Words matter. These are the best Rick Rubin Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
My taste changes radically all the time, and I listen to whatever feels good. Another thing is that I’m in the studio so much of the time, and I listen to so much loud, aggressive music for work, that for pleasure, I’ll listen to something else.
Usually when I start a new project there’s a fear of the unknown; maybe it’s a band I’ve never been in the studio with before. People are so different. It’s almost like you need to go through the process, discover and unlock what it is that makes that band that band. And a lot of times they don’t know it.
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’ve… ‘ You didn’t, and had you, the outcome would have been different.
I never really think so much about commercial success; I usually just think about records that move me, and ‘Baby Got Back’ was one that moved me.
There’s just a natural human element to a great song that feels immediately satisfying. I like the song to create a mood.
I was the only punk rocker at my high school. And there were at least a handful of black kids who liked hip-hop. Both were kind of the new music of the day, and it was lonely being the only punk.
When you’re vegan, you spend your time chasing protein, and you’re eating food that’s way too high in carbs. I could never catch up on protein.
I’ve always been an outsider. When I did magic, I was the only kid. When I worked with Johnny Cash, I was completely out of place in Nashville. And when I started Def Jam, I was the only white guy in the hip-hop world.
I think with certain artists you want to hear their album… and then there are other artists who I like where maybe it’s more about the single. I don’t think there is going to be one way that everything works.
I don’t know what makes someone hip. The goal is artist achievement and the best work we can do with no limitation.
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 to when I was younger.
I guess edgy things tend to get my attention.
