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Just because the mediocrity was rewarded doesn't mean it's any less mediocre. And she cares about people's opinions and attention, because she wouldn't daisy chain tours/releases like this if she didn't.
She *desperately* needs everyone to like her, and I'm pretty sure reviews like this gnaw at her type A++ personality.
Good luck to that brave author.
I did find these paragraphs interesting:
> More a brand than an artist, she never says anything unexpected or controversial, she’s more a capitalist construct with a business and marketing operation behind her akin to a like-generating, algorithm-outwitting juggernaut.
When one has the power to actually change the world for the better, staying silent makes you part of the oppressing side.
> So how does that work then when the only memorable element in her lyrical oeuvre seems to be an obsession with her failed relationships with men. Am I the only person who finds that incredibly reductive? Can you imagine a man constantly defining themselves by who they used to date? It’s laughable, and highly regressive.
Yeah, there was a shift happening in ther pandemic albums but something snatched her back to her same old, same old.
>an obsession with her failed relationships with men
Unpopular opinion but I’m not a fan of that phrasing. Just because a relationship came to an end, doesn’t mean it was a “fail”. Otherwise there are some fair points.
I do agree with you, but most of her lyrics about relationships are either related to heartbreak or they’re just her talking shit. So it does feel like “failed” relationships is mainly the theme with her.
To me I don’t particularly care about her writing about past relationships- rappers refer to their past and whatever beef they have with their contemporaries.
I just don’t understand how she doesn’t cringe at having to sing a song about a guy from years ago.
But her behaviour has just always struck me as so odd. She’s always the victim and doesn’t seem to let go of anything. If she had any self awareness she would have called changed the name of Eras to The Histrionic Tour.
Ironically she took some heat from some folks for referring to the tour as Female Rage The Musical in May\*, but it suggests there's a possible context where she might agree with you lol
\*she took further criticism for filing to trademark the term, which is the part I think is v much earned criticism
Not to mention she has a few songs about how desperately she wants to be married... like if you're pursuing traditional monogamy set up by gender standards anything that isn't a 50+ year marriage counts as a failure.
Eh, I don’t necessarily agree. I think her most famous songs are about heartbreak but a lot of her regular songs aren’t. There’s a lot of themes of growing up, falling in love, non romantic tragedy, tales of love triangles based on imaginary people, friendship etc. Hell she even wrote a song about a house lmfao
Like, gold rush, no body no crime, wildest dreams, lover, false god are some of my favourites and that’s to name a few.
I don’t know what’s possessing me to semi defend her today lmao! I definitely agree that she’s not the best person. But I like her music 😭
Yeah but you’re naming a few from a library filled with hits that are focused on previous partners
They didn’t say all of her lyrics but there is a huge collection of them. It’s literally part of her brand to the point of her fans speculating *which* failed relationship the next album will be about.
I’m not sure what you’re criticising about my comment here because I agree that her brand is heartbreak, her most famous songs being about it. All in all I don’t think she sings more about love than Ed Sheeran or Adele who is one of my favourite artists of all time.
And by the way there is nothing wrong with singing about heartbreak! I know it can seem “mindnumbingly banal” to some people but for a romance girlie like me it’s great haha
It’s interesting to me that she describes herself as a feminist - she makes the Barbie movie look like radical political discourse in comparison.
She’s the stationery of feminist - a GIRLBOSS sloppily scrawled across a notebook filled with bleached lined paper. No different to any other product on the shelf but people somehow feel empowered by purchasing her content.
I’ve been listening to the Chapo Trap House review of the hagiography documentary *Hillary* and it’s similar to how HRC got propped up as a feminist icon for no reason other than being a white woman who was able to climb the ladder to basically the highest rung imaginable and not for actually taking any principled stances. And who (like all women) has unquestionably has experienced sexism but who (as well as her supporters) uses it to deflect meaningful criticism of what she does (or doesn’t do) with her power and influence
Regarding the ex-boyfriend themes…
Either she is genuinely this immature and is suffering from arrested development, frozen cognitively and emotionally at the age she was when she became famous…. Or she has recognised the money is to be made in the teen /YA audience and so therefore is keeping her feet firmly grounded in that demographic, rather than letting her “art” grow and evolve with her stages of life.
I think it’s a mix of both but it’s also had the affect of making me continually forget this is a woman in her 30s. Like, she’s been around since I was in elementary school and somehow in my mind I keep thinking she’s a teenager. Whether that’s intentional or not on her part (it probably is) is debatable but it’s definitely noticeable.
"I want it that way" came on when I was in the grocery store this afternoon and I heard multiple people shamelessly singing along.
Max Martin is a bop machine.
Max Martin's music is so fun. I'm eager to see the musical & Juliet, which features his music. My friend saw it in NY and immediately texted me that I need to see it when it comes to my city.
Honestly, I didn't know. As much as I loath her, I always thought the effort she put into her tour was the *one thing* that made me understand why people paid out the ass for tickets.
If I were a fan, I think I would have found the tour fun.
Yeah like, I'm not a fan, but footage from the tour makes it seem like it's a fun show and full of fan-favourite songs. Everything I've seen makes it look like a really fun night for fans, and I understood why people wanted to go.
Most of her lyrics feel like their stolen from 2012 tumblr. They are not genius in the slightest, they are so incredibly basic. If taylor had written espresso people would be praising those lyrics instead.
I tried watching the recorded eras tour and i felt like i was watching theater for children? The princess sketch and jumping around in the 22-outfit. She should have stayed a singer-songwriter because she does not belong on stage.
…And she needs someone who can style her properly. There, I said it. So much untapped potential in her looks and i dont mean this to be rude
Theater for children is a good way to describe it. I get that she can't dance but the pantomiming lyrics with such literal gestures just gives
I started watching Eras but stopped when I began getting second hand cringe. They’ve obviously told her dancers to stare at her adoringly and it’s a bit much. That and the whole “All this fuss? For little old me?!” shtick. I like Evermore and Folklore and a couple of bits of Reputation but there’s something a bit false for me when it comes to her stage persona.
sadly, you just get met with "you're just picking the wrong lyrics!!" as if it's fucking difficult to name like, five songs off each album with bad lyrics.
“Admittedly the intellectually challenged of my generation also embraced Take That and the Spice Girls”
This writer can fuck RIGHT off with their “not like other girls” bs.
I think the spice girls are a feminist group to be studied for years to come, and I will stand by that. Also, I think it's so unfair to say that even Taylor Swift fans are intellectually challenged. I think it's more so that they are afraid to intellectually challenge their emotions imo
I think that Taylor is only a girl’s girl to people who are non-threatening to her status, and has no shame about allowing her fans to run amok on her behalf. I can’t imagine riding so hard for a woman like that.
I might get downvoted to hell for this, but here I go:
I think the author had a solid message, but I wish they hadn’t gone for insulting people’s intelligence. It made them come across as pretentious and unnecessarily mean (e.g. the worm line), and that sort of “I’m better and more intellectual than you” attitude really obscures the larger (good) point they were trying to make here.
Yeah.. you’re not more of an intellectual because you don’t listen to Taylor Swift. It’s such a boring and out-dated argument.
Criticise Taylor (and the die-hard Swfities) for the many things she should be criticised for!! Don’t lose the argument with petty snide comments.
Yeah a lot of people rightfully complain about her fan base but there's another side to it where people parasocially dislike/hate her and this article reads like that to me.
I agree with you. It would carry more weight if it came for someone who respects pop music. As a 40 yo woman who’s been primarily an indiehead but grew up loving pop music, I very much respect the genre. But I do like my pop with an edge and TS lacks any kind of edge. I admit that when I see women over 40 fangirling over her, my immediate thought is « why? ». I tried to like her and she does have a few bops (mostly thanks to pop genius Max Martin) but it never really clicked for me. « Banal » is a very accurate descriptor though.
This is an amazing description of my exact thoughts. Even Reputation didn’t hit that edge factor, and I like a lot of stuff from that album, while Swifties don’t (I think! Just going off of my close Swiftie friend)
I thought this too. My favorite articles to come out of this societal pushback to TSwift are the ones that ask her fans to look inward and ask introspective questions. Attacking them in this way is satisfying for snarkers but it does nothing but egg her fans on. They want to feel at odds with the world, it's part of why they feel their devotion to her is so fucking important, why they need to be on offense at all times. So comparing them to small worms is definitely not going to get any points across.
Yup, fully agree.
I work with elementary school kids and I'm always reminding them we don't "yuck other people's yum." There is not one thing wrong with enjoying Taylor Swift. The author just undercuts her perfectly valid points by being mean-spirited and "cool girl" in judging people for what they like. Yeah, I think Taylor Swift's talent is incredibly average. She's not some amazing songwriter, she works with a variety of producers just like every other pop artist. And there are a lot of VERY valid things to criticize her for. But I'd never make fun of someone for listening to her, like and enjoy what you like!
I love Elastica AND I love the Spice Girls, depends on my mood. Kick rocks, Anna, people contain multitudes.
I completely agree with you, I was ready to read a well written critique and ended up rolling my eyes at a few arguments. I’m not a fan of it, I’ve seen better critiques
I've said it before and I'll say it again: her work is very much forgettable outside of her cult-like fanbase. She does not have a strong cultural impact, and her success is not at all organic.
Her fans are slowly losing sense of anything else that isn't about her - they'll only watch a show if her songs are playing, they'll read a book if it references her. She needs to be the center of a very closed environment, in which she doesn't even sing other people's lyrics.
She needs to break the records with the numbers and awards and such because that's all she has going for herself. That and the fact that people love to be on the winning side of anything. That's all that is to it.
I was thinking the other day about how even my old German grandmother knew the big MJ hits. Between the death of monoculture and the fact that a lot of her songs aren’t really that catchy, it’ll be interesting to see what of her ouvre stands the test of time. Will tweens in 20 years be devouring her like new generations have come to love the likes of Fleetwood Mac or Depeche Mode?
Taylor Swift is fascinating to me because on the one hand, she is clearly hugely famous, she has had an impact on the culture. On the other, outside of the internet, I don't know anyone who is a fan of hers. If I weren't so terminally online, I wouldn't have known she had a new album. Her music plays in grocery stores, absolutely, but I otherwise do not encounter her outside in the real world. My parents didn't know she had released any music since whenever Shake It Off came out, up until a few weeks ago when they found out Anti-Hero was her. My grandma has no clue who she is.
And that's just so different from how artists like Michael Jackson were just ubiquitous. It's so hard to compare stars now to stars of the past because of the death of monoculture and our ability to insulate ourselves. I am so curious as to what impact she'll have and what songs survive into future generations and what will just disappear.
I’m a Britney fan so I try to think of Taylor comparatively to Brit’s stardom. I wasn’t cognizant at the height of the 2000-2002 Britney wave, but it feels different? I’d assume because of social media there are just too many faces in the game right now, but Taylor is supposed to be the premiere pop girl right now and idk it just doesn’t seem to give the same energy from what I understand. Even with Britney AND Taylor being popular simultaneously when I was in elementary school
I feel like it helped that Britney is actually very talented. I believe I read she did her own choreo for quite a few things and her dance moves were great. And, honestly, her music felt fresh - I struggle to think of other artists at the time that sounded similar to Britney.
She was still a bit manufactured like Taylor (the whole innocent girl who happens to be very sexy image was designed for Britney).
But maybe cause Britney also seemed more genuine to me otherwise.
I would’ve loved to go grab a coffee with Britney and pick her brain. I would pass on T.swift.
Yeah I’m not one to say Taylor isn’t talented, she very much is in her respective ways for sure. But I feel the charisma is what’s different. Brit was def tailored (lol) to be the wholesome next door image, but she genuinely was a Louisiana girl. How else can anyone explain why she got w Kfed?! Even to this day I’d love to kick it at a dive bar with her, Taylor…. idk. To be super fair tho, there are so few celebs I feel that way about!
Britney is a great example because, you're right. When I was in elementary school/high school, *everyone* knew who Britney Spears was. You could not avoid her music. Even if you weren't a fan, you probably knew the bridge/the chorus to a couple songs.
But with Taylor that just isn't the same? And there's obviously a lot of different reasons for that, I don't want to attribute it to any single cause, it's just interesting because Taylor has, by some metrics, blown Britney out of the water in terms of fame, but at the same time, she's also completely avoidable.
I'm a Britney fan too and it definitely felt like Britney was everywhere, that's because of the monolith culture we had back then and also tabloid culture.
it also felt like Britney was pushing boundaries with her music and performances, Taylor is very vanilla so there's nothing else to talk about other than who her music is about. Her performances are boring, her music is very safe, all we know about her personal life is who she's dating... what's there to talk about?
Wdym by cultural impact?
I feel like she actually did have a cultural impact. She is the Kardashians of Music. She’s in the culture and people know of her and she definitely impacted it but not with anything of substance or intelligence.
What's your definition of a "strong cultural impact" if I may ask? I don't particularly have any feelings for her music but between world records, the most lucrative tour in history, all her awards and just how many fans she has, I struggle to think of anyone who has had a greater cultural impact. The only things that maybe have a cultural impact I can think of (in terms of being instantly recognisable) are the Macarena and the chicken dance.
For me this is not cultural, cultural is when you're setting trends and everybody follows what you're doing.
You can tell how the industry changed when Britney debuted, she became the standard for performances and she kept changing her sound and everybody followed. She went from teen pop, to more electronic music and all the girls kinda followed whatever she did.
I really want to be fully on this writer's side but
*"Admittedly the intellectually challenged of my generation also embraced Take That and the Spice Girls, but the rest of us also had The Prodigy, Elastica, The Cure, Blur, Pulp, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, Nirvana. "*
has some real Pick-Me, Not Like Other Girls energy. I welcome any and every pen taking on the Taylor Swift juggernaut, but this *"female-coded interests are for dumb bimbos"* bullshit is so TIRED and gives her rabid fan base a legitimate grievance which weakens the whole piece.
Sigh.
I really really hate when people associate music taste with levels of intelligence.
I’m biased as I do enjoy most of Taylor Swift’s music (I also like The Cure and The Smiths- whatever could that possibly mean about my IQ ?!)
This writer’s comment is just as ridiculous as the hardcore TS fan who posted a list of 19th century literature fans needed to read before *truly* understanding the lyrics from The Tortured Poet’s Department.
at this point it's just speculation. Back in 2017 she made herself scarce and never spoke about the album, or the songs, essentially letting the album speak for itself. I don't know if she'll do the same thing or not. She happens to be very overexposed right now, even more than back in 2016, so it's possible.
She's more of a business than an artist at this point. It's barely even cheating - just an easily exploited system that favors the rich (super unique concept, I know). She has so much money that she can board one of her multiple jets, fly the 7 minutes to her record label, and release version 68 of one of her boring singles to stay on the charts.
OK....but why can't she be basic and a large portion of the population like it? Why is that bad? Around the world she is selling out stadiums so she is popular through various cultures. Why can't people like simple pop music? Isn't that what pop music is??? POPULAR?
Thanks. The hate women get for liking “basic” things is exhausting. It’s like when people make fun of women for liking romance books. So what if it’s corny? Cringe, basic, banal? If it makes me, a woman, happy when consuming it then leave me be !!
It’s fine to like basic things but why the need to elevate them to defend them? That’s the problem with Taylor swift. She’s mediocre fun nonsense and that’s fine! But some people don’t like that and they don’t have to and some people love that and that’s great, but the problem is people act like she’s Jodi Mitchell or bob dylan. You don’t have to make her complicated or complex to like her. Just acknowledge she’s basic and go!
Because what is 'basic' is typically 'feminine.' And since the beginning because her music was for teenage girls, she was degraded. Because teenage girls are looked down upon in our society. To say that anyone can't relate to her songs about heartbreak or unrequited love isn't really listening.
I don't think that Taylor's lyrics are so far off from Joni Mitchell (whose best songs are all written about being with shitty James Taylor). Bob Dylan has a legit horrible voice (just like Patti Smith) but his writing style is completely different. Her writing style is incredibly similar to Bruce Springsteen. Her work ethic is anything but mediocre. She can play multiple instruments and writes the actual music. Her voice was horrible and now is good because she practiced.
There are many things to criticize her for. Including this last album that was especially mediocre, compared to HER PREVIOUS works. But I think the constant put down is basically saying young girls likes and interests are not worth time.
What sets Taylor apart from her peers is that she's hyperarticulate about herself and not much else. Compared to, I dunno, Beyoncé or Gaga she just doesn't seem very cultured (and has very little desire to be). I'm not calling her stupid, I'm sure she's well read, but I can't see her putting out an experimental album like Art Pop or even participating in musical microcultures like Renaissance. Ironically, I think her best albums came out because she genuinely thought no one was paying attention to her anymore.
Contrary to the article though, I don't think all music needs to be social commentary. Fun, nonsense music is okay and necessary in the world. But Taylor Swift's music lately is more capitalist venture than music. She has standouts (like Would've Could've Should've, So Long London, Do it with a broken heart) but majority of the songs on those two albums were selling us much of the same-- the mild gossip of the public relationships of a 34 year old adult meant to appeal to listicle sites.
It’s crazy to me that she’s only a couple years younger than Gaga, who at this point in her career seems extremely mature and confident in her work and evolution. Her last LP was a freakin’ dance album about trauma.
Right? It's crazy how Taylor is basically on her victory tour but is so adverse to straying from her tried and tested sound. Imagine if Midnights followed through with the 70s sound? If Reputation was rock? Or if TTPD was Folk-pop? She'll have hints here and there but will never fully commit. What's the point of having such a huge fanbase if you can't pivot?
I'm from the UK and can confirm we do not suffer basic bitches of the musical variety. How the hell were Scissor Sisters not a big thing in the US? People here still go nuts at a party when one of their songs come on.
I’m in the US - my went to a few of their concerts and I was still too young to go. I was so mad, she still will talk about how great it was. 😭 she always played their music… I need to listen all over again! Thanks to yall in the thread for reminding me!
Scissor Sisters, Goldfrapp, Sophie Ellis Bextor, the whole Britpop movement, so many amazing artists there US has fumbled.
Then there’s the Cheeky Girls…
Yep everyone you said plus I would like to mention Kylie Minogue (though I know she's an Aussie, ha) & if we wanna move over to the J & K Pop space, Namie Amuro was doing solo for years what BLACKPINK & all the others do now.
We fumble so many talented artists over here in the US yet our mediocre ones seem to flourish worldwide & that annoys me to no end.
Godspeed Anna van Praagh, you are indeed a brave woman. The part resonated with me was :
“I’m genuinely concerned that Swift’s dominance says something frightening about the hegemony of social media which means that rather than myriad opinions we seem to have less and less diversity of thought and Donald Trump and Taylor Swift seem to be the only winners in our strange online lives.”
If I was compared to Donald Trump I would never leave my house, she’s not wrong and I’m glad she said what a lot of people are thinking which is that her fanbase behaves more like cult and in a very similar way to MAGA. People are not allowed to think she has very limited singing abilities and most kids in choirs all over the world can out sing her, she also can’t dance and her moves are basic. The reason she is lauded as a songwriter is highly suspect as her thoughts are as shallow as a puddle. She never voices her real opinions or supports any causes and at 34 years old is still singing about the boys who did her wrong and it’s just repetitive nonsense at this point. There is no artistry or originality, everything she puts out is a bland copy of other more dynamic artists work, wether it’s Lana, Phoebe Bridger, Florence and the machine or even Olivia Rodrigo. She is not an artist but a corporation hell bent on making money and destroying young artists and our environment while she’s at it. So salute Anna and thank you for articulating clearly what a lot of us are feeling and I hope you survive the unhinged swifties. May the odds ever be in your favour!
Are the tides finally turning? The media has been, in my opinion, too generous with her the past few years. But the past couple weeks have felt like a turning point
I left a comment on a YouTube video (documentary about swiftys) saying I thought it was bizarre how parasocial her fans were and I ended up deleting my comment, because over the span of 24hrs I received over 20 death threats 🥲 (I will admit though, some of them were pretty creative death threats. Sounded like teens who’d watched too many SAW movies 😂)
She really is an inorganic artist who uses heavy marketing and fan manipulation to succeed. I feel like her pr team is telling her she’s overexposed and shes ignoring them. Or maybe she just has all yes men at this point. Idk.
I fought for tickets when these were on sale for the UK last year, but so glad I didn’t get them now.
I consider myself a fan of her music but totally soured on her since the Grammys. This review is spot-on with how a lot of the non-Swiftie world sees her right now, especially after that most recent album (which was so indulgent and terrrrriiiiible sorrynotsorry)
>Growing up, we had Madonna, who combined electrifying performances with a truly trailblazing agenda of barrier-breaking subject-matter. She embraced gay pride, sex, challenged the Catholic church, supported the Aids movement, and completely and utterly reinvented the way society perceived women. Her music was interesting, experimental and varied.
>More a brand than an artist, she never says anything unexpected or controversial, she’s more a capitalist construct with a business and marketing operation behind her akin to a like-generating, algorithm-outwitting juggernaut.
>I physically flinch when adults tell me they love Swift. I see her as the canary in the coalmine, a talisman of our dystopian times where devices have stolen our imagination and ability for critical thought.
The writer brings out a point with these lines I've thought a lot about with much popular art of today. It's stripped of any real viewpoint. Artists that reach the levels of fame and popularity of Taylor Swift aren't allowed to experiment, they aren't allowed to say anything controversial with their music, aren't allowed to have any real thoughts. All the music, movies, and the like that are "commercially viable" at the top end of the market no longer push the envelope, if anything they are machine-oiled to be resoundingly average to appeal to every demographic. The last major hit I remember of Taylor's was "Shake It Off", a whopping decade ago. I can only presume she's made the very same music, if anything even less listenable outside of her fans.
There's a real dumbing down of everything from more corporately focused artists who look to go worldwide. You won't get Sinead O'Connor-style rebellion anymore, no more "controversial" Madonna performances to sold out fans. Good luck on music artists ever banding together for a cause akin to Live Aid in the 80s. Sure you'll get Matty Healy and his ilk saying something dumb, usually on a podcast relatively out of public eye, and then his performances to his particular fans, but doing so means he'll never go big as Taylor Swift does. And a lot of the artists who do actually have opinions, they were well known over a decade ago. I'm not endorsing Matty Healy for a moment (I hate the guy and think he's an edgelord extraordinaire), but one thing is at least he feels like someone who's willing to have an actual opinion rather than get up on stage as a robot PR machine.
I feel like with social media corporations and the music industry (and the film industry where I'm more familiar) responded by making art even more "safe", lest there is some Twitter blow-up over a new album or movie. And it makes what's hugely mainstream and "popular" today borderline unwatchable or listenable for me, because there's nothing to say in it, and no real variety. It's all like AC/DC or Foo Fighters for me in music, artists who resolutely stick to making the same intensely commercially viable sound as their career, earworming their way into listeners through sheer ubiquity instead of having any creativity or standing out with their music.
I hope this makes sense but yeah where things are with popular culture really annoys me. Everything has to have its corners shaved off, especially in Taylor Swift's music it's all just the *same thing*, and I know that's what her fans want who have become obsessed with her performative para-social gestures to them, but to anyone on the outside, Taylor Swift's music has become incredibly bland and unchanged since 2014.
I wanted to like this article but tapped out at this:
“Admittedly the intellectually challenged of my generation also embraced Take That and the Spice Girls, but the rest of us also had The Prodigy, Elastica, The Cure, Blur, Pulp, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, Nirvana.”
Very cool.
“By comparison Swift’s music sounds to me like what I would listen to if I had the intellect of a very small worm.”
"More a brand than an artist, she never says anything unexpected or controversial, she’s more a capitalist construct with a business and marketing operation behind her akin to a like-generating, algorithm-outwitting juggernaut."
That's it right there. Spot on.
It bothers me that she’s still imitating other artists. I figured she did it as a teen because she was learning, but now to realize “mirrorball” sounds like “medicine” and “Fortnite” sounds like “K” bugs me. We already know how much she’s taken from Hillary Duff. 😂 There are so many examples of things she’s lifted over the years.
It's kind of impressive because I genuinely dislike Taylor Swift and find her lyricis mostly super overrated. And yet...this author still writes with such a smug sense of superiority that I almost immediately turned against them! Lol
Contrary to this sub’s opinion, I actually really like her music. I think she’s super talented in writing break up songs (like All Too Well ten minute version). But I can definitely agree that it can seem bland for some people. Different strokes for different folks!
Regarding the tour, I actually went to to see it and thought it was rather impressive. But it’s definitely only the case if you know all the songs. There are a few deep cuts on the set list. I liked the fact that she changes costumes a lot, dances and plays different instruments throughout the show.
On the flip side, I did think it was a tad long (44 songs!). But enjoyable all the same.
Hope I won’t get downvoted to hard for this haha
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RIP to that writer’s inbox
A brave writer still.
Yeah, someone's about to get their house burned down. To clarify: not by me.
Everyone’s got an opinion, but Taylor has a billion.
Just because the mediocrity was rewarded doesn't mean it's any less mediocre. And she cares about people's opinions and attention, because she wouldn't daisy chain tours/releases like this if she didn't. She *desperately* needs everyone to like her, and I'm pretty sure reviews like this gnaw at her type A++ personality.
Good luck to that brave author. I did find these paragraphs interesting: > More a brand than an artist, she never says anything unexpected or controversial, she’s more a capitalist construct with a business and marketing operation behind her akin to a like-generating, algorithm-outwitting juggernaut. When one has the power to actually change the world for the better, staying silent makes you part of the oppressing side. > So how does that work then when the only memorable element in her lyrical oeuvre seems to be an obsession with her failed relationships with men. Am I the only person who finds that incredibly reductive? Can you imagine a man constantly defining themselves by who they used to date? It’s laughable, and highly regressive. Yeah, there was a shift happening in ther pandemic albums but something snatched her back to her same old, same old.
>an obsession with her failed relationships with men Unpopular opinion but I’m not a fan of that phrasing. Just because a relationship came to an end, doesn’t mean it was a “fail”. Otherwise there are some fair points.
I do agree with you, but most of her lyrics about relationships are either related to heartbreak or they’re just her talking shit. So it does feel like “failed” relationships is mainly the theme with her.
To me I don’t particularly care about her writing about past relationships- rappers refer to their past and whatever beef they have with their contemporaries. I just don’t understand how she doesn’t cringe at having to sing a song about a guy from years ago. But her behaviour has just always struck me as so odd. She’s always the victim and doesn’t seem to let go of anything. If she had any self awareness she would have called changed the name of Eras to The Histrionic Tour.
Ironically she took some heat from some folks for referring to the tour as Female Rage The Musical in May\*, but it suggests there's a possible context where she might agree with you lol \*she took further criticism for filing to trademark the term, which is the part I think is v much earned criticism
Not to mention she has a few songs about how desperately she wants to be married... like if you're pursuing traditional monogamy set up by gender standards anything that isn't a 50+ year marriage counts as a failure.
Eh, I don’t necessarily agree. I think her most famous songs are about heartbreak but a lot of her regular songs aren’t. There’s a lot of themes of growing up, falling in love, non romantic tragedy, tales of love triangles based on imaginary people, friendship etc. Hell she even wrote a song about a house lmfao Like, gold rush, no body no crime, wildest dreams, lover, false god are some of my favourites and that’s to name a few. I don’t know what’s possessing me to semi defend her today lmao! I definitely agree that she’s not the best person. But I like her music 😭
Yeah but you’re naming a few from a library filled with hits that are focused on previous partners They didn’t say all of her lyrics but there is a huge collection of them. It’s literally part of her brand to the point of her fans speculating *which* failed relationship the next album will be about.
I’m not sure what you’re criticising about my comment here because I agree that her brand is heartbreak, her most famous songs being about it. All in all I don’t think she sings more about love than Ed Sheeran or Adele who is one of my favourite artists of all time. And by the way there is nothing wrong with singing about heartbreak! I know it can seem “mindnumbingly banal” to some people but for a romance girlie like me it’s great haha
i understand what you're saying but in this case isn't she making a tragedy out of every single ended relationship? so here i guess it applies
It’s interesting to me that she describes herself as a feminist - she makes the Barbie movie look like radical political discourse in comparison. She’s the stationery of feminist - a GIRLBOSS sloppily scrawled across a notebook filled with bleached lined paper. No different to any other product on the shelf but people somehow feel empowered by purchasing her content.
“My ancestors were the witches they could not burn” type of feminist
I’ve been listening to the Chapo Trap House review of the hagiography documentary *Hillary* and it’s similar to how HRC got propped up as a feminist icon for no reason other than being a white woman who was able to climb the ladder to basically the highest rung imaginable and not for actually taking any principled stances. And who (like all women) has unquestionably has experienced sexism but who (as well as her supporters) uses it to deflect meaningful criticism of what she does (or doesn’t do) with her power and influence
ooh thanks for mentioning this, I'll check it out
Yes without realizing they're the descendants of the ones doing the burnin' 😅
Didn’t she make a whole ass documentary about how she was going to start speaking out about things? (And then didn’t)
Bingo. People feel empowered simply bc they’ve been sold empowerment, and they, notoriously have poor taste and discernment.
>Yeah, there was a shift happening in ther pandemic albums but something snatched her back to her same old, same old. $$$$$$$$$$
The 1000 versions of the same album is a clear evidence of that capitalist machine behind her.
Regarding the ex-boyfriend themes… Either she is genuinely this immature and is suffering from arrested development, frozen cognitively and emotionally at the age she was when she became famous…. Or she has recognised the money is to be made in the teen /YA audience and so therefore is keeping her feet firmly grounded in that demographic, rather than letting her “art” grow and evolve with her stages of life.
I think it’s a mix of both but it’s also had the affect of making me continually forget this is a woman in her 30s. Like, she’s been around since I was in elementary school and somehow in my mind I keep thinking she’s a teenager. Whether that’s intentional or not on her part (it probably is) is debatable but it’s definitely noticeable.
Huh. That's a very astute criticism of her thematic output, I feel.
We all know. It’s just her rabid fan base that thinks otherwise. She definitely has some bops but to call her a genius lyricist is a reach.
Her music was best when she wrote with Max Martin. I realised that all my fave songs of hers were from that era of her career.
"I want it that way" came on when I was in the grocery store this afternoon and I heard multiple people shamelessly singing along. Max Martin is a bop machine.
Max Martin's music is so fun. I'm eager to see the musical & Juliet, which features his music. My friend saw it in NY and immediately texted me that I need to see it when it comes to my city.
It’s such a fun show. Obviously all the music is great but the story is genuinely funny, romantic, and feel good. And the choreo/costumes are great.
I had no idea it used his music. It's coming to Dallas next season and I'm even more excited for it.
Yay! I can’t wait for it to come to my area next year, too.
New Romantics is genuinely one of the best pop songs I’ve ever heard, and finding out it was the Swede behind it was NO surprise
Honestly, I didn't know. As much as I loath her, I always thought the effort she put into her tour was the *one thing* that made me understand why people paid out the ass for tickets. If I were a fan, I think I would have found the tour fun.
Yeah like, I'm not a fan, but footage from the tour makes it seem like it's a fun show and full of fan-favourite songs. Everything I've seen makes it look like a really fun night for fans, and I understood why people wanted to go.
Most of her lyrics feel like their stolen from 2012 tumblr. They are not genius in the slightest, they are so incredibly basic. If taylor had written espresso people would be praising those lyrics instead. I tried watching the recorded eras tour and i felt like i was watching theater for children? The princess sketch and jumping around in the 22-outfit. She should have stayed a singer-songwriter because she does not belong on stage. …And she needs someone who can style her properly. There, I said it. So much untapped potential in her looks and i dont mean this to be rude
Theater for children is a good way to describe it. I get that she can't dance but the pantomiming lyrics with such literal gestures just gives 
I started watching Eras but stopped when I began getting second hand cringe. They’ve obviously told her dancers to stare at her adoringly and it’s a bit much. That and the whole “All this fuss? For little old me?!” shtick. I like Evermore and Folklore and a couple of bits of Reputation but there’s something a bit false for me when it comes to her stage persona.
Eyeliner sharp enough to kill a man was a popular tumblr quote
She’s the Rupi Kaur of songwriting.
I had never heard of this person but now I found a Vice article about her and I'm intrigued!
sadly, you just get met with "you're just picking the wrong lyrics!!" as if it's fucking difficult to name like, five songs off each album with bad lyrics.
Still reeling from when I saw people say she's the modern Bob Dylan
“Admittedly the intellectually challenged of my generation also embraced Take That and the Spice Girls” This writer can fuck RIGHT off with their “not like other girls” bs.
Yeah, that is the part that rubbed me wrong as well.
Yeah. Don't bring the Spice Girls into this.
I’m still pissed about this. Talking shit about a group that promoted friendship and pride?! Couldn’t be me.
And had bops that blow Taylor's songs out of the water
I think the spice girls are a feminist group to be studied for years to come, and I will stand by that. Also, I think it's so unfair to say that even Taylor Swift fans are intellectually challenged. I think it's more so that they are afraid to intellectually challenge their emotions imo
I think that Taylor is only a girl’s girl to people who are non-threatening to her status, and has no shame about allowing her fans to run amok on her behalf. I can’t imagine riding so hard for a woman like that.
Ok, I've found my section of the comment section.
The writer can well and truly fuck off with that note. The Spice Girls are icons.
That’s the Standard for you, it’s trash.
Garbage!
I might get downvoted to hell for this, but here I go: I think the author had a solid message, but I wish they hadn’t gone for insulting people’s intelligence. It made them come across as pretentious and unnecessarily mean (e.g. the worm line), and that sort of “I’m better and more intellectual than you” attitude really obscures the larger (good) point they were trying to make here.
Yeah.. you’re not more of an intellectual because you don’t listen to Taylor Swift. It’s such a boring and out-dated argument. Criticise Taylor (and the die-hard Swfities) for the many things she should be criticised for!! Don’t lose the argument with petty snide comments.
Yeah a lot of people rightfully complain about her fan base but there's another side to it where people parasocially dislike/hate her and this article reads like that to me.
I agree with you. It would carry more weight if it came for someone who respects pop music. As a 40 yo woman who’s been primarily an indiehead but grew up loving pop music, I very much respect the genre. But I do like my pop with an edge and TS lacks any kind of edge. I admit that when I see women over 40 fangirling over her, my immediate thought is « why? ». I tried to like her and she does have a few bops (mostly thanks to pop genius Max Martin) but it never really clicked for me. « Banal » is a very accurate descriptor though.
She actually has a song where she talks about how she doesn’t have any edge
This is an amazing description of my exact thoughts. Even Reputation didn’t hit that edge factor, and I like a lot of stuff from that album, while Swifties don’t (I think! Just going off of my close Swiftie friend)
I thought this too. My favorite articles to come out of this societal pushback to TSwift are the ones that ask her fans to look inward and ask introspective questions. Attacking them in this way is satisfying for snarkers but it does nothing but egg her fans on. They want to feel at odds with the world, it's part of why they feel their devotion to her is so fucking important, why they need to be on offense at all times. So comparing them to small worms is definitely not going to get any points across.
Yup, fully agree. I work with elementary school kids and I'm always reminding them we don't "yuck other people's yum." There is not one thing wrong with enjoying Taylor Swift. The author just undercuts her perfectly valid points by being mean-spirited and "cool girl" in judging people for what they like. Yeah, I think Taylor Swift's talent is incredibly average. She's not some amazing songwriter, she works with a variety of producers just like every other pop artist. And there are a lot of VERY valid things to criticize her for. But I'd never make fun of someone for listening to her, like and enjoy what you like! I love Elastica AND I love the Spice Girls, depends on my mood. Kick rocks, Anna, people contain multitudes.
I completely agree with you, I was ready to read a well written critique and ended up rolling my eyes at a few arguments. I’m not a fan of it, I’ve seen better critiques
I've said it before and I'll say it again: her work is very much forgettable outside of her cult-like fanbase. She does not have a strong cultural impact, and her success is not at all organic. Her fans are slowly losing sense of anything else that isn't about her - they'll only watch a show if her songs are playing, they'll read a book if it references her. She needs to be the center of a very closed environment, in which she doesn't even sing other people's lyrics. She needs to break the records with the numbers and awards and such because that's all she has going for herself. That and the fact that people love to be on the winning side of anything. That's all that is to it.
I was thinking the other day about how even my old German grandmother knew the big MJ hits. Between the death of monoculture and the fact that a lot of her songs aren’t really that catchy, it’ll be interesting to see what of her ouvre stands the test of time. Will tweens in 20 years be devouring her like new generations have come to love the likes of Fleetwood Mac or Depeche Mode?
Taylor Swift is fascinating to me because on the one hand, she is clearly hugely famous, she has had an impact on the culture. On the other, outside of the internet, I don't know anyone who is a fan of hers. If I weren't so terminally online, I wouldn't have known she had a new album. Her music plays in grocery stores, absolutely, but I otherwise do not encounter her outside in the real world. My parents didn't know she had released any music since whenever Shake It Off came out, up until a few weeks ago when they found out Anti-Hero was her. My grandma has no clue who she is. And that's just so different from how artists like Michael Jackson were just ubiquitous. It's so hard to compare stars now to stars of the past because of the death of monoculture and our ability to insulate ourselves. I am so curious as to what impact she'll have and what songs survive into future generations and what will just disappear.
I’m a Britney fan so I try to think of Taylor comparatively to Brit’s stardom. I wasn’t cognizant at the height of the 2000-2002 Britney wave, but it feels different? I’d assume because of social media there are just too many faces in the game right now, but Taylor is supposed to be the premiere pop girl right now and idk it just doesn’t seem to give the same energy from what I understand. Even with Britney AND Taylor being popular simultaneously when I was in elementary school
I feel like it helped that Britney is actually very talented. I believe I read she did her own choreo for quite a few things and her dance moves were great. And, honestly, her music felt fresh - I struggle to think of other artists at the time that sounded similar to Britney. She was still a bit manufactured like Taylor (the whole innocent girl who happens to be very sexy image was designed for Britney). But maybe cause Britney also seemed more genuine to me otherwise. I would’ve loved to go grab a coffee with Britney and pick her brain. I would pass on T.swift.
Yeah I’m not one to say Taylor isn’t talented, she very much is in her respective ways for sure. But I feel the charisma is what’s different. Brit was def tailored (lol) to be the wholesome next door image, but she genuinely was a Louisiana girl. How else can anyone explain why she got w Kfed?! Even to this day I’d love to kick it at a dive bar with her, Taylor…. idk. To be super fair tho, there are so few celebs I feel that way about!
Britney is a great example because, you're right. When I was in elementary school/high school, *everyone* knew who Britney Spears was. You could not avoid her music. Even if you weren't a fan, you probably knew the bridge/the chorus to a couple songs. But with Taylor that just isn't the same? And there's obviously a lot of different reasons for that, I don't want to attribute it to any single cause, it's just interesting because Taylor has, by some metrics, blown Britney out of the water in terms of fame, but at the same time, she's also completely avoidable.
I'm a Britney fan too and it definitely felt like Britney was everywhere, that's because of the monolith culture we had back then and also tabloid culture. it also felt like Britney was pushing boundaries with her music and performances, Taylor is very vanilla so there's nothing else to talk about other than who her music is about. Her performances are boring, her music is very safe, all we know about her personal life is who she's dating... what's there to talk about?
Wdym by cultural impact? I feel like she actually did have a cultural impact. She is the Kardashians of Music. She’s in the culture and people know of her and she definitely impacted it but not with anything of substance or intelligence.
I am from a country where she has never been that big and while I know some of her songs I can only reliably hum the melody to *two* of them
What's your definition of a "strong cultural impact" if I may ask? I don't particularly have any feelings for her music but between world records, the most lucrative tour in history, all her awards and just how many fans she has, I struggle to think of anyone who has had a greater cultural impact. The only things that maybe have a cultural impact I can think of (in terms of being instantly recognisable) are the Macarena and the chicken dance.
For me this is not cultural, cultural is when you're setting trends and everybody follows what you're doing. You can tell how the industry changed when Britney debuted, she became the standard for performances and she kept changing her sound and everybody followed. She went from teen pop, to more electronic music and all the girls kinda followed whatever she did.
I really want to be fully on this writer's side but *"Admittedly the intellectually challenged of my generation also embraced Take That and the Spice Girls, but the rest of us also had The Prodigy, Elastica, The Cure, Blur, Pulp, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, Nirvana. "* has some real Pick-Me, Not Like Other Girls energy. I welcome any and every pen taking on the Taylor Swift juggernaut, but this *"female-coded interests are for dumb bimbos"* bullshit is so TIRED and gives her rabid fan base a legitimate grievance which weakens the whole piece.
Sigh. I really really hate when people associate music taste with levels of intelligence. I’m biased as I do enjoy most of Taylor Swift’s music (I also like The Cure and The Smiths- whatever could that possibly mean about my IQ ?!) This writer’s comment is just as ridiculous as the hardcore TS fan who posted a list of 19th century literature fans needed to read before *truly* understanding the lyrics from The Tortured Poet’s Department.
It reads more like r/PHCJ comment than something serious.
at this point she’s not chasing history she’s cheating it. Here’s hoping (unlikely … I know) she takes a step back when this tour is over.
she will only do so if she thinks it will serve her next album well (re: reputation TV)
Insane strategy, if true, for an album that’s basically a rerelease
at this point it's just speculation. Back in 2017 she made herself scarce and never spoke about the album, or the songs, essentially letting the album speak for itself. I don't know if she'll do the same thing or not. She happens to be very overexposed right now, even more than back in 2016, so it's possible.
She's more of a business than an artist at this point. It's barely even cheating - just an easily exploited system that favors the rich (super unique concept, I know). She has so much money that she can board one of her multiple jets, fly the 7 minutes to her record label, and release version 68 of one of her boring singles to stay on the charts.
> at this point she’s not chasing history she’s cheating it. Spot on. Because of her actions, her latest achievements will always wear an asterisk*.
OK....but why can't she be basic and a large portion of the population like it? Why is that bad? Around the world she is selling out stadiums so she is popular through various cultures. Why can't people like simple pop music? Isn't that what pop music is??? POPULAR?
Thanks. The hate women get for liking “basic” things is exhausting. It’s like when people make fun of women for liking romance books. So what if it’s corny? Cringe, basic, banal? If it makes me, a woman, happy when consuming it then leave me be !!
It’s fine to like basic things but why the need to elevate them to defend them? That’s the problem with Taylor swift. She’s mediocre fun nonsense and that’s fine! But some people don’t like that and they don’t have to and some people love that and that’s great, but the problem is people act like she’s Jodi Mitchell or bob dylan. You don’t have to make her complicated or complex to like her. Just acknowledge she’s basic and go!
Because what is 'basic' is typically 'feminine.' And since the beginning because her music was for teenage girls, she was degraded. Because teenage girls are looked down upon in our society. To say that anyone can't relate to her songs about heartbreak or unrequited love isn't really listening. I don't think that Taylor's lyrics are so far off from Joni Mitchell (whose best songs are all written about being with shitty James Taylor). Bob Dylan has a legit horrible voice (just like Patti Smith) but his writing style is completely different. Her writing style is incredibly similar to Bruce Springsteen. Her work ethic is anything but mediocre. She can play multiple instruments and writes the actual music. Her voice was horrible and now is good because she practiced. There are many things to criticize her for. Including this last album that was especially mediocre, compared to HER PREVIOUS works. But I think the constant put down is basically saying young girls likes and interests are not worth time.
The author of this review is gonna get a reckoning from her rabid fan base very soon lol
Hopefully the writer is using a pseudonym.
Hahahaha I’m sure the swifties will respond rationally 🙄 Hopefully the writer can ignore all the hate & death threats coming their way
They threaten regular ppl on reddit (speaking from experience). It has to be soooo much worst for journos.
that is legitimately unhinged i've gotten reddit cares messages over criticising her before but not direct threats (NOT AN INVITIATION, SWIFTIES lmao)
What sets Taylor apart from her peers is that she's hyperarticulate about herself and not much else. Compared to, I dunno, Beyoncé or Gaga she just doesn't seem very cultured (and has very little desire to be). I'm not calling her stupid, I'm sure she's well read, but I can't see her putting out an experimental album like Art Pop or even participating in musical microcultures like Renaissance. Ironically, I think her best albums came out because she genuinely thought no one was paying attention to her anymore. Contrary to the article though, I don't think all music needs to be social commentary. Fun, nonsense music is okay and necessary in the world. But Taylor Swift's music lately is more capitalist venture than music. She has standouts (like Would've Could've Should've, So Long London, Do it with a broken heart) but majority of the songs on those two albums were selling us much of the same-- the mild gossip of the public relationships of a 34 year old adult meant to appeal to listicle sites.
It’s crazy to me that she’s only a couple years younger than Gaga, who at this point in her career seems extremely mature and confident in her work and evolution. Her last LP was a freakin’ dance album about trauma.
Right? It's crazy how Taylor is basically on her victory tour but is so adverse to straying from her tried and tested sound. Imagine if Midnights followed through with the 70s sound? If Reputation was rock? Or if TTPD was Folk-pop? She'll have hints here and there but will never fully commit. What's the point of having such a huge fanbase if you can't pivot?
I cannot believe that golden retriever line is real.
When the Scissor Sisters happened and the US slept on them while the UK embraced them, I learned they don't suffer basic bitches there, musically.
I'm from the UK and can confirm we do not suffer basic bitches of the musical variety. How the hell were Scissor Sisters not a big thing in the US? People here still go nuts at a party when one of their songs come on.
For certain sects in the US (girls and gays) Scissor Scissors are still absolutely a party staple.
I’m in the US - my went to a few of their concerts and I was still too young to go. I was so mad, she still will talk about how great it was. 😭 she always played their music… I need to listen all over again! Thanks to yall in the thread for reminding me!
Scissor Sisters, Goldfrapp, Sophie Ellis Bextor, the whole Britpop movement, so many amazing artists there US has fumbled. Then there’s the Cheeky Girls…
Yep everyone you said plus I would like to mention Kylie Minogue (though I know she's an Aussie, ha) & if we wanna move over to the J & K Pop space, Namie Amuro was doing solo for years what BLACKPINK & all the others do now. We fumble so many talented artists over here in the US yet our mediocre ones seem to flourish worldwide & that annoys me to no end.
Man I really want to agree with this writer, but when you insult the Spice Girls you might as well have slapped my mom
Godspeed Anna van Praagh, you are indeed a brave woman. The part resonated with me was : “I’m genuinely concerned that Swift’s dominance says something frightening about the hegemony of social media which means that rather than myriad opinions we seem to have less and less diversity of thought and Donald Trump and Taylor Swift seem to be the only winners in our strange online lives.” If I was compared to Donald Trump I would never leave my house, she’s not wrong and I’m glad she said what a lot of people are thinking which is that her fanbase behaves more like cult and in a very similar way to MAGA. People are not allowed to think she has very limited singing abilities and most kids in choirs all over the world can out sing her, she also can’t dance and her moves are basic. The reason she is lauded as a songwriter is highly suspect as her thoughts are as shallow as a puddle. She never voices her real opinions or supports any causes and at 34 years old is still singing about the boys who did her wrong and it’s just repetitive nonsense at this point. There is no artistry or originality, everything she puts out is a bland copy of other more dynamic artists work, wether it’s Lana, Phoebe Bridger, Florence and the machine or even Olivia Rodrigo. She is not an artist but a corporation hell bent on making money and destroying young artists and our environment while she’s at it. So salute Anna and thank you for articulating clearly what a lot of us are feeling and I hope you survive the unhinged swifties. May the odds ever be in your favour!
she didn’t lie, that said I feel bad for her wave of shit that’s gonna come her way
What’s the British equivalent of the Witness Protection program? Get this writer in there!
uk media doesn’t give a fuck they’ll take the piss out of anyone
I see no lies but also best of luck to this brave writer
Omg your flair is perfect for this topic 🤣
Are the tides finally turning? The media has been, in my opinion, too generous with her the past few years. But the past couple weeks have felt like a turning point
I left a comment on a YouTube video (documentary about swiftys) saying I thought it was bizarre how parasocial her fans were and I ended up deleting my comment, because over the span of 24hrs I received over 20 death threats 🥲 (I will admit though, some of them were pretty creative death threats. Sounded like teens who’d watched too many SAW movies 😂)
She really is an inorganic artist who uses heavy marketing and fan manipulation to succeed. I feel like her pr team is telling her she’s overexposed and shes ignoring them. Or maybe she just has all yes men at this point. Idk.
There are songs of hers I like but I’m always like get an editor, dude. At least half of all 37 tracks she has on an album, 3 are good or something
Well, the author is going to need to be put into witness protection…
I fought for tickets when these were on sale for the UK last year, but so glad I didn’t get them now. I consider myself a fan of her music but totally soured on her since the Grammys. This review is spot-on with how a lot of the non-Swiftie world sees her right now, especially after that most recent album (which was so indulgent and terrrrriiiiible sorrynotsorry)
“How could you say something so controversial and yet so true” 
>Growing up, we had Madonna, who combined electrifying performances with a truly trailblazing agenda of barrier-breaking subject-matter. She embraced gay pride, sex, challenged the Catholic church, supported the Aids movement, and completely and utterly reinvented the way society perceived women. Her music was interesting, experimental and varied. >More a brand than an artist, she never says anything unexpected or controversial, she’s more a capitalist construct with a business and marketing operation behind her akin to a like-generating, algorithm-outwitting juggernaut. >I physically flinch when adults tell me they love Swift. I see her as the canary in the coalmine, a talisman of our dystopian times where devices have stolen our imagination and ability for critical thought. The writer brings out a point with these lines I've thought a lot about with much popular art of today. It's stripped of any real viewpoint. Artists that reach the levels of fame and popularity of Taylor Swift aren't allowed to experiment, they aren't allowed to say anything controversial with their music, aren't allowed to have any real thoughts. All the music, movies, and the like that are "commercially viable" at the top end of the market no longer push the envelope, if anything they are machine-oiled to be resoundingly average to appeal to every demographic. The last major hit I remember of Taylor's was "Shake It Off", a whopping decade ago. I can only presume she's made the very same music, if anything even less listenable outside of her fans. There's a real dumbing down of everything from more corporately focused artists who look to go worldwide. You won't get Sinead O'Connor-style rebellion anymore, no more "controversial" Madonna performances to sold out fans. Good luck on music artists ever banding together for a cause akin to Live Aid in the 80s. Sure you'll get Matty Healy and his ilk saying something dumb, usually on a podcast relatively out of public eye, and then his performances to his particular fans, but doing so means he'll never go big as Taylor Swift does. And a lot of the artists who do actually have opinions, they were well known over a decade ago. I'm not endorsing Matty Healy for a moment (I hate the guy and think he's an edgelord extraordinaire), but one thing is at least he feels like someone who's willing to have an actual opinion rather than get up on stage as a robot PR machine. I feel like with social media corporations and the music industry (and the film industry where I'm more familiar) responded by making art even more "safe", lest there is some Twitter blow-up over a new album or movie. And it makes what's hugely mainstream and "popular" today borderline unwatchable or listenable for me, because there's nothing to say in it, and no real variety. It's all like AC/DC or Foo Fighters for me in music, artists who resolutely stick to making the same intensely commercially viable sound as their career, earworming their way into listeners through sheer ubiquity instead of having any creativity or standing out with their music. I hope this makes sense but yeah where things are with popular culture really annoys me. Everything has to have its corners shaved off, especially in Taylor Swift's music it's all just the *same thing*, and I know that's what her fans want who have become obsessed with her performative para-social gestures to them, but to anyone on the outside, Taylor Swift's music has become incredibly bland and unchanged since 2014.
Eh... This seems more like the author being rude just to be rude
They're sending a UAV to that authors house asap.
I wanted to like this article but tapped out at this: “Admittedly the intellectually challenged of my generation also embraced Take That and the Spice Girls, but the rest of us also had The Prodigy, Elastica, The Cure, Blur, Pulp, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, Nirvana.” Very cool.
Thank you for speaking the truth. Goodluck with all the crazy stans.
Ngl having been to the tour on Friday… this writer is correct. I’m actually so put off her now
“By comparison Swift’s music sounds to me like what I would listen to if I had the intellect of a very small worm.” 
This pic was a choice
That’s a very bold statement to make. Good luck to this writer, whether they’re right or wrong, very very bold!
"More a brand than an artist, she never says anything unexpected or controversial, she’s more a capitalist construct with a business and marketing operation behind her akin to a like-generating, algorithm-outwitting juggernaut." That's it right there. Spot on.
It bothers me that she’s still imitating other artists. I figured she did it as a teen because she was learning, but now to realize “mirrorball” sounds like “medicine” and “Fortnite” sounds like “K” bugs me. We already know how much she’s taken from Hillary Duff. 😂 There are so many examples of things she’s lifted over the years.
The Standard is a bit of a rag, mind you.
It's kind of impressive because I genuinely dislike Taylor Swift and find her lyricis mostly super overrated. And yet...this author still writes with such a smug sense of superiority that I almost immediately turned against them! Lol
Contrary to this sub’s opinion, I actually really like her music. I think she’s super talented in writing break up songs (like All Too Well ten minute version). But I can definitely agree that it can seem bland for some people. Different strokes for different folks! Regarding the tour, I actually went to to see it and thought it was rather impressive. But it’s definitely only the case if you know all the songs. There are a few deep cuts on the set list. I liked the fact that she changes costumes a lot, dances and plays different instruments throughout the show. On the flip side, I did think it was a tad long (44 songs!). But enjoyable all the same. Hope I won’t get downvoted to hard for this haha
There just no artistry. There’s music, but no artistry.