There are only certain types of comments made by others—particularly men—that will prompt Taylor Swift to “come out of the woodwork” or shed any remaining notions people might have of her as “America’s sweetheart” (an image she does still occasionally try her best to uphold, whenever possible). Worse still—for the offending party, at least—certain types of comments that will prompt her to write a song about the person or event that set her off. And one can certainly imagine Damon Albarn serving as inspiration for an upcoming diss track (hopefully in the spirit of “Bad Blood”). Even though “The Man” was pretty much an all-encompassing shade-throw at male musicians who believe they have room to talk any shit about a woman’s “place” in the business. Particularly since he couldn’t possibly ever understand how much more challenging that journey is, complete with sexual harassment, verbal abuse (see also: Kesha) and constant objectification that sidelines the musical output itself.
When Taylor thusly declared in “The Man,” “They’d say I hustled/Put in the work/They wouldn’t shake their heads and question how much of this I deserve/What I was wearing/If I was rude/Could all be separated from my good ideas and power moves,” it was no lie. And Albarn has certainly had that luxury for most of his career, yet when he was finally not “given” “something” he really wanted in the form of Elastica frontwoman Justine Frischmann, it incited him to write the kind of petulant yet endlessly resonant breakup album (named after, ironically, Tay’s favorite number, 13) Swift is actually more known for providing au présent. 13, incidentally, was also recorded in Reykjavík, the very place that inspired the current album Albarn is promoting, The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows. And yes, one can’t help but envision Frischmann smirking about this little social media-spurred tiff. That is, if she even bothers to pay attention to such things anymore, sequestered somewhere in the hills of Northern California as she is.
Regardless of where she might be, it wasn’t so long ago that she gave an interview to NME about the “why” behind her breakup with Albarn in the late 90s after seven years of dating, effectively serving as the “Ken and Barbie” of Britpop. As Frischmann appraised it, “I think it was hard for Damon when Elastica started getting some success in America. It’s funny because we both thought we were too evolved for classic gender roles, but looking back he thought his band more important because he was the guy. And on some level I did, too.”
Yes, that’s very interesting indeed. Especially within the context of his inherently sexist comment aimed at Swift. Because there’s no denying that Albarn wouldn’t have tried to diminish the work of, say, dear Swift friend Ed Sheeran—even if Albarn abhors such music. And this is why Swift rightfully “lashes out” when a male musician tries to downplay her achievements. Obviously, it taps into a deeply rooted insecurity that was solidified at the 2009 VMAs, which launched a Shakespearean-level drama and forever ongoing saga between Taylor and Kanye West.
And, because it’s already really easy to be insecure as a woman in entertainment, West didn’t find it a challenge to totally disarm Swift when he bum-rushed the stage and insisted it should have been Beyoncé who won for Best Female Video, going on a rant about the greatness of “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” which blatantly pulled choreo from Bob Fosse for a 70s TV segment called “Mexican Breakfast.” But Kanye failed to mention that little trivia tidbit as he proceeded to bulldoze Taylor’s acceptance speech and make her feel both totally invisible and like a glaring piece of shit. Such is the gift of men, but especially men in “the biz” who remain, more than ever, threatened by women being more successful. Damon’s reaction to his ex’s own success being a case in point.
In 2016, after almost seven years had passed since the Kanye incident, the “bad blood” was still present in the tint of Swift’s acceptance speech at the Grammys when she noted, “As the first woman to win Album of the Year at the Grammys twice, I wanna say to all the young women out there [ironically, this is when the camera pans to the sea of men onstage behind Taylor], there are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame. But if you just focus on the work, and you don’t let those people sidetrack you, someday when you get where you’re going, you’ll look around and you’ll know that it was you and the people who love you who put you there. And that will be the greatest feeling in the world.”
In contrast to the one Damon Albarn is likely feeling right now, after what will probably be a long, ostracizing hangover from what was supposed to be a blip of a trip to the U.S. during which he still managed to offend a nation by belittling one of its national treasures. In other words, by triggering Taylor—who is no longer shy about firing back. After all, how many times does she have to prove that she’s “the man” for other men to get it?
