celeb news The New Yorker: Why normal music reviews no longer make sense for Taylor Swift

[brenda-walsh]

1 hour ago, Dancehall Queen said:

I saw a Swiftie on TikTok that went viral for making the same MCU argument. Her point was that the music is inaccessible now and you need to know every reference to begin to understand the songs and that the music itself wasn't delivering without it.

 

Both points I think are pretty brain dead. Just listen to the ******* music. If you like it great, if you don't, that's fine. An artist, of any kind, having personal references, artistic references, and referencing themselves is nothing new. You can enjoy songs even if you don't know which breakup a song is about or which song title the chorus is a referencing.  It's still fully a work on its own.
 

Taylor Swift didn't invent having references. Every singer songwriter writes them into their music, there just isn't millions of stans dissecting their personal lives, past discography, lovers' discography, etc. looking to make connections. 

 

There's a few artists I obsess over, but I fully don't know anything about the personal lives of most of the people I listen to, like I wouldn't know if they're in a relationship, married or have kids. Knowing every detail of their lives might inform something, but I don't feel like I'm missing out just listening to the music. 

thank you!  i'm tired of people acting like taylor is the only one with "lore" or references in her music. 

[Kristie Kuwa]

.

 

Edited May 1 by Kristie Kuwa

[Blue Rose]

when will the media stop babysitting her feelings

[Movimento Perpétuo]

Oh, okay. Anyways...

 

 

[PoisonedIvy]

6 minutes ago, Blue Rose said:

when will the media stop babysitting her feelings

When the other half of the media stops platforming their feelings about her feelings. It's a double edged sword

[rock]

My god. This woman sucks so damn bad.

[awesomepossum]

3 hours ago, NEX said:

 

 

 

You all came into this thread with an agenda and posted it without reading the article. It's not about scores being low or high, and the article is not even painting a favourable picture of Taylor. The author is saying that it's hard to critique Taylor's music without understanding the lore and not everyone has time for that unless they are fans. 

The lore is not relevant to the quality of the music or the lyrics. Just because she had an intention (to send passive aggressive messages to or about her ex-boyfriend?) doesn't mean it was a good idea. Just because you tried something doesn't mean you succeeded. If she chooses to sacrifice the quality of the music and/or lyrics in order to make it more marketable and increase sales - or to get revenge on her ex boyfriends - then that is a problem deserving of criticism!

Edited May 1 by awesomepossum

[Princess Aurora]

HELP

[cuteboyzay]

34 minutes ago, Feanor said:

Literally no one here reading the article and instead coming in with their own completely random takes based on a thread title, I can't. 

Girl, they literally ARE reading it what do you mean!? 

The second and third paragraph alone gives away nearly the entirety of what the rest of the article is about. Some people aren't just "hating" just to hate. Pleaassseee.

 

Edited May 1 by cuteboyzay

[crf13]

On 5/1/2024 at 10:41 AM, Buffy said:

Taylor's music isn't for people with low IQ. She tried to appease these dumb dumbs by making ME! but her fans said NO! That's why these critics are struggling giving TTPD poor reviews. They want those watered down koolaid lyrics while Taylor chooses to serve us fine wine. TTPD is the type of album that will withstand the test of time like the rest of her catalog. When will they learn….

This kind of delusion is sig worthy, especially the bolded 

Edited May 4 by crf13

[supaspaz]

Quote

The tepid music reviews often miss the fact that "music" is something that Swift stopped selling long ago.

Okay? Well, she’s quite literally still selling music, so it seems reasonable to evaluate that on its face.

[Brikenbur]

Another thing:

 

I hate the whole context of this article. So, we're basically saying that as long as "the fans" love the music then it's considered "good"? I don't think so. Sure, music and art in general is subjective, but, that's why there are critics in their respective fields (i.e. music, food, design, fashion). The last time I checked, Taylor Swift isn't her own entity, she's a part of the music industry. Therefore, she should have her music criticized just as any other musician who decides to release any sort of music. Music and genres aren't exclusionary as some might think. Music is for EVERYONE. 
It's no one's fault that Taylor Swift and her fans are so obsessed and quite delusional with this mythology that she came up with. Like, she's really not that interesting: a 30 something white suburban mid-west female that could easily be replaced by the girl next door? If you're a young professional around 25-32 in Corporate America, I'm sure there's a girl you work with that looks like, acts like, talks like, and has the same self-victimizing qualities that Taylor Swift does. That's exactly why people are so obsessed with her because when's the last time there was a public figure "just like us"? Not intimidating, blames everyone else for their relationship problems, somewhat awkward, I mean.. I could go on forever. A prerequisite to fully enjoy her music is to know everything about her dating life, what other musician past or present requires that sort of engagement in order to understand their art?
Very long story short, Taylor Swift hasn't contributed much to the industry she's in besides songs that have become so self-absorbed that if you're not a diehard Swiftie, you're left scratching your head. At least you can see other popular artists such as Beyoncé, Rihanna (back when she released music), Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, etc. making music that  is either politically charged or more inclusive regardless if they're talking about a past relationship or their own personal experiences; you don't need to know where they were April 29 to enjoy and relate to. 

Edited May 1 by Brikenbur

[M!X]

I disagree. I personally have been a fan since Red and aside from some obvious stuff (Dear John, All Too Well, Style and some Joe stuff) I never was that deep into TS lore nor understood exactly what every song is about and I was always able to enjoy her music without the extra stuff.

 

i think TTPD is one of her finest albums (it's easily superior to Lover, Midnights, Reputation) and even if you are not aware of the Joe, Matty, Kim K stuff  drama you can find good songs in there if you enjoy Taylor's music.

 

the issue is 31 songs is too much and I believe people who are on the fence about her music or straight up dislike it do not have urge to invest time into listening to this album, because it really takes some time to open up, it truly is a grower, so unfortunately we get takes like these.
 

These journalists probably listen to the album one time and call it a day. Which fine I guess, but it should be called first impressions then, not a review. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 1 by M!X

[M!X]

Also I find it hilarious how the song the person who wrote the article singled out is actually the opposite of what he is talking about.

 

Sure, imgonnagetyouback does have those clues, but also it's one of the poppiest, catchiest songs on the album that can basically be promoted as a single about that universal feeling of being someone's ex, like I do not know, every break up song ever?

 

Like if you read the lyrics without the knolwedge, it reads like the most universal pop song about a break up. It really is not that deep

[Bhabylon]

Her and the swifties are never beating the cult hive mind allegations 

 

[Iceland]

look i like taylor but it's not that deep,

shes not making groundreaking music at all, they need to stop acting like she's doing that.

 

[Marry The Gods]

5 hours ago, Virgos Groove said:

She's never beating the MCU of music allegations

And the McDonalds of Pop 

 

 

 

[1989]

The way almost none of you actually read this article 

[Dancehall Queen]

3 hours ago, cuteboyzay said:

Girl, they literally ARE reading it what do you mean!? 

The second and third paragraph alone gives away nearly the entirety of what the rest of the article is about. Some people aren't just "hating" just to hate. Pleaassseee.

 

At this point I'm not even sure what article the Swifities are reading? It's trash no matter how much you like Taylor  

[cuteboyzay]

23 minutes ago, Dancehall Queen said:

At this point I'm not even sure what article the Swifities are reading? It's trash no matter how much you like Taylor  

Literallyyyy! I keep seeing some Swifties saying "Not y'all not reading what the article is REALLY about!?". Like it takes some deep collective thinking to understand what it means or something.

 

I'm certain everyone here read the article. It's unfortunate that some of them truly think they're actually "smarter" or outliers when it comes to all of this .

 

 

 

 

[HASHTAGPOW]

The way Swifites act almighty after reading this article

 

[midnightdawn]

[mael]

Agreed…

[Navyboy20]

Oooooh BROTHER 

[Fleahive]

10 hours ago, truthteller said:

yall acting like a 76 MC score is THAT bad

It is for someone of her stature. 3 AOTY proclaimed as the best songwriter of all time. If her legacy does not match with her actual work, then that is the definition of overrated.