The Who‘s Pete Townshend says somebody needs to slap Rick Rubin, criticizing him for conflicting messages regarding creativity.
“You see a lot of stuff on YouTube and Instagram, people nagging you about the way that you have to be creative,” Townshend said recently on Gary Kemp and Guy Pratt‘s 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.”
The Who songwriter and co-founder added, “The book of rules for me is… I’ve dabbled with all of those methods. 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. But what’s most interesting is the paper. The paper, the photograph, the writing.”
Creativity is “not just about rock stars, pop stars, singers, musicians, artists, or whatever. It’s about everybody,” according to Townsend.
“The Creative Act: A Way Of Being,” a book detailing Rubin’s ideas about creativity, was published in 2023.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
