Jonny Greenwood Quotes

Powerful Jonny Greenwood for Daily Growth

About Jonny Greenwood

Jonny Greenwood (born February 5, 1971) is an English musician, composer, and producer, best known as the lead guitarist of the renowned rock band Radiohead. Born in Oxford, England, he was raised in a musical family; his father, Michael Greenwood, was a jazz pianist, and his mother, Caroline, was a classical violinist. This multifaceted musical upbringing significantly influenced Jonny's future career. Greenwood started learning the piano at the age of six, followed by the onset guitar lessons at thirteen. He joined Oxford's Prog Rock band, Sapphire and the Slippets, as a teenager before making his professional debut with Shifty Disco in 1986. Greenwood met Radiohead bandmates Thom Yorke, Ed O'Brien, Colin Greenwood, and Phil Selway at Exeter College in Oxford during the late 1980s, forming the band 'On a Friday' before changing their name to Radiohead in 1995. Greenwood's compositional work extends beyond Radiohead. His film scores include "There Will Be Blood" (2007) for which he won a BAFTA and was nominated for an Oscar, "The Master" (2012), "Spectre" (2015), "Phantom Thread" (2017), and the critically acclaimed Netflix series 'The White Tiger' (2021). Greenwood has received a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for his work on Paul Thomas Anderson's film 'Inherent Vice.' Greenwood's innovative soundscapes, a unique blend of unconventional guitar playing styles, and electronic music have earned him great respect in the contemporary music world. His contributions to Radiohead's discography, such as "OK Computer," "Kid A," and "Amnesiac" helped shape the band's influential sound. Aside from his musical career, Greenwood is also known for being a dedicated environmental activist.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Music is a bit like dreams: it's a way of making sense of the world."

Jonny Greenwood's quote suggests that music, like dreams, serves as a means to process and understand the complexities of reality. Just as dreams allow us to make sense of our subconscious thoughts, music provides a channel for expressing emotions, interpreting experiences, and finding meaning in the world around us. This interpretation highlights the therapeutic and profound impact that both dreaming and music can have on our psychological wellbeing and personal growth.


"I try not to think too much about what I'm doing because then I just get confused and scared."

This quote suggests that Jonny Greenwood, when working or creating music, tends to avoid overthinking the process. Over-analysis can lead to confusion and fear for him, which may hinder his creative flow. Instead, he seems to trust in his instincts and let his creativity unfold naturally.


"The idea that music should be emotional rather than intellectual, or vice versa, is pretty limiting."

This quote by Jonny Greenwood suggests that categorizing music as either emotional or intellectual is a restrictive perspective, as it fails to acknowledge the richness and complexity of musical experiences that can encompass both dimensions simultaneously. By opening up to this expanded view, we allow ourselves to appreciate the full spectrum of emotions, ideas, and sensations that music can evoke in us.


"If you're trying to make something that's going to last, it has to have some kind of integrity - you can't just do things for a cheap reaction."

This quote by Jonny Greenwood emphasizes the importance of maintaining artistic integrity when creating work that is intended to endure. It suggests that in order for a creation to hold value over time, it must be authentic, substantial, and not merely designed for fleeting or superficial responses. This sentiment underscores the idea that lasting impact requires depth, substance, and a dedication to craftsmanship that transcends the pursuit of immediate popularity or easy gratification.


"I think sometimes the best way to approach music is to forget about music and forget about anything you've ever heard before."

This quote encourages a fresh, uninhibited perspective towards musical creation. By "forgetting about music" and "anything [one's] ever heard before," Jonny Greenwood suggests abandoning preconceived notions or established styles in order to explore new, original musical territory. It is an invitation to let personal creativity flourish without the constraints of tradition or imitation. Essentially, he is advocating for a unique and authentic approach to music making.


I sometimes feel a bit embarrassed to play guitar. There's something - I don't want to sound ungrateful - but there's something very old-fashioned and traditional about it. You meet kids today whose grandparents were in punk bands. It's very old and traditional, but then, so is an orchestra and so is a string section.

- Jonny Greenwood

Play, String, Very, Bands

It's like that scene from The Player when they talk about merging Star Wars and Kramer vs. Kramer, or whatever. You could do that with music and it would just be awful.

- Jonny Greenwood

Star, Like, Star Wars, Merging

The rest of the band were basically friends, So it was me following them around and begging them to let me be in their band for two or three years. And they finally let me in on the harmonica, actually, and then the keyboards, and finally the guitar.

- Jonny Greenwood

Rest, Begging, Harmonica, Keyboards

I suppose, counting back, if the Beatles had been influenced by music in the same length of time ago - you'd have to put that into better English for me, thank you - they would have been like a banjo orchestra. They would have been doing show tunes.

- Jonny Greenwood

Doing, Influenced, Been, Banjo

I suppose all of us - we have the old Protestant work ethic of feeling guilty when you're not working, and getting a buzz from feeling like you're really busy. That's the reason to sort of carry on.

- Jonny Greenwood

Reason, Old, Like, Ethic

I suppose subconsciously I was thinking in terms of having the scale of it matching the scale of the images. Hence the sort of string quartet, jazz band and electronic stuff.

- Jonny Greenwood

String, Images, Having, String Quartet

When it comes to orchestral music, whenever I see a concert with orchestra and strings, and I arrive and there are speakers up, my heart always sinks a little bit, and I think, 'It's going to be down to some sound guy's ideas.' Contact microphones on the violins. I'm a purist, I suppose.

- Jonny Greenwood

Sound, Some, I Think, Orchestral

It's no longer unusual for real avant-garde composers to have been in a band, and for bands to be interested in a wide range of music. Look at how artists like Aphex Twin are influenced by Nancarrow and Stockhausen.

- Jonny Greenwood

Been, Wide Range, Composers, Avant-Garde

Right now my mind is on the people who stole our instruments, and, specifically, the person with my guitar, which will no doubt end its days having Green Day songs worked out on it. A better fate was deserved - and while the reverence given to guitars annoys me, I shall miss it.

- Jonny Greenwood

Fate, While, Our, Specifically

I've seen 13, 14-year-olds opening CDs as though they're records from the 1920s, going 'Look at this - there's a little book!'... That makes me think the format has probably had its day.

- Jonny Greenwood

Think, 1920s, Though, CDs

I think It's a bit of a disappointment that a lot of people's Golden Age of music is still the '60s.

- Jonny Greenwood

Think, I Think, Still, Golden Age

If I'm on a train, with headphones, MP3s are great. At home, I prefer CD or vinyl, partly because they sound a little better in a quiet room and partly because they're finite in length and separate things, unlike the endless days and days of music stored on my laptop.

- Jonny Greenwood

Headphones, Separate, Prefer, Stored

I don't mind when people are telling me about their 1971 Firebird, but it's the same thing as people telling me about their car or something. It's fine if you have an interest. By talking with me, though, you could be interviewing a novelist about guitars. It's the same thing, except I don't write that well either.

- Jonny Greenwood

Interviewing, Telling, About, Guitars

It's funny, but to me, when you go to a concert hall and hear electronic pieces from the '60s, I think they sound really dated. But when an orchestra plays a piece from that period, and it's going to sound different every time, it feels more modern to me.

- Jonny Greenwood

Sound, I Think, Feels, Electronic

I fell in love with electronics, which for me was the terra incognita, because I had never heard such sounds. If you'd asked me 50 years ago, I would have said the future of music is only electronic, but I would have been wrong. I learnt how to produce everything I needed with live instrumentalists, so I don't need electronics.

- Jonny Greenwood

Love, Electronics, Been, Electronic

I worry about being a fogy and just writing for orchestras. Like, really, I should be doing more electronic stuff, I feel. Laptops as part of the orchestra, and installation sound, and speakers.

- Jonny Greenwood

Worry, Doing, Like, Electronic

What I really enjoy about writing for orchestras is realizing that - and it's kind of self-evident - but the fact that they are 48 individuals. It's not, you know, a preset on a keyboard. It's all these people who have opinions and who are making decisions about how to play.

- Jonny Greenwood

Play, Fact, About, Self-Evident

I can remember soundtracks that you just can't separate from the film - It's just so intertwined, so important. Like the Hitchcock ones where they kind of inform each other and become this larger thing as a result.

- Jonny Greenwood

Other, Larger, Inform, Soundtracks

There's the soundtrack to The French Connection II'I think It's my favorite soundtrack. It hasn't been released. I actually had to go and get the film and just make a recording of it to get the music.

- Jonny Greenwood

Think, Been, Soundtrack, French

I'm pampered like you wouldn't believe.

- Jonny Greenwood

Believe, You, Like, Pampered

Presented with a song like Exit Music, It's impossible to know what to add without actually making it worse. How can you play along when It's already there?

- Jonny Greenwood

Song, Play, Add, Presented

Obviously there will be a backlash. If you believe the hype you have to believe a backlash too. Any criticism we get, is always stuff we've already criticised ourselves.

- Jonny Greenwood

Will, Always, Backlash, Hype

I think it should be ambitious and good music does deal with life and art and all these wonderful things.

- Jonny Greenwood

Art, Think, Deal, Wonderful Things

People will have MP3s of every Miles Davis' record but never think of hearing any of them twice in a row - there's just too much to get through.

- Jonny Greenwood

Think, Will, Through, Row

Jamaican reggae is the style of music I always reach for when ranting to friends about how you could listen to one style of music exclusively for the rest of your life - and it would all be great and varied and worth hearing.

- Jonny Greenwood

Reach, About, Your, Hearing

It's kind of not about the quality of the art, as much as this is what I love doing and I'd have a worse time doing anything else. That's kind of as far as I think in terms of philosophy.

- Jonny Greenwood

Love, Art, Think, As Far As

Everything I do feels like It's going to end up being in Radiohead.

- Jonny Greenwood

Like, Going, Feels, Radiohead

But I was in the Radiohead studio today and Phil was there drumming and Thom was there playing. We feel like we've only just stopped and already people are wanting us to carry on.

- Jonny Greenwood

Wanting, Studio, Stopped, Radiohead

It feels like Radiohead are famous, but that no one knows who we are. Which is brilliant, really.

- Jonny Greenwood

Brilliant, Feels, Which, Radiohead

Nothing's more exciting than a day in a studio with a string section - or more ruinously expensive. So it's good to feed that habit away from the band, especially if it means more experience for the next Radiohead string day.

- Jonny Greenwood

Next, Studio, Means, Radiohead

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