"When I was a kid and I bought a record, I ripped that thing open, I wanted to know who was playing what, what studio it was cut at, who was the string arranger, who was the engineer"
About this Quote
The intent is quietly corrective. In a culture trained to fixate on the frontman, he’s redirecting attention to the invisible workforce: the string arranger, the engineer, the studio. That list matters because it names power. Kravitz is saying the sound you love isn’t magic; it’s labor, taste, and technique, distributed across specialists. The subtext is a rebuke to the idea of “authenticity” as lone-genius mythology. Even the most swaggering rock persona is the product of rooms, gear, and people whose names rarely make the poster.
Contextually, this tracks with Kravitz’s own brand: a musician who curates lineage and craft as aggressively as style. He’s always been a bridge between eras, selling a retro aesthetic while insisting on serious musicianship. The quote also lands as a generational marker. For kids raised on playlists, the credits are buried, optional, easy to ignore. Kravitz frames that lost habit as a kind of education - one that teaches you to listen with curiosity, not just consume with appetite.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Kravitz, Lenny. (2026, January 15). When I was a kid and I bought a record, I ripped that thing open, I wanted to know who was playing what, what studio it was cut at, who was the string arranger, who was the engineer. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-i-was-a-kid-and-i-bought-a-record-i-ripped-144356/
Chicago Style
Kravitz, Lenny. "When I was a kid and I bought a record, I ripped that thing open, I wanted to know who was playing what, what studio it was cut at, who was the string arranger, who was the engineer." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-i-was-a-kid-and-i-bought-a-record-i-ripped-144356/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"When I was a kid and I bought a record, I ripped that thing open, I wanted to know who was playing what, what studio it was cut at, who was the string arranger, who was the engineer." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-i-was-a-kid-and-i-bought-a-record-i-ripped-144356/. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.

