Billy Corgan has defended Taylor Swift against criticism over the length of ‘The Tortured Poets Department’.
The Smashing Pumpkins frontman – whose own latest release ‘ATUM’ was released in three parts with a total of 33 songs – hailed the ‘Karma’ hitmaker as “one of the most gifted pop artists of all time” and admitted he doesn’t understand why some people were not happy that her latest record is a 31-track double album.
He told the Irish Times newspaper: “Taylor Swift is one of the most gifted pop artists of all time. How is it a bad thing that she’s releasing more music? I can’t follow that… You can go on Spotify and just skip it.”
The ‘Today’ hitmaker believes the way music is released now means it is perfectly possible for fans to create their own “playlist” of songs they enjoy from one lengthy album and so they should just stop complaining.
He added: “People complained about the length of my last album, ‘ATUM’. I thought, ‘Well, just go make your own playlist.’ Just listen to the record one time – rag over the six or 10 songs you like and make your own record.
“Why is this such a strange concept? Have some sense of proportionality.
“This hyperbolic thing – ‘They ruined ‘Star Wars’. My God, this is all too much for me to process’ – it’s all a bit childish.”
The 57-year-old singer also drew reference to the late Sinead O’Connor, insisting it wouldn’t be a “bad thing” for all of her previously-unreleased music to come out as one package.
He said: “Now that Sinéad’s gone, would it be a bad thing if somebody turned up tomorrow and said, ‘Hey, I just found this tape, and there’s enough for 20 – or 30 or 50 – Sinéad songs.’ Would that be a bad thing?”