The Impact of Taylor Swift
There is one thing I will get defensive of more than anything in life: my queen and idol Taylor Swift. I mean I literally got into a fight with my conservative grandpa on Christmas Day when he had the audacity to say “Taylor Swift isn’t even that talented” while I’m sitting at the table WEARING THE CARDIGAN FROM FOLKLORE. It didn’t end well. And still, I will find myself in heated debates with friends—even strangers I meet at a party—defending her against Kanye stans who aren’t willing to hold the artist (who they’ll call a “musical genius”) accountable for his misogynistic and problematic actions when it came to the way he treated Taylor. I remember being surrounded by my friends in college who were on Kanye’s side during the 2016 Snapchat drama and forcing myself to not speak up to defend Taylor because I didn’t want to cause a rift. Now, I don’t give a f*ck. I will argue with anyone who brings it up until I can convince them to at least acknowledge the lyrical talent for storytelling that Taylor Swift possesses. I will consider that a victory. I think because I stayed silent for so long and didn’t share my actual thoughts on the subject back then when the entire world was coming at Taylor to “cancel” her for being targeted by Kanye (and Scooter Braun who was his manager at the time), I feel obligated to be vocal about it now. Anyway, the point is that this is a topic I am super passionate about, and will be until the day I die.
Storytelling is at the heart of Taylor Swift’s talent. I think she is an incredible musician, but the true fans know how insanely gifted she is for telling a vivid story or describing a particular feeling/experience in the span of a three minute song. The thing that sets her apart from many other artists though, is the unique dichotomy of her songs being intimately personal to her own life while somehow capturing a universal feeling or moment that all of her fans can listen and relate to. And what’s even crazier is when you think about the fact that she didn’t have a normal teenage experience—she was going to the Grammy’s instead of prom. But she can write from the typical teenage girl perspective as if she did go through it like everyone else. And with the recent releases of folklore and evermore she proves she can write from the perspective of literally anyone, real or fictional. I could go on and on about the specific lyrics that just prove her songwriting prowess but I might save that for another post down the line, so I’ll just point to a few of my favorite examples.
Like who talks like that?!? Shakespeare wishes he had the talent. Another one of the things that has defined Taylor Swift as a pop star are her “eras.” I once saw a chart where it identified which level of “Swiftie” you were depending on when you started being a fan of Taylor Swift. So if you joined during...
Debut/Fearless, you are an OG Swiftie
Speak Now/Red (aka me), you are a veteran Swiftie
1989, you’re a golden era Swiftie
Reputation, you are known as a snake era Swiftie
And basically anyone who has started to become a fan during Lover or after the surprise releases of folklore + evermore is considered a baby Swiftie. So much Taylor Swift education in this blog post, I love it. But the thing I love about Taylor’s eras is how easily you are transported to the corresponding era in your life when you listened to her music. For me, it’s reminiscing over the lyrical genius that was Speak Now and being taken “Back to December” when I finally cut off a toxic relationship in my junior year of high school. It’s playing Red in the car everywhere I drove during my senior year of high school and particularly screaming out the lyrics to “All Too Well” because I was sad over a mediocre white boy who was messing with my emotional stability. It’s having dance parties in my first adult apartment with my best friend in college to the pop soundtrack of 1989. It’s feeling in my element during Reputation when I made snakes and all black an even bigger part of my brand because Taylor was doing it and being front row during the Reputation Stadium Tour in Chicago. It’s hosting a wine night listening session to preview Lover in my bedroom with my sister and best friend at midnight to hear Taylor’s first album that she owns. It’s freaking out when I saw the surprise announcement of folklore last July and laid in bed listening to the album for the first time, letting the tears stream down my face when “My Tears Ricochet” came on. As well as the subsequent nonstop hours of listening to the entire album from beginning to end for well over a month straight. It’s freaking out again when I heard the news of another surprise drop of evermore while I was sitting in a doctor’s office waiting for my little brother to get out of his appointment. And it’s even remembering her early music of Debut and Fearless with a nostalgic longing to have been a hardcore fan from the very beginning.
So many of my best (and worst) memories are tied to a Taylor Swift song. It’s an indescribable feeling to be able to look back and remember the exact moment I first heard a certain song or went to the store to buy a certain CD. (Yes, I have particular songs I attribute to specific exes as well). And it’s a big part of the reason why Taylor is so fiercely loved by her loyal, diehard fans. She got us through some of the most difficult years of our lives. For me in particular, she was going through everything a few years before I did, so it was almost like having this illusive, older sister who helped guide me through first loves, toxic relationships, heartbreak, and even turning 22. (Spoiler Alert: we really were happy, free, confused and lonely at the same time).
But within these distinct eras, she is known for transforming her entire look—from her hair to her wardrobe to her Instagram aesthetic—along with her sound. And she got a lot of hate for it. One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone tries to use this excuse as a reason they don’t like Taylor: “she just changes herself so much... she’s trying to be everything, it’s not authentic.” First of all, please give me an example of a pop star who maintained the exact same look throughout the course of their entire career. And then think back to how you styled your hair and dressed in 2012 compared to 2018, and tell me with a straight face that you still are the same person you were then. Because I sure as hell am not still wearing mint green clothing with an embarrassing side part and side-swept bangs (thanks, Ashley Tisdale for that influence). I think people forget how young Taylor was when she started in music. She was 15!! I mean she has a literal song about it. She was in high school and navigating her career during the key years that define a person; the years we take as “normal” people to discover who we actually are. She just had to do that in front of the world. And get criticized for it at every turn. She actually said something about this in her Netflix documentary Miss Americana, regarding the way that women artists in particular have to do so much more to stay relevant, to keep people interested while they are “allowed” to have a career. Women are forced to reimagine themselves over and over again, revealing a new side to them with each album release. Whereas men really only have to do the bare minimum and focus on the music. We even see this in performances. Think about the past few Super Bowl halftime shows… the effort, special effects, choreography, costuming and overall performances we got from Shakira + JLo, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, or Katy Perry were 100x more entertaining on their own than their male counterparts—ie. Maroon 5, Justin Timberlake or Coldplay (whose performance was only saved by Beyonce)—combined. But the point that Taylor was trying to make is that women have to bring out that extra mile in order to have a career in the first place, let alone longevity.
So wow, this clearly spun out of control and I just casually wrote over 1500 words on Taylor Swift for fun… but the last thing I wanted to touch on is the importance and inevitable impact that Taylor’s upcoming re-recordings will have. Obviously, I’m beyond excited for all of the re-recordings and counting down the days until Fearless (Taylor’s Version) is released. But the power she has to re-record her first 5 albums—probably all within the span of a year if the theories are correct—is unparalleled. Not only is she taking back the control she deserves as the person who wrote the songs in the first place (f*ck you, Scooter Braun btw), but she is setting a precedent that artists deserve to own their music. So all these new, emerging artists, who will ultimately face the same kind of manipulative, greedy people (men) in the music industry looking to use them, are more prepared for contract negotiations and understanding the legal rights that musicians should fight for. And honestly, if anyone tries to argue that Taylor doing these re-recordings is her being “selfish” and “greedy,” you can kindly f*ck off. Just admit you are a misogynistic asshole and leave it at that. Because if you don’t believe that an artist, whose name is on literally every single song she’s ever released, shouldn’t have the right to own her own work... then you are trash and can kindly take yourself out. Anyways, rant over (for now)! Listen to Fearless (Taylor’s Version) when it drops on April 9th!
Edit: OMG we’re getting a new Fearless (Taylor’s Version) single “From the Vault” tomorrow night!! What perfect timing for this blog post. It’s like I’m on the same wavelength as my girl T Swift…