To not get the Taylor swift hype?

[StopBeingASquare]

I have my hard hat on.
Probably going to get my arse handed to me on a plate.

I really don't get all this fuss about Taylor swift, I just find her utterly boring. All this fuss about midnight / album / preorders / codes to then try and attempt to get tickets in Scotland when you live on the cliffs of lands end. Threads and threads about it and people planning their outfits when the gig is a year away, I thought gig attire was jeans and a tour T shirt?! From various YouTube videos I've seen of her singing live I have to say I wasn't impressed at all. Mediocre voice, dodging high notes. I'm obviously a minority here as there's people willing to sell a kidney to just get a code to be in with a chance of getting a ticket.

I saw Pink in Hyde park a few weeks ago where she was singing live, doing incredible acts, dancing, acrobats etc and it was incredible. I'm not trying to compare, but I just find Taylor so average!

Can anyone tell me why there's all of this hype. I'm fully aware my username is rather fitting.

(I'll get my coat..)

Another song suggestion for anyone who genuinely wants to understand more about why she is popular is ‘Marjorie’ It’s about her grandmother. Regardless of your age, if you’ve been bereaved of a beloved grand parent, this one resonates.

Just posting in solidarity. I find her massively overrated and the fan hysteria totally bizarre. Takes all kinds, though.

I think every single young actor or a musician has a connection and/or rich parent nowadays. I can't think of anyone who came "from nothing" so wonder why people keep mentioning it in the case of Taylor Swift.

Because she's a white woman I expect. Yawn. Beyonce grew up in a wealthy family yet this never seems to get thrown back in her face and excused as the reason she's successful.

A question for everyone saying you can't judge unless you've seen her live, why?

Genuine question, not trying to be goady. Surely the reason those singles of hers are released are for the general public to listen to / PR / make judgement / attract people to buy her album etc?

Surely people make judgements all the time on what they hear in the radio. Whether it's not your taste and you turn the station over, or you listen to more of that artist and they become one you like and you purchase the album etc.

When I say I find her a bit vanilla, I don't mean her personally. It's just what I've heard on the radio or Spotify, what's been released etc. i don't think I've seen any of her your videos apart from a few on tiktok that have come up. My opinion on the mediocre live singing is the ones I've seen on YouTube or the telly like awards ceremonies and the like.

The songs that have been suggested in here have beautiful lyrics. She is an incredible poet. I just don't see what puts her leagues above her peers.

To PP who said about lots of teens just go and put their phones in the air and record I absolutely agree with this. When I went to Pink I was front row at the barrier. When I turned around every other person was recording. It's such a shame. When I go to a gig I'm there to enjoy the 2 hours and watch with awe. Someone else will be recording and it'll be on YouTube or tiktok to watch. I think it's such a shame that people go to gigs just to watch it through their phone screen.

I think it's great so many people love her and buy her tickets, it's wonderful to look forward to such a thing that means so much to the fans after covid etc (I'm the same with pink) I just don't get offended if someone says they find her vanilla, the general consensus is TS fans get very offended if someone doesn't get the hype.

But, I've learnt that she stands up for womens rights, is a great role model for women and young girls, she writes a lot of her songs, never put a foot out of line. These are wonderful attributes that a lot of artists don't have. I'm not judging her at all, I just didn't get the hype / hysteria THIS time around all over SM and MN about the tickets and people taking days off to get codes etc.

I understand a little more now. (And to PP who said I mustn't have any passion in my life just because I didn't understand the hype, I do have passion. Lots of it. For various different things. Just not for Taylor swift, unfortunately.)

@StopBeingASquare your posts have been reasonable and I agree you don't have to see someone live to figure out whether you enjoy their music or not! I think the posters who wade in to not share their opinions but to use mistruths about her or make out people who like her are ridiculous and their tastes are superior are annoying.

'Because she's a white woman I expect. Yawn. Beyonce grew up in a wealthy family yet this never seems to get thrown back in her face and excused as the reason she's successf'

@Jigslaw

Beyoncé falls under the category of 'every single young actor / mucision', as does TS. There is absolutely no need to bring race into this thread fgs.

Yes, her father is rich and record producer and owns a record company too, I think.

No he isn't and no he doesn't, he bought a 3% share in a label she was already signed to and he worked in finance not anything to do with being a record producer.

@StopBeingASquare but the conversations are very different about TS than other artists- it's interesting as to why that is. I say this as a black woman so I don't have a vested interest in fighting for white women particularly.

“The songs that have been suggested in here have beautiful lyrics. She is an incredible poet. I just don't see what puts her leagues above her peers.”

The lyrics... it is the lyrics.

She’s not an exceptional singer, I think she’s good and often underrated because she’s an alto, but yeah there are better singers.

Musically shes again good, she does play about with genres a bit, but fairly mainstream, nothing really groundbreaking.

But her lyrics are what makes her (to me obviously) better than her peers.

My DP doesn’t get her, it’s a topic that’s come up recently because of the tickets 🤣 but he doesn’t really pay attention to lyrics, where that’s mostly what I’m listening to. Not completely obviously or I’d just listen to poetry, but it’s a huge part of why I’ll like or dislike a song.

I'll admit that I get quite defensive of Taylor. Probably because I'm also gen x and 10 years older than her, but mostly because she has been criticised her entire career.

People not believing she writes the songs. Why? Is it because she's beautiful? Female? Blonde? Her age?
If she was male would anyone question it? Does anyone question Ed Sheeran?

Why did Damon Albarn (also from money) believe that Billie Eilish wrote her songs (when they are all co written with her brother), but that Taylor didn't because she (sometimes) uses other writers and producers?

And the criticism she got over her love life was ridiculous. I definitely kissed more frogs than she did in my teens-20s. I'll admit she has had terrible taste in men at times, but we've all been there too.

The comparison to Madonna only goes so far. Madonna didn't have much talent to speak of. Terrible vocalist. Her success was largely due to controversy. I was too young to appreciate her but my sisters did. Back then I just remember she was considered badly behaved.

Taylor might not be your cup of tea vocally but she is mine. I've never loved big voice singers. Celine Dion was the worst for me and Adele sounds like a foghorn. Arianna and Mariah do far too much warbling.

A big big part of the Taylor hype is her love of bridges. Every single song has a bridge that adds something extra. Some of the bridge lyrics are actual perfection.

Some that stand out (but there are 100s) are:

"She would've made such a lovely bride, what a shame she's fucked in the head", they said..

Living for the thrill of hitting you where it hurts.
Give me back my girlhood it was mine first

He looks up grinning like a devil
(This one is yelled and it's so good. It also sounds like "he looks so pretty like a devil", which also works).

Please don't be in love with someone else.
Please don't have somebody waiting on you.

Honestly, they are iconic when they come. She has such a gift.

@StopBeingASquare but the conversations are very different about TS than other artists- it's interesting as to why that is. I say this as a black woman so I don't have a vested interest in fighting for white women particularly.

@Jigslaw

I haven't seen many other conversations about other black artists so I've been quite naive there, I take what I said back about that.

@User10486743 could be because I don't have a TV, don't listen to the radio and my kids are not interested in this kid of music. It somehow passed me by, I listen to a lot of stuff but not to the contemporary pop music. In my old life, I only listened to in because of the radio, when driving to work.

I don't think quoting lyrics helps at all. It's a bit cringe inducing. Perhaps they are effective in context, but in isolation they just sound so very ordinary. Well, to me anyway.

YANBU

i can’t stand her and thankfully neither can my teen DDs

My 17yo DD is a huge swiftie but also a huge Bruce fan! We saw him twice on tour in the past few months, and we've just bought tickets to see Taylor next year. It's not like it's either or! Kids like different things

I was talking about Beyonces father.

Yes I agree those examples all work better in context. I don't think quoting individual lyrics really illustrates what people mean when they say she's a good lyricist.

It’s for the benefit of anybody who is genuinely interested in understanding the hype ( as OP claims to be)

For the sneery music snobs who are trying so hard to be oh so cool on the other hand 😂….

The lyrics quoted look pretty rubbish and generic which have been quoted they aren't ground breaking.

There is no point quoting lyrics in isolation as it's meaningless.

It's not being a snob that stating her music isn't groundbreaking and is generic.

Same.

Different songs / lyrics resonate with different people.

Although I have listened to the songs suggested and I do find her lyrics and the way she puts them the her very clever. So suggesting to listen so some of the songs has been good.

Some of the songs have been quite generic, but some of the suggested songs have been incredibly well written.

In all honesty, I don’t think single lines do it justice either, I mean, they are good bridges, but just as text by themselves without any context....

You’ve got the range of things her songs cover, love, loss and break ups obviously, but also, the fear of growing older, eating disorders, anxiety, her mother’s cancer, dealing with lockdown, feminism... and loads of other things.

There are literary references, references to other songs, lots of plays on words.

Maroon for instance from midnights, not one of my favourite songs, but throughout her songs there’s lots of colours having meanings, love is red, blue, golden, depending on the song and relationship, so maroon is both the colour and the song is about a relationship ending so there’s also the stranded meaning of it as well. It has a line - that’s a real fucking legacy to leave and it’s both the standard leaving a legacy but also could be that the legacy is, to leave...

Even the fairly simple catchy pop songs (glitter gel pen ones as she calls them) are about something.

There’s a lot of storytelling, where the music gradually builds as the story develops, and things like what sound like cheery pop songs suddenly having devastatingly sad lyrics.

She’s taken bits of country music and bits of indie music and wrapped them up in a nice pop music package.

I had no idea she wrote about cancer, eating disorders, anxiety etc.

That will resonate with so many people on such a personal and emotional level.

Which song is about her mothers cancer please? (I have cancer so intrigued to listen.)

Soon you’ll get better