Taylor Swift - Love her, hate her, discuss her. We have a Swifties thread in Community Watch.

[Kulee Baba]

At the very least, her reign as the undisputed Queen of White Girl Pop is over. Charli XCX and Chappell Roan managed to capture a decent chunk of Taylor's fanbase over summer by making music with greater lasting appeal and cultural relevance. The hype train will fire up again for Taylor's next album, but the days of Peak Swiftie are numbered, especially if the record she comes out with is another slab of indistinct dreck a la Midnights or TTPD.

I think critics like you and me don’t understand Taylor’s music and its staying power. The theory I have now is that while Swift did transfer over to the pop genre her song writing and production style still operates under country pop.

There’s two big types of country music listeners, the traditionalist/outlaw listener who wants storytelling and some grit. And then the Nashville country pop plebs who fill stadiums. And country pop has been derided for decades and that audience doesn’t give a damn what snobs like me think. I think there will be grannies flocking to Swift concerts in the future.

And what that eventually amounts to is that Taylor is in her own Ameripop genre all by herself. I don’t think anyone is replacing her, no one replaced Shania Twain.

 

[Alex Hogendorp]

It's astonishing the staying power Taylor Swift has. I've never seen a magnitude of relevancy like her since Michael Jackson. I am willing to bet in a few decades time if Taylor Swift happens to die, her funeral would be comparable to that of Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth II with billions of people watching. She could open up a free open air concert like Jean Michel Jarre and there would be a giant traffic congestion to a major city she's performing in and riots on streets from those who cannot see Taylor Swift in their point of view.

 

[Doktor Grimm]

I think critics like you and me don’t understand Taylor’s music and its staying power. The theory I have now is that while Swift did transfer over to the pop genre her song writing and production style still operates under country pop.

There’s two big types of country music listeners, the traditionalist/outlaw listener who wants storytelling and some grit. And then the Nashville country pop plebs who fill stadiums. And country pop has been derided for decades and that audience doesn’t give a damn what snobs like me think. I think there will be grannies flocking to Swift concerts in the future.

And what that eventually amounts to is that Taylor is in her own Ameripop genre all by herself. I don’t think anyone is replacing her, no one replaced Shania Twain.

I'm not at all in touch with the American music scene, so you may be correct. I wouldn't be surprised if Swift remained a Big Deal for a while longer, although I do think she is starting to lose her international appeal, especially among the crowd of online college-aged women who have an outsized influence on modern culture -- she's just a little too milquetoast to compete with the new generation of female pop stars.

Things might look a little different stateside, but the social buzz surrounding TTPD seemed to crater within a couple months after it released, whereas Chappell and Charli's summer hits are still inescapable six months later. From where I'm standing, it looks like the era of Taylor Swift as dominant societal force is coming to a close, even if she might remain massively popular in other ways.

 

[Kulee Baba]

I'm not at all in touch with the American music scene, so you may be correct. I wouldn't be surprised if Swift remained a Big Deal for a while longer, although I do think she is starting to lose her international appeal, especially among the crowd of online college-aged women who have an outsized influence on modern culture -- she's just a little too milquetoast to compete with the new generation of female pop stars.

Things might look a little different stateside, but the social buzz surrounding TTPD seemed to crater within a couple months after it released, whereas Chappell and Charli's summer hits are still inescapable six months later. From where I'm standing, it looks like the era of Taylor Swift as dominant societal force is coming to a close, even if she might remain massively popular in other ways.

Well here’s my best example as to why Taytay should only be compared to Shania Twain and not that Dave Chappelle chick or Charlie:

We all know “Shake It Off”, I don’t want want any record of “Shake It Off” on my phone so I won’t link it. I hate that song, with its annoying fart trumpets. Well anyway “Shake It Off” reminds me of only one pop song and that’s Shania Twain’s “Man, I Feel Like A Woman”

This damn song which also got played non-stop in the late 90s is so similar. Lyrically they’re both about a girl having fun, being carefree, maybe a little naughty but only in a pop way. Women and I guess some men loved this song. They clearly still do it has 450 Million views on Youtube.

It’s not about being the “better pop music” it’s just about having this giant fanbase and holding it for the longest time possible.

Taylor has no commonality with pop of the past, nothing like Madonna and definitely not Britney or Lady Gaga. She’s closest to Shania especially in terms of fan devotion. I think the only thing replacing her is another country-pop girl who crosses over to pop. Heh, I just noticed their initials are TS and ST.

 

[Shekelslovakia]

As for the fart trumpets, you can clearly thank Max Martin for that. At least Shania Twain had Robert John "Mutt" Lang, an actual rock producer that worked with all walks of life and gave her a tight Poppy Rock edge. Max on the other hand was a poor fit for Taylor due to trying to make her songs sound like Katy Perry or Ariana with hundreds of layers of compression and simple safe melodies that don't go nowhere.

Say what you want about Jack Antonoff but I think he is the perfect match for Taylor's music.

 

[Elite Kipchak]

Musically, Speak Now was objectively her best work. Though I think Red is her best overall aesthetic.

 

[Space Police]

Probably. As I said, culturally relevant.

I just listened to some of her music, and holy cow, she's the female Jefre Cantu-Ledesma! No wonder troonjaks love her; they can continue with their humiliation cuckold fantasies but feel girly about it!
In all seriousness, though, she's just so BLAND. Her music is neither flashy, stand-out, nor complex. There are plenty of pop songs I can think of that aren't so dull and uninteresting. How does this resonate and stick with people? And to think they have the gall to say classical music is boring!

 

[BlueSpark]

I've loved her music since I was a teenager. I've been listening to The Albatross, The Bolter and So High School a lot lately.
If people are on the fence about her: give them a listen, it's just fun music.

 

[Alex Hogendorp]

I just listened to some of her music, and holy cow, she's the female Jefre Cantu-Ledesma! No wonder troonjaks love her; they can continue with their humiliation cuckold fantasies but feel girly about it!
In all seriousness, though, she's just so BLAND. Her music is neither flashy, stand-out, nor complex. There are plenty of pop songs I can think of that aren't so dull and uninteresting. How does this resonate and stick with people? And to think they have the gall to say classical music is boring!

Swifties wouldn't be able to stand Godspeed You Black Emperor, Have A Nice Life, Miles Davis, Tangerine Dream or even the latest works of Talk Talk because they'll find that kind of music too challenging for them.

 

[Space Police]

Godspeed You Black Emperor, Have A Nice Life, Miles Davis, Tangerine Dream

Are these all the bands Tyrone recommended you so he wouldn't have to listen to Jefre 24/7 and you wouldn't whine about Touched by My Bloody Valentine?

 

[Alex Hogendorp]

Are these all the bands Tyrone recommended you so he wouldn't have to listen to Jefre 24/7 and you wouldn't whine about Touched by My Bloody Valentine?

They're more of my taste in music pretty much. But I do whine about people playing that "Let It Go" song by Idina Menzel which makes even the average Taylor Swift song look as profound as even the best Godspeed You Black Emperor albums. I fear in 30 years people would unironically listen to Cocomelon on repeat because even a Taylor Swift song would be too challenging for them.

 

[Kulee Baba]

I just listened to some of her music, and holy cow, she's the female Jefre Cantu-Ledesma! No wonder troonjaks love her; they can continue with their humiliation cuckold fantasies but feel girly about it!
In all seriousness, though, she's just so BLAND. Her music is neither flashy, stand-out, nor complex. There are plenty of pop songs I can think of that aren't so dull and uninteresting. How does this resonate and stick with people? And to think they have the gall to say classical music is boring!

>Okay let’s see what this user is talking about
>Go to Chappelle Roan on youtube
>Play “Hot To Go”
>Listen to five seconds
>Immediately turn it off and remove it from my watch history

That was awful, felt like the generic pop a tv show would have in the background while two girls are talking. I take troll’s pleasure in goofing on Taylor when she has cringe lyrics of dreaming of living in “the 1830s but without all the racists” but her music is better than that shit.

I feel like an oblivious boomer ranting that some pop music is shallow. That’s why it’s called pop. But that leaves no lasting impression.

 

[Space Police]

>Okay let’s see what this user is talking about
>Go to Chappelle Roan on youtube
>Play “Hot To Go”
>Listen to five seconds
>Immediately turn it off and remove it from my watch history
View attachment 6756700
That was awful, felt like the generic pop a tv show would have in the background while two girls are talking. I take troll’s pleasure in goofing on Taylor when she has cringe lyrics of dreaming of living in “the 1830s but without all the racists” but her music is better than that shit.

I feel like an oblivious boomer ranting that some pop music is shallow. That’s why it’s called pop. But that leaves no lasting impression.

Her whole gimmick seems to be aping 80s and 2000s aesthetics so that zoomer women can feel connection to a time for which they weren't alive. It will sound like throwaway pop songs used in TV shows because she has no intention to innovate; she just wants to present an aesthetic with zero substance. I guess this sort of stuff being popular speaks to how dissatisfied everyone is right now with the world, which is sad because in 20 years we'll be nostalgic for today. Taylor Swift is a good pop artist to support because her music does have substance -- more than you could expect from pop -- so it's a reminder that we can have good things nowadays if we look for them.

 

[Vernon Dozier]

Her first couple of albums are pretty good for what they are—a teenage girl’s diary. Lots of the songs are about boys, running away, and high school. They’re not super deep, but they connected with a large swath of girls who shared the same experiences. She came off with a certain vulnerability. There’s no nihilism, no 'let’s go out and get drunk at a party,' no bad themes or edginess. This contrasts with artists like Lady Gaga or Katy Perry, who were all about 'Born This Way' or 'I Kissed a Girl.

 

[The Hardest R]

she's just a little too milquetoast to compete with the new generation of female pop stars.

Her first couple of albums are pretty good for what they are—a teenage girl’s diary. Lots of the songs are about boys, running away, and high school. They’re not super deep, but they connected with a large swath of girls who shared the same experiences. She came off with a certain vulnerability. There’s no nihilism, no 'let’s go out and get drunk at a party,' no bad themes or edginess. This contrasts with artists like Lady Gaga or Katy Perry, who were all about 'Born This Way' or 'I Kissed a Girl.

These posts summarize Swift’s appeal. The blandness that doesn’t push any envelopes. The basic bitch white girl who thinks pumpkin spice is just the greatest thing ever and thinks “that’s what she said!” is the peak of comedy. Swift being the musical equivalent of boiled cabbage is what appeals to them. There’s just a lot of basic bitches around. Swift’s popularity will ebb and flow but she’ll still be writing songs about crushes on boys to sold out stadiums for the foreseeable future.

 

[Kier Starmer]

I genuinely enjoy that Taylor has a clear progression as an artist even Poet's society to an extent. You can view it as the consequence of excess to the success of Midnights. I need to listen to 1989 though because I want to see why it is so loved. I really liked Midnights and the ethos of what it was about and hey it's not that fucking abracadabra song, that was fucking awful.

 

[Super-Chevy454]

I saw that article about Taylor Swift's performance at the SuperBowl and some wonder how she'll cope with the aftermath.

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/02/is_taylor_swift_the_next_brandon.html

https://archive.ph/NxAeI

February 11, 2025

Is Taylor Swift the next ‘Brandon’?​

By W.A. Eliot

Who can forget when an NBC reporter, interviewing unexpected NASCAR winner Brandon Brown after the race, tried to gaslight viewers hearing the loud chorus of “F--- Joe Biden” chants from the crowd in the stands by saying, “As you can hear the chants from the crowd, ‘Let’s Go Brandon.’” This spawned LGB memorabilia and an unforgettable rap.

During Super Bowl Sunday night on Fox, when famous singer Taylor Swift, girlfriend of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and seated at the game, was shown on the big screen, the crowd erupted into a loud chorus of boos. The angle from the announcers of the game (Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady) was that there were more Eagles fans in the stadium than Chiefs fans. CBS Sports had the same take. But on conservative media such as Instapundit, the loud booing was attributed to something else: Swift’s prominent endorsement of Kamala Harris in the presidential election. (Yes, Swift was pressured by the left to do it, but in the words of Glenn Reynolds of the Instapundit, “She chose...poorly.”) So who is right?

 

[Iron Father]

Last December I decided to go through all of her singles, and I think I vaguely liked maybe 1 song.
Incomprehensible to me how she's so popular. She's like pop music for people who don't season their food.

I'd say unironic Metallica fans are. They haven't made a single good album since the Black Album (really ...And Justice For All but I will admit there are some gems on the Black album), yet I constantly see journos and other posers raise them for being the best metal band of all time. You know, instead of actually talented metal acts like...Pantera... They are the definition of mediocre.

You had me until...

Metallica and Pantera both debuted in 1983 and have both been overrated and gay since 1990, but in the period prior to that Metallica gave us Kill 'em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets and And Justice for All. Pantera at the same time gave us...

 

[Kier Starmer]

So I listened to 1989 because I had not "listened" to it but I have to say I really enjoyed it. I listened to it twice, I tend to hike and listen to albums for the first time because I like hearing to lyrics to get a feel for it. Though I loved Midnights I think 1989 is her best. It's a very self-aware album in its structure and well crafted. Bad Blood is a great diss track parodying Katy Perry's lyrical and chorus structure but even her typical composition structure. However, there is a banger and that is "Clean". Clean is about as close as you can get to a Lana del Ray song without skinwalking as her but it's quintessential Taylor, it has a great message and you can tell a lot of feeling went into it. There were no songs I disliked which is unusual since I am one of those fuckers that sticks to a few songs.

I am older and 80s/90s pop was my thing and honestly, it is nice having Taylor about since honestly, she is probably the closest to that era with her style.

What with the booing at the superbowl btw? I see my boy Trump got cheered though, hell yeah!

 

[NoBueno]

I've never listened to her music. Yet I find out things about her simply through osmosis. People talk about her constantly.