Jay Griffiths Quotes

To refrain from imitation is the best revenge.

I'm not going to conform to some consumer need.

There are those who dance to the rhythm that is played to them, those who only dance to their own rhythm, and those who don't dance at all.

I have always had this outrage at being told what to, how to act, whom to love.

Daddy says the world is a drum tight and hard and I told him I'm gonna beat out my own rhythm.

I've always done everything at my disposal to avoid labeling what I do, or to avoid being labeled myself.

People relate to the spirit of the band, which is to live your way and succeed on your own terms. There's no hypocrisy in being successful and still railing against conformity.

I was seen in earlier years by family members and people of authority as somebody wasting his time. I had trouble with the restrictions of conformity. It made me edgy.

We write because we believe the human spirit cannot be tamed and should not be trained.

We have to wake up. We have to refuse to be a clone.

I can connect with whoever I want to connect with in the world. And I can also write my own script. I don't have to follow rules. I can sort of just be unconventional.

When there is a huge force pressing down on freedoms, sub-cultures with more creativity and power are likely to form.

I'm not gonna be a slave. I'm a rock n' roller.

The inner me was always under attack by authority, by the way my parents wanted me to be brought up, by these English schools I went to. So I've always felt this kind of anti-authoritarian strain in me, pushing to express itself despite the obstacles.

When I was younger I was trying to do what I wanted to do, not what the game wanted me to do.

Unless you hit your television with a sledgehammer, you're not going to be able to be an individual.

The work of art is a scream of freedom.

I am very into making up my own rules.

If I want to do something like the Batman mask, I just do it. I was like this all the time; I think nobody can change me.

No rebellious heart is ever at ease with paths established by others.

Non-conformity is the only real passion worth being ruled by.

Forbid a man to think for himself or to act for himself and you may add the joy of piracy and the zest of smuggling to his life.

After all, all we demanded was a right to twinkle.

I'm going to be me as I am, and you can beat me or jail me or even kill me, but I'm not going to be what you want me to be.

I was not designed to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion. Let us see who is the strongest.