Ryan Adams Discusses ‘1989’ Covers Album, Compares Taylor Swift to Shakespeare

Ryan Adams discusses his full-album cover of Taylor Swift’s 1989 in a new interview with the Guardian, and during that conversation, Adams described the transition from working on his own material to Swift’s as analogous to shifting gears from Ghostbusters to Shakespeare.

Adams described the experience as “being in Ghostbusters or something, and then all of a sudden I have to go do Shakespeare.” When the Guardian reporter raised an eyebrow at the comparison, Adams said, “Well, look, those songs are popular for a reason She’s a popular artist for a reason.”

Adams also opened up about the reviews of his covers album that claim the endeavor insinuates Swift’s originals were only fully realized when they were reinterpreted by a male musician. Adams said those arguments “really upset me,” adding, “I honestly never thought about gender.”

“It sounds very selfish and it is -- I thought about Ryan,” he continued. “It was very cathartic for me, because I found myself singing those songs and feeling things from my divorce, feeling things from a current relationship, feeling things from the distant past.”

Adams also revealed he worked on an original song with Swift, which has yet to see the light of day, and whether or not it ever does, he says is up to Swift: “Well, it’s her song. It’s not for me to say.”

Read the entire interview over at the Guardian.