Did anyone enjoy Taylor but felt at 3.5 hours it…. dragged a little?

[Fromthenotorious]

I admit that i’m not her biggest fan and it was a bit of a fluke that i got a ticket to go with friends.

I enjoy her music and think she’s amazing but a dedicated Swiftie… I am not!

I just felt that it could have been at least thirty mins shorter and would have been more enjoyable. Even amongst the hardened Swifties around us, I sensed a little restlessness.

Anyone else agree?

I tend the agree with OP. Quite a few things, films, concerts, I'd prefer them to be shorter and really enjoy only the songs I want, the main songs.

Ahhh, the Fannies. Great Festival band!

@BitOutOfPractice No, you didn't engage, you just said it was nonsense with no justification or explanation. (E.g. which bit is nonsense, and why? Which bit is faux intellectual, and what does that mean? Equally I think your phrasing permits the reading that you're calling my post nonsense written by a faux intellectual music snob, so the quotation wasn't really twisting things.)

You're not personally being preached at by someone writing something on a pubic forum. If you feel that way, and can't mount a response beyond an unfounded dismissal, that says more about you.

This is what really confuses me: when people feel personally attacked by others' views, even when they're not directed at them.

FWIW, I like loads of stuff that I don't think is "good" or "intellectual", but I don't feel the need to deify or hero worship it.

I really like Domino's pizza and S Club 7. (Domino's pizza is so addictive to me its unreal.) But I can like them without claiming they're the greatest pizza or band in the world. Or feeling attacked it people say they're shit.

That's where the fascination comes in - it's the way people attribute god like status to TS or any other artist, or get wound up if you challenge the idea the music is good. She's the biggest example of this at the moment, which is why she gets talked about so much.

"Lots of artists with significantly more talent have historically done as long or longer sets."

I'm not sure that that's true. Springsteen is a bit of an outlier. I got to hundreds of gigs. Started in the 70s and almost all of them are 1 1/2 to 2 hours. On stage at 9, off at 10.30-10.45.

Three hours is pretty rare.

Christ alive peeps where was op gloating?
She enjoyed it.....she thought it was a bit long she didn't decry it as a money wasting pile of shite or anything

To my mind, what's really boring is fanaticism. Any fanaticism, be it football, music, or religion. Other people's fixations are not normally a point of interest for most.

And a national fixation, as far as the UK is concerned, is with class: not just as a matter of socio-economic background, but taste and snobbery/reverse snobbery. This is more than boring, it's tedious in the extreme and this whole site is saturated in it. This thread is the musical equivalent of the pampas grass and 'live, laugh, love' plaques vs. understated Farrow & Ball paint and 'posh people really do have mucky houses' rhetoric. It's BS.

That 'class/taste' has permated the musical genre gatekeeping that so often happens online is predictable. (The 'I love eighties Goth' group on Facebook got really nasty). That particular music is 'for' particular people. That if you like Madonna or Katy Perry, you couldn't possibly like Mozart, for eg. Or that bubblegum pop is 'really' a deep commentary on existential angst or social satire. I had to laugh when Muttley MacLad of the Macc Lads slapped down some journalist who accused him of ingenious satirism, saying it was the 'worst thing that's ever been said about us!' Good for him, too (even though his name IS really Tristan ...).

There's a market for bubblegum pop. The job of light entertainment is exactly that: to switch off from the heavy stuff. And that's okay: whether you do or don't like Taylor Swift.

It covers (I think) 10 albums and 18 years, with a good balance of singles and fan favourites, and won't be repeated. It felt more like a musical to me!

To be honest I went to see Elton John's Yellow Brick Road and that felt a bit short at 2.5 hours.

Yes, which is why I’ve said repeatedly that it’s a longer than normal gig.

But it’s that new - Google it, others have done it. Muse or The Grateful Dead, for example. There was a classical music artist whom I believe did about double many years ago, but I’ve forgotten the artist and story.

Im not knocking what she’s done, she must have amazing stamina to do it. But the idea that ‘only’ she could achieve this belittles what other musicians around the world and through history have done. It’s okay to celebrate her achievements without disregarding other musicians amazing feats too.

Kin HELL. Ingenious band name it may be, but three hours of 'The Grateful Dead' and I'd off myself ....

Oh it’s not just online either 🙄 I grew up listening to rock/punk/metal and you wouldn’t believe the snobbery. The arguments that still go on today about what is metal and what is nu-metal - it doesn’t surprise me that the 80’s goth group went insane, some of these people are so fucking snobbish it’s crazy.And it makes no sense because why wouldn’t you want other people to enjoy a band/artist? Thats good for the band/artist! But they can’t bear it because it makes them less ‘edgy’. It’s on par with going up to a woman who is wearing a band t-shirt and asking her to name three songs because a woman couldn’t POSSIBLY enjoy rock because we’re all meant to just listen to Aqua on repeat.

😂 Radiohead also apparently did a 2.5 hour concert and that would have absolutely seen me off!

I do 🙋🏼‍♀️

I didn't say I was being personally preached at @EveningSpread I know from personal experience that this sort of diatribe enjoys a wider audience 😉

OK here's an example of the sort of bollocks that makes you sound smug, preachy, and pretend clever, just to say "TS music isn't for me. I don't really like pop music":

"For me, the state of some pop music and pop lyrics are a worse than a travesty: they're indicative of how narrow and predictable and commodified the range of human emotions and experiences have become. And how easily impressed and pacified we are."

I mean, I sort of agree with you but 'twas ever thus with pop music. But having listened to this kind of justification for snobbery for ten solid years has made it all very, very old to me. I also think you are wide of the mark about TS's lyrics personally. I mean, they are a step up from "I want to hold your hand" or "I like big butts", that's for sure.

As for your taste in pizza, here we can really fall out! 😚

I like quite a lot of Prog Rock (may god forgive me) and Prog snobs are the absolute worst. Most of them don't like any other kind of music and they seem to think that liking complicated time signatures and lots of widdly widdly keyboard solos makes them cleverer than everyone else.
I happened to mention that I like Bob Seger on a forum once and they nearly ran me out of town on a rail.

Eh? Do you? 😅

@beguilingeyes yes I have experienced that prog rock muso species as well. Bob Seger is great! I'll join you on the rail!

@BitOutOfPractice But it's not a justification for snobbery because I do like some pop music! And all those things I wrote about TS, I can also think about an artist whose music I enjoy.

I can like listening to something, but think it's lyrically weak and maybe even part of a really problematic culture. I can like the Domino's pizza, but know the tasty sugar and trans fats are tricking me into eating the whole XL stuffed crust, and I'm going to feel like shit later. There's a massive difference between enjoyment and value, but a lot of people (some on this thread) won't accept that.

(Tell me about your pizza preferences. I also like a nice sourdough pizza with decent ingredients. But just like with the pop music, sometimes you want the trash.)

Sorry your husband was a ranty snob. (I've been ranted at by insufferable theory bros too and it does get dull.) I don't tend to talk like this in real life as it doesn't make you any friends. And I think cultural phenomenons are genuinely worth engaging with because they have such massive reach and impact! I thought I'd get a load of hate for that post but all the deifying, grateful Swifties just made it come out haha.

@SerafinasGoose · Today 11:25

To my mind, what's really boring is fanaticism. Any fanaticism, be it football, music, or religion. Other people's fixations are not normally a point of interest for most.

Yeah, this is. I do know one particular person who's obsessed with a certain science fiction genre. They keep saying, 'have you seen the new series? Have you seen the new this and that blah, blah, blah, blah, blah' to anybody and everybody that they meet.

And when 19 out of 20 people say 'no, I've not seen it,' this person says 'well, when you gonna watch it?' They say 'Well, I'm not really interested. So I'm not going to watch it.' And this person looks half annoyed and half confused. They are obsessive over this particular thing. They get actually quite annoyed and irritated and literally cannot understand why other people aren't into it - or at least trying to give it a go.

Some people have said 'I've watched it and I think it's boring,' and you can see them going purple in the face with anger because someone slagged off the show that they're obsessed about, and they stand there explaining why the person's opinions are WRONG.

It really is quite bizarre.

But I don't see Taylor Swift fans getting obsessed or angry. I just see Taylor Swift fans getting sick to death of people slating and berating a beautiful and talented young woman, who's incredibly successful, with a massive fan base. It just makes me wonder why they're so nasty about her. Is because she's a woman. Is there another reason?

Hi @EveningSpread I would definitely prefer to talk pizza - I like a reeeeealy a very thin crust. I think dominos is stodgy and greasy. Though, to be fair, stodgy and greasy are not bad in and of themselves. And many people do love Dominos so who am I to judge or take a moral stance about it, saying pizza is everything that's wrong with modern society.

I'm sorry we've had a tense discussion. As you can see, this is a raw subject for me!

You see, when I see 90,000 people having a great time, feeling the love, and loving a music artist, even one I don't like myself, I don't think, "I must tell them why they are all wrong." I think, "How lovely—it looks like everyone enjoyed themselves," even if it's not my taste. It's just a different perspective. I mean, I secretly loathe the Foo Fighters, but I didn't mention that to any of the fans I met on the train on Saturday, I'd have been lynched!

@BitOutOfPractice Don't be sorry! Like you said I expected a dressing down hehe. Being challenged is good :)

(I just love bread you see. Lots and lots of bread.)

But Dominoes is part of an epidemic of greasy, stodgy, easily accessible badness that's killing people! Is it harmless enjoyable fast food, or is it a travesty that half the world (me included) stuffs their fat faces and gets sick while the other half gets sick from not having enough to eat? I mean, I don't sit around thinking about this kind of stuff all day because I'd go mental. But it's all there in the background.

Same with TS (or any other pop artist). Of course it's nice that people are having a good time. Of course music creates shared communities and a sense of belonging and gives people hope and enjoyment purpose. Of course really popular artists have managed to tap into something that speaks to a moment, or a group of people.

But that same music/musician might also be contributing to unrealistic beauty standards, or emphasising to teenage girls that crushes and love lives should be the centre of everything. Or shaping their ideas about what love is, or what's important, in ways that are actually narrow and limiting. And super stars have huge carbon footprints, like someone else said.

Pizza and pop music can be enjoyable and terrible at the same time.

And you're totally right, I wouldn't say this in a crowd of super fans, haha!

@EveningSpread I disagree that her view of relationships can be summed up thus, “love lives should be the centre of everything… shaping their ideas about what love is, or what's important, in ways that are actually narrow and limiting. ”
It’s more “I’m not going to stick around in a relationship that isn’t great and it’s agony being dumped but I get through it.”
Thats an incredibly realistic and healthy message. That’s the songs- her patter in the shows is all about friends, the support acts, her parents, songwriting and the crew.

I think TS’ talent is creating such a phenomenal hype out of her very mediocre talent and convincing people to pay a fortune for it. Not her singing or performance.

Agreed. Lady gaga did a good few hours when I last saw her and I was transfixed, she has so many different styles I think that kept it going and her visual art/costumes and (no offense Taylor) her vocals and dancing are way better, I was astonished by her vocal ability actually. I admire Taylor tho but do find the music fairly samey.

YANBU. I switched off from the Disney+ recording and was just glad I wasn’t there.

@randoname I'm certainly no expert on her entire catalogue and haven't seen a show! I've looked up lyrics to a few of the more recent songs and of course heard a few. What you describe is fine maybe good, but equally not really groundbreaking. And it doesn't have to be, but so many people want to claim it's genius!

I do think it's fair to say the topics of pop music can be narrow, vague, and repetitive. They have to be to be catchy and have mass appeal - it's a well tried and tested formula in that sense.