Damon Albarn makes the unwise decision to go after Taylor Swift... and is swiftly dragged

She could have just ignored his comments but no.

Why is it ridiculous? I bet you think Beyoncé writes all her songs too.

🙄

She is such a cunt.

Love her. She's a very good songwriter. Smartest woman in the music business too. Don't fuck with Taylor.

It's misogyny!!

Damon Albarn?

Really?

Who the fuck cares about him?? It's not 1995

Taylor Swift has the biggest victim complex of all time. Not everyone is going to like you, Miss Thing. Suck it up. You're a 32-year-old multi millionaire.

R1 Why should she have ignored it?

She writes her stuff, for better or for worse.

Yes, women should put up with libelous statements, is that what you're saying R1?

All the Swifties with no taste rush to defend her, of course.

Albarn has no fucks to give.

I eat shit.

Some of her stuff is co-written, some is solo written. She doesn't write her music. All of it is too mediocre for her to be so famous and ardently defended.

He’s already apologized r11 and is trying to blame the writer. The times published the full transcript.

Reading the original article, he sounds very unstable, actually.

When did DL become a haven for Taylor Swift fans?!

[quote] All the Swifties with no taste rush to defend her, of course.

An attack on Taylor Swift is an attack against ALL women! ALL women matter!!!

He was discrediting her. Male performers and their songwriting abilities are not questioned like women's are.

I believe him.

Ugh, we have the SJW crowd here.

It has nothing to do with male or female. It has everything to do with the fact that Taylor's music is derivative and shiteous.

It's not "shiteous." She has won the Album of the Year three times.

Stop discrediting Taylor!!!! Stop minimizing her talent and her accomplishments!!!

Just stop. STOP!!!

I can't stand this fucking bitch. When will her collapse be complete?

[quote] She has won the Album of the Year three times.

Exactly--shiteous.

IT'S FUCKING SHITEOUS, AWFUL, DERIVATIVE CRAP!!!!!!

this talentless cunt is perpetually fifteen mentally and always the fuckin victim

Karens love to defend the most famous Karen of the 21st century. Not a shocker.

I don't trust any gays that stan this bitch. Madge I get. Janet I get. Britney I get. Gaga I get. Beyoncé I get. Taylor has nothing campy or ironic about her music. She epitomizes a boring, humorless stuck up bitch who needs constant validation and to always be the victim. Never owning up to anything or showing growth or maturity. For a teen girl that's okay because they're immature and limited in worldview. But any gay adult man that likes this persona or lyricism I stay clear of.

She’s the kyrsten sinema of music. Phony, manipulative, and doesn’t give a shit about anyone but herself.

Damon is not her FAAAAN!

For some reason Taylor Swift is very popular with racists, so it's natural some on Datalounge would defend her. But Damon is right, apparently. The tweet below is about Max Martin and Taylor.

I can’t even defend him because I don’t believe Ellish writes shit. I think it’s her brother..

Some basic bitch on here the other day was trying to tell me Taylor was a far better and more accomplished artist than Tori Amos.

After I was done laughing, I was like, GURL PLEASE. As I said above - Tay Tay is DERIVATIVE and SHITEOUS. She loves to try on other people's ideas and sounds - and how ironic that Tori was one of the people she copied. I can still remember some awards show where she banged on the piano and threw her head back - bad attempt at Tori drag and she failed miserably. She did NOT serve realness.

I believe she does write all her own songs and that's why they're so generic and mediocre.

And if Damon Albarn thinks Billie Eilish is "exceptional" he's clearly not too sharp himself. These people all deserve each other.

He's right about Eilish being miles better. TS is up there with the most baffling artist that also get awards, like Beyonce. TS is the queen of mediocre dribble.

Taylor Swift is the greatest songwriter of our generation.

The only shocking expose I’d enjoy more than finding out Djocovid taking is steroids is finding out Taylor didn’t write any of her vomit-inducing music.

[quote] When did DL become a haven for Taylor Swift fans?!

The Klan Grannies love Taylor and are all over the Adele thread saying she deserves failure for dating a Black guy.

Cue the “Madonna writes her songs because she gets a co-credit” poster.

Pop songs are written by committee these days. It’s fashionable to try to downplay songwriters like Paul McCartney but the man wrote his stuff….and a lot of it was great.

As for Swift, I’ve never heard a song of hers I’ve been impressed by (I’ve only heard a few of them, though) but I do like Gorillaz.

R18 Sadly, there aren’t many famous female singer-songwriters. I don’t know why.

I have a lot of respect and fascination for people who wrote their own stuff, music and lyrics both. That is why Kate Bush is my favorite artist. I constantly read comments saying “she’s a great female artist.” No. She is a great artist, period.

I feel badly for all the little girls who think Taylor Swift is the height of pop splendor, but terrible taste is what your teen years are for. Hopefully they mature and discover that talent and really gorgeous pop music still exists, it just isn’t to be found on social media.

This is rich coming from the man who wrote the "wooo-hooo" song. Just kidding, Trailor Shit's music is horrible.

Tori Amos is a universal embarrassment. She can play the piano, but prefers that you watch her ASS. Her FAN on DL is one of the sickest and most ubiquitous posters on this site. SAD.

Tori Amos and Taylor are both a bit precious. But Taylor Swift is a much better songwriter. And she's not 60 years old, bloated with bad surgery and reduced to singing Reba McEntire Covers at the University conservatory. Tori Amos did a lot of people wrong. A few nice covers and a once pretty voice that had no variation. She's fake as fuck.

Swift defends her ground and integrity. Amos defends delusion and insanity. She's a hideous creature who defamed, used and mistreated many gay men. Not her public - her friends. Taylor has a world of gay men friends and collaborators. Girls too. She is not a clout chaser. She removes herself from the damaged. Smart woman. Evolving artist and musician. Swift will never be a great singer - but she is a fine songwriter who has become a more truthful and dynamic performer. She doesn't really need defending, but she's right to defend herself. Why does it bother old gay men that a woman defends, protects and proclaims her agency over the sharks and liars of the music business? Taylor Swift has been fighting for her right to be considered since day one. I don't like her music very much and don't know much of it. But I am impressed with her recent changes and musical explorations, her taking BACK command of her OWN music....and her simple and direct corrections of public lies. She's powerful in the truest sense. And not yet 33.

R32 is one of the deeply damaged of Datalounge. THE Tori Amos Troll. Both of them way past prime.

All that money and she doesn't know third grade English. "You're", not "Your", bitch.

And I still have to leave a store if she is playing on the muzak, "WeeeeeeEEEEE are never ever ever..." My ears bleed.

[quote]Taylor Swift is the greatest songwriter of our generation.

I hope you're saying this out of embarrassment rather than pride. I can just grab names out of a hat from past generations and they'll all be better songwriters than Taylor Swift - Joni Mitchell, Liz Phair, Dolly Parton, Erykah Badu, PJ Harvey, Carole King, Fiona Apple, Carly Simon, I could totally go on... - all with more memorable melodies and more insightful lyrics.

The quality of pop music songwriting right now is the worst it's been in probably 60 years. It's all formula now. They might as well go back to "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?"

“Sadly, there aren’t many famous female singer-songwriters..”

Sade, Chrissie Hynde, Dolly Parton, Annie Lennox, Debbie Harry, Bjorn.... there are a lot of them, actually.

Bjorn=Bjork

Bjorn=Bjork is a collaboration that needs to happen.

Taylor is a decent songwriter, but she's no Debbie Gibson!

OOOH, look what you made me do! Maybe she can do another video where she writhes around with zombie face make-up and wraps snakes around her body - the originality is breathtaking.

Psycho alert at R40

She writes her own songs so she has all the right to be mad at Damon Albarn( can't stand that guy)

I drink old peoples’ diarrhea with a straw so as to savor the flavor longer.

R32 "After I was done laughing, I was like, GURL PLEASE"

Are you repulsive in real life as well? Or do you just write this way on anonymous boards for attention?

swifties telling damon albarn to khs😔😂

like i’m sure he’d love to but that man has pickled his insides with all that 90s fun dust. Geez is living to 120 babes✌️

[quote] The quality of pop music songwriting right now is the worst it's been in probably 60 years. It's all formula now. They might as well go back to "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?"

R43 thank you! So glad someone said this.

Was having this discussion with my grandmother the other day, bs we concluded that the pop industry right now is basically like it was in the 1950s & early 60s, only minus the cool holdover of Jazz & Blues influences. All soundbytes and backup singers and boring sap about Love.

R53 You sound like a middle schooler

R44 I meant women who write their songs without co-writers. I love Deborah Harry but she co-writes. Bjork/Bjorn does too. Not sure about the others you mentioned.

Her lyrics are so childish and princess fantasy just like Mariah's. So I do believe she comes with them and just has a team of professionals to fix them up and make them more commercial and polished.

[quote]we have the SJW crowd here

I am so sick of shits like r20 being babies all over DL. You can't disagree with anything or say you dislike something without these rightwing snowflakes shrieking that you're "woke" and "SJW."

Albarn said something stupid and now you're defending him because you believe doing so is defending society from "the SJWs." Ridiculous.

Taylor’s self written “speak now” is the biggest pile of shit I’ve ever heard. It was such a letdown after fearless which I loved at the time. I couldn’t believe when her first single Mine was released and how fucking bad it was. It also didn’t have many huge hits. The only one I remember being a genuine pop hit was Back to December which was only hyped because she leaked that it was about Taylor lautner

[quote]It has nothing to do with male or female. It has everything to do with the fact that Taylor's music is derivative and shiteous.

How many male artists are accused of not writing their own songs? Madonna, Mariah Carey and Taylor Swift are constantly accused of taking credit for songs they apparently have no involvement in writing. This is despite the men they co-write with crediting their songwriting skills.

Ed Sheeran co-writes his songs with other songwriters. John Legend co-writes his songs with other songwriters. Does anyone accuse Elton John of ONLY writing the music? Does anyone accuse Bernie Taupin of ONLY writing the lyrics?

Why is it only female singer songwriters who get accused of this?

“ Does anyone accuse Elton John of ONLY writing the music? Does anyone accuse Bernie Taupin of ONLY writing the lyrics”

Absolutely. You can’t go into any online discussion about Elton without people attributing all of eltons success to Bernie and insisting he’s not a the songwriter if he doesn’t write lyrics.

Of course nobody attacks Burt Bacharach as being talentless because he only wrote medleys too. They do t attribute all of Bacharach success to Hal David. In fact Bacharach was the big deal and Hal David was less known.

I couldn't give a shit about her alleged songwriting abilities (I wouldn't want my name associated with any of that drivel, anyway). What I have an issue with is that bitch's insane fans telling someone to kill himself because he dared express an opinion, and that bitch not stepping in to shut it down. And this is not the first time. THAT'S why I can't stand that phoney sociopath.

People definitely mention that Elton John co-writes. I’m not that familiar with his work but even I know the name Bernie Taupin and that he writes the lyrics.

Nothing wrong with co-writing; I just have a a lot of admiration for those who write songs on their own. You get one person’s vision, so to speak.

Taylor reminds me of Kathy Griffin. Overrated hacks who cloak themselves In white woman victimhood.

Hate em both.

The whole thing here is that men are not allowed to criticize women anymore. It’s sexism. Women have to be called amazing or else it’s sexism and oppression.

But men can be vile inherently genetically rapist murderous savage pigs who aren’t as smart as women. That’s fine to say.

[quote]People definitely mention that Elton John co-writes. I’m not that familiar with his work but even I know the name Bernie Taupin and that he writes the lyrics. Nothing wrong with co-writing; I just have a a lot of admiration for those who write songs on their own. You get one person’s vision, so to speak.

Thanks for proving my point. People acknowledge that Bernie Taupin and Elton John write songs together. What they don't do is dismiss either's contribution as "well they only co-write them".

[quote] How many male artists are accused of not writing their own songs?

Tons, there’s always been debate about whether Dylan stole his early music. Beatles fans talk about whether George Martin should be considered the Fifth Beatle for the work he did on their songs. I’ve never heard anyone say the same about James Taylor or Bruce, but then I’ve never heard anyone say the same about Joni Mitchell either.

R66, Yes they do. You clearly have no idea what you’re talking about. Go into any online discussion about Elton johns music and they will dismiss his contribution entirely to praise Bernie Taupin.

I don't think she should have ignored him and I don't blame her for calling him out. It's fair. He lied about her and she set the record straight. It's pretty fucked up to claim someone doesn't do their own writing, especially when the writing is so personal. After he said that, he went on to say Billie Eilish is a real writer because her writing is darker and he likes that better, so he basically conflated "I don't like her music" with "she's a fraud," and one of those is OK and the other is not.

Besides the integrity of an artist getting credit for their own creations, songwriting and publishing is bankable in music, so that's also an attack on the legitimacy of her earnings.

He was in the wrong and he was stupid to say it.

Poor victim. How will she ever cope with trauma.

[quote]What I have an issue with is that bitch's insane fans telling someone to kill himself because he dared express an opinion, and that bitch not stepping in to shut it down.

It wasn't an opinion, he had his facts wrong.

Swifties online have been telling people to kill themselves for years and social media doesn't do anything about it. Most of the people who do it aren't even real Taylor Swift fans, they're using secondary or sockpuppet accounts to troll. I've seen it a dozen times. You're going to have to take it up with Twitter instead of blaming Taylor Swift, she doesn't control it.

Taylor herself tweeted at him, and I can only imagine the harassment he's getting from her fans.

Buzzfeed published this dumb quiz last year and it trended on Twitter. I replied that Swift is a talented songwriter but that comparing her lyrics about teen romances to the poetry of Shakespeare is really silly and no comparison is warranted. I said I think of Swift as a YA fiction writer whose medium is music instead of books.

Uh oh!

Her fan network was activated. People tweeted at me that Swift is at least as good a writer as Shakespeare and were giving me 'evidence' with her lines and links to her songs. With all due respect, I said, no. She's a good pop songwriter. Shakespeare she ain't.

Welp. That was on Twitter. They found me on Instagram and started spamming old photos with her lyrics in the comments. They were DMing me with her lyrics.

No one was nasty. No one called me names. But the numbers grew exponentially, like they had a 'phone tree' or something, and it went on for about a week before they finally stopped. It was really nuts.

He should have called him out for using autotune instead.

[quote] When did DL become a haven for Taylor Swift fans?!

When it became clear she is a vindictive bitch.

I could see this being sexist if she had stayed more of an acoustic singer/songwriter, like she was early on, or wrote distinctive songs that occupy a particular style, like Joni Mitchell or Sade. But it’s quite obvious that she collaborates with other writers and musicians for her huge smash hit pop songs, which lands her in a muddier category—which MANY other pop stars are in with her. It shouldn’t be considered an insult to say a pop star doesn’t write her own music. Actually, if someone claimed to me that Ed Sheeran (whom I don’t listen to) wrote all his own music and lyrics, I would be shocked. It reminds me of the stupid people who claim Beck is more deserving of a Grammy than Beyoncé because Beck has a larger hand in writing. Big hit pop music is a different beast.

The strangest thing, though, is Taylor’s almost-compulsion to blow up any criticism into a feeding frenzy by spotlighting it. Why not just let it go? It suggests to me she’s either very vindictive or very insecure at heart.

It doesn't have to be sexist to be offensive or just wrong.

I don't know of any writer, no matter how undramatic they are, who wouldn't lunge at anyone who accused them of not writing their own work. Writing is not easy work even when it comes naturally to you; it takes talent and skill that takes a long time to master, and every writer's words—unless it's, say, a history book—are intensely personal. This extends to novelists and short story writers, even cookbook authors.

People compare finishing a creative project to giving birth because it's a demanding gestation process and it takes a lot out of you. So it may be a bit of a stretch, but saying "she doesn't write her own songs" is something like falsely, publicly saying someone's biological child is adopted. It's a weird thing to do whether he is sexist or not.

We know Swift writes her own songs. They are too personal to be anyone else's, the phrasing is distinctive, and her processes are documented on camera. She plays both piano and guitar and composes on both, and then she works with producers or collaborates and in their refining, they get co-writing credit.

I agree with r76 but I do think she exaggerates her involvement in producing the songs. Plus sometimes there’s a really good line in a song and I think, that doesn’t sound like her. She didn’t write that. (But I’m glad she gives credit to co-writers.)

Oh, do fuck off, stan/PR cunt r71. If she was a reasonable, mature, decent person, she'd call out those statements as wrong, damaging and dangerously. But she doesn't, despite having the platform and the resources to do so.

Allegedly she's anti-bullying but that's probably a lie, too.

Gays defending Swift's music makes me really sad.

Holy fucking B-A-S-I-C!

R77 Her "Taylor's Version" of the Red album is interesting to me. I like the album and I liked the original. The original was poppier and the rerecording skews a little more country-twang with fewer studio effects on the vocals and instruments that are more prominent in the mix, and I am inclined to think that's probably her preference. It is telling to me that she is a musician by choosing to bring instrumentation forward because I think vocalists who don't compose their own music would always choose to make vocals most prominent, and to make the vocals sound as 'perfect' as possible with studio effects. Basically, I think most pop vocalists would choose for the album to sound more like the original than the rerelease. Her voice is less polished on the new version but clearer because there's less reverb, etc.

But it's also interesting to me that she has done "Taylor's versions" of her album but does not take primary credit as producer. Many collaborators are listed as producers. I wonder if that might possibly be what the guy was getting at, speaking of songwriting but thinking also of a "real songwriter's" hand in production. Tori Amos, for example, composes all her own music, writes all her own music, sings all her own music, and she produces all her own music without teaming with producers. She does, however, have a team of longtime collaborators who arrange (Shenale) and engineer (her husband and others). She calls the shots and directs all that but she doesn't do the technical work herself.

One of her great lyrics is “Spelling is Fun!” From her “Me” record. She was forced to remove this line when she put out the video. She knows her fans are getting older and needs to stay current.

"Me" is a terrible song. Supposedly she knows it and has admitted it, claiming she wrote it with a neice or nephew (?) in mind but regrets having put it out as a single because it undermined her songwriting reputation.

r78, you're going to have to grow up and learn how to interact with human beings like an adult at some point. You can't spend your whole life accusing everyone you disagree with of being a secret PR person.

Her song writing skills don’t pass the smell test. If she truly were a great songwriter, she wouldn’t have to keep putting out press release statements and Netflix documentaries about what a great songwriter she is. Damon has been in the business thirty years and probably knows inside stories from other songwriters.

It reminds me of Tom Cruise constantly putting out statements that he is “heterosexual” back in the day.

She writes some of her songs.

Wasn't "Shake It Off" written by the same Swedish group that wrote songs for Backstreet Boys, Brit-Brit, and countless other pop singers?

Didn't Albarn allegedly write the songs for his then-girlfriend's band Elastica back in the day? (Apart from the ones ripped off from Wire and The Stranglers). Maybe he's speaking from that personal experience.

[quote] a boring, humorless stuck up bitch who needs constant validation and to always be the victim. Never owning up to anything or showing growth or maturity

[quote] immature and limited in worldview. Her lyrics are so childish and princess fantasy just like Mariah's

That’s the campy part, r27.

This bitch writes her own music. The end. That's how she got rich. She couldn't care less if it's good or bad, as long as it's making her money.

R88 Max Martin co-wrote a number of her hit singles. She might write some of her lyrics, but she’s always partially worked with co-writers. Jack Antoff is another. And she doesn’t write her music. She makes every fucking criticism against her a sexism thing but I’ve never seen this criticism levied at any legitimate female singer-songwriter - Taylor has always been a pop star and pop stars have always had co writers.

This isn’t about the quality of her music or an opinion on her music. He said that she didn’t write her own songs, without providing any sort of evidence. It was stupid of him. Wether you like her music (or her) or not is irrelevant for this discussion, she was right on calling him on it.

^relevant

All the same, R89.

Also: what R90 said.

Taylor is one of the biggest cunts in the industry with a cult of sycophants surrounding her. She is reasonably talented and a hard worker, but her music is exclusively 12-year-old girls. Albarn is an idiot for claiming she doesn't write her music (which is a low blow, especially because it's not true), but she also should not be wasting her time smearing this across social media—it's immature behavior, but she thrives on being petty.

Is she still friends with Lens?

She doesn’t write a lot of her songs. He wasn’t totally “smearing” her, she overstates how much she has directly contributed on her body of work.

R94, I think she was a bridesmaid at Lenas recent wedding so yes.

R18 That’s not true at all. Drake, arguably the only male artist whose success rivals Taylor’s, has been fighting ghostwriting rumors for years. I think Drake sucks irrespective of who’s writing the songs, so there you go.

R57 “Childish and princess fantasy” describes Taylor’s and Mariah’s music very well.

R65 Exactly.

Haven’t there been several Blind Items on CDAN about Taylor using ghostwriters? Maybe that’s why she’s so triggered?

I think artists paint themselves into a corner with this. Pop music is about entertainment and telling stories or evoking a particular feeling. Like someone said, if Taylor was or stayed a singer-songwriter — just a girl and her guitar — her defensiveness about her lyrics might make sense. But Taylor has always wanted to be this world conquering pop star but have the artistic cred of a singer-songwriter.

If she and other young songwriters would stop using their music as diaries she may not be so triggered. That’s why I think so many non-fans of Taylor really took to “Exile”, the song she did with Bon Iver. Because that song was one of the first times we heard her deliver lyrics and vocals with exacting grace that didn’t feel like she was throwing out subs at an ex-boyfriend.

And to be fair, this past decade we’ve seen the rise of the songwriter-pop star. Artists like Gaga, Katy Perry, Chris Stapleton, and Bruno Mars spent years writing for other artists before getting their big break. Ditto Ryan Tedder (leader singer of OneRepublic).

Conversely, artists who got signed and maybe their solo careers didn’t take off have found steady work as songwriters i.e. Bonnie McKee, Teddy Geiger, Shawn McAnally, Linda Perry.

And there are and have been plenty of great women songwriters but I think the thing about women and pop is that women tend not to have the musical instincts to make big Pop records. And by big I don’t mean in terms of success, I mean records that sound big. That’s why so many female acts have to deal with the “who’s the maestro behind the scenes?” questions. Because usually women are too mannered, too earnest, too self-conscious to create songs about things they can’t necessarily relate to. Women are much better at interpreting songs than creating them many times for that very reason.

Take “Industry Baby” by Lil Nas X. I don’t think he’s particularly talented at songwriting, rapping, or singing, but that song was a hit and is the official song of the Olympics and could win a Grammy because Lil Nas X and the producers and Jack Harlow understood the assignment (as the Internet says).

Let’s take the gay black kid who trolls constantly and lucked his way into having one of the biggest hits in Billboard history, throw some horns on the song reminiscent of the arrival of a King in medieval times, have him address his hiatus and homosexuality, then get a white rapper who before he got a hit and mainstream success made a lot of gay jokes about himself now do a verse about how he’s done making jokes and explaining his old jokes because he’s successful now and doesn’t have to troll anymore…and then do a video full of black queer imagery set in a prison and end it classic pop music video tope, a large group dance number.

Few women, even those with way more talent and skill than Lil Nas X, could nail a song and video treatment that well.

What does this narc do? Sit around all day looking for people who don’t like her? Not everybody is obligated love her. Damon’s fans are not Swifties, so he doesn’t care. Gorillaz people will not be attending her crap concerts.

Read the entire interview. He's a fucking asshole. No wonder he has no friends in the industry.

If you pay Max Martin an additional $1 million dollar for a song he wrote for you, he'll let you get co-writer's credit, so beware the people taking for granted that Taylor co-writes all her songs. The person above who said Damon must have heard stories about Taylor is right. Beyoncé also gets loads of co-writer credits, but Linda Perry knew the truth - that Beyoncé strong-arms her way to get credit - and was blasted for saying it. The difference is that even Beyoncé's fans have restraint compared to the Swifties.

Speaking of which, I'm not r78, but if you say something as idiotic as "Swifties don't tell anyone to kill themselves, those are just the haters using sockpuppets", you deserve to be called a PR troll, a fucking retard, and whatever people will come up with next.

I'm Team Swift only because her dick is bigger than Albarn's and it doesn't smell as vile.

maybe if taylor swift played footie it would be easier to believe that she wrote her own songs

R101, I generally don't care enough about you overly emotional types who call names because you're lonely and crave attention, but I have to say I have absolutely no idea who "the haters" are you refer to, and I said nothing about "haters" at r71.

I said "Swifties online have been telling people to kill themselves for years," something you missed, because you are a whiny little bitch who can't read. Of course some of those tweets come from her stans. The problem is that social media won't do jack shit about it, especially Twitter, and trolls have taken advantage of that and posed as Swifties, making things worse. That's why Twitter needs to step in and do their damn job and stop it.

Off/topic: [quote] I think Drake sucks irrespective of who’s writing the songs, so there you go.

I like some of Drake’s songs. He’s like a pop-rapper.

He thinks Billie Eilish is exceptional?

R104 You type fat and Frau-y.

R88 She cares very much now if it is critically acclaimed. She is super rich and now she is concerned about legitimacy and legacy. The Folklore and Evermore albums were designed to be regarded as evidence of artful songwriting that can be fictional and lyrical and not strictly autobiographical and pop-y. She's checking off different genre boxes to demonstrate versatile proficiency in a variety of genres.

No-one wins in a battle between misogynists!

Damon ought to have objected most vehemently to Swift’s ersatz, bootlicking and commodified brand of ‘feminism’, which is more damaging to society and more ugly than her corny alleged songwriting.

But of course, he doesn’t care about or even realise the problems with that. Iirc he used to hit his girlfriend Justine Frischmann when he was high...

It’s a small industry, and there are a handful off songwriters who all know each other and talk. Damon knows what he’s talking about.

Is there a worse addition to Datalounge than the "everything is misogyny" Brits? Go back to the tranny threads, r110.

That was supposed to be addressed to r109, not r110.

Yeah but whats Damon look like these days?

Albarn also shows his idiocy by going after Swift for co-writing saying it's not the same as writing songs for yourself and then praising Eilish who has never written a song without her brother.

R114 Eilish and get brother write the songs. Taylor's songs are written by a committee. Anyone who has ever worked with Max Martin is fake as shit. She's a manufactured product. Her rich daddy bought her career, hooked her up with all the best talent in Nashville.

Taylor can go fuck her entitled white woman ass because her twee indie singer songwriter shtick is entirely manufactured.

Swift might have the worst fans of all time. Her fans called the NYPD on Jake Gyllenhall because of "what he did to her". She's a manipulative cunt who feigns being a victim to attack people. No one would give a shit about her awful music is she wasn't an attractive blonde.

Taylor let herself get played out of position and by a balding middle-aged hipster Brit who won’t admit he’s more gay than straight and has to abuse autotune & animation to get BBC Radio to play his boring technoetry.

[quote] Iirc he used to hit his girlfriend Justine Frischmann when he was high..

High on what?

R66 Yes, they do. I’ve seen discussions about that aspect of EJ on here for sure.

Why are so many DLers defending this narcissistic twat? She has made a career off of imagined victimhood. She is a 33 year old woman who is stunted emotionally and her fanbase are no better. I don’t agree with everything Damon Albarn says, but at least he doesn’t act like he is still in junior high.

She is a campy cunty delight!

Half the support Taylor gets here is from racists who idolize classic Aryan looks, the other half are man-hating Frauen who think men are not allowed to have a bad opinion about some woman's mediocre work.

A lot of obvious fraus on these boards. There is no way this many gay men or lesbians love this squinty eyed cunt.

Many lesbians have deluded themselves into thinking Taylor Swift is one of them.

Taylor and many caks at Lens' wedding.

Increasingly it is the case that any criticism a woman gets is accused of being "misogynistic". This is narcissistic, manipulative toxic femininity at work.

Taylor has been coasting on her blondeness and victim mentality for 10 years. Her music is boring but her fans act like she invented the wheel. It's time she got called out.

Just because she writes shitty songs doesn't mean she doesn't write her own music. Damon should've kept quiet and found comfort in the fact the songs he's written helped define a generation.

[quote] racists who idolize classic Aryan looks,

😂 if looking like a premenstrual ferret qualifies as Aryan looking, we’ll, okay then.

Some of you have serious comprehension problems. I read what he said about Swift and he was not bashing her. He said that she co-writes her songs, which is not the same as turning them out yourself. He never said Billie Eilish writes her own stuff. He simply pointed out that the stuff she co-writes is more his style. The person interviewing him was the one who brought ip TS in the first place. It isn’t as if Damon Albarn mentioned her on a tangent. This was blown out of proportion by Taylor Shit as per usual. The woman cannot take anything she perceives as criticism because of her fragile ego.

R124 not this lesbian, I absolutely don’t want to claim her (and I’m her target demo—slightly younger white woman).

R127, that's hilarious. Most of his generation outside the UK haven't even heard of him til now. He's as popular in the US as Robbie Williams and the fact that this voice of his generation is now playing the Disney Concert Hall (capacity 2200) and couldn't even sell it out speaks to his bitterness.

Tee-hee!

[quote] This is narcissistic, manipulative toxic femininity at work.

Ah, so the crybabies in this thread have been MRAs? Yeah, that tracks.

R131 you sound unhinged as fuck.

Ironic that the most publicity he's possibly ever gotten was by invoking Swift's name.

And he also made the bizarre non sequitur that Ella Fitzgerald didn't write her own songs. Actually, she was credited with a few of her songs, so he was looking for a fight.

[Quote]Ironic that the most publicity he's possibly ever gotten was by invoking Swift's name.

R135 was born somewhere in the Obama administration, wasn't he?

R136 I guess you were tired of blasting Meghan and Harry. No one in the States knows him, sweetheart and this is the first time his name has come up in years and years.

How come I've heard of him, Blur, and Gorillaz, and I'm not even from an English-speaking country at all? You're either too young or too old to be this ignorant. Let me try this gain: were you already in college during the Eisenhower years?

R138 I just love anecdotal evidence. You may have heard of him but that doesn't mean the general public has, especially those in the States, which was my original argument. I was in college during the Eisenhower years and can still spot a poseur a mile away. One who quickly and immediately took back his statement and claimed it was "click bait", something that shows him as being a professional victim. Frankly, he and Swift have something in common in that area.

Millennials all over the world have heard of Gorillaz and probably Blur, too. Gorillaz was huge in the early aughts.

R140, I guess that's why he was playing to 1000 people at the Disney Concert Hall Monday.

r141 Are you also of the opinion that no Millennials have heard of Madonna? Because that's the pea-brained logic you're using...

R27

gays that are stans of her are creepy and mentally stunted like she is

I don't understand people who believe almost no one does their own writing. It's preposterous. A lot of people write well. I just scrolled through credits of a few of her albums and it looks like Swift has sole credit for about 40 percent of her songs and shares credit with one or two people on the rest. Do you think that when she is solely credited she had a ghostwriter? Do you think that when she has one co-writer, that co-writer is the sole author of the song? Or does Max Martin write every single song out there no matter who is credited?

It's bizarre to me that people think this way. I have an MFA in creative writing. And so do A LOT of people who write professionally.

This thread reminds me of when Aviva Drescher on the New York Housewives kept insisting that Carole Radziwell used a ghostwriter for her memoir. Radziwell had been a career journalist. Nevertheless, Drescher was enraged and said, "OK, WRITER GIRL! Everyone knows that NO ONE writes their own book!!!"

So who the fuck writes? Only Max Martin? He's very generous with letting all songwriters and authors of the world take credit for his unique authorship of all words everywhere.

R142 Madonna sold twenty times as many records in the States as Albarn in any configuration, so no, your argument doesn't fly. She's also perennially in the media.

r145 She doesn't sell well these days, so by your dimwitted logic, she was never famous!

[quote]Amos defends delusion and insanity. She's a hideous creature who defamed, used and mistreated many gay men. Not her public - her friends.

I've been a fan from 1997 and have never heard ANYTHING like this. She was friends with Kevyn Aucoin and was furious at the hypocrisy she saw after his death from people who weren't there for him before his death, I know that much. You're just making stuff up. I mean, you said Taylor is a better songwriter than Tori, and that is just not true.

I used to have a big crush on Albarn back in the day, and I liked Blur and the Gorillaz. But he really does seem like a prat, I even thought so back then.

Curious...Tori Amos, Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro...do most of you also think some guy ghostwrote/writes all their music, too?

Team Damon. He’s a legend between Blur, Gorillaz and his very interesting solo projects (Mali Music, etc). He’s curious, supportive of emerging artists and has excellent musical taste.

Yeah, as R147 said, that shit about Tori is absolute blather. It's patently false.

Tori is an authentic oddball. She grew up as a sheltered prodigy with her minister father forbidding 'devil' rock music from the house and her grandfather/beat friend telling her trees are alive and that she needs to sit and talk with them and listen for them to speak back to her.

She is a hardcore feminist but only in her own way. She refused to do Lilith because she wanted to tour on her own merits and because she didn't like the idea of pitting women and men against one another. She led a band of all men on the road while Lilith was going on.

She authentically cares about gay people but she doesn't pander to anyone. And by all accounts, she is extraordinarily loyal to her friends. Her best friend for life, Nancy Shanks, died of ALS a few years ago. Her husband is her audio engineer. Her co-audio engineer is a gay man named Marcel Van Limbeek, who she had design a recording studio at her home. Her personal chef Duncan Pickford (gay, I think) has been with her for years. Her other best friend is a black woman who is a stylist. All these people have been close to her—and she has employed all of them—since the 1990s. She records mostly with a select few musicians, Matt Chamberlain and Jon Evans, and John Philip Shenale does additional arrangements on her music. Noah Michaelson, now at HuffPost, has written Tori's liner notes for decades and they are close friends. He was in charge of HuffPost Gay Voices (later Queer Voices) and he is gay.

It's totally crazy to suggest she is unloyal and betrays people, or that she has taken advantage of gay people. She respects people and has kept a close circle of friends and colleagues throughout her life.

You may think she's not good to gay people because she is one of few women musicians who doesn't scream "I love my gays!!!" but I would argue that that is evidence she actually does respect gay people.

any time there’s drama in fandoms for things i don’t care about i feel like i’m in a spaceship passing by an alien planet witnessing the war and the turmoil happening on the surface but separated from it by cold dead space

anyway i’m hearing mason mount went to miami

[quote]She authentically cares about gay people but she doesn't pander to anyone.

One of my favourite moments was her coming to Australia and doing an interview with the Aussie gay news website of the time (whose name escapes me now, which is ridiculous, but oh well). She gives good advice and when asked what she thought Aussie gays could do to gain their rights (at this time the marriage act specifically had been changed to "a man and a woman" to stop gay people marrying for instance) she basically said: "You need to focus less on your parades - which I LOVE (ie don't get me wrong, they're fun) - and more on getting people into office. Run!" She was so, I dunno, encouraging and positive about it, while saying: "here is what you do, now go do it". I think with her there is no wallowing in self-pity, it's like, "you know what to do, now go do it, and that's empowering". I hope I'm making sense.

R152 Right. She doesn't pander. She isn't a trite, shallow thinker and she is almost always forthright and sincere.

R148 Bush writes and produces her own work. There are no co-writers listed. No idea about the others you mentioned.

What’s wonderful about her (not to derail the thread) is that sure, now and then she makes discordant mistakes in her songs that maybe a committee of writers or a “song doctor” like Allee Willis would’ve smoothed over. Because it’s just Bush, the songs are released as she wants them. Does it always work? No. Are her songs spectacular most of the time? Yes.

It’s a mistake to compare Kate Bush to Swift, etc. In terms of vision and control over her work she’s more like Peter Gabriel or Sting. Whether the songs work or not, they’re all her.

I cannot identify a single Taylor Swift song. All I know about her is that she has a face like a rodent, and that she reportedly uses her songs to trash ex partners. Damon Albarn has done that too.

[quote] uses her songs to trash ex partners. Damon Albarn has done that too.

Never forgiven him for talking shit about the lovely sweet Graham Coxon. How dare.

I just listened to the Jake Gyllenhaall one after the intern thing. It was utterly unmemorable. Awkward phrasing, no melody, the video was good though.

I don't know. I think Red and 1989 are good albums. I do think it's obvious she is heavily involved in the music and lyrics. Maybe on some albums more so than others. Wasn't their an album she wrote by herself? Speak now I think? I think if someone said you didn't put the work into something you worked hard at that would seriously piss you off. It would any normal person and an artist especially.

Gen-Z Americans have heard of Gorillaz. You cannot discuss anything with unhinged Swift fans. They all act like her, defensive and childish.

Wasn't she paying her squad to drink her Kool-Aid?

R145 you realize Madonna has actually collaborated with Albarn? You sound like a sheltered frau who has limited knowledge of music.

Banging Victoria’s Secret models to kill time between boyfriends is feminist, right?

R146, wow, you are moron who definitely has trouble with English. The point was that Albarn was NEVER big in the States so why would he be now? Simple enough but you're so consumed with the losing battle of proving he's famous that you can't get it.

[quote]I think if someone said you didn't put the work into something you worked hard at that would seriously piss you off.

Isn't that what drove Björk and the guys she has collaborated with to put out that statement a few years back. Basically they were saying Björk does the majority of work on everything she does, but the collaborators always seem to get the credit.

I'm with R158. I have bought all of Swift's albums since she went pop with 1984 (2014), and being familiar with her music, the majority of her songs have a clear signature that runs through them in terms of subject matter, perspective and phrasing, regardless of any credited cowriters and regardless of who produces her. She does write her own music, she does have a clear point of view that comes through when you listen to her, and she is a very talented pop songwriter.

That said, I put her in a 'light fare' category of songwriter so far.

My favorite artist is Tori Amos and Kate Bush is a very close second, second only because she is less productive and because her music can be hard to listen to. Both Tori and Kate have otherworldly gifts in many different areas, and those areas include both composition and lyrics. They have shown incredible depth and insight from young ages and their careers have demonstrated remarkable evolutions. Kate is more of a fiction writer and philosophy student and Tori is more of a confessional poet and essayist contentwise, but both write about a Shakespearean-level array of aspects of life. That is remarkable. They cover religion, the occult, various artistic disciplines, politics, and so much more, including relationships.

Like most songwriters, Swift writes almost exclusively about making love and breaking love. (As much as I love Fiona Apple and her extraordinary wordplay and musicality, she mostly writes about the same.)

So when comparing her with my favorite musical artists, she can't compare.

But when comparing her with any contemporary I know of, she exceeds them by far. As a pop songwriter, people like Adele and Katy Perry and Gaga are her contemporaries. I love everything about Adele except her generic songs. I love Gaga and her songs are not generic, but they don't really say anything that moves me. Swift is a superior lyricist. I'm sure some young songwriters out there who I don't know about are brilliant, but of those I know in her generation, Swift stands above them with her lyricism. She's a good wordsmith and she does show flashes of insight, albeit almost always into romantic relationships.

But if you actually listen to her music from album to album, you can't question that she writes her own lyrics.

I get the feeling that the DLers who are on the spectrum are posting in this thread.

[quote] Some basic bitch on here the other day was trying to tell me Taylor was a far better and more accomplished artist than Tori Amos.

You should have stabbed them. Not really, but seriously. You should have stabbed them. That's like saying Britney Spears is more accomplished than....well, anybody.

R40 is truly one of the most basic bitches I have ever run into on this hellsite. Anyone who willingly typed that nonsense is not in any way, shape or form a credible voice in any discussion.

r40 is the 'ancient white fags' troll. He's been on DL a long time and is a mental case.

[quote] Curious...Tori Amos, Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro...do most of you also think some guy ghostwrote/writes all their music, too?

No, but it's super obvious with all of the people you listed that they wrote their words and music, because they're unique.

It's not even the outside songwriter thing, per se. I love Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders, and their early music was phenomenal. Chrissie eventually leaned on outside songwriters, but she did co-write the songs and made them her own.

TS's songs read as very manufactured to me, tailored (no pun intended) to play into whatever she's trying to pretend to be. And to be fair, she's not the only one - Adele and Beyonce's music reads that way to me, as well. Beyonce manages to overcome some of that with her personality, as Madonna did several times (but seems unable to do now).

[quote] 🎧 Jealousy in dark times/Sinking on the web/There's more to love than that/Jealousy is vibe down....Jealousy is vibe down...

Doesn't she support #metoo? So now that she is falsely accused she suddenly is against such behavior? What a hypocrite. But I am not surprised because she usually prefers to play the victim than being the strong and independent women she apparently likes to be:

This is such pigtail-pulling, puerile and pathetic PR rubbish on both their parts. They want to fuck or something?

The vast majority of rights afforded to women were originally fought by white women. White women also fought for gay rights. Didn't see many "women of colour" doing that..

There are impoverished white women who get absolutely no support or help unlike impoverished women of colour. It's 2022. Not 1722..

Is there a reason race and misogyny has been brought into this? Is Cardi B and Lizzo winning awards for their crap because of black privileged woman status?

Does she not have the same right to respond to accusations that everyone else has? What does her being female or white have to do with anything?

R7 I have a theory that some people are mentally suspended in time from when they become famous. IE, if you become famous when you are 25, and your career continues at high speed for 20 years, you will still have the brain of a 25 year old. Taylor Swift has the victim complex of a 17 yo girl. No character development for 16 years will do that to you.

me repeatedly smacking these entitled pretentious uppermiddleclass pricks dead hard in the back of their woolly heads and yelling oasis lyrics at them both:

This Damon Albarn person seems to be a bit dated, does he not? That angry Brit logic, sneering and winking, lacks the charm that Taylor has in her lyrics. Taylor is not negative, she scolds her former loves and that speaks to AMERICAN women. Who knows this Damon guy out of England? I hated that whole Oasis/Blur/Pulp period. It was so mean, so filled with snark. Taylor has proven herself. Damon is out of HER league!!

[quote] I hated that whole Oasis/Blur/Pulp period.

It's funny you say that, I literally just came across this video today of Saffron from Republica talking about what she liked from that period, and I was taken down a really pleasant memory lane myself. I suppose for me those were my formative years, musically, but I really do think there's so much good to remember from that time. I was never particularly big on Oasis though, but they were part of the landscape of my tweens and teens.

R175

shut the fuck up faggot

the topic at hand is a mediocre, mentally stunted, rat faced white bitch who has a career bc daddy bought her a record deal.

R174 Sure, Klan Granny. Your white supremacy is showing, cunt.

[quote] Yes, women should put up with libelous statements, is that what you're saying [R1]?

Oh please. You are revealing yourself as a Frau.

Taylor Swift thrives on being a victim.

Damon with a bitch. End of story.

He was clearly wrong and I do usually like Taylor, but I also think sometimes she overreacts to things and it can come across as immature. If she had simply responded "Actually, I do write my own songs, this is incorrect" I would respect that a lot more.

The point is to make her psycho fans bully the target. And the more hurt Taylor shows, the more cruel the bullying will be.

[quote] [R174] Sure, Klan Granny. Your white supremacy is showing, cunt.

The Klan Grannies are so grouchy lately. Someone must be spiking their Metamucil smoothies with caffeine.

blur has a song, Song #2 which is just somebody screaming. Tay writes about life and love. Tay will be in the Country and Rock HOF. Damon will bw forgotend.

She also has more Grammys than Bob Marley, but that’s no indication of quality either.

Damon was turbo super extra beautiful in the clip Girls and boys.

Only on a gay forum would people make manufactured, marginally talented pop stars into human rights activists and intellectuals and be violently offended by differing opinions. Pop stars are like the sports teams for gays and teenage girls.

Taylor Swift doesn't give a shit about any of you sheep.

But why are the Klan Grannies trolls involved here. None of the two is black or trans or has connection with Meghan?

Tay R187???

Oh FFS, all you 12 year old girls get the fuck out of here!

Taylor Swift is a malignant narcissist who can't take a shred of criticism without siccing her unstable fanbase on the perpetrator.

^In another life she'd make a good academic on Twitter!

Voice of his generation Damon Albarn has under 200 replies in five days.

She should stick to song writing...

They aren’t great but she does write them. And Billie Eilish sucks she’s like a female Marilyn Manson except she’s not rapey.

I’m not a Taylor Swift fan at all but she’s way better than all the garbage male musicians people fawn over today like Harry Styles.

Harry makes an effort at sounding like an adult, he gets points for that. And also for taking criticism like an adult instead of trying to bring about the downfall of his "enemies" like some soap opera villain.

The way Taylor responds to everything--even the slightest joke about her--is so fucking juvenile. She needs to grow the fuck up. But I guess that's hard when your target audience is 10 year olds.

R198 Harry may not be the best example to use because I get auteur from Harry despite him not getting street cred. She is better than the likes of Bieber and Mendes though.

The way anyone and everyone, including the media, comes to Taylor's defense over anything, let alone her inability to take criticism or a joke, has always disturbed me.

These pop kids need to grow some fucking balls, stop whining, and stop giving a fuck.