Rick Rubin is a legendary producer who has helped artists like Johnny Cash, Run-D.M.C., Slayer, The Chicks, Beastie Boys, and System of a Down make some of the greatest albums of their careers, but even he cannot escape the ire of Pete Townshend. During a recent podcast appearance, The Who guitarist offered his thoughts on Rubin’s creative process and confessed that he doesn’t feel it’s all necessary.
“You see a lot of stuff on YouTube and Instagram, people nagging you about the way that you have to be creative,” Townshend told Gary Kemp and Guy Pratt on their Rockonteurs podcast. “Somebody needs to occasionally slap Rick Rubin, because, one minute he’s telling us that we need to do whatever we like, and then, on the other hand, he’s telling us that we mustn’t do this, and we mustn’t do that.”
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“The book of rules for me is… I’ve dabbled with all of those methods,” Townshend continued. “I’ve carried complete big, recording studios on the road with me sometimes, and then sometimes I’ve used little cassette machines. I’ve recorded in all kinds of different ways. And if I fancy going into a studio with a huge orchestra, I’ve done that too.”
Townshend then offered, “But what’s most interesting is the paper. The paper, the photograph, the writing,” going on to share that, for him, “creativity is “not just about rock stars, pop stars, singers, musicians, artists, or whatever. It’s about everybody.”
To his credit, Townshend also spoke positively of the 8x Grammy-winning music producer. “As Rick Rubin so rightly says, and many other pundits about creativity, it has to be fun,” Townshend said. “It has to be enjoyable. It has to be something that you love to do, and it also has to be something that you like what you do. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that anybody else will like it.”
At this time, Rubin does not appear to have responded to Townshend’s comments and, as someone who has faced a lot of criticism over the years for his ideas and process, he probably won’t.
