“She’s not a great singer. She’s not a great songwriter. She’s not a great dancer. To me, Taylor Swift is the apotheosis of mediocrity”: Why don’t you tell us what you really think about the world’s biggest pop star, Todd Rundgren?
Todd Rundgren a) isn’t afraid to speak his mind and b) isn’t a Taylor Swift fan. We already learned this when, last year, he declared MusicRadar “I haven’t been sold on any songs AI has created yet. Everything sounds like Taylor frickin’ Swift!”
Now the Bat Out of Hell producer and solo star has risked the wrath of Siwft’s army of fans, saying Vulture “There’s an argument to be made that Taylor Swift has ruined music,” before calling the world’s most successful songwriter and performer “for me, the apotheosis of mediocrity.”
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And Rundgren has a theory that Swift’s seemingly confusing success is all the fault of video games.
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“In the ’90s, boys stopped spending money on music and started spending it on video games, which left the music market with the question, ‘Well, where are we going here?'” Rundgren, 78, said.
“And they said, ‘Well, there are all these young girls and they have their allowance too. Why don’t we start making music for young girls instead of Pearl Jam or something?”
Not that Rundgren wants it all female musicians. Just Swift, really. “Lady Gaga, she’s a real musician. She’s a classically trained pianist,” Rundgren admitted.
“Taylor Swift doesn’t do anything particularly great except grow her hair. She’s not a great singer. She’s not a great songwriter. She’s not a great dancer.
“She is a role model for what was a very young generation of women, and now for the daughters of those women too, because these are mothers and daughters who go to Taylor Swift shows.”
Last night, Taylor Swift received her 33rd VMA award, adding to her 14 Grammys, 40 AMAs and 49 Billboard Music Awards. Meanwhile, Todd Rundgren is currently on the Damned If I Do tour.
What do you think? The fearless truth of an artist and producer who knows his stuff, or the misguided ramblings of an “experienced” artist? Let us know below…
Gn entert