Todd Rundgren says Taylor Swift “ruined music,” calls her the “apotheosis of mediocrity”

In a Vulture interview published this month, Todd Rundgren labeled Taylor Swift as having “ruined music” and described her as the “apotheosis of mediocrity.”

He argued Swift is not a standout singer, songwriter, or dancer, and described her as a central role model for a generation of women and their daughters who attend her shows. He contrasted her work with Lady Gaga, calling Gaga a “real musician” and a “classically trained piano player.”

Rundgren also suggested the music landscape shifted in the era of female artists, linking it to a time when money from video games supplanted spending on rock music in the 1990s. The interview notes Swift’s 2025 album The Life of a Showgirl and its new deluxe edition but characterizes those entries as not representative of her best work. It also notes Swift’s induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame earlier this year.

Source: Consequence

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