Billy Corgan Defends Taylor Swift Over Album Length Backlash

Billy Corgan is defending Taylor Swift over the length of her recent album, The Tortured Poets Department. The pop star's latest offering was one of the more highly anticipated albums of the year, but received plenty of backlash when it clocked in on at over two hours spanning 31 tracks.

Billy Corgan Comments on Taylor Swift's Album Length

Speaking with The Irish Times, Corgan was talking about Sinead O'Connor's musical legacy when he shifted his focus to Taylor Swift while making a point.

Corgan reasoned that he would love to have found that O'Connor had a lost tape of material and feeling that fans would embrace anywhere from 20 to 50 songs. He then mentioned Swift, "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."

READ MORE: Rock Musicians Who've Defended Taylor Swift

Corgan's Own Issues With Album Lengths

You could say that Billy Corgan has had a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to album lengths. He and Smashing Pumpkins were universally celebrated from their double album Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, but he admits he had to fight to have that vision realized.

But later, Smashing Pumpkins faced criticism for their Machina / The Machines of God records in 2000 by fans on the internet and more recently caught some backlash for the length of his ATUM record.

What Else Billy Corgan Said About Album Lengths

“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?”

While shaking his head, the singer added, “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.”