--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you're reading this book, there is…" description: "\"“If you're reading this book, there is probably an artist or band whose music you have an intense personal relationship with. I would also guess that t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09a/steven-hyden-280044_art_if-you-re-reading-this-book-there-is-pro_2518824.jpg" --- # If you're reading this book, there is probably an artist… ![“If you're reading this book, there is probably an artist or band whose music you have an intense personal relationship with. I would also guess that this artist or band came into your life during a time when you were highly vulnerable. if this is the case, this artist or band might be the closest…” quote by Steven Hyden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09a/steven-hyden-280044_art_if-you-re-reading-this-book-there-is-pro_2518824.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09a/steven-hyden-280044_art_if-you-re-reading-this-book-there-is-pro_2518824.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09a/steven-hyden-280044_art_if-you-re-reading-this-book-there-is-pro_2518824.jpg) > ““If you're reading this book, there is probably an artist or band whose music you have an intense personal relationship with. I would also guess that this artist or band came into your life during a time when you were highly vulnerable. if this is the case, this artist or band might be the closest thing you had to a confidant. in fact, he, she, or it was better than a confidant, because his/her/its music articulated your own thoughts and feeling better than you ever could. This music elevated the raw materials of your life to the heights of art and poetry. It made you feel as if your personal experience was grander and more meaningful than it might otherwise have been. And naturally you attributed whatever that music was doing to your heart and brain to the people who made the music, and you came to believe that the qualities of the music were also true of the music's creators. "If this music understands me, then the people behind the music must also understand me," goes this line of thought.”” Steven Hyden ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Music can become a confidant, reflecting personal thoughts and emotions, making listeners feel understood and elevated. **In simple terms:** Music acts as a deep personal confidant. Key Takeaway Seek music that mirrors your inner life. Themes music empathy art identity psychology Mood introspective inspired Type Art:1 Books:0 Feeling better:0 Heart and brain:0 Music:1 Music lyrics:0 Personal experience:0 Personal relationship:0 Poetry:0 Raw material:0 Song:0 Music Art:0 Music Understand:0 Confidant Music:0 Music Understands:0 Qualities Music:0 When to use this quote - personal growth - therapy - creative writing - playlist curation Key Concepts psychology musicology literary criticism Questions to Reflect On - How does music help you process feelings? - When might music become a crutch? A Different Perspective Over‑identifying with artists can blur self‑boundary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Feeling better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-better/) [Heart and brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-and-brain/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Music lyrics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-lyrics/) [Personal experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-experience/) [Personal relationship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-relationship/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [I find that when you grow and evolve with music, the music understands you, and vice versa - whether or not the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/i-find-that-when-you-grow-and-evolve-with-music-the-music-understands/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [The qualities in music which I considered most important - and still do - were beauty, simplicity, originality, discrimination, and sincerity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-desmond/the-qualities-in-music-which-i-considered-most-important-and-still-do/) [Paul Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-desmond/) > [I think music is poetry in the sense that I think the condition of poetry I'm going for has some qualities of music that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/i-think-music-is-poetry-in-the-sense-that-i-think-the-condition-of/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) > [I loved the last album, and it was one hundred percent me. But this is like me two years later, who understands a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lopez/i-loved-the-last-album-and-it-was-one-hundred-percent-me-but-this-is/) [Jennifer Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lopez/) > [I would say that the evocative qualities of music are usually put there in post-production in the reverb. It's really not much about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephin-merritt/i-would-say-that-the-evocative-qualities-of-music-are-usually-put/) [Stephin Merritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephin-merritt/) > [Someone who knows only music, understands nothing about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-eisler/someone-who-knows-only-music-understands-nothing-about-it/) Hanns Eisler > [Many people love my music. Many do not understand it. In general my music is more easily understood by younger people in Mali, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vieux-farka-toure/many-people-love-my-music-many-do-not-understand-it-in-general-my/) Vieux Farka Toure > [To play music, you have to understand it. I didn't understand 'Topographic Oceans.' That's why I hardly played on it. It frustrated me no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wakeman/to-play-music-you-have-to-understand-it-i-didn-t-understand/) [Rick Wakeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wakeman/) > [If we communicated with something like music, we would never be misunderstood, because there is nothing in music to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/if-we-communicated-with-something-like-music-we-would-never-be-2/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Pop music has greater power to change people and to affect people because it's a universal language. You don't have to understand music to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-epworth/pop-music-has-greater-power-to-change-people-and-to-affect-people/) Paul Epworth > [I have a very strange relationship in general with women around my music. There's some that understand it and some that think there should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/i-have-a-very-strange-relationship-in-general-with-women-around-my/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [Releasing a record makes you realise what you want to do with music. It's not something you can understand before you do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declan-mckenna/releasing-a-record-makes-you-realise-what-you-want-to-do-with-music/) [Declan McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declan-mckenna/) > [I'm not a huge fan of Britney Spears' music but I very much understand her relevance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miquita-oliver/i-m-not-a-huge-fan-of-britney-spears-music-but-i-very-much-understand/) [Miquita Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miquita-oliver/) > [“I have said before that the music is the words and the words are the music It is all there for you to understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/i-have-said-before-that-the-music-is-the-words-and-the-words-are-the/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [You don't have to know anything about music to understand what I write. Mine are simple melodies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-warren/you-don-t-have-to-know-anything-about-music-to-understand-what-i/) Harry Warren ## 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 > [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": "“If you're reading this book, there is probably an artist or band whose music you have an intense personal relationship with. 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