Legendary singer-songwriter Steve Earle is the subject of a highly engaging profile in The Guardian today ahead of his new album So You Wanna Be An Outlaw. There’s a lot of meat in the story about Earle’s lifelong battle with addiction, his seven marriages to six women, and his devotion to his seven-year-old autistic son, John Henry, as well as reflections on his various creative projects over the years. Earle also riffs on his musical preferences a bit, which leads to some candid critiques. For instance, when it comes to English Premier League soccer, he prefers Arsenal over Manchester City in part because he has no love for noted Man City supporters Oasis:

I dislike Man City because it is Oasis’s club. Noel Gallagher is the most overrated songwriter in the whole history of pop music. They were perfect for the Brit press because they behaved badly and got all the attention. Blur were really great. That guy Damon Albarn is a real fuckin’ songwriter.

I’d never have guessed Steve Earle would side with Blur in the Britpop wars! He also weighed in with some comments on modern country music, which veered into praise for Kendrick Lamar by way of disdain for bro-country:

The best stuff coming out of Nashville is all by women except for Chris Stapleton. He’s great. The guys just wanna sing about getting fucked up. They’re just doing hip-hop for people who are afraid of black people. I like the new Kendrick Lamar record, so I’ll just listen to that.

Guessing none of the bros will fire back, but I have to believe Gallagher will have some quips ready for whichever interviewer thinks to ask about Earle.