Rick Rubin vs. Steve Albini

The cage match my fellow music dorks will never see.

In the far left we have Steve Albini the lightning bolt of knowledge and craft and utmost competence and a stoic denier of any psychological / emotional / aesthetic improvements his presence may have had on the bands that passed through his studio and his audio engineering. Floating somewhere in the right of the fighting enclosure we have Rick Rubin the musician whisperer, the good-vibes / shaham / esoteric midwife of albums who gladly takes his worldly profits and plays no music and sets up no microphones and hit not record. Steve wore a plumber’s uniform and schlepped in Chicago in a studio he built, Rick wears some whispy clothes to complement the beard and lays on the couch in Malibu and (???)

I believe both have served as catalysts for some of the best recording projects, and the ideal Album Helper-Make-Better-er would have the best qualities of both.

I strive for the rigor of Steve Albini while also striving to embrace the essential psychic aspects of Album Making. In short, I believe Albini’s approach and legacy is singular, devoted, stunningly beautiful and inspirational, yet man sliding scale is pretty great all around.

Steve and Tupac are either working together on an album in Cuba or in heaven and hey what’s the difference if those 2 are in a studio. They could be at Rick’s place in Costa Rica? I can think of other things that make me equivalently happy yet nothing that would make me happier.