“I certainly had no feeling for harmony, and Schoenberg thought that that would make it impossible for me to write music. He said, 'You'll come to a wall you won't be able to get through.' I said, 'Well then, I'll beat my head against that wall.' I quite literally began hitting things, and developed a music of percussion that involved noises.”

— John Cage

Quote from an interview in Observer magazine (1982), repeated on several occasions
1980s

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John Cage 43

American avant-garde composer 1912–1992

Mitch Hedberg (1968–2005) American stand-up comedian

It's just flat."
Comedy Central Presents, S01E06: Mitch Hedberg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAHiHJ2AhYE&feature=youtu.be (5 January 1999)

“It's like banging my head against the wall, except if I were actually banging my head on a wall, I'd be able to make myself stop.”

Cassandra Clare (1973) American author

“I got into a fight one time with a really big guy, and he said, "I'm going to mop the floor with your face." I said, "You'll be sorry." He said, "Oh yeah? Why?" I said, "Well, you won't be able to get into the corners very well."”

Emo Philips (1956) American comedian

GQ Magazine - 75 Funniest Jokes of All Time (June 1999)

“Why should I tell you everything about how I feel when you never tell me anything? It's like banging my head on a wall, except at least if I were banging my head on a wall, I'd be able to make myself stop. - Jace Wayland.”

Cassandra Clare book City of Ashes

Jace and Clary, pg. 244
Source: The Mortal Instruments, City of Ashes (2008)
Context: "I wish I could hate you. I want to hate you. I try to hate you. It would be so much easier if I did hate you. Sometimes I think I do hate you and then I see you and I-"
"And you what?"
"What do you think? Why should I tell you everything about how I feel when you never tell me anything. It's like banging my head on a wall, except at least if I were banging my head on a wall, I'd be able to make myself stop."