Gen Xers - Do you find Taylor Swift’s music bland?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Her songs do not all sound the same, people. She has more variety in her music than most other artists.

But, they do to me. Absolutely she has this pattern where there are some chords and she talk sings a line and then holds out the note and the end and will sometimes glide the note up at the end of the line. Or whisper sing at three lines in the same patterns and at ‘the same volume and bust out withI want to kill you.

It is to the point where I feel honestly browbeaten for having this opinion, but they sound the same to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Her songs do not all sound the same, people. She has more variety in her music than most other artists.

Haha okay 🙄 You are obviously not from the 70s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Her songs do not all sound the same, people. She has more variety in her music than most other artists.

Haha okay 🙄 You are obviously not from the 70s.

Or you are Ryan Reynolds’s supporting your wife’s new friend. Canadian here. Let’s go back to the Hip and Rush.

I can’t wait for this documentary: https://tiff.net/events/the-tragically-hip-no-dress-rehearsal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Her songs do not all sound the same, people. She has more variety in her music than most other artists.

I wouldn't say Taylor Swift has more variety than most. That's an exaggeration.

Hmm. Maybe the problem with the lack of variety is the whole pop scene. We're in a period of young female singers with talky/yell-y singing and synth backbeats. Or a lower, talky confessional sound.

And the whispery voices! So much tremblng air.

Taylor wouldn't be knocked for lack of variety if more artists were bringing strong offerings to the table. In that world, Taylor could stay in her lane writing lyrics about First Love for the next 20 years. No one would care. But we need some palette cleansers!

So maybe we can catch a break on the male pop scene? It's a WASTELAND there. Even less interest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Her songs do not all sound the same, people. She has more variety in her music than most other artists.

I wouldn't say Taylor Swift has more variety than most. That's an exaggeration.

Hmm. Maybe the problem with the lack of variety is the whole pop scene. We're in a period of young female singers with talky/yell-y singing and synth backbeats. Or a lower, talky confessional sound.

And the whispery voices! So much tremblng air.

Taylor wouldn't be knocked for lack of variety if more artists were bringing strong offerings to the table. In that world, Taylor could stay in her lane writing lyrics about First Love for the next 20 years. No one would care. But we need some palette cleansers!

So maybe we can catch a break on the male pop scene? It's a WASTELAND there. Even less interest.

Not a ton of artists have a range of country/pop/folk albums and songs. And again, the (willful, IMO) ignorance about her range of songwriting themes abound, although love and lost love is probably the biggest inspiration for most songwriting in general.

[Anonymous]

OP you're not the target audience and you know that. Go back to your rocking chair, granny.

[Anonymous]

It’s bland. Boring. And she hasn’t grown. She’s still that self absorbed teen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Her songs do not all sound the same, people. She has more variety in her music than most other artists.

It depends on how you listen to music.

I think you are speaking of her entire catalog and thinking in terms of the way she frames it on the Eras tour -- she has indeed worked in several genres and each of her albums has a unique feel and aesthetic. When you watch the Eras show this becomes very obvious in a really satisfying way especially because she was so young when her first few albums came out so you really do see her evolution as an artist as a person. I get it.

However if you are just someone listening to music and looking for an album to enjoy, Taylor can be a tough sell because in creating that internal feel and aesthetic for each album one downside is that the songs on the album tend to sound a lot like each other. This is true throughout her career. In fact the songs that sound most different from the rest of the songs on the album tend to be those more heavily produced radio-friendly hits like Shake It Off and Bad Blood. But as she's moved away from making songs like that (and really no longer has to because at this point everything she touches turns to gold and she doesn't have to play the games with radio singles or streaming singles anymore) her albums have become even more internally consistent. I think also her dedication to a handful of writing and producing partners also works against giving her music a more varied feel because her partners also have a fairly consistent aesthetic and this is very apparent in her work with them.

I said it upthread but will say it again here: Swift would benefit enormously as an artist if she edited herself more. Released fewer albums and put fewer songs on the albums. I think this would result in more "special" music that has more internal variety and could be more enjoyed by music fans who are not die hard Swifties. I do think she's a mega-talent and her work ethic blows me away. But she is not constrained enough in the way other artists are (by the market or by funding or by time or having to work with a band or whatever). Having total freedom is generally not how great art is made. I see snatches of genius on all her albums but she does not have a single truly great album I can point to and say "that one -- that's the album that made me fall in love with Taylor Swift as an artist." That's what makes Eras kind of genius as a concept -- it allows her to cherry pick and well actually edit herself. But then the lesson of that is lost immediately -- TTPD is probably her most indulgent new album in terms of having a ton of filler and excess and being in desperate need of a heavy handed edit. And that's how the average Gen Xer is going to approach her music -- by listening to her latest album or trying to figure out what the quintessential Taylor Swift album is. And if you do that you are going to feel like her music lacks variety and is too monotonous in theme and style.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Her songs do not all sound the same, people. She has more variety in her music than most other artists.

It depends on how you listen to music.

I think you are speaking of her entire catalog and thinking in terms of the way she frames it on the Eras tour -- she has indeed worked in several genres and each of her albums has a unique feel and aesthetic. When you watch the Eras show this becomes very obvious in a really satisfying way especially because she was so young when her first few albums came out so you really do see her evolution as an artist as a person. I get it.

However if you are just someone listening to music and looking for an album to enjoy, Taylor can be a tough sell because in creating that internal feel and aesthetic for each album one downside is that the songs on the album tend to sound a lot like each other. This is true throughout her career. In fact the songs that sound most different from the rest of the songs on the album tend to be those more heavily produced radio-friendly hits like Shake It Off and Bad Blood. But as she's moved away from making songs like that (and really no longer has to because at this point everything she touches turns to gold and she doesn't have to play the games with radio singles or streaming singles anymore) her albums have become even more internally consistent. I think also her dedication to a handful of writing and producing partners also works against giving her music a more varied feel because her partners also have a fairly consistent aesthetic and this is very apparent in her work with them.

I said it upthread but will say it again here: Swift would benefit enormously as an artist if she edited herself more. Released fewer albums and put fewer songs on the albums. I think this would result in more "special" music that has more internal variety and could be more enjoyed by music fans who are not die hard Swifties. I do think she's a mega-talent and her work ethic blows me away. But she is not constrained enough in the way other artists are (by the market or by funding or by time or having to work with a band or whatever). Having total freedom is generally not how great art is made. I see snatches of genius on all her albums but she does not have a single truly great album I can point to and say "that one -- that's the album that made me fall in love with Taylor Swift as an artist." That's what makes Eras kind of genius as a concept -- it allows her to cherry pick and well actually edit herself. But then the lesson of that is lost immediately -- TTPD is probably her most indulgent new album in terms of having a ton of filler and excess and being in desperate need of a heavy handed edit. And that's how the average Gen Xer is going to approach her music -- by listening to her latest album or trying to figure out what the quintessential Taylor Swift album is. And if you do that you are going to feel like her music lacks variety and is too monotonous in theme and style.

She is an extremely prolific songwriter. When she was 18 she had a portfolio of 300 songs. I assume TTPD IS edited. She has a vault of songs still unreleased. Plenty of her music is enjoyed by people who are not 'die hard Swifties'. She doesn't need to pare anything down for more artistic cred or to pander to GenX. Plenty of Gen Xers have gotten over themselves and become fans.

[Anonymous]

I guess I don’t get that. She needs an editor thing. It’s not a movie where people need to leave the theater eventually.

Just skip songs that you don’t like or don’t put them on your playlist? For me, there are some songs that I really like that she never plays in concert. Two off the top of my head are I Know Places and I Can See You.

They’re not her deepest or most profound, but I just love them. I’m glad she released them even though they’re not hits.

Similarly there are several songs on her new double album that my daughter loves and that I’m not into. So I’m glad she has such a deep catalog to pull from.

It makes sense to have an editor on a physical album, and her actual albums do have select songs, but these days when most people are getting music from streaming, I don’t mind that she has extra songs taking up digital space.

[Anonymous]

It's boring.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Agree. Gen Xer (born in 76). It’s like if I grew up with this music in my formative years (HS/college/20s) I would get the attachment. But I truly am mystified by the insane popularity. She’s not bad or anything, and clearly she has quite the following. But she’s honestly pretty mid, as the kids say, in terms of lyrics, voice, appearance, music.

Many of the female pop singers are average looking these days in terms of appearance. Chappell Roan, Billie Eilish, Meghan Trainor, Miley Cyrus, Tate Mcrae, that seems to be what their fans want. The music is also pretty bland.

Chappell and Billie are not what I would call bland at all. Nor Taylor. Maybe we different definitions of it? To me, when music is inspiring in some way or makes me feel things, it is not bland. I am not as familiar with Meghan or Tate. Miley is great but maybe on the bland side to me? Still like her!

None of it is memorable. Nobody will be listening to it in 20 years.

Except that Taylor has been around for nearly that long, clown.

And most people, except for her die hard fans, would struggle to name a song.

Not even close to a die hard fan but can name several because I’m not an idiot living under a rock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Her songs do not all sound the same, people. She has more variety in her music than most other artists.

But, they do to me. Absolutely she has this pattern where there are some chords and she talk sings a line and then holds out the note and the end and will sometimes glide the note up at the end of the line. Or whisper sing at three lines in the same patterns and at ‘the same volume and bust out withI want to kill you.

It is to the point where I feel honestly browbeaten for having this opinion, but they sound the same to me.

Can you give examples of songs that you think follow this pattern and sound alike?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Extremely obvious that many replies here have not listened to much of her music. I admit I love her, but even I can think of some valid criticisms and "bubblegum pop" ain't it. It sounds like many of you mostly listened to her singles circa 2012-2015 and never tuned in any further. Which is fine! You don't have to. But you don't know what you're talking about.

I'm also cracking up at the poster who said she and her daughter don't like her but "we're just counter culture I guess". Yes, not liking Taylor Swift is such an edgy and new opinion! It's so uncommon that there are threads about it in a middle aged mom forum.

LOL true because she'd be more like some spearmint Freedent.

[Anonymous]

Male, born in 1967

My tastes run from indie rock to Americana to classic jazz to world to retro soul to singer songwriter fare to many others genres.

I recognize she is good at what she does, but I don't particularly care for her pop genre (don't hate it, but don't seek it out). Folklore was my favorite album of hers, but there's tons of singer-songwriter albums I'd rate just as good or better.