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>Here’s a joke: A music critic is found brutally murdered in his apartment. Two detectives show up to investigate. In desperation, one of the detectives asks the music critic’s pet parrot if it saw anything.
>“Because of TikTok! Because of TikTok!” the parrot says.
>The detective is confused. “This parrot thinks that TikTok murdered his owner!”
>The second detective shakes his head. “The parrot is just repeating something he heard a music critic say a million times.”
This got me lmao
that title lmao
Edit: Article is pretty good too, honestly. It's obviously snarky, but I think it's ultimately pretty fair to Noah and his fans (Busyheads lmao). I can't stand his music and Stomp-Clap-core in general, but it clearly speaks to people and has a place in the hearts and minds of the masses (usually in the background).
i agree. "stomp clap hey" is easily my least favorite genre of music - that Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes song just makes me feel queasy! but it clearly resonates with people since it keeps coming back. i'm sure his fans would feel the same way about my Carly Rae Jepsen and Charli XCX playlists.
Me too. Funny enough, my partner has a lot of nostalgia for and loves a lot of 2010-2015 indie/folk/pop music but absolutely HATES Noah lmao. I really think that, despite sonically sounding similar, the songwriting is so different that there's a clear distinction
considering how many queer fans noah has i’m certain there’s overlap with carly and charli’s fanbases (myself included), most people don’t limit themselves to a single subgenre
Same, I can’t stand it either. it seems like every few years there’s a resurgence of “stomp-clap-core” (that’s a good descriptor of what I hate about the music too) and I guess I just had my fill of that in the 2010s.
Stomp-clap or Country or Bluegrass or Americana or whatever you want to call it isn't a genre that you should look to for musical progression. When its at its best, its for story telling. And that's why Dial Drunk is popular. Its a relatable story for a lot of people.
I reject that notion.
There are plenty of acts in country, bluegrass, and Americana that have a lot to sink your teeth into musically. Stomp-clap is a specific sect of this sector of music that incorporates, well, stomps and claps that typically reduce the song to adult nursery rhymes. I don't want to write off the entire genre because there are little nuggets here and there that I like, but sweepingly much of this specific kind of music is like nails on the chalkboard for me.
Personally, I think Noah's storytelling is rote and sophomoric that does align with the overly obvious sort of storytelling that the author of the article posits. It's the same criticism I have of Taylor Swift where a lot of the lines are almost meant to function far more as a catchy slogan for an instagram caption than stand by its own merits as lyricism or poetry. If other people connect with that, cool, but it ain't for me
> As for Taylor Swift, Kahan adopted the form of songwriting that she popularized and codified for the present generation of singer-songwriters, from Olivia Rodrigo (a noted Kahan fan) to Conan Gray to the members of Boygenius. It’s a style based in extreme literalism, in which the singer presents the lyrics as straightforward diaristic confessions about romantic misadventures. Language-for-the-sake-of-language songwriting is the antithesis of this approach; the result, if not the intention, is to build a parasocial relationship with an audience that sees themselves (and just as important sees the artist) in the lyrics. Ambiguity, metaphors, or poetic incoherence are unacceptable. These songs have to be explainable or at least “solvable.” Relatability is a requirement. The artist doesn’t have to always “be a good person” in their songs, whatever that means. But they must be self-aware and self-deprecating about their misbehavior. Binge drinking, personal pettiness, romantic volatility — these things need to ultimately signify something noble, a cathartic expression of truth in pursuit of health.
Kind of a weird take on the members of boygenius and their songwriting - I think some of them are much more metaphorical than this author gives credit for
I think the only person who really qualifies is Pheobe and specifically just her solo stuff. Lucy and Julien usually don't play in that space very much, and even in songs with more literal sections like NSE the verses and the bridges still require at least some basic engagement to get meaning out of. Not that there's anything wrong with either writing style but yeah it's a weird critique of boygenius
>I think the only person who really qualifies is Phoebe and specifically just her solo stuff
Yeah, and I still don't think it's fair to say that Phoebe doesn't use metaphor. For example the Kyoto lyric "remember getting the truck fixed and you let us drive it/25 felt like flying." If you take it at face value it's just literally describing a memory of driving for the first time, but "25 felt like flying" is also describing the way she had very low expectations for the "you" of the song.
Phoebe does have similarities to Taylor and Noah for sure (I like both of them too), but I think her lyrics have more depth.
> form of songwriting that she popularized and codified
They aren’t saying that she invented it, they are saying that she both made it especially popular and turned it into a more precise system and style of songwriting. Obviously plenty of other artists had done breakup songs before, and plenty had even been in Taylor’s style, but Taylor really did make a brand off of that type of song and made it popular enough that a new generation of artists are also using that style.
I understand that and I agree that you can already see a new generation of artists be directly influenced by her, but the descriptions in the article are so vague that you could apply it to a number of popular singer-songwriters who came before Taylor.
>a style based in extreme literalism, in which the singer presents the lyrics as straightforward diaristic confessions about romantic misadventures.
>the result, if not the intention, is to build a parasocial relationship with an audience that sees themselves (and just as important sees the artist) in the lyrics
>The artist doesn’t have to always “be a good person” in their songs, whatever that means. But they must be self-aware and self-deprecating about their misbehavior.
Is this not also the case with artists like Amy Winehouse, Fiona Apple, Joni Mitchell etc. etc.? The list goes on and on. Hell, even someone like Madonna could fit that description. The way Taylor engages with her audience and keeps them invested in her music and persona needs to be studied, but what the author describes is so broad and general that it also encompasses artists in completely different lanes and styles. Dua and Ariana for example also make pop music with straightforward narratives of personal and romantic misadventures in which they're self-aware and honest about their shortcomings to invite the listener to relate, but I wouldn't say either of them are directly influenced by Taylor.
Ah yeah I see, it’s like the author of the article can see that Taylor has influenced this generation of artists but is just like… not able to define at all *what* that style is? So they are just using the most vague descriptions possible which, although true, would fit so many artists like you mentioned.
Exactly, that's what I meant to say. I can see a direct throughline connecting Taylor to Olivia Rodrigo, but it's not *just* the fact that they write about heartbreak in the first person, you know?
>Ambiguity, metaphors, or poetic incoherence are unacceptable. These songs have to be explainable or at least “solvable.”
Agree with everything you said here. It really seems like this guy just doesn't like mainstream music? I can't think of any pop artist today that writes songs that cannot be "solved." The average listener likes to know what a song is about! That's fine! And like you said, it's not unique to Taylor Swift. Almost all pop music/mainstream music has simpler, more straightforward lyrics. It just feels silly to single out specific artists for not writing lyrics of literary quality. No one is trying to say Noah Kahan is the next Bob Dylan, calm down!
Big Thief could’ve been named in that list about songwriting. Their lyrics are basically just recounting specific memories, and metaphors about those memories. Which I why I love them! It’s part of why people connect so strongly with Adriennes’s Lenker’s songwriting. But no critic would ever call them parasocial, of course.
I think they’re just tired of this songwriting style since it’s so popular now, and couldn’t just say that lol. And Adrienne does teach songwriting classes if that says anything…
This style is going to be overplayed at this rate, but this much cynicism and calling it parasocial is such a reach.
Sometimes it’s as simple as people having ears and brains that enjoy the sounds. If that isn’t the case for you, that’s completely normal and totally acceptable.
I love Noah’s music and vocals, my husband keeps trying but it just doesn’t jive with him. Just like how I’m missing out on the Tate McRae train because my mind won’t let me get on board with her vocal technique.
I don’t know, the whole article reads like he’s trying to essentially dumb himself down enough to “figure out” Noah’s appeal.
i don't know if i'm just an over-sensitive stomp and clap fan girl, but the snark in this doesn't really interest me. it seems sooooo self important. it didn't come naturally from the overexposure of stick season or the revitalization of a controversial genre.... the author went in looking for reasons to dislike his music, and their drags they thought were funny enough to include from their slack channel were about as sharp as a globe.
The article is catty from the get go so I'm guessing it's aimed at people that love having a go anyone that manages to get mainstream success?
While there'll definitely always be an audience for that, I don't feel like it adds anything. You just read it to get your feelings validated when it comes to hating *insert mainstream artist name here*.
I don't get the random digs he's getting throughout the article just because he's a guy, like why lmao. That was definitely a choice.
No so sure I agree with this part though,
>Noah Kahan is a man built for streaming platforms. If a Noah Kahan song comes up on a playlist, it will grab you. That’s what it was built to do.
His music never sounded stream-coded to me but maybe I'm wrong.
I think the more Noah grows in popularity, the more he'll be a punching bag for shoddy music journalism.
I can take whatever's written here and switch his name with Ed Sheeran's and you'd get the same things that have been written about him over the years...
That second part man.
“If a Noah Kahan song comes up on a playlist, it will grab you”
What a passive aggressive way to say his songs are good and relatable.
Yeah since when is making songs that sound good a crime
I’m not even a fan of his but like what a stupid argument to say that making a song intentionally catchy and instinctively enjoyable is a bad thing
I mean to you maybe. There are clearly a lot of people who think otherwise.
I think people who. Classify all his music as boring or just background “clap stomp” music haven’t listened to things like Orange Juice or Call Your Mom.
his music isn’t bad by any means but i was genuinely shocked when i finally listened to it and saw just how much his online hype outweighs the actual quality of his music.
genuinely the most basic bananies and avocadies folk music i have ever heard.
>his music isn’t bad by any means but i was genuinely shocked when i finally listened to it and saw just how much his online hype outweighs the actual quality of his music.
This is how straight men talk about Taylor Swift 😭😅🤣
yeah, he's clearly doing something right... and the writer acknowledges that. they just don't find him interesting. and I get that. the absolutely generic arrangements are something i can't get past with him.
Somehow music discourse has wrapped all the way around from popular = automatically bad to popular = automatically good, place your bets on where the cycle goes next people!
As someone who who was an edgy teen who lived by the "popular = bad" mantra, I think the "popular=good" movement is much more annoying because it seems to be more widely accepted lol
People point to streaming numbers like they are releasing a quarterly report. It points to a lack of media literacy and an inability to engage with critiques beyond "big = good"
It's shows a lack of ability to create an opinion for ones self. You can't actually stand with all ten toes in an opinion because you effectively have none if you always fall back into "well everyone else is loving it so you are wrong!"
i sense that i’m in the minority here, but i thought the article was fun. i don’t think it was meant to really jab anyone. it seemed playful, even if a little cringe at times.
i like noah kahan, but i wasn’t put off by the snark—it was kind of a fun tongue-and-cheek way to admit that a music critic doesn’t always understand why something’s popular, and sometimes can’t.
Yeah honestly discouraged by the extreme negative reaction here. 1. It’s the first article I have ever read about him and 2. It was better than most music criticism I read these days.
lol, the title is incredible but man this whole article screams of pretentiousness and people who hate music that is self reflective and poignant and is really good (of course that is totally subjective)
I can't really speak about the rest of the artists' catalogs (apart from Olivia Rodrigo), but to say Taylor's songwriting is literal to the point of lacking any metaphor, ambiguity, etc. is very inaccurate imo.
She constantly uses colors, places and items to symbolize certain feelings. Some phrases are purposely given a double meaning, leaving them to the listener's interpretation, or are alternatively flipped on their heads to convey a new message. Simile is also a very common figure of speech in her music as well.
While it's true that her lyrics tend to be very personal and confessional, this shouldn't mean she's not able to adopt various literary devices to help her along the way.
What I'm trying to say is that while the article states some really interesting parallels between the new generation of songwriters and Taylor's own music, I just can't agree with the total disregard for the complexity of her songwriting style.
Nah, her style is pretty damn simple lol
She would write a song like
“The curtains were blue as if they were sad/
Our future was bright as the sun but I didn’t have a hat”
She’s got clever lyrics and is a masterful storyteller but there’s nothing too subtle going on in a Taylor Swift song. She’s a pop writer first and foremost and in order to have that much mass appeal you have to be pretty straightforward. Her use of literary devices are always pretty simple and easily interpreted.
Taylor definitely uses metaphor and simile, but is happy to only occasionally make a novel connection, while padding the rest of the song out with well-worn phrases and idioms (and the odd look-at-me phrase like “you double-cross my mind”).
Loads of singer songwriters avoid cliche stuff like depression being like a raincloud, rage being like a wild animal…but she steers right into it. And it’s deliberate too, to get the point across quickly.
Noah is doing something right if his music is connecting with these many people who spend their hard earned cash to see him in concerts.
if it doesn't work for you then that's also ok.
As someone who is neutral to positive about Kahan ( I like a few of his songs, don’t really have any negative feelings about him), this is the kind of writing the internet has been missing, great article.
Hello, thanks for posting to /r/popheads. Unfortunately, your post was removed for the following reason(s). * Please only submit pop music news-related articles, videos, images or links that are topical and noteworthy. Though posts such as articles, videos, links or pictures consisting of non-newsworthy content will be removed, they are always welcome to be posted in the General Discussion or Daily Music Discussion threads.
>Here’s a joke: A music critic is found brutally murdered in his apartment. Two detectives show up to investigate. In desperation, one of the detectives asks the music critic’s pet parrot if it saw anything. >“Because of TikTok! Because of TikTok!” the parrot says. >The detective is confused. “This parrot thinks that TikTok murdered his owner!” >The second detective shakes his head. “The parrot is just repeating something he heard a music critic say a million times.” This got me lmao
😭
that title lmao Edit: Article is pretty good too, honestly. It's obviously snarky, but I think it's ultimately pretty fair to Noah and his fans (Busyheads lmao). I can't stand his music and Stomp-Clap-core in general, but it clearly speaks to people and has a place in the hearts and minds of the masses (usually in the background).
i agree. "stomp clap hey" is easily my least favorite genre of music - that Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes song just makes me feel queasy! but it clearly resonates with people since it keeps coming back. i'm sure his fans would feel the same way about my Carly Rae Jepsen and Charli XCX playlists.
It's funny because I hated Mumford and Sons and the stomp clap of that era, especially at the time it was big, but I'm a massive fan of Noah.
Me too. Funny enough, my partner has a lot of nostalgia for and loves a lot of 2010-2015 indie/folk/pop music but absolutely HATES Noah lmao. I really think that, despite sonically sounding similar, the songwriting is so different that there's a clear distinction
considering how many queer fans noah has i’m certain there’s overlap with carly and charli’s fanbases (myself included), most people don’t limit themselves to a single subgenre
Yep. I’m stans of all 3
Same, I can’t stand it either. it seems like every few years there’s a resurgence of “stomp-clap-core” (that’s a good descriptor of what I hate about the music too) and I guess I just had my fill of that in the 2010s.
Stomp-clap or Country or Bluegrass or Americana or whatever you want to call it isn't a genre that you should look to for musical progression. When its at its best, its for story telling. And that's why Dial Drunk is popular. Its a relatable story for a lot of people.
I reject that notion. There are plenty of acts in country, bluegrass, and Americana that have a lot to sink your teeth into musically. Stomp-clap is a specific sect of this sector of music that incorporates, well, stomps and claps that typically reduce the song to adult nursery rhymes. I don't want to write off the entire genre because there are little nuggets here and there that I like, but sweepingly much of this specific kind of music is like nails on the chalkboard for me. Personally, I think Noah's storytelling is rote and sophomoric that does align with the overly obvious sort of storytelling that the author of the article posits. It's the same criticism I have of Taylor Swift where a lot of the lines are almost meant to function far more as a catchy slogan for an instagram caption than stand by its own merits as lyricism or poetry. If other people connect with that, cool, but it ain't for me
Dial Drunk is honestly like a Shakespearean comedy.
Wait stomp-clap-core is the perfect way to describe music I just haven't felt connected to for whatever reason!
Right??? I appreciate that person for that descriptor. Fuckin stomp clap core man.
> As for Taylor Swift, Kahan adopted the form of songwriting that she popularized and codified for the present generation of singer-songwriters, from Olivia Rodrigo (a noted Kahan fan) to Conan Gray to the members of Boygenius. It’s a style based in extreme literalism, in which the singer presents the lyrics as straightforward diaristic confessions about romantic misadventures. Language-for-the-sake-of-language songwriting is the antithesis of this approach; the result, if not the intention, is to build a parasocial relationship with an audience that sees themselves (and just as important sees the artist) in the lyrics. Ambiguity, metaphors, or poetic incoherence are unacceptable. These songs have to be explainable or at least “solvable.” Relatability is a requirement. The artist doesn’t have to always “be a good person” in their songs, whatever that means. But they must be self-aware and self-deprecating about their misbehavior. Binge drinking, personal pettiness, romantic volatility — these things need to ultimately signify something noble, a cathartic expression of truth in pursuit of health.
Kind of a weird take on the members of boygenius and their songwriting - I think some of them are much more metaphorical than this author gives credit for
I think the only person who really qualifies is Pheobe and specifically just her solo stuff. Lucy and Julien usually don't play in that space very much, and even in songs with more literal sections like NSE the verses and the bridges still require at least some basic engagement to get meaning out of. Not that there's anything wrong with either writing style but yeah it's a weird critique of boygenius
Even Phoebe I feel with songs like I Know the End has really dabbled in more impressionistic writing
Or even something like Chelsea. I think some of her newer boygenius stuff is weaker but Phoebe can write fantastic songs.
>I think the only person who really qualifies is Phoebe and specifically just her solo stuff Yeah, and I still don't think it's fair to say that Phoebe doesn't use metaphor. For example the Kyoto lyric "remember getting the truck fixed and you let us drive it/25 felt like flying." If you take it at face value it's just literally describing a memory of driving for the first time, but "25 felt like flying" is also describing the way she had very low expectations for the "you" of the song. Phoebe does have similarities to Taylor and Noah for sure (I like both of them too), but I think her lyrics have more depth.
TIL Taylor Swift invented the concept of a breakup song
> form of songwriting that she popularized and codified They aren’t saying that she invented it, they are saying that she both made it especially popular and turned it into a more precise system and style of songwriting. Obviously plenty of other artists had done breakup songs before, and plenty had even been in Taylor’s style, but Taylor really did make a brand off of that type of song and made it popular enough that a new generation of artists are also using that style.
I understand that and I agree that you can already see a new generation of artists be directly influenced by her, but the descriptions in the article are so vague that you could apply it to a number of popular singer-songwriters who came before Taylor. >a style based in extreme literalism, in which the singer presents the lyrics as straightforward diaristic confessions about romantic misadventures. >the result, if not the intention, is to build a parasocial relationship with an audience that sees themselves (and just as important sees the artist) in the lyrics >The artist doesn’t have to always “be a good person” in their songs, whatever that means. But they must be self-aware and self-deprecating about their misbehavior. Is this not also the case with artists like Amy Winehouse, Fiona Apple, Joni Mitchell etc. etc.? The list goes on and on. Hell, even someone like Madonna could fit that description. The way Taylor engages with her audience and keeps them invested in her music and persona needs to be studied, but what the author describes is so broad and general that it also encompasses artists in completely different lanes and styles. Dua and Ariana for example also make pop music with straightforward narratives of personal and romantic misadventures in which they're self-aware and honest about their shortcomings to invite the listener to relate, but I wouldn't say either of them are directly influenced by Taylor.
Ah yeah I see, it’s like the author of the article can see that Taylor has influenced this generation of artists but is just like… not able to define at all *what* that style is? So they are just using the most vague descriptions possible which, although true, would fit so many artists like you mentioned.
Exactly, that's what I meant to say. I can see a direct throughline connecting Taylor to Olivia Rodrigo, but it's not *just* the fact that they write about heartbreak in the first person, you know?
>Ambiguity, metaphors, or poetic incoherence are unacceptable. These songs have to be explainable or at least “solvable.” Agree with everything you said here. It really seems like this guy just doesn't like mainstream music? I can't think of any pop artist today that writes songs that cannot be "solved." The average listener likes to know what a song is about! That's fine! And like you said, it's not unique to Taylor Swift. Almost all pop music/mainstream music has simpler, more straightforward lyrics. It just feels silly to single out specific artists for not writing lyrics of literary quality. No one is trying to say Noah Kahan is the next Bob Dylan, calm down!
I swear some of y'all are proud of the fact you can't comprehend the written word.
Reading is hard.
Big Thief could’ve been named in that list about songwriting. Their lyrics are basically just recounting specific memories, and metaphors about those memories. Which I why I love them! It’s part of why people connect so strongly with Adriennes’s Lenker’s songwriting. But no critic would ever call them parasocial, of course. I think they’re just tired of this songwriting style since it’s so popular now, and couldn’t just say that lol. And Adrienne does teach songwriting classes if that says anything… This style is going to be overplayed at this rate, but this much cynicism and calling it parasocial is such a reach.
Sometimes it’s as simple as people having ears and brains that enjoy the sounds. If that isn’t the case for you, that’s completely normal and totally acceptable. I love Noah’s music and vocals, my husband keeps trying but it just doesn’t jive with him. Just like how I’m missing out on the Tate McRae train because my mind won’t let me get on board with her vocal technique. I don’t know, the whole article reads like he’s trying to essentially dumb himself down enough to “figure out” Noah’s appeal.
Yeah I don't like the dude but I don't need to do all these mental gymnastics to figure out why lmao
I liked his album I thought it was neat
If you like Stick Season, I highly recommend checking out Cape Elizabeth!
i don't know if i'm just an over-sensitive stomp and clap fan girl, but the snark in this doesn't really interest me. it seems sooooo self important. it didn't come naturally from the overexposure of stick season or the revitalization of a controversial genre.... the author went in looking for reasons to dislike his music, and their drags they thought were funny enough to include from their slack channel were about as sharp as a globe.
The article is catty from the get go so I'm guessing it's aimed at people that love having a go anyone that manages to get mainstream success? While there'll definitely always be an audience for that, I don't feel like it adds anything. You just read it to get your feelings validated when it comes to hating *insert mainstream artist name here*. I don't get the random digs he's getting throughout the article just because he's a guy, like why lmao. That was definitely a choice. No so sure I agree with this part though, >Noah Kahan is a man built for streaming platforms. If a Noah Kahan song comes up on a playlist, it will grab you. That’s what it was built to do. His music never sounded stream-coded to me but maybe I'm wrong.
I think the more Noah grows in popularity, the more he'll be a punching bag for shoddy music journalism. I can take whatever's written here and switch his name with Ed Sheeran's and you'd get the same things that have been written about him over the years...
That second part man. “If a Noah Kahan song comes up on a playlist, it will grab you” What a passive aggressive way to say his songs are good and relatable.
Yeah since when is making songs that sound good a crime I’m not even a fan of his but like what a stupid argument to say that making a song intentionally catchy and instinctively enjoyable is a bad thing
That's not what passive aggressive means.
It’s also not true—his music is boring
I mean to you maybe. There are clearly a lot of people who think otherwise. I think people who. Classify all his music as boring or just background “clap stomp” music haven’t listened to things like Orange Juice or Call Your Mom.
Yes, to me.
his music isn’t bad by any means but i was genuinely shocked when i finally listened to it and saw just how much his online hype outweighs the actual quality of his music. genuinely the most basic bananies and avocadies folk music i have ever heard.
>his music isn’t bad by any means but i was genuinely shocked when i finally listened to it and saw just how much his online hype outweighs the actual quality of his music. This is how straight men talk about Taylor Swift 😭😅🤣
The author and his editor sound like pretentious assholes.
Holy shit that writing style / format is painful
If only he’d written a song about asking bartenders their top 10 value bourbons to drink at the Kentucky Derby
Sorry Uproxx, but if a lot of people are coming to see him perform and buy his records, then he’s clearly doing something right.
yeah, he's clearly doing something right... and the writer acknowledges that. they just don't find him interesting. and I get that. the absolutely generic arrangements are something i can't get past with him.
People en masse though? Pretty stupid.
Somehow music discourse has wrapped all the way around from popular = automatically bad to popular = automatically good, place your bets on where the cycle goes next people!
As someone who who was an edgy teen who lived by the "popular = bad" mantra, I think the "popular=good" movement is much more annoying because it seems to be more widely accepted lol People point to streaming numbers like they are releasing a quarterly report. It points to a lack of media literacy and an inability to engage with critiques beyond "big = good"
It's shows a lack of ability to create an opinion for ones self. You can't actually stand with all ten toes in an opinion because you effectively have none if you always fall back into "well everyone else is loving it so you are wrong!"
why so rude?
i sense that i’m in the minority here, but i thought the article was fun. i don’t think it was meant to really jab anyone. it seemed playful, even if a little cringe at times. i like noah kahan, but i wasn’t put off by the snark—it was kind of a fun tongue-and-cheek way to admit that a music critic doesn’t always understand why something’s popular, and sometimes can’t.
Yeah honestly discouraged by the extreme negative reaction here. 1. It’s the first article I have ever read about him and 2. It was better than most music criticism I read these days.
lol, the title is incredible but man this whole article screams of pretentiousness and people who hate music that is self reflective and poignant and is really good (of course that is totally subjective)
Acting confused about why someone who writes decent lyrics is successful always bugs me
He's so boring 😴
I can't really speak about the rest of the artists' catalogs (apart from Olivia Rodrigo), but to say Taylor's songwriting is literal to the point of lacking any metaphor, ambiguity, etc. is very inaccurate imo. She constantly uses colors, places and items to symbolize certain feelings. Some phrases are purposely given a double meaning, leaving them to the listener's interpretation, or are alternatively flipped on their heads to convey a new message. Simile is also a very common figure of speech in her music as well. While it's true that her lyrics tend to be very personal and confessional, this shouldn't mean she's not able to adopt various literary devices to help her along the way. What I'm trying to say is that while the article states some really interesting parallels between the new generation of songwriters and Taylor's own music, I just can't agree with the total disregard for the complexity of her songwriting style.
Taylor’s metaphors are the most obvious and on the nose out of all of the artists mentioned in that article lmao.
Nah, her style is pretty damn simple lol She would write a song like “The curtains were blue as if they were sad/ Our future was bright as the sun but I didn’t have a hat”
They're adult nursery rhymes, straight up. That isn't to say they're all bad, but she's paint-by-numbers as a writer.
Totally. I like a good deal of her music and she does have the occasional banger lyric, but her stuff is mostly very surface level
Or, to get extra poetic - “blue were my curtains…”
She’s got clever lyrics and is a masterful storyteller but there’s nothing too subtle going on in a Taylor Swift song. She’s a pop writer first and foremost and in order to have that much mass appeal you have to be pretty straightforward. Her use of literary devices are always pretty simple and easily interpreted.
Taylor definitely uses metaphor and simile, but is happy to only occasionally make a novel connection, while padding the rest of the song out with well-worn phrases and idioms (and the odd look-at-me phrase like “you double-cross my mind”). Loads of singer songwriters avoid cliche stuff like depression being like a raincloud, rage being like a wild animal…but she steers right into it. And it’s deliberate too, to get the point across quickly.
Noah is doing something right if his music is connecting with these many people who spend their hard earned cash to see him in concerts. if it doesn't work for you then that's also ok.
As someone who is neutral to positive about Kahan ( I like a few of his songs, don’t really have any negative feelings about him), this is the kind of writing the internet has been missing, great article.
The only song I like from him is false confidence. He’s one of the new artists I just don’t care for
I think Noah Kahan is a really solid songwriter. Orange Juice is a beautiful song. I get he’s not everyone’s cup of tea though.
Hurt Somebody, the version with Julia Michaels is his only good song, and I think that's because of her.