[imagesource: Roberto Ricciuti/Redferns; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images]
Moving on from the drama around Jake Gyllenhaal and a missing red scarf, Taylor Swift is now sinking her teeth into Damon Albarn.
Albarn, the frontman of Blur and co-creator of Gorillaz, really should have thought twice before publicly voicing his opinion about Swift’s songwriting ability.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times that went out on Sunday, Albarn was quick to throw Swift under the bus, using her as an example of modern artists who hide behind “sound and attitude”.
CNET has the snippet:
“She doesn’t write her own songs,” he said, which kickstarted the drama. After being corrected by the interviewer — Swift writes all her own songs — Albarn expanded.
“That doesn’t count. I know what co-writing is. Co-writing is very different to writing. I’m not hating on anybody, I’m just saying there’s a big difference between a songwriter and a songwriter who co-writes. Doesn’t mean that the outcome can’t be really great.
“A really interesting songwriter is Billie Eilish and her brother. I’m more attracted to that than to Taylor Swift,” Albarn continued. “It’s just darker, less endlessly upbeat. Way more minor and odd. I think she’s exceptional.”
Swift was not going to let Albarn get away with this, firing back on Twitter shortly after news of the interview broke:
PS I wrote this tweet all by myself in case you were wondering
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) January 24, 2022
Then came Albarn’s apology, not that it really worked in his favour:
What part of this was reduced to clickbait? You said her songwriting doesn’t count as songwriting and then compared her to another female artist with a completely different style.
Don’t gaslight and throw someone else under the bus because you never thought she’d call you out. pic.twitter.com/Vjupk6XSyT
— Alex Goldschmidt (@alexandergold) January 24, 2022
Other music industry folk and fellow singers also came to Swift’s defence, including producer Jack Antonoff, who has worked with Swift since her 2014 album 1989:
i’ve never met damon albarn and he’s never been to my studio but apparently he knows more than the rest of us about all those songs taylor writes and brings in. herb.
— jackantonoff (@jackantonoff) January 24, 2022
Aaron Dessner from the band The National, who has become a frequent Swift collaborator since her 2020 albums Folklore and Evermore, also chimed in:
Not sure why you @Damonalbarn would try to discredit Taylor’s brilliant songwriting but as someone who has gotten to press record around her …your statements couldn’t be further from the truth…you’re obviously completely clueless as to her actual writing and work process
— Aaron Dessner (@aaron_dessner) January 24, 2022
It is not the first time that Swift has called people out across her social media channels.
The writers and producers of Netflix’s Ginny & Georgia learnt the hard way last March when they joked that a character goes “through men faster than Taylor Swift”:
Hey Ginny & Georgia, 2010 called and it wants its lazy, deeply sexist joke back. How about we stop degrading hard working women by defining this horse shit as FuNnY. Also, @netflix after Miss Americana this outfit doesn’t look cute on you
Happy Women’s History Month I guess pic.twitter.com/2X0jEOXIWp
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) March 1, 2021
This is not the first time that Albarn has come under fire for making unfair comments about female singers.
Back in 2015, he called Adele “insecure” after the pair had worked together on music for her album 25, to which Adele responded by saying that working with Albarn was a “don’t meet your idols” situation.
