If there is one fact most people know about Taylor Swift, it’s that she is a songwriter. Her career beginnings were prided on her ability to write heartfelt lyrics at the age of 16 for her self-titled debut album. Regardless of whether you like her music or not, it’s an indisputable fact that she is a songwriter — well, indisputable to everyone except Blur’s lead singer, Damon Albarn. During an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Albarn claimed Swift “doesn’t write her own songs.†When the interviewer corrected him, saying Swift does write her own music as well as co-write some of her songs, Albarn stated that co-writing “doesn’t count.†“Co-writing is very different to writing,†Albarn continued. “I’m not hating on anybody — I’m just saying there’s a big difference between a songwriter and a songwriter who co-writes.â€
He then begins to praise Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas’s music, calling her an “interesting songwriter†and “exceptional.†However, the Eilish siblings co-write songs together, the same way that Swift writes with Jack Antonoff or any other person with which she collaborates. Swift fought back on Twitter, reiterating that she writes all of her own songs. “Your hot take is completely false and SO damaging,†tweets Swift. “You don’t have to like my songs but it’s really fucked up to try and discredit my writing.†Albarn replied to her tweet shortly after, claiming the interview was “reduced to clickbait.†He continued with his response, “I apologise unreservedly and unconditionally. The last thing I would want to do is discredit your songwriting. I hope you understand.â€
However, he has been through this before. In 2015, Adele told Rolling Stone that she regretted working with Albarn, that he called her “insecure,†and that “it ended up being one of those ‘don’t meet your idol’ moments.†Albarn later told BBC News it was “clickbait†and said he never called her insecure and that “she’s just reacting to what she thought I said.†Is someone riding a bike? Because all I hear is a cycle. One of Albarn’s longest feuds has been with Oasis, and while former member Noel Gallagher might not be a big Swiftie, his brother, Liam, sure is. “Taylor Swift makes some good pop songs, you know what I mean? ‘Shake It Off’ is a fucking tune,†said Liam Gallagher back in 2017, per NME. Is this the beginning of a Liam Gallagher–Taylor Swift collab? Swifties have been hoping for (and trending) a Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) online in hopes of an announcement; it sure would be a great time to promote a rerecording of an album she’s the sole writer of. What about a Liam Gallagher feature from the vault?