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Cloud Nothings Frontman Explains Why Taylor Swift Is A Pop Genius

04/01/2014
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(Radio.com) Age ain't nothing but a number. Just ask Dylan Baldi. At just 22 years old, the Cloud Nothings frontman has released four albums in the last five years, with his latest one, Here and Nowhere Else, being the culmination of the catchier stuff on 2011′s self-titled record and the heavy elements on 2013′s Attack On Memory.

Since Baldi first hit the scene in 2009 with his lo-fi debut, he's been called a "prodigy," and even a "wunderkind" once or twice. But he doesn't let the compliments go to his head.

"I've never really considered myself anything special for doing this at like a young age. It's just kind of like what I like doing and I figured I should start doing it as soon as I could," he told Radio.com. "And you know, it's cool that people can say really nice things about me because of that. Like wunderkind is an intense statement, for sure. Must have been like a German website."

When Baldi got on the phone from his hometown of Cleveland, he chatted with us about being more positive in his old age, making mistakes and why Taylor Swift is such a pop genius.

Radio.com: Last year, you mentioned that you considered Taylor Swift's "Trouble" to be one of the best pop songs of 2013. I wanted to know what makes it so good? And if you found any connection to her honest writing style.

Dylan: You know, it's not even lyrically that I can say I get down with Taylor Swift. It's more, I'm a super nerd about song structures and like melodies and how all that stuff works together. I spend a lot of my time being fascinated by that stuff and figure out how it all works. Like her songs, are usually a perfect example of a great modern pop song, you know? Like every single she put out from that last record [Red] is a perfect song pretty much. The way the songs work, I don't know, it's really nerdy stuff. It's hard for me to explain. [Laughs] I'm like fascinated by the structures of pop songs because even a really abstract one, like "Single Ladies" or something. Like Beyonc� songs are like bizarre, but they're still super catchy and they still work in that way. And then you have Taylor Swift and it's just really straightforward like part A, part B, part A, part B. It's pretty obvious what happens, but they work and it's something I've spent a lot of time thinking about while I drive around listening to the radio. I'm into it more on like a songwriting level then you know, wanting to emulate Taylor Swift's boyfriend troubles.

Radio.com: Yeah, obviously your next album isn't going to take the Taylor Swift approach.

Dylan: Yeah, it won't be my breakup record. But maybe, we'll see.

Check out the full interview here.

Radio.com is an official news provider for antiMusic.com.
Copyright Radio.com/CBS Local - Excerpted here with permission.

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