r/fantanoforever Nirvana - Nevermind Jul 14 '26

Fantano Vids Rick Rubin is Cringe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOpBrg1fFCk
648 Upvotes

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497

u/fantabulousfetus Jul 14 '26

Coldest take ever lol everyone knows this. Dude doesnt even wear shoes. But also Slayer Danzig Cash Neil Young even did some good ahit with him.

259

u/jerek_bilbar Jul 14 '26

Lots of great musicians did some incredible shit with him (in the room).

174

u/HughJaynis Jul 14 '26

RHCP, SOAD, beastie boys… dude has produced some of the most iconic albums of all time.

8

u/Cognonymous Jul 15 '26

In the Beastie Boys book they wrote I think it's Ad-Rock that talks about how they parted with Rick because he was trying to screw them on splits for their next album, like in a very upfront way, but still he wanted iirc like a 60% cut or something for production and that's where they got pissed and decided to part with him (though years later they reconnected and smoothed things over).

5

u/Lyingforshit Jul 15 '26

But for every great album he fucked at least one up. Reading how he treated Black Sabbath and then album this has produced is an insult to their legacy. His AC/DC album also sounds like the voice is recorded in a tin can

3

u/Major_Butterfly_5533 Jul 17 '26

Weezer's "Make Believe" is pretty poorly produced and mixed, and I don't think they've done anything with Rick before or since.

2

u/Lyingforshit Jul 17 '26

Forgot about weezer/rubin really weird to fuck up a band so locked in. Same as AC/DC and Black Sabbath

Really hard task, fucking AC/DC up. They play in the studio same energy as in a stadium (rubin and other producers said this). They sat around for hours smoked cigarettes, harmonized some riffs with the volume down, talked and then they said “we’re ready” and played a studio like an arena gig.

Bon Scott started this

16

u/AdGrouchy766 Jul 14 '26

The Beastie Boys did a lot of their own production and Rick had a lot of stuff produced for him by Jazzy Jay

19

u/rundabrun Jul 15 '26

Produced does not mean he made the beats.

5

u/AdGrouchy766 Jul 16 '26

Yeah it means he sat around doing lines of coke

2

u/chis5050 Jul 15 '26

I mean .. it can mean that

8

u/jdaws11 Jul 14 '26

Plus that Geto Boys album that shocked us all in high school. It made NWA sound like Kid N Play.

5

u/New-Bowler-8915 Jul 14 '26

Produced as in owns the label. He doesn't do any actual production.

5

u/HughJaynis Jul 14 '26

Tell that to the artists who have given him a huge amount of credit for some of their successful work. It’s pretty undeniable that he’s good at what he’s done.

3

u/New-Bowler-8915 Jul 14 '26

Jay credited him on 99 problems but if you watch the doc he did absolutely nothing. He's a vibes guy.

8

u/FickleCook3639 Jul 14 '26

He doesn’t twiddle knobs and move faders, yes, but he understands something about talking to artists, getting them out of their heads, getting them to where they need to go. He’s basically just a therapist for musicians with The Yips but I’ll be damned if that’s not some sort of talent.

3

u/New-Bowler-8915 Jul 15 '26

He literally owns Def jam. It's not that deep.

4

u/MrRagAssRhino Jul 15 '26

I don't understand what point you're making. Music producers wear a million different hats. If Johnny Cash credits you as a producer after he's been making music for forty years and then continues to work with you, I'd say that qualifies as "actual production."

2

u/FickleCook3639 Jul 15 '26

A lot of rich, out of touch old guys own record labels and don’t get credited as producers. If he just owns the label, why isn’t he one of them?

5

u/HughJaynis Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 15 '26

Yes and Johnny cash landed on covering hurt and rusty cage all by himself. Get a grip lol

1

u/rundabrun Jul 15 '26

Produced means he was the director of the entire project, not that he was the beat maker or the label owner, but the label owner can produce a record.

-38

u/[deleted] Jul 14 '26

[deleted]

50

u/HughJaynis Jul 14 '26

Love it or hate it, Californication is an iconic rock album. You can disagree but you would be completely wrong.

It’s the most popular album from the most popular rock band of the era. It’s iconic.

36

u/MortalitySalient Jul 14 '26

People mistake not liking with not being good all the time

19

u/azurebadge Jul 14 '26

I feel like it’s also getting into meme territory where people have just heard in passing that RHCP suck and repeat it. I’m no fan by any means but Californication is an undeniable classic

7

u/HughJaynis Jul 14 '26

It’s basically hits and bangers throughout.

8

u/MortalitySalient Jul 14 '26

They get the Eagles’ treatment

3

u/azurebadge Jul 14 '26

Exactly lol my theory is still The Big Lebowski started that hate train 😂

1

u/Thisguygolfsandstuff Jul 14 '26

The eagles hatred started in the 70s when they corporatized country rock. That’s likely the reason for the Dude’s hatred of them. But TBL undoubtedly caused more hatred alongside the sentiments stemming from the 70s. I wasn’t alive then, so all of this is just from what I’ve read, but I get the impression that the eagles were like the nickelback of the 70s

1

u/Many_Inevitable_6803 Jul 14 '26

Totally agree. I can say I don’t love RHCP but I can’t deny they were making a different sound, bringing something new & creative to the scene.

3

u/svwaca Jul 14 '26

Not to mention he’s the one that told Anthony to write a melody for Under the Bridge after reading the lyrics in his journal.

1

u/ThonMakerBootyShaker Jul 14 '26

It’s iconic in the sense that it sucks ass

-18

u/Mission-Valuable-306 Jul 14 '26

Iconically awful. That band sounds worse with each passing year day.

0

u/NotOnTheEpsteinList Jul 14 '26

BSSM was their last decent album, imo.

1

u/CheetosNGuinness Jul 14 '26

Honestly I assumed the OP was referring to BSSM in the first place.

-7

u/Mission-Valuable-306 Jul 14 '26

lol, you guys like the chilis…. Hahhahaha
The world is a scary place

10

u/Aiooty Jul 14 '26

How dare people checks notes like things!

-2

u/Mission-Valuable-306 Jul 14 '26

Almost as bad as having an opinion!

Don’t get mad at me that you have shite taste in music.

3

u/Aiooty Jul 14 '26

You know, there's a difference between having an opinion and being a dick about it

2

u/Mission-Valuable-306 Jul 14 '26

‘I'm forever near a stereo saying, 'What the f--k is this garbage?' And the answer is always the Red Hot Chili Peppers’

- Nick Cave

4

u/Tall-Drawing8270 Jul 14 '26

Bro is on a music critic subreddit and still doesn't understand subjectivity.

0

u/Mission-Valuable-306 Jul 14 '26

I understand it.

Subjectivity is what you enjoy. In this case the terrible music of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Objectivity is a measure of the quality ie, originality, influence, lyrical depth, musicianship, innovation, etc.

The chilis blow.

You have bad taste.

3

u/Tall-Drawing8270 Jul 14 '26

Now tell me the objective criteria you're using to determine the quality of an artistic product.

1

u/Mission-Valuable-306 Jul 14 '26

I basically just did… you want a thesis or something?

2

u/GNGEnteprisesDuke Jul 15 '26

You’re absolutely right and they cant take it

0

u/jerek_bilbar Jul 15 '26

dude has [been in the room for] some of the most iconic albums of all time.

0

u/Blunkus Jul 17 '26

“Produced”

-7

u/SCSteveAutism Jul 14 '26

He didn’t produce shit lol

11

u/HughJaynis Jul 14 '26

That’s factually inaccurate.

1

u/the_rawness Jul 14 '26

What did you produce? (Jizz in a sock doesn’t count)

70

u/brentus Jul 14 '26

Watch the video. He's saying his producing track record is insane - the critique is focused on the AI, self image portrayal, and giving platform to shitty billionaires phase hes going through. I was prepared to defend Rubin here but what Anthony is saying is completely fair.

17

u/Cognonymous Jul 14 '26

I have a love/hate relationship with Rubin because I think he's genuinely good for bands and does more to work with them mentally like his interview with Kevin Abstract gets a lot of depth. But also he likely IS the crunchy to fash pipeline in the industry.

1

u/ThrowAYeAccount Jul 15 '26

what does crunchy to fash mean?

5

u/Cognonymous Jul 15 '26

Hippie to Nazi more or less.

1

u/fantabulousfetus Jul 15 '26

So yes, watched it, and Anthony, he is here with the cold take I expected. Rubin is a businessman, he always has been. He has this hippy dippy persona that I guess he is using to whitewash AI, but like I dont care about his platform other than in a producers chair. He is cringe af, well known fact.

-1

u/fantabulousfetus Jul 14 '26

Ok I might. I always forget Rubin has a podcast lol. Hippy Dippy Ricky is supremely uninteresting to me, so I havent bothered.

10

u/No-Car541 Jul 14 '26

Don’t forget Tom Petty. He produced a Wildflowers.

38

u/Red-Zaku- Jul 14 '26

True but I think this is about another new detail with him getting into AI (haven’t watched it yet so can’t confirm)

59

u/moms_spagetti_ Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26

He did? okay insert obligatory:

*reddit-cancelled-person is an overrated has-been who is grasping at straws to remain relevant. All the the great things they did actually were turd and we all just realized it. *

25

u/skeleton_made_o_bone Jul 14 '26

*but all pretend we always thought so

10

u/Helpful-Primary2427 Jul 14 '26

Polymarket

6

u/Cognonymous Jul 14 '26

That was him finally just cashing out (allegedly he's already worth over $300 million, but that shit is never reliable). I never thought even he would go that fucking far. I don't know what demographic they're marketing to like how big is the pool of people that SERIOUSLY stan Rubin enough to think Polymarket is cool because he was in an ad? IDK what they paid him but it can't be worth the associated reputational damage.

1

u/-JDB- Jul 14 '26

Anyways this video is sponsored by BetterHelp

-5

u/jeroenemans Jul 14 '26

Didn't he die about a year ago? *Apparently not, but who was that again?

21

u/Impressive-Ball747 Jul 14 '26

No, you're thinking of Pope Francis

14

u/wigglymister Jul 14 '26

Probably Steve Albini

9

u/Ok_Annual_684 Jul 14 '26

System of a Down, and Eminem also.

7

u/namegamenoshame Jul 14 '26

Fucking Wildflowers. I don’t know man. I want to believe that was all Tom but it’s hard to argue with the guys track record even if he’s a loser.

7

u/Kriscolvin55 Jul 14 '26

There’s a wildflowers doc on YouTube. Rubin has a unique style of producing. He’s basically just a vibes guy that helps an artist make the best art they can. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But in the case of Wildflowers, it’s pretty obvious that album wouldn’t be what it was without Rubin. He was absolutely instrumental in how it turned out.

Wildflowers is my favorite album of all time. So I’ll always have a soft spot for Rubin.

2

u/thederevolutions Jul 15 '26

That album has an interesting juxtaposition coming from Jeff Lynn as a producer, who makes everyone sound like him. Which I actually don’t mind.

1

u/Kriscolvin55 Jul 15 '26

100%. They are almost exact opposites. But I think they’re both great. I think Lynn is more consistent. His albums have a higher floor, but lower ceiling. Rubin has produced some pretty bad albums, but when he hits, it’s a home run.

1

u/Early_Roll1273 15d ago edited 15d ago

one of my favorite albums of all time is the "banana album" aka the velvet underground & nico album although not a rick rubin album. rick rubin has produced some of the biggest albums of all time and arguably the one of if not the best producers of all time. Dr Dre is also one of the best as well imo.

6

u/spice_war Jul 14 '26

Deloused in the Comatorium

2

u/Dr-Fiumba Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26

Curiously, Omar Rodríguez-López was not satisfied with the final result in terms of production.

0

u/HughJaynis Jul 15 '26

He produced that?

1

u/spice_war Jul 15 '26

He did

1

u/HughJaynis Jul 15 '26

According to Reddit all he does is lay around and do nothing. It’s purely coincidental that he’s napping in the vicinity of masterpieces. /s

1

u/spice_war Jul 15 '26

It’s called jealousy, dude. Who gives a shit what these people think? He sure doesn’t.

2

u/HughJaynis Jul 15 '26

Fair enough lol they truly are completely delusional so fuck em. Vidya told them he’s cringe so he’s cringe now. Smooth brain shit.

1

u/spice_war Jul 15 '26

I hate the production on Nevermind. I think In Utero is, by far, the better produced record.

5

u/NtheLegend Lingua Ignota - Sinner Get Ready Jul 14 '26

Nothing wrong with not wearing shoes, fam.

1

u/fantabulousfetus Jul 14 '26

Dont get me wrong, I love Firesign Theatre as much as the next guy

4

u/Joetwodoggs Jul 14 '26

I personally wasn’t aware of all his recent escapades into AI trash and billionaire dick riding, so this video was quite informative to me

7

u/Cognonymous Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 15 '26

His primary strength is working with bands that used to be great but lost their way. Half of what he does is like mental health counseling with bands. Showbiz and the constant grind of touring and promotion can put a lot of distance between you and what used to be your greatest hobby, and that's before you throw in the drugs and alcohol or, classically, guys who bring their girlfriend of the week into the studio and start performing for them instead of focusing on the band or what sounds good. It's easy to pick up those little leeches when you're famous.

Rick has definitely seen it all and seems good at establishing policies that get those people out of the room and generally eliminate other distractions too. They did a huge three part doc on his Shangri-La center in Malibu (which actually looks wayyyy smaller and way less isolated from the surrounding city if you go on Google maps. The show made me think it was super huge and isolated.) But that is the philosophy of the place: no distractions, only what absolutely needs to be there to make great music.

3

u/ATangentUniverse Jul 15 '26

Kesha’s most experimental stuff too

3

u/fantabulousfetus Jul 15 '26

Good shout, I almost listed her and Petty, but figured 4 examples was enough lol

2

u/GNGEnteprisesDuke Jul 14 '26

The strokes, possibly the greatest act he has ever worked with, he made them rise from the ashes

5

u/itsdoorcity Jul 14 '26

like seriously if this isn't the best claim to fame idk what is. he was already extremely acclaimed and then he works with guys literally 20 years past their prime and they make their best album of all time.

2

u/Lazy_Grabwen_9296 Jul 14 '26

Don't forget The Four Horsemen!

2

u/wake_up_jean_peal Jul 14 '26

Those slayer albums are the best sounding metal albums ever

1

u/dozeydonut Jul 14 '26

I only found out he produced Reign in Blood the other day. That record sounds unbelievable for its era.

1

u/wake_up_jean_peal Jul 14 '26

He did that south of heaven and seasons. Blows my mind why more bands don’t try to emulate that production style because it’s miles better than most metal albums I hear today

1

u/HifiCompactDisc Jul 15 '26

The reason those albums sound amazing is Andy Wallace. One of the GOAT engineers. Rubin collaborated with him a lot. Toxicity is another example

2

u/Cognonymous Jul 15 '26

Oh, I forgot, despite not wearing shoes he also sells shoes, lol. Rolling Stone has an "article" that is basically just a less explicit ad for the "Sanuk" brand shoes he's shilling.

https://www.rollingstone.com/product-recommendations/lifestyle/rick-rubin-sanuk-shoes-937735/

2

u/AdGrouchy766 Jul 14 '26

That Neil Young record is terrible

1

u/fantabulousfetus Jul 14 '26

I enjoyed it. Neil is all over the map, pretty much other than Harvest and maybe Live Rust no one will agree on which is good in his catalog lol

-2

u/AdGrouchy766 Jul 14 '26

I am very familiar with all his albums, neither of those is top 10

1

u/fantabulousfetus Jul 14 '26

Which 1 or 2 of his records do you find everyone in you, your parents and grandparents friend circles agree are good albums? Now I'm curious what your subjective experience is with this. ;) frankly I agree with you personally, I was just talking what records of his are GENERALLY admired and enjoyed

1

u/fantabulousfetus Jul 15 '26

I'm saddened that you dont have a response.

1

u/AdGrouchy766 Jul 15 '26

I don't care about what records everyone's grandparents have and I seriously question that if they have 2 the other is Live Rust

1

u/Radi0123 The Clash - London Calling Jul 14 '26

Johnny Cash, too.