Anonymous wrote:What exactly do you people want her to write about?
99% of all music is about romantic love /relationships/sex
She writes somewhat about specifics, but she blows up those little scenarios and makes them universal.
I’m 46, but when I hear a song about young people’s problems I relate to it.
I was young once too. I remember that feeling.
I have never thought her lyrics were meant to stand up in a court of law. She’s never been under oath.
It’s all pieces and parcels of the truth smudged around to create something else.
And I’ve always found it relatable.
But I’m an umc white lady.
And the middle aged dude from the Post just couldn’t relate at all. He’s never felt like that. Taylor has really illuminated how irritated men get, when their perspective isn’t the default.

Exactly. And for that matter, middle aged and older women who are angry she writes about herself , fame, and relationships- What do they think she should write about? Quick healthy dinners for kids? Carpooling? Small home repairs? How to maximize PTO? What jeans to buy when you know skinny jeans are uncool but refuse to wear wide leg jeans? Be so for real.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are some of you perhaps reading too much into the songs? There's no rule that says every song is a gospel retelling of a specific relationship.

Yes but they will read between every line to try to put her down.

It’s weird.

People did that Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears when they were at the top of their game.

People love to be haters.

The haters seem keenly aware of her lyrics, relationships, age, and other facts about her. It's a bit odd to be so invested in something that's not their cup of tea. Supposedly.

It’s hard to avoid her if you know a Swiftie, use social media, or read the news.

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Anonymous wrote:You only find wine moms insulting … if you’re a wine mom.

No im a wine mom and I find it hilarious. I also think look at Taylor FINALLY having her adolescent angst come through trying to gain independence from her traps. You only find it insulting if you are a wine mom with no sense of humor.

Her adolescent angst has been coming through since she was 16. But now she is 34. Maybe time to move on from adolescent angst.

She knows that her fame has stunted her: she says in multiple of her songs she has never grown up.

“Sometimes growing up precocious means you never grow up at all”
“I never grew up, it’s getting so old”

In Miss Americana she says that people say fame means you freeze at the age you got famous and she thinks that might be true for her. She’s aware that she’s somewhat trapped in a path of irregular development; a lot of her more introspective songs are about how the cage of fame did that to her.

I don't think its just fame that has stunted her- I am convinced that she is neuro diverse- whether ADHD or something else. Her level of output/hyperfocus is super interesting and she's found a way to use it to her advantage. But also (and saying this as someone who really likes her), she seems a little emotionally immature and falls hard and fast (seems manic at times) while also having a super brilliant mind- a common sign of neuro diversity. I am not saying any of this in a negative way at all, her mind is something to be studied!

Agreed… I don’t think it’s negative or positive but it is part of genius. Her recent collator Aaron Dessner said in an interview that during the recording of the long pond sessions, that he, Taylor, and the rest of the musicians would be staying up till like three in the morning drinking. He’s like we drank a lot of wine. Then everyone went to bed and the next morning Taylor said she stayed up late and wrote like a bunch more stuff and he was just absolutely floored. He couldn’t believe she had the stamina to do that.

I think it is really rare.

I would be very concerned about this. This sounds like she was in a phase where she just had to keep writing until she gets everything out. I’ve wondered if she is bipolar.

Alright, Sarah or Hannah. I just can't with insane armchair speculation like this from morons.

Just bozos.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The entire album is about Matty. I know I am in the minority, but I loved them together. They are so similar - tortured poets, musicians who enjoy their booze and are a little chaotic at times but brilliant too. And it’s well known she loves a Brit.

It’s such a tragic album really. It’s clear they both were hot for each other for a long time. They have the same producer and close friend, Jack Antonoff, who helped them stay in touch or reconnect. It is likely she left Joe who she was bored with to be with Matty. Then the fans went feral about Matty being “problematic” and also her tour had just started, so it was probably too much strain on him and the relationship. But yah, those two were pining for each other for over a decade (so many clues!) and would have made the cutest babies…unlike the current jock.

The lyric “I would have died for your sins, instead I just died inside…” She was ready to stick by him regardless of public opinion and her dad’s advice (though was she really going to throw so much away?), but he was probably spooked and wanted out.

Yes she wrote and produced the album in less than a year.

These two have been together for a lot longer than the public knows about. She sang at his band’s concert last January. And they were hanging out together with their mutual friends at parties and dinners back in 2022.
This album is definitely about Matty, except for So Long, London.

Taylor was hanging out with Matty in fall 2022, if not earlier, and Joe thought they were working together.

What exactly do you people want her to write about?
99% of all music is about romantic love /relationships/sex
She writes somewhat about specifics, but she blows up those little scenarios and makes them universal.
I’m 46, but when I hear a song about young people’s problems I relate to it.
I was young once too. I remember that feeling.
I have never thought her lyrics were meant to stand up in a court of law. She’s never been under oath.
It’s all pieces and parcels of the truth smudged around to create something else.
And I’ve always found it relatable.
But I’m an umc white lady.
And the middle aged dude from the Post just couldn’t relate at all. He’s never felt like that. Taylor has really illuminated how irritated men get, when their perspective isn’t the default.

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Anonymous wrote:You only find wine moms insulting … if you’re a wine mom.

No im a wine mom and I find it hilarious. I also think look at Taylor FINALLY having her adolescent angst come through trying to gain independence from her traps. You only find it insulting if you are a wine mom with no sense of humor.

Her adolescent angst has been coming through since she was 16. But now she is 34. Maybe time to move on from adolescent angst.

She knows that her fame has stunted her: she says in multiple of her songs she has never grown up.

“Sometimes growing up precocious means you never grow up at all”
“I never grew up, it’s getting so old”

In Miss Americana she says that people say fame means you freeze at the age you got famous and she thinks that might be true for her. She’s aware that she’s somewhat trapped in a path of irregular development; a lot of her more introspective songs are about how the cage of fame did that to her.

I don't think its just fame that has stunted her- I am convinced that she is neuro diverse- whether ADHD or something else. Her level of output/hyperfocus is super interesting and she's found a way to use it to her advantage. But also (and saying this as someone who really likes her), she seems a little emotionally immature and falls hard and fast (seems manic at times) while also having a super brilliant mind- a common sign of neuro diversity. I am not saying any of this in a negative way at all, her mind is something to be studied!

Agreed… I don’t think it’s negative or positive but it is part of genius. Her recent collator Aaron Dessner said in an interview that during the recording of the long pond sessions, that he, Taylor, and the rest of the musicians would be staying up till like three in the morning drinking. He’s like we drank a lot of wine. Then everyone went to bed and the next morning Taylor said she stayed up late and wrote like a bunch more stuff and he was just absolutely floored. He couldn’t believe she had the stamina to do that.

I think it is really rare.

I would be very concerned about this. This sounds like she was in a phase where she just had to keep writing until she gets everything out. I’ve wondered if she is bipolar.

Alright, Sarah or Hannah. I just can't with insane armchair speculation like this from morons.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You only find wine moms insulting … if you’re a wine mom.

No im a wine mom and I find it hilarious. I also think look at Taylor FINALLY having her adolescent angst come through trying to gain independence from her traps. You only find it insulting if you are a wine mom with no sense of humor.

Her adolescent angst has been coming through since she was 16. But now she is 34. Maybe time to move on from adolescent angst.

She knows that her fame has stunted her: she says in multiple of her songs she has never grown up.

“Sometimes growing up precocious means you never grow up at all”
“I never grew up, it’s getting so old”

In Miss Americana she says that people say fame means you freeze at the age you got famous and she thinks that might be true for her. She’s aware that she’s somewhat trapped in a path of irregular development; a lot of her more introspective songs are about how the cage of fame did that to her.

I don't think its just fame that has stunted her- I am convinced that she is neuro diverse- whether ADHD or something else. Her level of output/hyperfocus is super interesting and she's found a way to use it to her advantage. But also (and saying this as someone who really likes her), she seems a little emotionally immature and falls hard and fast (seems manic at times) while also having a super brilliant mind- a common sign of neuro diversity. I am not saying any of this in a negative way at all, her mind is something to be studied!

Agreed… I don’t think it’s negative or positive but it is part of genius. Her recent collator Aaron Dessner said in an interview that during the recording of the long pond sessions, that he, Taylor, and the rest of the musicians would be staying up till like three in the morning drinking. He’s like we drank a lot of wine. Then everyone went to bed and the next morning Taylor said she stayed up late and wrote like a bunch more stuff and he was just absolutely floored. He couldn’t believe she had the stamina to do that.

I think it is really rare.

I would be very concerned about this. This sounds like she was in a phase where she just had to keep writing until she gets everything out. I’ve wondered if she is bipolar.

Most likely ADHD. Tendencies to hyperfocus and produce a large amount of output.

Like Hamilton "Why do you write like you're running out of time? Write day and night like you're running out of time?"

Anonymous wrote:I feel like it's a psy op that this 34.5 year old woman remains this popular with this same blasé subject matter. This "new" material from a middle aged woman is so cringe, I'm sorry. How are people not tired of this recycled dating and breakup babble after 11 albums? It makes sense for teens and 20-something pop stars (see Olivia Rodrigo, age 21) to sing about dating and breakup subject matter, but at age 34.5 it is pure cringe.

You hit the nail on the head!

Anonymous wrote:I think JoJo Siwa is trying to set herself up to be the next Taylor. They are similar in a lot of ways but Jojo doesn’t seem to have a powerful business team who can really sell her as a brand and product the way Taylor does, and so far she isn’t writing all her own music.

Will be interesting to see if she can get a better business team to develop her into a more sellable brand. She has the money and also a large fan base that is growing up.

…they’re nothing alike, at all.

I think JoJo Siwa is trying to set herself up to be the next Taylor. They are similar in a lot of ways but Jojo doesn’t seem to have a powerful business team who can really sell her as a brand and product the way Taylor does, and so far she isn’t writing all her own music.

Will be interesting to see if she can get a better business team to develop her into a more sellable brand. She has the money and also a large fan base that is growing up.

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Anonymous wrote:Are some of you perhaps reading too much into the songs? There's no rule that says every song is a gospel retelling of a specific relationship.

I guess you didn't read the prologue. She tells the fans what the album is about.

No it doesn’t

Yes it does?? Some of you are so dense or just arguing to argue, I really can’t tell.

In Summation: Summary Poem by Taylor Swift

At this hearing
I stand before my fellow members of the Tortured Poets Department
With a summary of my findings
A debrief, a detailed rewinding
For the purpose of warning
For the sake of reminding
As you might all unfortunately recall
I had been struck with a case of a restricted humanity
Which explains my plea here today of temporary insanity
You see, the pendulum swings
Oh, the chaos it brings
Leads the caged beast to do the most curious things
Lovers spend years denying what’s ill fated
Resentment rotting away galaxies we created
Stars placed and glued meticulously by hand next to the ceiling fan
Tried wishing on comets
Tried dimming the shine
Tried to orbit his planet
Some stars never align
And in one conversation, I tore down the whole sky
Spring sprung forth with dazzling freedom hues
Then a crash from the skylight
Bursting through
Something old, someone hallowed, who told me he could be brand new
And so I was out of the oven
And into the microwave
Out of the slammer and into a tidal wave
How gallant to save the empress from her gilded tower
Swinging a sword he could barely lift
But loneliness struck at that fateful hour
Low hanging fruit on his wine stained lips
He never even scratched the surface of me
None of them did
“In summation, it was not a love affair!”
I screamed while bringing my fists to my coffee ringed desk
It was a mutual manic phase
It was self harm
It was house and then cardiac arrest
A smirk creeps onto this poet’s face
Because it’s the worst men that I write best
And so I enter into evidence
My tarnished coat of arms
My muses, acquired like bruises
My talismans and charms
The tick, tick, tick of love bombs
My veins of pitch black ink
All’s fair in love and poetry
Sincerely, The Chairman of The Tortured Poets Department

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are some of you perhaps reading too much into the songs? There's no rule that says every song is a gospel retelling of a specific relationship.

I guess you didn't read the prologue. She tells the fans what the album is about.

No it doesn’t

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can’t compare her level of fame with those artists, it’s entirely different. Then factor in that women Taylor’s age grew up with her, went through every stage she went through and wrote about at the same time , and how have daughters who love her. There is a completely different level of attachment with her because of that that almost no other artist can claim.

So Taylor's fan base is women who had kids super young and their tween/teen daughters? Because that timeline is a bit accelerated given the average age of childbirth for women. Most women don't have teens at age 34-- they have early elementary kids, or younger.

I’m 38 years old. Taylor debuted when I was about 19. I have two school aged daughters now who love her. Taylor is going to be 35 this year- you really think someone even exactly her age couldn’t have a 9-11 year old who loves her?

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:You only find wine moms insulting … if you’re a wine mom.

No im a wine mom and I find it hilarious. I also think look at Taylor FINALLY having her adolescent angst come through trying to gain independence from her traps. You only find it insulting if you are a wine mom with no sense of humor.

Her adolescent angst has been coming through since she was 16. But now she is 34. Maybe time to move on from adolescent angst.

She knows that her fame has stunted her: she says in multiple of her songs she has never grown up.

“Sometimes growing up precocious means you never grow up at all”
“I never grew up, it’s getting so old”

In Miss Americana she says that people say fame means you freeze at the age you got famous and she thinks that might be true for her. She’s aware that she’s somewhat trapped in a path of irregular development; a lot of her more introspective songs are about how the cage of fame did that to her.

I don't think its just fame that has stunted her- I am convinced that she is neuro diverse- whether ADHD or something else. Her level of output/hyperfocus is super interesting and she's found a way to use it to her advantage. But also (and saying this as someone who really likes her), she seems a little emotionally immature and falls hard and fast (seems manic at times) while also having a super brilliant mind- a common sign of neuro diversity. I am not saying any of this in a negative way at all, her mind is something to be studied!

Agreed… I don’t think it’s negative or positive but it is part of genius. Her recent collator Aaron Dessner said in an interview that during the recording of the long pond sessions, that he, Taylor, and the rest of the musicians would be staying up till like three in the morning drinking. He’s like we drank a lot of wine. Then everyone went to bed and the next morning Taylor said she stayed up late and wrote like a bunch more stuff and he was just absolutely floored. He couldn’t believe she had the stamina to do that.

I think it is really rare.

I would be very concerned about this. This sounds like she was in a phase where she just had to keep writing until she gets everything out. I’ve wondered if she is bipolar.

Many great artists are emotionally dysregulated and feel things deeply and create art with those feelings.

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Anonymous wrote:So.Many.Words.

As always, I'm very impressed that she's able to write these complicated, interesting lyrics. But at the same time, it's such a word dump! I love TS but as another poster said, I feel she's really becoming overexposed. How many albums does she need to put out? And the constant revenge/pining theme isn't healthy for young girls to internalize.

I disagree. I’m 48 and only now getting in touch with my rage as a woman. I was taught to be a real people pleaser, always be glass half full, and I stuffed so much inside and I don’t think that’s healthy. Maybe it’s not healthy to go too far the other way, but I think her generation is trying to balance some of that and I appreciate it.

I mean, look at what is happening in our own country with women’s rights. I think it’s OK for girls to internalize some bad stuff, it’s not sunshine and roses.

I’m 47 and Alanis, Tori and Sinead were my musical rage women. I agree that women need to be in touch with their anger, but they also need to learn to speak it, and act on it (not with aggression, but as a sign that their rights/beliefs are being violated in some way). I don’t think Taylor does the second part well. She can point out her rage and then sit on stage in front of her fans giving a glitter sparkle performance in a mask. The singers of our generation were better about being honest about their feelings on and off the stage.

Sure, maybe not. Taylor is definitely not Alanis. But she is who she is and fans seem to be responding and rather than pick it apart and try to force her to be what she’s not it’s so curious why people can’t let it be. I just don’t remember people picking apart alanis Morissette or any of the other artists you just named. They were who they were and their genre is their genre and yet we want Taylor to be everything to everybody when she’s not, we get really up in arms about it. It’s very strange.

Taylor is angry but not angry enough. She writes great pop songs but they don’t appeal to everyone like middle aged men so she’s failed because great pops songs should be universal I guess.

She writes about heartbreak but she writes TOO MUCH about heartbreak.

Just from the last dozen posts alone I gather this.

Regarding the bolded: Taylor gets more criticism because she's vastly more popular and successful. Also works in a genre-- pop -- without a lot of pretentions, but chooses to layer them in anyway. All those other artists were more niche and always had smaller audiences. Plus their music had pretentions from the start, it's what they are known for.

It's inevitable that someone as big as Taylor is going to get more criticism. And the fact that she chooses to focus on lyrics, and their meaning, over the stuff most pop musicians focus on (hooks, broad relateability) will draw more criticism because she's reaching beyond the usual confines of pop music. I mean, she embracing the idea of herself as a poet. That's very pretentious! You can get away with that a bit more in indie or alternative rock, but that's not Taylor's milieu,by choice. She is working in a genre known for churning out hits and getting played in huge arenas. She knows people are going to criticize.

There is a parallel universe where Taylor has a career more akin to Phoebe Bridges or Lucy Dacus, or Lana Del Ray, and she gets less criticism but also is a nowhere near as financially successful or well known. That's how it works. The bigger you are, the more people pick you apart. If you don't like it, step off the arena stage. There are lots of artists chomping at the bit to replace her.

This makes total sense. Thank you for this post. Although, I think she has accepted it and isn't stepping off the stadium stage any time soon.