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Gen Xers - Do you find Taylor Swift’s music bland?
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Anonymous
I do know some women in their 30s whose obsession with Swift is unhealthy -- maxing out credit cards to see Eras in person multiple times, obsessing over her lyrics and personal life. And while I like Taylor Swift's music, these women will dislike a person if they DON'T like it. Which I find weird because musical taste is so subjective-- my DH and I have some overlapping taste but we each also like artists the other person doesn't and it's fine. But the 30-something Swifties I know will stop dating ng someone or drop a friend if they express dislike of Swift's music, even something as mild as "it kind of sounds the same to me." One of them is a colleague and she'll say stuff to me like "I like you because you get Taylor" and she'll tell me some other colleague is lame because they don't care about Swift. This woman is 35 years old. I think Anthero is a great song and love 1989 and Red. But she's just a pop star. I don't like or respect her more than any other pop star. I admittedly probably enjoy Beyonce more because I like her voice more and her music is more danceable and that's my jam. But again-- these are just pop artists. I do not get the obsession and the constant defensiveness and the insistence that everyone must like these artists or that if you do not there's something wrong with you. That attitude is never great but it's especially weird coming from people in their 30s, 40s, or 50s. It just feels immature. I know plenty of people who actively dislike Taylor Swift's music who are great people. |
Anonymous
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This is a post from a 40 year old woman I know:
Someone commented “This is my Roman Empire,” and I’m sure I couldn’t have said it better myself. Because of Taylor Swift: -I get GOOD NEWS in my algorithm multiple times a day -Food banks across the country are able to feed so many more people - a single donation of hers fed over 500,000 every month in California -Her fans are becoming more generous - with those same food banks reporting increased donations -A new, more humane standard for pay has been established -Millions of girls and women feel more confident, safer, and inspired -Countless people across the country have received support during tragic times. Just google it. It’s unbelievable -An additional 35,000 Americans are now registered to vote, taking part in critical act of democracy If you have anything negative to say about Taylor Swift (please keep it off my page) - I’m sorry you feel that way - truly - because her impact has been one of incredible positivity with impact that most of us could only dream of. I’m grateful that I get to live during this time and witness this type of leadership - LOVE in action. 💗 You don’t think this is a tad unhinged? |
Anonymous
What is unhinged is that so many people are saying negative things about TS that someone feels compelled to respond. |
Anonymous
It is a bit extreme (the only dream of part, etc.) But I sort of get her sentiment. Until Kamala came along the state of the country was looking pretty dark and the rhetoric has been very depressing. I think that is why the Eras tour has meant a lot to so many women in the last year and half. The shared fun and joy with so many other fans was a light in the bleakness. It understand that this notion doesn't reconcile with the cynicism that is a hallmark of GenX, or the music we came of age to, but it is a real phenomenon. |
Anonymous
I agree it is unhinged specifically because humans are complex. To say "never say anything negative about Taylor Swift in my presence" is to argue for her infallibility. But... she's not infallible. I think she has done great things and I also think she sometimes does questionable things. I think it should always be okay to discuss the public actions of very high profile and powerful people (and Taylor Swift is both). Is some of the criticism of her just BS misogyny? Yes of course -- is water wet? But this is true of literally every single woman in the public eye. It's true of Taylor and Beyonce and Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren and Liz Cheney and Lauren Bobert and Ivanka Trump. Does that mean no one should ever be allowed to criticize any of those women for anything? Think about this. This is the problem with people becoming so obsessed with public figures that they cannot view them with any emotional detachment. It makes it impossible to hold powerful people accountable. So you may not want to hear it but here you go: - Taylor Swift releases too much music and a lot of it is bland and boring. I get her megafans just love having more content but as a music fan I think it results in a lot of mediocre music in the world. - Taylor Swift like pretty much all celebrities is a huge environmental burden that all of us will pay for. Her private jet use alone is worth talking about. - I find the way she places her personal life in the public eye in a very overt and aggressive way and then complains about any negative coverage of her behavior as unfair to be obnoxious. She does not have to conduct her personal life in such a public way. She can go out to dinner with her friends without tipping off paps and sashaying down the sidewalk with a bunch of famous faces in order to ger her picture taken. She doesn't need to show up to NFL games in bustiers and thigh high boots and being sure to walk past photographers and reporters. She chooses to do these things. To then complain that people are too interested in her personal life? GTFO. She stokes that interest for her own financial gain. It's cynical and she should accept the negative side of being so unnecessarily public just like people like the Kardashians do. There are also things I think are great about Taylor Swift. Some of her music is great. Her charitable giving is of course good and I appreciate how she's used her platform to encourage political engagement among young people. She seems like a reasonably nice person to the extent that it is possible to figure out what someone is "like" from this distance. Her business acumen and marketing skill and discipline is commendable. But come on. She's a billionaire pop star. You're going to tell me she's some kind of humanitarian angel sent to bring us joy? No. She's a capitalist who is largely in it for herself. Any Gen Xer who doesn't get that and wants to tell me I am simply not *allowed* to criticize her in their presence clearly wasn't paying attention in the 90s. Y'all are gullible. Absolutely no one has a duty to carry water for Swift or any other super wealthy and powerful celeb. I don't care if you think she's "one of the good ones." Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely dummies. |
Anonymous
If the news is depressing to you then do what a rational person would do and get offline. It is the height of entitlement to demand that other people refrain from expressing valid opinions online or in your presence just because you are using Taylor Swift to deal with your Covid hangover. Grow up. Some people decompress by discussing celebrity gossip. That might include speculating about whether Taylor and Travis are genuinely together or an elaborate marketing scheme. That *harmless* conversation might bring a person joy and serve as a joyful distraction from the bad news out there. But the deranged Swiftie above will flip out and accuse them of character assassination because it doesn't align with her "Taylor Swift is my personal deity" belief system. So she'll stomp on other people's joy to preserve her own. |
Anonymous
It's "unhinged" for some percentage of people in the world to express negative opinions about a billionaire pop star? Or is that actually just normal and predictable? |
Anonymous
I didn’t read all this because it’s way too long but I just wanted to point out that this person just said to keep the negativity off page. I don’t think that’s too much to ask. She didn’t say never criticized Taylor any place anywhere. |
Anonymous
| Sorry, of HER page. |
Anonymous
| I’m 45. I like her. I particularly enjoy reputation and TTPD and some others as well. I find it’s great that I can listen with my daughter (I don’t mind the f bombs so much). I don’t think her music is bland, no more bland than Madonna or Debbie Gibson or Belinda Carlisle of my youth. Admittedly I did also have an indie streak both in my youth and adulthood but I do enjoy Taylor’s musicality and lyrics. |
Anonymous
Madonna is certainly not in the same category of Debbie Gibson or Belinda. Try Tiffany instead or you lose credibility. |
Anonymous
Why are you acting like your “indie streak” is something to be ashamed of? |
Anonymous
Do your husband and kids, or alternatively your cat, find it weird? |
Anonymous
Yeah, it’s weird. But I think it stands out because it’s unhinged and most of us aren’t posting these types of things. I follow a lot of my friends on social media and I’ve never seen anything even remotely like this so… Your anecdote and my antecdote cancel each other out maybe? Show me a big celebrity, and I’ll show you a person who is unhealthy attached to them. This is nothing new. |
Anonymous
What’s really strange is how people “actively” dislike her. I don’t like plenty of bands and that means I pay zero attention to them. I don’t see pap shots of them or even look at a list of their discography to know how many songs they released. And I certainly don’t post long screeds about them online. |