Will Oldham, aka Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, has offered a lot more opinions on popular culture than ever before in his latest round of interviews for his new album Beware. He called Wes Anderson a “cancer,” praised Farrelly brothers movies to the A.V. Club earlier this month and I just found an interview with Scotland’s The Skinny where Oldham, a huge R. Kelly fan, sounds off on Britney Spears fatigue and even compares her to Oasis.
“If Britney Spears just released music and you didn’t have to deal with her personality then you might every once in a while be like, ‘oh, I want to listen to that Britney Spears music’,” Oldham said. “I’ve always been kind of mystified and even offended by people’s claims to like her – I mean Britney Spears is sort of like the Oasis of America, I don’t understand how somebody who likes music can look you in the eye with a straight face and say that this is good.”
Oldham’s taste in music has always been a bit mysterious. His own songs seem to be mostly influenced by folk, but he’s actually a fan of heavier rock music (like Danzig, Slint, etc.), R&B (Mariah, R. Kelly), and rap. Earlier this year, he even recorded a tribute song for gangsta rapper Eazy-E.