The Internet's Biggest Jack Antonoff Hater Explains Himself - Defector

Less than 12 hours aft Taylor Swift’s 10th album, Midnights, dropped connected Oct. 21, a 25-year-old New Zealander posted a video connected Twitter successful which helium recorded himself correctly guessing, 1 by one, upon archetypal listen, each opus connected the medium produced by Jack Antonoff.

“I’m capable to instantly observe if Jack Antonoff worked connected a opus owed to a visceral hatred of his accumulation style,” Caleb Gamman captioned his clip, which presently has implicit 84,000 likes. To beryllium fair, 17 retired of the 20 tracks connected Midnights were produced by Antonoff, but determination was thing mildly exhilarating astir watching this feline hesitate connected the nonstop songs—“The Great War,” “High Infidelity” and “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve”—that Aaron Dessner produced instead. “Snow connected the Beach” was the archetypal 1 that made Gamman hesitate, until helium heard Swift’s dependable swoop up. “No, that’s him,” helium said with a chuckle. “Midnight Rain” was the 1 that truly floored me, though. Gamman could archer it was Antonoff earlier adjacent proceeding a lyric, upon the driblet of a specified exhale (or yell?). That’s the 1 that made maine privation to speech to him, due to the fact that what the existent fuck?

Antonoff presents not truthful overmuch arsenic a formalist musician, but a vibes-based shaper who pistillate singer-songwriters successful peculiar emotion to enactment with. As Antonoff himself told The Guardian successful 2017, his method is disentangling “the saddest, astir upsetting, astir existent things idiosyncratic mightiness spell through, and past uncovering a mode to sew those into popular songs.” What does that mean???? At Pitchfork, Quinn Moreland swiftly tethered that magic to the ground, summing up his dependable arsenic “essentially, nostalgic guitars and drawstring arrangements, swelling choruses.” Yet Antonoff’s ubiquity—last twelvemonth unsocial helium collaborated with Swift, Lana Del Rey, Lorde, St. Vincent, Clairo, and adjacent had thing to bash with Olivia Rodrigo—makes it truly hard to parse what is and is not an Antonoff song. In Moreland’s words: “As the designated steward of Tasteful Pop, possibly his omnipresence has flattened the dependable of that niche betwixt mainstream popular and indie music.”

Gamman is not a euphony guy. He’s a video producer. He has a YouTube transmission successful which helium deconstructs content, mostly movies and games. Which is not to accidental helium doesn’t person a past with Antonoff. As a precocious schooler, erstwhile helium was inactive a tenable drummer, helium remembers having to execute (he doesn’t retrieve what for—perhaps due to the fact that of the sonic trauma) songs by Antonoff’s set astatine the time, fun. (“I wasn’t loving it,” helium says. “But I didn’t cognize that I would categorically dislike it astatine that point.”). After Antonoff started his one-man band, Bleachers, Gamman had an ex who fell for the 2015 pistillate fronted remix medium of the band’s previous-year release. But, arsenic helium reveals successful our speech beneath (condensed due to the fact that nary 1 speaks successful Q&A format, slightest of each of me) his hatred of Antonoff’s dependable is acold richer than specified sour grapes.

One of your tweets says, “I’m the lone idiosyncratic live with bully media literacy truthful whenever anyone disagrees with maine it means they’re objectively an idiot.” I cognize it was conscionable a anserine tweet, but wherever does that impulse travel from?

I person a bachelor’s successful originative media production. Part of that was analyzing things, truthful I bash person a ceremonial inheritance successful it. But that’s ever been the absorbing happening to me—I deliberation I bask pulling thing isolated much than I really bask watching it, oregon whatever. I deliberation I person somewhat destroyed my quality to earnestly prosecute with anything. I volition beryllium pulling thing isolated arsenic it goes.

Have you ever been that way?

I was ever beauteous circumstantial successful my tastes increasing up. I wouldn’t privation to ticker overmuch oregon perceive to much. I could get precise invested successful something. It’s possibly a small spot of a defence mechanics alternatively than being successful the thrall of a portion of euphony and manipulated by it. It has ever been similar that. But however bully I americium astatine the critique has changed.

Why would you instrumentality that approach?

I know. In superior schoolhouse I lone wanted to perceive to U2.

It’s comic that you’re shitting connected Jack Antonoff and you similar U2.

I’ll crap connected U2 NOW. It’s similar that communicative astir Steven Spielberg, wherever aft helium saw peculiar effects successful a movie, helium would spell location and reverse technologist it truthful that helium could get implicit it.

When did you archetypal brushwood Jack Antonoff?

Probably fun. “We Are Young” would beryllium astir people’s archetypal acquisition of him. I didn’t emotion that, but I wasn’t instantly wholly hating him. It was lone erstwhile helium started producing for different radical that I started to actively not similar it—and past it was beauteous overmuch immediately. I had liked aboriginal Taylor Swift. I was adjacent into 1989, which was Jack Antonoff—not each of it, but helium was involved—and I didn’t hatred that. But aft that, everything Jack Antonoff did I started to beryllium inherently enactment disconnected by.

Well, what’s the deal? Why?

I consciousness similar I tin enactment backwards and explicate it. But determination was thing astir it wherever if I conscionable heard his production, it would elevate my bosom rate. I would beryllium like, “Oh, dear.” Definitely the mode helium treats the vocals is off-putting to me. It’s astir similar ASMR-y, and helium volition bash integer harmonizing—using car tune to retune arsenic harmonies—rather than doing it authentically. He’ll adjacent bash susurration tracks, truthful you get each of that sibilance and rima noise. The main happening is integer vocals that consciousness precise adjacent and personal, like, overly intimate. And conscionable altogether the mode that helium processes those vocals is besides precise wide. He does stereo expansion, truthful it’ll dependable similar it’s each astir you. 

Oh, you mean similar U2? Just kidding.

And past I accidental I’m not immense connected the ace cleanable bass. He uses classical drum sounds and past helium puts an effect connected them truthful that they each dependable a small spot washed out. He’ll often flip the precocious extremity of the dependable truthful you’re lone getting the bass-y sounds of the drums. Oh, and helium volition transportation them around. I conjecture each drums are going to person a pitch, but helium volition usage them to bash thing harmonically. It conscionable creates a afloat premix that to maine is, arsenic a whole, off-putting.

How bash you prime retired those elements and cognize it’s him, though? It’s not similar determination aren’t radical who bash the aforesaid things.

Absolutely. I truly emotion a cleanable reverb dependable erstwhile it’s connected a PC Music [British statement founded by shaper A.G. Cook] track. And I truly liked integer harmonizing erstwhile Kanye West went done that phase, not to bring him into this. But the quality to archer whether it is Jack oregon not is not ace rational.

It makes maine deliberation you person a truly intimate cognition of his enactment adjacent though you dislike it.

Because he’s worked with truthful galore artists that I like, I benignant of do.

What’s your favourite of his?

The medium that helium did with Lana Del Rey I thought was OK. I didn’t deliberation it was the champion Lana album, it was conscionable similar a coagulated Lana album. It doesn’t person excessively galore of the trappings of Jack.

Norman Fucking Rockwell?

Yeah. He besides did a opus called “Foreign Girls.” The archetypal clip I heard that song, it was connected a breached talker strategy and lone the close transmission of the speakers was working, and I thought, “This opus is great.” And I searched it up, and I saved it. Then I listened to it backmost connected headphones and it turns retired successful the near channel, there’s this insane saxophone tally going done the full happening and it was unbearable.

That is precise funny. What is the Platonic perfect of the worst of the Jack Antonoff dependable for you?

The Reputation album by Taylor Swift, that was beauteous rough. I can’t perceive to immoderate of that, it’s excessively embarrassing.

I deliberation a batch of radical hold with you. What did you deliberation of the Lorde medium [Melodrama, which a fig of critics see a masterpiece]?

Yeah, I mean, it was Jack. I listened to a spot of it, but I was benignant of like, I tin perceive him successful there.

So, wait, however did you observe you had this skill?

It astir apt was erstwhile Reputation came retired [November 2017], that was erstwhile I identified that erstwhile I would perceive a Jack Antonoff song, I would physically not similar it. By the way, I’m wholly good with astir immoderate portion of music. Any portion of euphony I hear, I go, “That’s great.” It’s JUST Jack Antonoff that I don’t like. It’s a carnal thing. I cognize it’s Jack successful my bones.

There’s thing other that hits you successful the aforesaid way? I wonderment if determination are immoderate tastes oregon touches?

You mean a sensory thing?  I don’t deliberation so. I can’t truly deliberation of thing other that would bash it.

Vulture did this breakdown of each the elements of Jack Antonoff: Poppy, percussive acoustic guitars, expansive drawstring flourishes, large 80s synths, bigger choruses, intimate songwriting, a pistillate with a guitar oregon piano. And I’m like, these each look random.

Yeah. And benignant of applicable to astatine slightest fractional of music.

That’s wherefore I was confused. I’m like, this is not helping maine arsenic a key.

I bash perceive to euphony and mostly perceive the production. I’m not that bully with lyrics. I don’t person a hard clip knowing radical speaking, but arsenic soon arsenic you commencement singing, it conscionable becomes noise, similar portion of the philharmonic premix oregon whatever. By the way, I wasn’t expecting to get 100 percent occurrence [in the video]. I deliberation I lone did due to the fact that it is mostly Jack Antonoff. My friends cognize that I tin bash this. I person done this privately with Jack Antonoff produced albums successful the past. I usually get immoderate mendacious positives. There were immoderate connected the past Taylor Swift medium wherever I deliberation it was a New Zealand shaper [Joel Little] and I was like, “That’s Jack Antonoff for sure.” And it wasn’t. But helium was doing that style, truthful that tin happen. It’s a benignant that’s going astir and I deliberation much radical are adopting immoderate of his tics.

I conjecture it’s a slippery slope betwixt having a dependable versus being a spot lazy astir your sound?

People were saying he’s similar the JJ Abrams of euphony and I tin spot that. I deliberation immoderate mainstream shaper doing ace commercialized music, you’re going to support doing what works. But helium indispensable beryllium large to enactment with. It seems similar everyone loves moving with him.

I was speechmaking astir however radical similar moving with him due to the fact that helium brings retired their dependable more, alternatively than projecting his dependable onto them. But I consciousness similar helium does.

Yeah, I deliberation Clairo [Sling, 2021] and Lana are the 2 projects of his that are antithetic from his sound, but everything other that he’s produced, it’s the dependable of Jack Antonoff.

I’m wondering however overmuch of the recoil is coming from conscionable the pervasiveness of that sound.

I deliberation the information that the video has got immoderate traction, I deliberation world has caught up to my opinion. I person been softly posting Jack Antonoff hatred for years. But present it’s tipped over.

What made you determine to bash the video?

Have you seen those guys who play GeoGuessr? There’s this crippled wherever you get spat retired astatine a random spot successful Google Street View and you person to conjecture wherever you are. There’s this feline [Georainbolt] who is the champion successful the satellite astatine doing this. Just by looking astatine a representation of a spot for a second, helium tin pinpoint wherever it is connected a map. So that was the benignant of the video. I was conscionable doing it arsenic bonus worldly connected my website. I saw that [Swift] dropped the album, and I conscionable made a enactment for myself that was, “When I get up tomorrow, I should bash this video successful the benignant of this guy’s videos.”

What euphony bash you truly love—the implicit other of Jack Antonoff?

I’d possibly accidental A.G. Cook. If you’re acquainted with PC Music, he’s done accumulation for Charli XCX precocious [and for Beyoncé]. He is doing a batch of akin worldly to Jack Antonoff, but somehow, it’s incredibly palatable to me. He possibly pushes things further. He’s consenting to spell each retired onto a ace cleanable dependable oregon a ace integer sound, whereas Jack Antonoff is sitting conscionable wrong that. A.G. Cook is simply a bully parallel, due to the fact that if you effort and interruption down what Jack Antonoff is doing, bullet-point it out, you could accidental each the aforesaid things astir A.G. Cook, but it’s much utmost and much interesting.

You conscionable hatred Jack Antonoff. It’s truthful wide to maine that you hatred this mediocre man.

I don’t adjacent cognize the guy. I cognize little biographical accusation astir Jack Antonoff than astir radical I speech to. I person nary involvement successful it. It’s conscionable sonically, I can’t basal it.