Jonathan Ive On Design
Watch this video. Hang in past the foreign language intro until Ive comes on screen.
Some of the things he says are mindblowing. Because they apply to all art. And make no mistake, Jonathan Ive is an artist.
Getting design out of the way. Wasn’t this the essence of punk music? Strip it down, get it to its essence. Listen to the Ramones, the music was so simple that it was infectious, to the point where prepubescent kids love the Ramones. You couldn’t conceive of it being any other way. More production on an early Ramones track? Better players? They were superfluous. It was the energy that drew listeners in. And sure, the Ramones might not have sold a ton of albums in their heyday. Then again, their heyday is now. On iPods, at sports stadiums…it just took a while for the public to catch up with the band.
And hang in there until Ive talks about features disappearing when you don’t need them, as opposed to calling attention to themselves. Used to be the music was enough, now you need production, outfits.
Or at least that’s what the industry thinks is needed.
Maybe what we need is less time in the studio. More focus on getting the end product right, so it stands on its own.
And maybe we need to focus on processes so the end result is right, but the effort behind doesn’t show. Kind of like practice. No one listens to a track because the player practiced a lot, they’re just interested in the final form. Just like it’s not about how the MacBook was made, but the final product. Furthermore, ever notice how we lose interest in those who advertise their practice? He who plays many notes when only a few are necessary is doomed to the scrapheap. Just like an Apple remote control has only a few buttons instead of forty. Who can comprehend the forty? If you can just pick up the device and use it without instruction, on instinct, then you know it’s right.
Rick Rubin is famous for imploring his production clients to push just a little bit harder, to test their limits before cutting tracks. He doesn’t focus on the studio, getting the notes and the sound right. It’s all the work that’s done before that counts. Rick frustrates legendary acts, but they line up to work with him. Because he knows great music comes from thinking. Unless your brain is cogitating, unless you’re testing limits, you’re probably producing pabulum.
This focus on auto-tuning, on getting everything exactly right in the studio is working against us. Live music disappears into the ether, that’s its magic. The key is to capture the inspiration, the energy of a great performance in the studio. Massage it too much and you miss it.
Really, watch this video. It’s inspiring.
