"When rock came along, the lyrics and melodies became less important, and it bothered me to think that perhaps they might not regain the value they have to music - they are music"
About this Quote
The shrewd move is her final insistence: "they are music". It s not nostalgia so much as a claim of ownership, a refusal to let innovation redefine the category. Shore isn t arguing that rock is bad; she s arguing that rock is changing the criteria, and that scares anyone whose identity is tied to the older criteria. There s also a little professional self-defense here. In the mid-century pop world, a singer could be a star by making a melody legible and a lyric emotionally precise. Rock s rise decentralizes that power, elevating the band, the beat, the amplified persona.
Her worry about whether lyrics and melodies will "regain" value reveals the subtext: taste isn t just preference, it s an economy. When the market shifts, what we call "music" shifts with it.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Shore, Dinah. (2026, February 17). When rock came along, the lyrics and melodies became less important, and it bothered me to think that perhaps they might not regain the value they have to music - they are music. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-rock-came-along-the-lyrics-and-melodies-111895/
Chicago Style
Shore, Dinah. "When rock came along, the lyrics and melodies became less important, and it bothered me to think that perhaps they might not regain the value they have to music - they are music." FixQuotes. February 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-rock-came-along-the-lyrics-and-melodies-111895/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"When rock came along, the lyrics and melodies became less important, and it bothered me to think that perhaps they might not regain the value they have to music - they are music." FixQuotes, 17 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-rock-came-along-the-lyrics-and-melodies-111895/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.



