > [There are only so many instruments you can layer on top of each other that aren't perfectly electronically programmed. "Long Vermont Roads" just cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephin-merritt/there-are-only-so-many-instruments-you-can-layer-on-top-of-each-other/) [Stephin Merritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephin-merritt/) > [Popular music of the last 50 years has failed to keep in step with advances in musical theater, namely Stephen Sondheim. But the two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephin-merritt/popular-music-of-the-last-50-years-has-failed-to-keep-in-step-with/) [Stephin Merritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephin-merritt/) > [Well, hardcore is so much about the body, in that you have to play as fast as possible. I'm not sure it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephin-merritt/well-hardcore-is-so-much-about-the-body-in-that-you-have-to-play-as/) [Stephin Merritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephin-merritt/) > [I write songs by sitting around in bars, so drinking songs are a little obvious. It's surprising that I don't write entirely drinking songs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephin-merritt/i-write-songs-by-sitting-around-in-bars-so-drinking-songs-are-a/) [Stephin Merritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephin-merritt/) > [There's a whole kind of melancholy that you can only attain with reverb. That's an example of a technology introducing a whole new meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephin-merritt/there-s-a-whole-kind-of-melancholy-that-you-can-only-attain-with/) [Stephin Merritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephin-merritt/) > [You know, most love songs are not cheesy and corny. Most love songs are complaints, I think. Or about unrequited love, coming at it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephin-merritt/you-know-most-love-songs-are-not-cheesy-and-corny-most-love-songs-are/) [Stephin Merritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephin-merritt/) > [I don't think there are any clichés I try to avoid. As soon as I spot a cliché, I go for it. I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephin-merritt/i-don-t-think-there-are-any-clich-s-i-try-to-avoid-as-soon-as-i-spot/) [Stephin Merritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephin-merritt/) > [Okay, a truly great song is a song that makes its own aesthetic intentions clear and then lives up to them and exceeds them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephin-merritt/okay-a-truly-great-song-is-a-song-that-makes-its-own-aesthetic/) [Stephin Merritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephin-merritt/) > [If you want to write a love song, you need to not try to write it for a particular person in a particular situation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephin-merritt/if-you-want-to-write-a-love-song-you-need-to-not-try-to-write-it-for/) [Stephin Merritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephin-merritt/) > [My mother says I have boring percussion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephin-merritt/my-mother-says-i-have-boring-percussion/) [Stephin Merritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephin-merritt/) > [I can imagine lyrics becoming better written by smart machines rather than stupid musicians. Songwriters generally have nothing to say. They may as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephin-merritt/i-can-imagine-lyrics-becoming-better-written-by-smart-machines-rather/) [Stephin Merritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephin-merritt/) > [Serious music isn't listened to in a casual setting. You don't want to listen to that in headphones on the subway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephin-merritt/serious-music-isn-t-listened-to-in-a-casual-setting-you-don-t-want-to/) [Stephin Merritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephin-merritt/) > [Well, there are certainly original things to say. But I'm not sure that a pop song is the appropriate format to say them in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephin-merritt/well-there-are-certainly-original-things-to-say-but-i-m-not-sure-that/) [Stephin Merritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephin-merritt/) [Explore all 35 Stephin Merritt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephin-merritt/) ## More Conflict quotes > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/) [Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/) > [There is a conflict in the Middle East between two entities, and they're both right, each in their own way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reuven-rivlin/there-is-a-conflict-in-the-middle-east-between-two-entities-and-they/) [Reuven Rivlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reuven-rivlin/) > [Conflict isn't negative, it just is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-crum/conflict-isn-t-negative-it-just-is/) [Thomas Crum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-crum/) > [I have lived in countries that were coming out of conflict: Ireland, South Africa, the Czech republic. People there are overflowing with energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-have-lived-in-countries-that-were-coming-out-of-conflict-ireland/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Africa, being the major target of colonial plunder, therefore becomes a major source of conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-horne/africa-being-the-major-target-of-colonial-plunder-therefore-becomes-a/) [Gerald Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-horne/) > [All drama is conflict. Without conflict, there is no action. Without action, there is no character. Without character, there is no story. And without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd-field/all-drama-is-conflict-without-conflict-there-is-no-action-without/) [Syd Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd-field/) > [The irrepressible conflict propounded by abolitionism has produced now its legitimate fruits - disunion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-irrepressible-conflict-propounded-by-abolitionism-has-produced/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“These are all good things, I said. But no one knows where your country is or who you are. You don't have a familiar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/these-are-all-good-things-i-said-but-no-one-knows-where-your-country/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [I understand the formula that producers hire directors and directors are hired to direct and actors are hired to act. I don't have any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-trejo/i-understand-the-formula-that-producers-hire-directors-and-directors/) [Danny Trejo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-trejo/) > [“While there is battle and hatred men have eyes for nothing save the fact that the enemy is the cause of all the troubles;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/while-there-is-battle-and-hatred-men-have-eyes-for-nothing-save-the/) [Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/) > [UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/un-peacekeeping-operations-are-now-increasingly-complex-and-multi/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [All men have an instinct for conflict: at least, all healthy men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/all-men-have-an-instinct-for-conflict-at-least-all-healthy-men/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [I didnt like the Survivor shows because of the mean-spirited aspect, and women certainly were part of whatever conflict they would create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-lawrence/i-didnt-like-the-survivor-shows-because-of-the-mean-spirited-aspect/) [Sharon Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-lawrence/) > [“How we traverse the space between us when conflict arises has a profound effect on the health and longevity of our relationships.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-salzberg/how-we-traverse-the-space-between-us-when-conflict-arises-has-a/) [Sharon Salzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-salzberg/) [Browse all 3,969 Conflict quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I gave up music criticism because of the increasingly obvious conflict of interest. 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