"Some of those songs, you really have to bite them. You challenge yourself, you challenge the audience, you do something different. People weren't expecting it"
About this Quote
The intent is partly craft advice, partly self-mythology. He’s describing the moment when a band stops chasing approval and starts designing friction. "You challenge yourself, you challenge the audience" is a quiet manifesto against the soft tyranny of expectations: once people know what you are, they want you to stay there. Taylor’s subtext is that growth isn’t a smooth upgrade; it’s a confrontation, with your own habits and with fans who think loyalty means sameness.
"You do something different" and "People weren't expecting it" points to the high-wire act of making pop that wants to be more than product. Surprise is presented as both goal and proof: if the audience is startled, you’ve escaped the template. That’s especially resonant in band culture, where members are always negotiating between individual taste and the group’s public identity. The line reads like a defense of left turns: not indulgence, not contrarianism, but a necessary bite taken out of the familiar so the music can have a pulse.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Taylor, Andy. (2026, January 16). Some of those songs, you really have to bite them. You challenge yourself, you challenge the audience, you do something different. People weren't expecting it. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/some-of-those-songs-you-really-have-to-bite-them-138333/
Chicago Style
Taylor, Andy. "Some of those songs, you really have to bite them. You challenge yourself, you challenge the audience, you do something different. People weren't expecting it." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/some-of-those-songs-you-really-have-to-bite-them-138333/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Some of those songs, you really have to bite them. You challenge yourself, you challenge the audience, you do something different. People weren't expecting it." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/some-of-those-songs-you-really-have-to-bite-them-138333/. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.


