Mike Rugnetta on creativity and reliable power’s value

Mike Rugnetta, The Verge’s weekend editor, brings over 18 years of editorial experience to the table, including a decade as managing editor at Engadget. With that kind of workload, you might wonder how he stays productive. But when we asked about his essential tools and creative habits, his answers went far deeper than a simple app list. He shared sharp insights on the creative process, the underappreciated value of reliable electricity, and even tied the loss of the headphone jack to a broader societal collapse.

What is your most indispensable tool?

At first, I thought of my audio interface. It’s the first device I power on each day and the last I shut down. My RME Fireface UCX II is the second most reliable piece of gear I own. The first is my headphones.

I’ve used the same pair of Sony MDR-7506’s for about 20 years. They’re on my head daily. I trust them more than some people I’ve known that long. Only recently have they shown signs of aging, but I think a repair will buy me a few more years.

Some claim you can’t mix on headphones. Those people are cowards. I mix almost everything on mine. Andrew Scheps agrees with me on this, though he replaces his regularly. Maybe I should too.

Which is the most underappreciated?

Let me tell you: it’s reliable power. My studio building’s landlord and I are locked in a battle with Con Edison over low voltage service. New York City had heavy snowstorms this winter, and we lost power for over a week. When it returned, it stayed in near-brownout conditions.

Normal voltage is around 122V. My power conditioner currently reads 114V. It often drops to 107V. This causes weird problems I can mostly work around, except my minisplit can’t run on such low voltage. I’ve been without ductless heat or AC for about a month. I brought in a window unit, but it’s loud, inefficient, connects to the internet against my will, and turns on and off randomly. It reminds me of that printer tweet. I really don’t want to buy a handgun.

Anyway, kiss your reliable power outlets. (Editors’ note: Please don’t.)

What is the first app you install on a new phone or computer?

For both, it’s Firefox. Firefox Focus specifically on my phone. If that sounds boring, Signal and Bandcamp come next on a new phone. On a new computer, after Firefox, I download Alfred and Max simultaneously.

What is one thing you wish you could change about your phone?

If I had a particular set of skills, I’d Taken someone close to whoever runs Apple this week. My ransom would be putting headphone jacks back in iPhones. The 3.5mm jack is one of humanity’s greatest achievements. Removing it from my favorite devices makes me feel like society is crumbling. Some people obsess over birthrates and immigration, but their prejudices blind them to the real center of social collapse: ports.

What sites do you have pinned to your tab bar?

Three work email accounts. My personal calendar. Then Never Post’s production Airtable. I used to pin more exciting things like the Max forum or Beta list, but I found I read them less when pinned.

How many tabs do you have open right now?

Eighteen. That’s only because I opened stuff to answer these questions. Ten is average for me. Twenty is a lot. I’m not a ton-of-tabs guy.

Which social media platform do you use the most?

I’m in my 40s, so you already know it’s Bluesky.

What is your happy place online?

Without a doubt, Bandcamp. Fun lore: Years ago, I got coffee with my college computer science instructor, Joe Holt. He said he was involved in a startup selling digital music. He asked me not to laugh at the name. My Bandcamp fan account is #4, the first belonging to a non-employee.

I want to love Bandcamp unconditionally, but through various business maneuvers, its owners may have busted a union. There have been no Bandcamp United updates since 2023, and the union’s FAQ states Songtradr has not recognized them. I used to call Bandcamp the only good website. Now I know there’s no such thing.

What is your favorite gadget you’ve ever owned?

A few gadgets made me think, “Oh! Everything is different now!” The iPhone. The Switch. But each feels like it’s chasing the pathbreaking significance of the original device: the first Gameboy. So much of modern device design feels prototyped in that original Gameboy. Plus, mine still works. My wife’s too. I can’t say the same for our first iPhones.

Which was the most disappointing?

The happiest day of the last half-decade was my daughter’s birth. The second was trading in my Touchbar MacBook Pro for an M1. The Touchbar MacBook Pro, like the subprime mortgage crisis, like various grifts of the current administration, like the Epstein Files, is further proof that the powerful will never answer for their crimes.

What game do you have the fondest memories of?

The summer after Super Metroid came out, I was on Cape Cod. I don’t think I went outside once.

Which tech trend do you wish would go away?

Generally not a fan of all the technofascism.

What creation are you most proud of?

I love all my children equally.

Which are you least proud of?

I hate all my children equally.

More earnestly: I’ve made hundreds, if not thousands, of creations. There are dozens I look back on fondly and an equal number I could have done better. I’m proud of it all. Making things is hard work, and sharing them is joyful but challenging. That said, Float City (20 episodes, fully sound-designed superfuture ttrpg narrative with unplanned twists) is very good.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

More than once, I’ve heard someone say, “No one will take your life seriously for you.” Grand life advice often assumes perfect agency, which we don’t all have. Student loans, caregiving, health issues mean telling someone to “just get out there” is a nonstarter. The helpful reminder is that you do have agency in your own life, even if it’s remote or underdeveloped. For me, that means looking for ways I have control and using them to serve my goals.

What is your current obsession?

Besides the standbys (synthesizers, post-structuralist theory), I just finished designing and building problem-solution furniture for my studio. It was hugely gratifying and cost-effective. The results aren’t perfect or pretty, but they’re mine, and I’ll get a decade of use out of them.

Also, I’m putting together a Never Post episode about Doom, so I’m playing through the most beloved mods and WADs. The recent Quake Brutalist Game Jam is maybe the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. I’m obsessed with it.

What do you do when you need to focus?

Ninety percent of my job is sitting quietly, writing or mixing. I’ve designed my life around needing to get in the zone. My only notifications are text, email, and work Slack. My studio is in the back of the building, off the street, under a big tree, away from my apartment. All clients and coworkers are remote, so during business hours, it’s just me and sometimes my dog.

My biggest problem isn’t focus but motivation, usually for clerical stuff: emails, invoices, paperwork. To get rolling, I just need music. I’m listening to a comp of Italian electro-acoustic music right now. Gnod’s latest release also helps.

What do you do when you’re feeling stuck?

When I’m stuck, it’s usually for two reasons: I’m forcing a project to be something it’s not, or I have insufficient input. Sometimes both.

One persists as long as I deny needing to fix what’s in front of me. Maybe a piece of writing isn’t leading where I thought, but I keep steering it back. Maybe a sound design task produces hideous results, but I stubbornly think it should be otherwise. Addressing this means going back. But going back isn’t progress, so it feels impossible. The irony is that starting over would be quicker than hacking through the wilderness.

I think of it this way: every creative endeavor has momentum. Ideas suggest one another in a sequence. Imagining and responding to that momentum is the center of the intuitive creative process. Often, we negotiate with that imagined sequence. A work may suggest something unexpected happens next. The momentum pushes us into unfamiliar territory. We may be surprised by our own creations. They seem to produce demands. People say the piece “wants” something. Sometimes what it wants isn’t what we want, so we enter a subversive relationship with our work.

Being creatively stuck is often resistance to the next idea in that sequence. Working against momentum slows things down. You struggle to find a coherent way forward. Distance helps. If you can, walk away. But if you can’t, you may need to find a hidden exit.

Most often, I get stuck because I can’t imagine what comes next. There’s no momentum. The fastest solution is to entertain myself. Reading a book or watching a movie while I should be working feels irresponsible. But to know your options, you must know what’s possible. The best way to appraise yourself of possibility is through others’ work.

When was the last time you went somewhere without your phone?

This morning, walking the dog.

What’s the last piece of physical media you bought?

I went to the Brooklyn Indie Comics Showcase with my daughter. We bought stickers of cats and a zine artbook from my pal Jeff Thompson. The more expected answer: EMG & Battista, The Bridge EP, from Trilogy Tapes. Great distorted leftfield techno. I grabbed it while visiting family in London.

What do you think is worth splurging on?

Anything you’ll use for a while. I believe in spending slightly more to think about objects slightly less. Boots are the classic example, but I think this way about furniture, studio equipment, kitchen implements. For truly unjustified costs, I can tolerate extremes for the perfect jacket and the perfect sandwich.

What would the tagline for your biopic be?

“Words, and sounds, and the sounds of words.”

What’s the last GIF or meme you used?

Editors note: I will never forgive Mike for making me transcribe this for the alt text.