"But when I was a teenager, the idea of spending the rest of my life in a factory was real depressing. So the idea that I could become a musician opened up some possibilities I didn't see otherwise"
About this Quote
The pivot word is possibilities. Kramer frames music less as destiny than as an exit ramp. That matters. He is not romanticizing art as pure self-expression; he is describing it as a practical revelation, a sudden widening of the map. In that subtext is a critique of how limited the menu of acceptable lives can feel when you are young and surrounded by industrial routine. The factory represents security, but also surrender: stability purchased with the slow erosion of curiosity.
Contextually, this reads as a snapshot of late-20th-century American youth culture where rock was a credible alternative economy, a way to convert anger and imagination into mobility. The line also quietly acknowledges luck and access: opened up some possibilities I didn t see otherwise implies the options existed but were culturally invisible. Kramer s intent is testimonial, but its broader charge is structural. He is naming the moment when art stops being a hobby and becomes a refusal: not of work, but of a life without choice.
Quote Details
| Topic | Career |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Kramer, Wayne. (n.d.). But when I was a teenager, the idea of spending the rest of my life in a factory was real depressing. So the idea that I could become a musician opened up some possibilities I didn't see otherwise. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/but-when-i-was-a-teenager-the-idea-of-spending-129036/
Chicago Style
Kramer, Wayne. "But when I was a teenager, the idea of spending the rest of my life in a factory was real depressing. So the idea that I could become a musician opened up some possibilities I didn't see otherwise." FixQuotes. Accessed February 1, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/but-when-i-was-a-teenager-the-idea-of-spending-129036/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"But when I was a teenager, the idea of spending the rest of my life in a factory was real depressing. So the idea that I could become a musician opened up some possibilities I didn't see otherwise." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/but-when-i-was-a-teenager-the-idea-of-spending-129036/. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.