Perfection is a Second-Rate Idea
(7 min read)
Have you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall while two legendary record producers just talk about music?
On Season Two: Episode 7 of the podcast Broken Record you get to do just that. Producers Rick Rubin and T Bone Burnett talk about the differences between writing songs and musicals, some of their favorite records, and crossing lines. They also end up dropping some real gems regarding so-called “perfection” in music.
Broken Record is an offshoot of Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History podcast. In Revisionist History, Gladwell’s insatiably curious mind tackles overlooked and often misunderstood moments in history… with Gladwell being a passionate lover of music it’s not surprising that he channeled that interest into new podcast that focuses exclusively on music.
These new conversations are described as “Liner notes for the digital age,” which is probably a bit of an understatement considering the depth they provide. Gladwell has teamed up with his friend Rick Rubin and the show’s producer Bruce Headlam to talk with artists about their music. They dive deeper than your standard interview podcast and when a vague or cookie-cutter answer is given, they dig for more. They ask the questions that many are too timid to ask. You should really check it out.
…with Gladwell being a passionate lover of music it’s not surprising that he channeled that interest into new podcast that focuses exclusively on music.
On the aforementioned episode, Rick Rubin interviews T Bone Burnett. The resulting conversation gives us some real insight into part of why these men are so revered. Just as Gladwell is, they’re not just fans of each other’s work, but of music in general. Their fandom and love of the craft is truly inspiring.
About a quarter way through the conversation, the topic of recording Sarah Bareilles’ new record comes up. T Bone tells us that Sarah has really stepped up her songwriting game since her hit musical Waitress and that he wanted to do something different for her new record. They talk about how they both love to record live as much as possible, with musicians playing in the same room at the same time, with everyone focused on telling a story.
The two giants then spout off these sentences in succession:
"No amount of 'getting it right' counters the energy of the interaction of people really playing." — Rick Rubin
"Perfection is a second-rate idea. And the computer is able to put out perfect music all day long but it isn't nearly as interesting." — T Bone Burnett
These sentences encapsulate what has been an underlying piece of their long and rich history of production success. It’s not always about just getting it “correct.” Inspiration is not measured by precision and accuracy. Truly memorable moments are more about the energy and the human elements that keep things interesting than any technically perfected process. Which brings us to the following excerpt from a piece that our founder Daniel Holter wrote over 5 years ago titled “Things In Which We Believe.”
Honoring imperfection, dirt and grit. A universe in balance. You can keep your “perfect” and sterile and tidy, we aim for genuine emotion and inspiration. This applies to our whole company, our brand, the music we make, and the people with whom we make it.
“Honoring imperfection, dirt and grit” is number 4 of 10 bullet points that make up our guiding tenets for success at The License Lab. Intentional imperfection is one of the many elements that we treasure in our production music records. There’s no faking it and it takes time to understand the necessary balance.
Our label Analog Champion is dedicated to the concept of using vintage and retro techniques, described as “filthy recordings and gritty performances.” We depend on these time-honored techniques, just as the pioneers of the industry did when they made their mark, because there is nothing else like it when you’re searching for authenticity. There’s so much more in these records than just the notes.
Another example comes from one particular album on Eyeballs & Eardrums called Acoustic Contours. We invited two guitarists (Christopher Porterfield and Michael Rossetto) to join us for an afternoon in Studio A, set up a couple of microphones, and pushed “record.” They took turns trading melodies and atmospheres on a variety of acoustic folk instruments, reacting and responding to the energy and improvisations of the other. These songs didn’t exist before the moment we pushed the big red record button. The result is a beautiful and alarmingly stark but deeply moving album filled with genuine moments of surprise.
Like Rubin said, nothing can make up for the energy of that live interaction. And when you license these tracks, our hope is that the energy within translates to your next project and supports your story in an organic and uniquely human way. We trust your audience will feel the difference even if they don’t understand the how and why.
Speaking of legends, we’ll leave you with a quote by the great Vince Lombardi that really ties this message together for us as a company in our daily projects, passions, struggles, and ambitions... “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”
For more excellent conversations on music, make sure you check out the rest of Broken Record here: https://brokenrecordpodcast.com
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