Haven’t you ever wondered why some records by a musician stand out and are so good?
Rick Rubin is the producer of some of my favorite records. I didn’t know it at the time but in retrospect he’s the part of the Venn diagram that connects several musicians I care about.
- Beastie Boys
- Nine Inch Nails
- Johnny Cash
- Tom Petty
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
- System of a Down
I’ve read this book a few times but the combination of the book and interviews he’s given have helped me shape my art (videos on Lennis Docs, Shiteration, things I’m working on in the future).
He’s merciless when it comes to being honest.
Speaking of Shiteration and Rick Rubin’s influence…
I wrote this book 6 times.
- v1 – Finding YOUR Way ∴ The Kung Fu of Iteration
- v2 – Finding YOUR Way: The Kung Fu of Iteration
- v3 – Art of Iteration (this one really felt like “the one” but I was bored with it by the end of the introduction)
- v4 – Shiteration Shit happens, you might as well learn from it. (as far as I could get w/o an editor)
- v5 – Shiteration: Shit Happens, You Might as Well Learn From It (after paying someone to beat my ass)
- v6 – Shiteration: Shit Happens, You Might as Well Learn From It (multiple ass whippings later) – this is what is getting printed
I destroyed and re-created every chapter in this book multiple times, printing every section, cutting them apart and re-organizing them only to change very little sometimes. When I stopped changing them I had to admit they were as good as I was going to make them.
I never took the easy way. I beat on these pages until they were lean and mean. I intentionally kept the book under 100 pages because in my mind if you can’t explain yourself in a few pages, you really don’t know what you’re trying to say.
If you want to learn more – go get the book.