In defence of Rick Rubin

Ok this is going to be the most cringe post I've ever written, because who cares really, but this has irked me several times so I'm going to write it anyway.

One thing I never quite understood is why they dunk on Rick Rubin so much. Or, Ok, I get it, it's an open goal. It's easy to dunk on Rick Rubin. I mean look at the guy. But then again...

I’m a creative director, photographer and filmmaker, and I’ve made my living from creative work for over 20 years. I've designed stuff, I've written scripts that got made into TV, I've played in a couple of bands, one of which got signed, nothing huge but anyway, so I’ve spent a large part of my life immersed in the creative process. I’ve basically been doing this since I was a teenager.

The Creative Act is one of the few books about creativity that genuinely spoke to me. The ideas Rick talks about in interviews, and the methods and philosophy in the book, map onto my actual creative process with almost uncanny accuracy. Some of the best work I’ve done came after reading it.

What’s interesting is that many of my own mentors, people who are far more accomplished and respected than I am, also recommend the book and describe very similar creative experiences.

So I’ve wondered why the guys seem so dismissive of it.

My theory is that they’re incredibly knowledgeable about art, but they’re also, in the best possible sense, not artists themselves. That’s a huge part of why they’re so funny. They approach culture with distance, irony and skepticism. They’re sort of brilliant at puncturing pretension.

But actually making art or creative work often requires almost the opposite mindset. You have to be emotionally invested, sensitive, willing to be fragile, and sometimes even embrace ideas that sound a little mystical or impossible to justify rationally. You can’t stay ironic the whole way through the process.

I guess that’s actually why I love the podcast. It’s cathartic to hear them parody the art world because it gives me some healthy distance from an industry that can take itself far too seriously.

But on Rick Rubin, I think they’re missing something. His language can absolutely sound vague or mystical, but underneath it is a very practical philosophy that, at least for me and many other working creatives I know, genuinely works.

Just wanted to get that off my chest:P