--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We were very deliberately not playing…" description: "\"We were very deliberately not playing 12-bar structures, blues structures, which rock musicians turned into such a cliche. We tried to... listen to the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e49/viv-albertine-5176_blues_we-were-very-deliberately-not-playing-12_2179095.jpg" --- # We were very deliberately not playing 12-bar structures… ![“We were very deliberately not playing 12-bar structures, blues structures, which rock musicians turned into such a cliche. We tried to... listen to the rhythms within ourselves and take the normal words we used every day in our normal thoughts, which girls hadn't written about before.” quote by Viv Albertine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e49/viv-albertine-5176_blues_we-were-very-deliberately-not-playing-12_2179095.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e49/viv-albertine-5176_blues_we-were-very-deliberately-not-playing-12_2179095.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e49/viv-albertine-5176_blues_we-were-very-deliberately-not-playing-12_2179095.jpg) > “We were very deliberately not playing 12-bar structures, blues structures, which rock musicians turned into such a cliche. We tried to... listen to the rhythms within ourselves and take the normal words we used every day in our normal thoughts, which girls hadn't written about before.” [Viv Albertine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viv-albertine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Breaking from conventional structures encourages authentic expression and fresh perspectives. **In simple terms:** Avoid clichés, be authentic. Key Takeaway Explore personal rhythms and language. Themes authenticity creativity rebellion Mood reflective innovative Type artistic inspirational When to use this quote - songwriting - performance art - creative workshops - personal storytelling Key Concepts music theory poetry cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance originality with accessibility? - What personal rhythms inspire you? A Different Perspective Audience expectations may resist unconventional forms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blues/) [Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Rhythms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhythms/) [Rock musicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rock-musicians/) [Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) ## Related quotes > [A lot of people think that punk rock musicians don't know what they're doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-barker/a-lot-of-people-think-that-punk-rock-musicians-don-t-know-what-they/) [Travis Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-barker/) > [“All those happy, pretty, successful people- he hated them because he knew they didn't really exist, and he hated even more the magazine that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/all-those-happy-pretty-successful-people-he-hated-them-because-he/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“Keith Jarrett’s achievements and contribution are immense and unique and it is primarily the fact that he cannot be pigeonholed which has so confused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-carr/keith-jarrett-s-achievements-and-contribution-are-immense-and-unique/) [Ian Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-carr/) > [Well, 'Crunk Rock' doesn't mean rock. Initially when I started the album, I did collaborate with a bunch of rock musicians and producers. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-jon/well-crunk-rock-doesn-t-mean-rock-initially-when-i-started-the-album/) [Lil Jon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-jon/) > [For 'Rock On,' we not only acted as rock musicians; we also went into the studio to record songs and jammed live to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farhan-akhtar/for-rock-on-we-not-only-acted-as-rock-musicians-we-also-went-into-the/) [Farhan Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farhan-akhtar/) > [You know what rock musicians are? They are hung up, neurotic, over-weight hippies with sex problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/you-know-what-rock-musicians-are-they-are-hung-up-neurotic-over/) [David Lee Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee-roth/) > [Being a rock musician is already like ego-tripping hardcore. You're self-consumed, and you're always thinking. 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Our job is to rock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonny-sandoval/we-don-t-tell-you-what-to-think-or-believe-in-that-s-not-our-job-we/) [Sonny Sandoval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonny-sandoval/) > [MCs are authors, and rock musicians who write lyrics are authors, to a degree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/mcs-are-authors-and-rock-musicians-who-write-lyrics-are-authors-to-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [“It seems to me that most people are impressed with just three things: how fast you can play, how high you can play, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chet-baker/it-seems-to-me-that-most-people-are-impressed-with-just-three-things-2/) [Chet Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chet-baker/) > [Rock's always been the devil's music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/rock-s-always-been-the-devil-s-music/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [I liked rock music going back to the '60s, but I never ever had any desire to be a rock musician and when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-branca/i-liked-rock-music-going-back-to-the-60s-but-i-never-ever-had-any/) [Glenn Branca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-branca/) > [“Whenever an art form loses its fire, when it gets weakened by intellectual inbreeding and first principles fade into stale tradition, a radical fringe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mcdougall/whenever-an-art-form-loses-its-fire-when-it-gets-weakened-by/) [Christopher McDougall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mcdougall/) > [“It was not even necessary for people to know how to sing to be considered rock musicians. Bob Dylan had no clue, but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-johansson/it-was-not-even-necessary-for-people-to-know-how-to-sing-to-be/) [Frans Johansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-johansson/) ## More by Viv Albertine > [I have a lot of empathy, and I think that's where mothering starts. You are there to empathise and facilitate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viv-albertine/i-have-a-lot-of-empathy-and-i-think-that-s-where-mothering-starts-you/) [Viv Albertine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viv-albertine/) > [I get the same lurching thrill now when I'm about to sit down to an egg mayonnaise sandwich and a packet of plain crisps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viv-albertine/i-get-the-same-lurching-thrill-now-when-i-m-about-to-sit-down-to-an/) [Viv Albertine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viv-albertine/) > [I have a daughter. I have my imagination. I have friends. I, in no way, am going to louse that up with some idiot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viv-albertine/i-have-a-daughter-i-have-my-imagination-i-have-friends-i-in-no-way-am/) [Viv Albertine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viv-albertine/) > [I don't believe in an afterlife. You live on in the people you influence during your lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viv-albertine/i-don-t-believe-in-an-afterlife-you-live-on-in-the-people-you/) [Viv Albertine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viv-albertine/) > [Women are constantly taught to think about what other people are thinking, from those 'Jackie' magazine quizzes - 'What's he thinking?' - to being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viv-albertine/women-are-constantly-taught-to-think-about-what-other-people-are/) [Viv Albertine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viv-albertine/) > [Most female artists - to do what you have to do and to be as honest as you have to be, to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viv-albertine/most-female-artists-to-do-what-you-have-to-do-and-to-be-as-honest-as/) [Viv Albertine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viv-albertine/) > [I'm not a gifted storyteller, so I write what I know and hope that honesty resonates with other people's experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viv-albertine/i-m-not-a-gifted-storyteller-so-i-write-what-i-know-and-hope-that/) [Viv Albertine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viv-albertine/) > [The more blows you have in life, the better, because it means you're challenging yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viv-albertine/the-more-blows-you-have-in-life-the-better-because-it-means-you-re/) [Viv Albertine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viv-albertine/) > [I'd like to be with someone kind who can hold a conversation and is in my age group. 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No, all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viv-albertine/we-used-to-have-massively-long-discussions-about-how-we-should-stand/) [Viv Albertine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viv-albertine/) > [I'm the angriest and most empathetic person you'll ever meet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viv-albertine/i-m-the-angriest-and-most-empathetic-person-you-ll-ever-meet/) [Viv Albertine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viv-albertine/) > [“At last there is an unknown element back in my life. This is how it used to be. This is how I used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viv-albertine/at-last-there-is-an-unknown-element-back-in-my-life-this-is-how-it/) [Viv Albertine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viv-albertine/) > [I think I am the Elizabeth Barrett of 2015. Not in terms of genius but in bed a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viv-albertine/i-think-i-am-the-elizabeth-barrett-of-2015-not-in-terms-of-genius-but/) [Viv Albertine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viv-albertine/) [Explore all 103 Viv Albertine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viv-albertine/) ## More Blues quotes > [If they played more blues, people would just get it - they try to hold it back but just about can't hold it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lee-hooker/if-they-played-more-blues-people-would-just-get-it-they-try-to-hold/) [John Lee Hooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lee-hooker/) > [I love Las Vegas, but I never get a chance to play a club like the House of Blues. I guess we've graduated to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-walsh/i-love-las-vegas-but-i-never-get-a-chance-to-play-a-club-like-the/) [Joe Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-walsh/) > [That's the thing about the blues: It's one thing to hit a note on a guitar. To make it matter is something else altogether.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bonamassa/that-s-the-thing-about-the-blues-it-s-one-thing-to-hit-a-note-on-a/) [Joe Bonamassa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bonamassa/) > [“Grits Glossary blues \\’blüz\\ n: nothing but a good man singing about hardship, sorrow, and the things he’s done wrong--but sake’s alive, they make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/grits-glossary-blues-bl-z-n-nothing-but-a-good-man-singing-about/) [Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/) > [I guess what I like is mostly country & western or else stuff that has a real blues feel to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/i-guess-what-i-like-is-mostly-country-western-or-else-stuff-that-has/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [I'm a rock/blues guitar player. 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Mississippi Delta blues of the Thirties, Chicago blues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-plant/since-i-was-a-kid-i-ve-had-an-absolute-obsession-with-particular/) [Robert Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-plant/) > [James Cotton is a real blues guy, and he played with Muddy Waters, and it surprised me that they would want me to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-haden/james-cotton-is-a-real-blues-guy-and-he-played-with-muddy-waters-and/) [Charlie Haden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-haden/) > [When I discovered blues - I was 12-years-old - I didn't discover it in America where it was from; I discovered it from Fleetwood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-weller/when-i-discovered-blues-i-was-12-years-old-i-didn-t-discover-it-in/) [Paul Weller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-weller/) > [Elvis deserves a lot of credit for bringing the blues to middle America, not the Vegas stuff. 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I listened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-clapton/i-listened-to-king-oliver-and-i-listened-to-louis-armstrong-jelly/) [Eric Clapton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-clapton/) [Browse all 1,026 Blues quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blues/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We were very deliberately not playing 12-bar structures, blues structures, which rock musicians turned into such a cliche. 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