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AIBU?

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AIBU to say Taylor Swift is a once in a generation songwriter?

606 replies

HomeatRoseCottage · 27/10/2023 19:33

I’ve had 1989 TV on all day and she’s just magic 🥰

OP posts:
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EmmaEmerald · 27/10/2023 21:43

DeeCee give it forty years and people worldwide will still have "Lover" as their main wedding song but that won't be good enough for you.

Students will be listening to Anti Hero, globally, in 40 years, but that won't be good enough for you.

stayathomer · 27/10/2023 21:42

I do love a lot of her stuff but actually I think there’s a lot of standout music in the last few years- especially pop wise so I definitely wouldn’t hold her up as once in a generation. I do definitely appreciate the graft she’s put in to get her work back though

BlackJumpsuit · 27/10/2023 21:40

DewinDwl · 27/10/2023 20:14

Interesting lyrics but I find her songs very dull from the music / tune point of view. It all seems to have a range of about three notes, and her voice is forgettable. Not for me but I accept she is highly respected and hugely popular. I also think she is a positive role model for young girls.

I agree with this. I find her incredibly dull and unoriginal but accept that others feel very differently. I don't think she's exceptional though.

Sixsixtysix · 27/10/2023 21:40

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EmmaEmerald · 27/10/2023 21:39

I don't recall ever seeing a thread where a male songwriter got trashed, or had people comment on looks etc and question whether they write their own songs.

Christine of Christine and the Queens said she gets male artists asking if she understands about music production, I daresay MNers would ask her the same question.

LeonBlack · 27/10/2023 21:39

I think she's OK, but I can't get excited. She's vanilla to me - like Ed Sheeran.

NeverTalksToStrangers2 · 27/10/2023 21:38

I've posted lyrics I love on a similar thread a few months ago and had people saying they didn't get it. So I'll direct you to songs.

Clean
Tolerate it
Would've, could've should've
Dear John
Marjorie
You're on your own kid
Right where you left me
Last kiss
Bigger than the whole sky
New Romantics
Death by a thousand cuts

If you can listen to 5 songs from that list, any 5, and still say she's not great, then fair enough.

C1N1C · 27/10/2023 21:37

She's good.. but needs a different theme.

DeeCee77 · 27/10/2023 21:37

EmmaEmerald · 27/10/2023 21:26

I'm not good at discerning hits from albums

isn't about half of Midnights just her?

she works with Jack Antonoff a lot but why not? They work brilliantly together, I love his work with the Bleachers but I posted some here once and just got "who"?

but yes, frim memory, I think about half of the current album is just her on the credits (i might be getting my albums mixed up).

does anyone deny Matty Healy's great lyrics because his bandmates are sometimes credited?

Again, OP said 'generational'...so we now are judging her against the very best.

Co-writing songs (pretty much all her big hits) with a team of collaborators does not make one a 'generational songwriter'.

Freddie Mercury sat down at his piano and wrote "Bohemian Rhapsody".

That's a generational songwriter.

Co-writing chessy pop songs (none of which are global anthems that every man their dog knows) means she can never be considered generational.

EmmaEmerald · 27/10/2023 21:36

Chypre "Somehow she is basic and problematic all at once"

Taylor's right - it is exhausting always rooting for the anti hero! 😂

Panaa · 27/10/2023 21:36

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Tabbygabby · 27/10/2023 21:34

WeeStyleIcon · 27/10/2023 21:25

The lyrics of her songs are written and pitched at people out of their teens.listen to exile and Tolerate it.

I think she's grown up with her music. I'm the same age as her and have listened to her music on and off since her debut; I could relate to her songs at the time and if you look at her discography chronologically (not counting TVs but when the originals were released) I personally think you really notice it. She has a fairly unusually vast body of work and it's not surprising to me she resonates with a lot of people across different ages- she captures a wide spectrum of stuff.

Chypre · 27/10/2023 21:32

Even though I was born in 1989 I just can't relate to Taylor Swift music/lyrics. Somehow she is basic and problematic all at once, but not in an intriguing way like say Billie Eilish. Although I can't deny Taylor's working ethics and grit, that surely deserves respect.

HomeatRoseCottage · 27/10/2023 21:32

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its pretty clear that you’re happy to excuse Kanye because you hold the same revolving beliefs.

OP posts:
DeathMetalMum · 27/10/2023 21:32

Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Adele and Harry Styles I think are likely to be the music icons of this generation.

All outstanding songwriters and performers. Taylor is not ahead of the others, so not 'once in a generation'.

Panaa · 27/10/2023 21:31

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Londontown12 · 27/10/2023 21:31

Post Malone is also incredible song writer !

Ktime · 27/10/2023 21:30

EmmaEmerald · 27/10/2023 21:29

Tons of examples on the thread.

Which bits hit a bunch? I just see entire song lyrics copy and pasted.

EmmaEmerald · 27/10/2023 21:29

Ktime · 27/10/2023 21:27

@NeverTalksToStrangers2

She has just the most beautiful way with words. Even her most simple lyrics just hit a punch

Can you give an example? I just don’t see it. It’s all cliches and been done a thousand times before.

Tons of examples on the thread.

Ktime · 27/10/2023 21:27

@NeverTalksToStrangers2

She has just the most beautiful way with words. Even her most simple lyrics just hit a punch

Can you give an example? I just don’t see it. It’s all cliches and been done a thousand times before.

PrincessHoneysuckle · 27/10/2023 21:27

@CantFindTheBeat it is wispy though and it's my opinion.

EmmaEmerald · 27/10/2023 21:26

DeeCee77 · 27/10/2023 21:10

That's one of her early albums. The major hits that came later...did she solely write any of them?

I'm not good at discerning hits from albums

isn't about half of Midnights just her?

she works with Jack Antonoff a lot but why not? They work brilliantly together, I love his work with the Bleachers but I posted some here once and just got "who"?

but yes, frim memory, I think about half of the current album is just her on the credits (i might be getting my albums mixed up).

does anyone deny Matty Healy's great lyrics because his bandmates are sometimes credited?

TheaBrandt · 27/10/2023 21:26

Agree shes amazing. Folklore in particular.

HomeatRoseCottage · 27/10/2023 21:26

Panaa · 27/10/2023 21:19

Well he didn't mean that he was going to kill them if that's what you're implying 🙄🙄

He meant he was going to talk about power imbalances in the music industry. He also said a lot of great things about Jewish people and how he wanted black people to be more like them!

I’m not implying anything. I’m quite clear that you have to be doing the most impressive mental gymnastics I’ve ever witnessed if you think 1) there is an interpretation of the phrase ‘going death con 3 on Jewish people’ which is not anti-Semitic and 2) if you don’t realise that the very act of describing imbalances in the music industry as somehow the responsibility of Jewish people is anti-Semitic.

This is a thread about Taylor swift, it’s not the place for you to spout apologia for an anti-semite. Go and start your own thread about Kanye if you want to do that.

OP posts:
WeeStyleIcon · 27/10/2023 21:25

The lyrics of her songs are written and pitched at people out of their teens.listen to exile and Tolerate it.