Canadian singer-songwriter Mac DeMarco has been accused of copying indie artist Mitski.
DeMarco announced Monday that his forthcoming album is titled Here Comes The Cowboy, which is pretty close to Mitski’s 2018 release Be The Cowboy.
The first single off DeMarco’s May 10th release is “Nobody” – which is also the name of a song on Mitski’s album.
The similarities were noted by Mitski in a tweet on Tuesday. “I'm 100% sure mac & I just went fishing in the same part of the collective unconscious! What's wild is we have the same PR, so I LOVE my personal conspiracy theory that she heard the album+track titles but kept quiet thinking maybe some Mac fans will mistakenly find me loll”
She added: “Anyway thanks for the laugh, Mac! Happy release!”
DeMarco’s rep insisted he was not aware of Be The Cowboy or its track “Nobody” until after he had chosen titles for his new project.
DeMarco explained the name in a statement. “Cowboy is a term of endearment to me, I use it often when referring to people in my life,” the Alberta-raised singer explained. “Where I grew up, there are many people that sincerely wear cowboy hats and do cowboy activities. These aren’t the people I’m referring to.”
Fans of both artists are going off on Twitter.
"A new Mac Demarco album AND it copies something a woman did first? haha dope two things i f**ken love," tweeted one.
Another wrote: "i, for one, am shocked that mac demarco may have done something with music that is not 100% original."
Mitski tweeted her reaction: "my god, why is everyone mad? i'm laughing!"
mitski: this is a concept unreachable to me in the sense that i’m an asian woman and it symbolises what american society views as being admirable, primarily using white men in classic westerns as a metaphor to something i cannot be seen as
— indiana jones (@indiasey) March 5, 2019
mac demarco: i call my friends cowboy
lol mac demarco’s new album is called “here comes the cowboy” but mitski already came and she IS the cowboy
— james cassar (@getcerebral) March 5, 2019
Mac Demarco unveils new single “Formation” off his upcoming album “The Lemonade Stand”
— DJ Artificial Intelligence Fucknasty (@wipeyadocsoff) March 5, 2019
This mitski / Mac demarco thing is so bizarre. Mitski is in many ways peers (IMO more important) but just generally firmly in the same realm as Mac. His total ignorance about one of the most celebrated albums of 2018 is really unacceptable and strange.
— Ellie McElvain (@elliemce) March 5, 2019
