This year’s special issue of Rolling Stone’s Musicians on Musicians features Taylor Swift and Paul McCartney! They talk about songwriting, making and releasing albums during lockdown and what they’ve learned during the pandemic. You can see the cover photo below and stay tuned for more info!
On songwriting secrets, making albums at home, and what theyâve learned during the pandemic. The first in a series of new conversations between artists
Taylor Swift arrived early to Paul McCartneyâs London office in October, âmask on, brimming with excitement.â âI mostly work from home these days,â she writes about that day, âand today feels like a rare school field trip that you actually want to go on.â
Swift showed up without a team, doing her own hair and makeup. In addition to being two of the most famous pop songwriters in the world, Swift and McCartney have spent the past year on similar journeys. McCartney, isolated at home in the U.K., recorded McCartney III. Like his first solo album, in 1970, he played nearly all of the instruments himself, resulting in some of his most wildly ambitious songs in a long time. Swift also took some new chances, writing over email with the Nationalâs Aaron Dessner and recording the raw Folklore, which abandons arena pop entirely in favor of rich character songs. Itâs the bestselling album of 2020.
Swift listened to McCartney III as she prepared for todayâs conversation; McCartney delved into Folkore. Before the photo shoot, Swift caught up with his daughters Mary (who would be photographing them) and Stella (who designed Swiftâs clothes; the two are close friends). âIâve met Paul a few times, mostly onstage at parties, but weâll get to that later,â Swift writes. âSoon he walks in with his wife, Nancy. Theyâre a sunny and playful pair, and I immediately feel like this will be a good day. During the shoot, Paul dances and takes almost none of it too seriously and sings along to Motown songs playing from the speakers. A few times Mary scolds, âDaaad, try to stand still!â And it feels like a window into a pretty awesome family dynamic. We walk into his office for a chat, and after I make a nervous request, Paul is kind enough to handwrite my favorite lyric of his and sign it. He makes a joke about me selling it, and I laugh because itâs something I know Iâll cherish for the rest of my life. Thatâs around the time when we start talking about music.â
Taylor Swift: I think itâs important to note that if this year had gone the way that we thought it was going to go, you and I would have played Glastonbury this year, and instead, you and I both made albums in isolation.
Paul McCartney:Yeah!
Swift: And I remember thinking it would have been so much fun because the times that Iâve run into you, I correlate with being some of the most fun nights of my life. I was at a party with you, when everybody just started playing music. And it was Dave Grohl playing, and youâŠ