There’s little debate that Sir Paul McCartney is near the top, or at the top, of the list of greatest living songwriters. As a Beatle, the man wrote songs that border on the divine, such as “Yesterday,” “Let It Be,” and “Hey Jude.” With Wings and as a solo artist, he composed the beautiful “Maybe I’m Amazed,” and the cinematic “Band on the Run” and “Live and Let Die.”
In a recent appearance on Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast, the SNL alum asked McCartney, “Is there any music right now that you listen to and think, ‘Hah, I wish I wrote that?’” The former Beatle paused, then gave a blunt response that, given his age and achievements, makes total sense.
“No, no, not really,” McCartney admitted. “There’s some people I think are really good. Do you know, like, Billie Eilish, I think is cool, but I don’t think I wanna have written her songs.” McCartney then went on to say most songs these days are “banal,” mocking them by singing, “I want your ooh ooh,” while pumping his arms like he’s in the club.
(For the unfamiliar, “banal” means: lacking originality, freshness, or novelty.)
As someone who’s reached the height of the pop world, McCartney has earned the right to look down on today’s artists. But some folks on X reminded him that not everything he wrote was Shakespeare. Many people called early Beatles hits like “She Loves You” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand” “banal” for their era, but, to be fair, they were mostly written by John Lennon
McCartney was so aware of the criticisms that some of his post-Beatles output was lightweight and sentimental that he responded with a song that became a number-one hit in 1976: “Silly Love Songs.” In it, he sang:
You’d think that people would’ve had enough of silly love songs
But I look around me and I see it isn’t so
Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs
And what’s wrong with that?
I’d like to know
‘Cause here I go again
I love you
I love you
I love you
I love you
While singing his made-up song, he noted, “This could be a hit,” which inspired some to remix his improvisation into full songs.
Some folks on X thought McCartney was specifically mocking Clean Bandit’s 2018 song “Solo” featuring Demi Lovato.
McCartney has a long history of collaborating with legendary performers, notably his first songwriting partner, John Lennon. As a solo artist, he has worked with Michael Jackson, Elvis Costello, Kanye West, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, Stevie Wonder, and the surviving members of Nirvana. Poehler asked him who he’d love to collaborate with next. “I get asked this question, and I always think Bob Dylan,” McCartney admitted. “But I’m too nervous to ring him up.”
He shouldn’t be too nervous, though, because Dylan is a huge admirer of McCartney. “I mean, I’m in awe of McCartney,” Dylan said, according to Far Out. “He’s about the only one that I am in awe of. But I’m in awe of him. He can do it all, and he’s never let up, you know. He’s got the gift for melody; he’s got the rhythm. He can play any instrument. He can scream and shout as good as anybody, and he can sing a ballad as good as anybody. And his melodies are effortless.”
Well, young musicians, sorry to tell you that Paul McCartney isn’t too impressed with your songs. But the good news is that your target audience probably isn’t 84-year-old Englishmen.
You can watch the entire interview below.
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