In Quotations
Who gets to be quoted?
One of my favorite quotes ever comes from Rick Rubin about the Beatles, where he says “For me, the Beatles are proof in the existence of God.”
After watching the Beatle’s recent Peter Jackson directed epic film “Get Back”, it becomes readily apparent why this quote strikes a chord, pun intended. There are moments of true divine intervention, where we actually get to witness Source acting through these humans, with the gifts of song that will love on in wax grooves and 1’s and 0’s for eternity. It’s otherwise incomprehensible how in the course of just 7 years, they were able to drop so many of these gifts on us on this Earthly plane. Conduits being played by and with God, indeed.
Rick is a man often quoted, as his take is that of tried-and-true groundbreaking legend drawing from a never-ending ontological well of storied experiences and collaborations like few others. Rick’s quick bio:
Frederick Jay Rubin (/ˈruːbɪn/; born March 10, 1963), better known by his stage name Rick Rubin, is an American record producer and former co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, he is the cofounder of Def Jam Recordings and also established American Recordings. With the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy, Geto Boys, and Run-DMC, Rubin helped popularize hip hop music. He also produced a number of top-selling artists from a variety of other genres including heavy metal (Danzig, Slayer), alternative rock (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Weezer), and country (Johnny Cash, Dixie Chicks).
In 2007, MTV called him “the most important producer of the last 20 years,”[3] and the same year, Rubin appeared on Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the World”.
When Rick drops a quote, I pay attention to it. His signature style stands out, and his unique “voice” you see throughout his art also appears in his hot takes on life, reality, art, and of course music. Certainly, he’s earned the right to my time and attention and I’m more than happy to oblige.
This week I posted a statement to my Instagram stories that got a fair amount of response, and has led to quite a bit of consideration since. I’d questioned the worth of an extremely heavily quoted writer who is very wise, instructive and articulate in his elegant nuggets of truth posted, and consistently virally shared on Instagram and socials. The writer in their young thirties, and has a couple of short books under their belt.
I’m struggling to get passed the question of whether or not it matters if you have Rick Rubin level career to be a widely quoted — and believable — person? Is there some kind of “creative accomplishment” quota that separates you into quota-bility? Is being the self-help meme star equivalent to more of an “influencer” where the beauty and fitness of their words, insta-ready brand of positivity and millennial self-help. Or, are the words enough, and hold power and true meaning in their own right, devoid of a “career” that has led to the validity of those words? Does it matter how old this person is? Does your “ten thousand hours” really matter?
I’m reminded of the Rhetorical framework taught to me by Richard Katula, using the triad of “Ethos, Pathos, Logos” as the foundation for judgement in the art of persuasive speech. Ethos is the character of a person, including their career and accomplishments, Pathos being the emotional authenticity of the argument, and Logos as the craft of the words themselves.
According to this standard, lacking in Ethos means you are only playing a two-note cord — certainly interesting, but without the Ethos to back it up, the depth of resonance with a position is still limited.
Of course, if a quote resonates with you, so be it! That’s a beautiful thing and don’t let me be a wet blanket. For me personally, playing with at least a triad is vital for me to to begin to pay attention. Once you get into color tones we can really start up some Flow.
Thanks so much for reading! I’ve been writing posts every day, today is day 30 in a row! If you are enjoying my writing and find some value or helpful insights for your own life’s work, please be sure to give a clap, comment or share… thank you kindly!
jb
And huge thanks to Bard Official for putting together this epic list of Rick Rubin quotes! :)
Rick Rubin x 25 Quotes
1. For me the Beatles are proof of the existence of God.
2. I guess edgy things tend to get my attention.
3. I like things that are unique and extreme.
4. The power of nature is what all art strives to be.
5. Everything I do, whether it’s producing or signing an artist, always starts with the songs.
6. When I’m listening, I’m looking for a balance that you can see in anything. Whether it’s a great painting or a building or a sunset.
7. In between 15 and 20 — probably at around 17 — my interests switched from hard rock to punk rock. And then by 20 they were circling out of punk rock back into Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, the stuff that I didn’t get into when I was younger.
8. I’m just trying to make my favorite music. That’s how I work.
9. I want to be touched by the music I’m making. Luckily, other people have shared that response to my work over the years.
10. I never decide if an idea is good or bad until I try it.
11. So much of what gets in the way of things being good is thinking that we know. And the more that we can remove any baggage we’re carrying with us and just be in the moment, use our ears, pay attention to what’s happening and just listen to the inner voice that directs us, the better.
12. Everything happens kind of the way it’s supposed to happen and we just watch it unfold. And you can’t control it. Looking back, you can’t say, ‘I should have … ‘ You didn’t and had you the outcome would have been different.
13. I’m a work in progress. I have revelations every day.
14. There’s a tremendous power in using the least amount of information to get a point across.
15. What I’ve learned is a hard question to answer. Learning is ongoing.
16. When you’re a kid, you don’t really know the difference between magic and spirituality.
17. At one time, science said the world was flat, and everybody believed it. The fact is, we don’t know anything for sure.
18. Making art is a mystical process — a lot of people who are artists don’t understand it themselves. Especially the young ones. They feel different, but they don’t know what it is. They feel more. Everything hurts. Everything. They’re supersensitive. They see things that other people don’t see. It can be crippling. For someone like Kurt Cobain, it can kill you.
19. Put it this way: I’m open to the truth, whatever it is.
20. If I were to make only rap records or make only heavy metal records, it would really get old fast. I would end up falling into patterns.
21. I was talking to Leonard Cohen and he was saying it takes him typically three years to write a song. And he said that once he was having a conversation with Bob Dylan, comparing songs of each other’s that they liked. And Bob said, “Well, how long did it take to write ‘Hallelujah’?” And Leonard said, “Three years.” And then he asked Bob, “How long did it take you to write ‘I and I’?” And Bob said, “Fifteen minutes.”
22. I try to make criticisms in a very, very specific way. The more specific it is — if someone can really understand where you’re coming from and what you’re suggesting — the more it will actually help them.
23. With many artists, no one around them tells them the truth, so hearing the truth can be actually refreshing.
24. My job has very little to do with music. It has more to do with taste and culture and balance.
25. It’s not fun to be with people who are famous but not talented. The talent is the fun part.
