John Taylor shared his personal highlights and thoughts about the past year in his Duran Duran Year End 2023 post on Duran Duran’s official website. He named Doja Cat’s ‘Paint The Town Red’ as the best song of the year. He appreciated the song’s use of a sample from ‘Walk on By,’ praising its effective integration into the track. Taylor also commended Travis Scott’s ‘Utopia.’ He stated:
“The song of the year for me was Doja Cat’s ‘Paint the Town Red,’ which is built on the lick of ‘Walk on By.’ It’s a particularly nourishing sample and what Doja brings to it really works. Travis Scott’s Utopia is a bit of a masterpiece. It’s a very thoughtful, well-considered, wide ranging, and expensive creation. You have to like hip hop to give it a go but I think he made a statement.”
John Taylor Credited Kanye West For Dominating 2000s Music Scene
Despite his age, John Taylor engages with and appreciates modern music styles and artists. On their new album ‘DANSE MACABRE,’ they proved that they can do the same as a band with their collaboration with Måneskin’s Victoria De Angelis and their cover of the Billie Eilish song ‘bury a friend.’ In 2015, John Taylor again was not detached from popular music. In a statement reported by The Standard, John Taylor of Duran Duran expressed his admiration for Kanye West’s influence in the music industry, particularly during the 2000s. He said:
“Kanye is the only guy out there that says anything with his style. He’s a very interesting artist. I think he’s owned the last decade really.”
However, he would also have some negative evaluations of this period that he thought Kanye dominated.
Taylor Blamed EDM And Hip-Hop For The Increase Of Features In Music
Although John Taylor is a follower of more contemporary and popular music, he thinks that bands are more self-sufficient than musicians who are in need of featured artists. He recognized a cultural change in music consumption, where listeners are increasingly looking for variety and find it difficult to engage with an hour of music by a single singer.
In 2015, Taylor also spoke about trends in the music industry at the time. Taylor attributed the prevalence of featured songs on the charts to the influence of EDM and hip-hop music. He said:
“Occasionally you’ll look at the charts and go ‘Oh my God they’re all features’ that’s what EDM and hip hop has done. Bands are self-contained cults they don’t need anybody they just need electricity. But I felt there was a change in the culture – nobody can listen to an hour of music with one singer anymore, they need variety.”
You can listen to the Doja Cat song ‘Paint the Town Red,’ which John Taylor considers the best song of 2023, below.
