Now the novelty of the new year has faded away and the music industry has gotten over its first few dry weeks of January, you can now brush the dust off your 2022 bingo cards and cross out Taylor Swift beefing with Damon Albarn. Obviously. In an interview with the LA Times (adequately titled For Damon Albarn, modern life is still pretty much rubbish) the Gorillaz mastermind and ex(?)-Blur frontman tells us of his love for Billie Eilish and her brother/bandmate Finneas, describing her as “A really interesting songwriter”; but things really kicked off when a question was posed about country-gone-pop legend Taylor Swift. Albarn asked the interviewer, Mikael Wood, for an artist today that doesn’t rely on attitude to survive, to which Swift was brought into the conversation. Then, blunt as you like, Albarn drops the now infamous, “She doesn’t write her own songs.” Obviously… Taylor Swift wasn’t very happy.
@DamonAlbarn I was such a big fan of yours until I saw this. I write ALL of my own songs. Your hot take is completely false and SO damaging. You don’t have to like my songs but it’s really fucked up to try and discredit my writing. WOW. https://t.co/t6GyXBU2Jd
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) January 24, 2022
Swift’s response on Twitter comes very strong. Stronger than I’d anticipate from someone that must by this point be used to being antagonized a little; from her number of bouts with Kanye, and general finger-pointing from the public, she has hardly been far from commenting on what people have to say about her work. “I was such a big fan of yours until I saw this.” She wrote, “I write all of my own songs. Your hot take is completely false and so damaging.” Long-time Taylor Swift producer, Jack Antonoff, got in on the action by adding, “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.” In the original interview, Albarn did say this after being told that she co-writes her music, “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.”. Does Swift have a co-writer? Isn’t anyone that works with a producer as prolific as Antonoff susceptible to a little studio magic in the form of tweaks and ideas? Who’s to say, I wasn’t there.
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
Since the news broke yesterday, however, Albarn has jumped back online apologising for the quote. Claiming “I totally agree with you. I had a conversation about songwriting and sadly it was reduced to clickbait. I apologise unreservedly and unconditionally. The last thing I would want to do is discredit your songwriting. I hope you understand.” Swift is yet to respond to this.
I totally agree with you. i had a conversation about songwriting and sadly it was reduced to clickbait. I apologise unreservedly and unconditionally. The last thing I would want to do is discredit your songwriting. I hope you understand. – Damon
— Damon Albarn (@Damonalbarn) January 24, 2022
