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Creativity Quote by Tina Weymouth

"Stick to your instincts"

About this Quote

Concise as it sounds, the line speaks to a way of working and living that Tina Weymouth modeled from the start. As the bassist and cofounder of Talking Heads and later Tom Tom Club, she carved out a voice in an era and scene that rewarded idiosyncrasy but still imposed its rules. Arriving at CBGBs as a visual arts student who took up bass to make a band possible, she did not lean on virtuoso chops or orthodox technique. She leaned on feel. Her parts are economical, melodic, and danceable, built from listening, repetition, and the intelligence of the body. Trusting that inner meter produced grooves that outlasted trends, from the insistent minimalism of early Talking Heads to the elastic funk of Genius of Love.

To stick to instincts here is not anti-intellectual bravado. It is a commitment to the kind of knowledge that emerges when ears, hands, and nerves begin to anticipate each other, when the song tells you what it needs before the head can explain it. Weymouths context matters: a woman in a male-dominated rock world, facing skepticism and industry pressures to conform, she doubled down on feel rather than flash. That choice supported the bands larger experiment too. Working with Brian Eno and immersed in polyrhythms and collage, Talking Heads advanced by trusting sideways steps and unexpected textures. Instinct became a compass for risk.

The advice travels beyond music. Creative work often gets paralyzed by overthinking or consensus chasing. Instinct is not impulse for its own sake; it is practiced intuition, the residue of attention and experience. You build it by showing up, listening hard, and letting your taste refine your choices. Then you protect it when outside voices try to sand off the edges that make your work yours. Weymouths career suggests that authenticity is not a slogan but a technique: cultivate your ear, then honor what it tells you, even when it surprises everyone else.

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TopicDecision-Making
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Stick to your instincts
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About the Author

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Tina Weymouth (born November 22, 1950) is a Musician from USA.

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