"There's stuff that everybody does that they don't know they do"
About this Quote
Kershaw’s line lands like a shrug that turns into an accusation: you think you’re steering your life, but half your driving is on autopilot. Coming from a pop musician - a profession built on crafting habits into hooks - it’s a neat bit of backstage truth. He’s pointing at the invisible choreography behind “normal”: the tiny tics, defaults, and rituals people perform without noticing, then mistake for personality.
The intent feels less philosophical than observational, the kind of thing you blurt out mid-interview and realize it’s the cleanest summary of a whole worldview. It works because it’s deliberately plain. “Stuff” is doing heavy lifting, implying everything from nervous laughs to consumer routines to how we talk when we want to sound confident. The repetition of “do” makes the sentence loop on itself, mirroring the very behavior it describes: repetitive, unconscious, self-reinforcing.
The subtext is about control and self-knowledge, but also about conformity. “Everybody does” is the bait: it flatters you with belonging, then undercuts you by suggesting your uniqueness is partly scripted. In a 1980s pop context - an era obsessed with image, performance, and mass culture - the line reads as a quiet critique of how easily people internalize trends and call them choices. Kershaw isn’t moralizing; he’s reminding you that the most influential forces in your life are often the ones you can’t see because you’re the one performing them.
The intent feels less philosophical than observational, the kind of thing you blurt out mid-interview and realize it’s the cleanest summary of a whole worldview. It works because it’s deliberately plain. “Stuff” is doing heavy lifting, implying everything from nervous laughs to consumer routines to how we talk when we want to sound confident. The repetition of “do” makes the sentence loop on itself, mirroring the very behavior it describes: repetitive, unconscious, self-reinforcing.
The subtext is about control and self-knowledge, but also about conformity. “Everybody does” is the bait: it flatters you with belonging, then undercuts you by suggesting your uniqueness is partly scripted. In a 1980s pop context - an era obsessed with image, performance, and mass culture - the line reads as a quiet critique of how easily people internalize trends and call them choices. Kershaw isn’t moralizing; he’s reminding you that the most influential forces in your life are often the ones you can’t see because you’re the one performing them.
Quote Details
| Topic | Habits |
|---|
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