Taylor Swift

[Tammy 2,291]

 

 

 

​Wow! I bet Britney Spears wishes she could sing and dance like Taylor. 

 

I love the new TS era! 

 

[Jean 4,117]

​Wow! I bet Britney Spears wishes she could sing and dance like Taylor. 

 

I love the new TS era! 

 

 

What's the point of bringing Britney into this? I'm not asking this as her fan, but as a person. It makes no sense (unless you were joking, then that's fine).

 

~~~~

 

I love the video AND the song, but still not a TS stan.

[Trash Magic 28,472]

Song is really so bad. that chorus is straight from a Meghan Trainor album and her bridges are so cringeworthy when she writes a lame ass line which she thinks is killer and just repeats it (blank space)

and why does she always sing about having a list of names (the last time, blank space)

[summercummer 377]

Song is really so bad. that chorus is straight from a Meghan Trainor album and her bridges are so cringeworthy when she writes a lame ass line which she thinks is killer and just repeats it (blank space)

and why does she always sing about having a list of names (the last time, blank space)

 

 

it's just taylor's party dress and pale moonlight ok

[Pink Champagne 9,590]

I want to like her and the new music but this seems so dramatic for a feud so insignificant :/

[loleetah 4,084]

What do you guys think about Taylor's plot with the concert tickets? 

 

For those that missed out, fans who buy expensive merch get a boost in line for ticket sales. You also get this for watching the music video and buying the album but not as big of a boost as buying a $60 sweatshirt. Here's a link 

http://fortune.com/2017/08/30/taylor-swift-concert-tickets/

 

Personally I think it's thinly-veiled greed and disrespectful to fans 

[callmedecember 2,319]

Song is really so bad. that chorus is straight from a Meghan Trainor album and her bridges are so cringeworthy when she writes a lame ass line which she thinks is killer and just repeats it (blank space)

and why does she always sing about having a list of names (the last time, blank space)

 

Well, we could say the same about that "swish swish bish" shit.

[pawn shop blues 2,347]

Okay y'all, I'm going to sound like a crazy conspiracy theorist right now, but the more I have been thinking about this, the more I completely believe that this entire feud between Kim, Kanye, and Taylor is made-up, from the 2009 VMAS until now. I made an accidental essay no one is going to read, so I’ll just put it in spoiler, but here’s what I’m thinking:

 

From everything we know about Taylor, nothing she does is unintentional. This is the woman who used to, according to herself, watch Behind the Music on a daily basis and studied careers and fame to see where stars went wrong (and what went right, I'm sure), and used that knowledge to propel herself to complete stardom. She is one of the biggest acts in music worldwide. From the moment she came on the scene to 1989, her career seemed to be getting bigger and bigger.

 

Yes, like any star, there were multiple things that contributed to that. Of course the music is important to that and I am not trying to discredit her as an artist. But it's also a pretty hard fact, whether it's nice or not, that talent alone doesn't "win", because talent is subjective. Also, for what it's worth, writing great songs does not guarantee having a great career, but having a great career does depend on songs of at least a certain quality, which is something Taylor has maintained. 

 

But again, stardom and great songs do not go together unless there are other factors beyond the music. For example: her likable personality and ability to make her fans feel appreciated and heard, her general image of the sweet, wholesome, and down to earth girl who just wants to find love and happiness (represented both in the actual songs and videos as well as in real life, which is important), the cross-over appeal of her music, the fact that she wrote or co-wrote all of her songs which--from a certain point of view--made her songs more personal and like she was sharing her heart and story to the world, and of course, more than probably any other, the sense that she was an underdog (or at least presented herself that way in her music and personal narrative), because people historically love to feel they are fighting for an underdog. 

 

Again, all of these (and other) factors were present before the 2009 VMAs (as well as her general music) or else she would not have even been nominated. It is important to state this for a couple reasons. The first is, again, because this theory of mine is not trying to discredit Taylor, either as an artist or as a businesswoman. The second reason why this is important is because of the timing of the VMAs mic-grabbing incident, as it relates to both Kanye and Taylor's careers (but especially Taylor's). 

 

Now, I will say, whether Kanye and Taylor "worked together" for that particular moment could go either way. Kanye was already seen as opinionated and passionate, so him interrupting a speech to declare who he thinks should have actually won the award would not be totally out of character. At the same time, while not being the worst thing he could have done on stage, it was still a big deal. And big deal=controversy=headlines, and the focus being on both Kanye and Taylor, which translates to sales (or, at the very least, relevancy in the public consciousness, which usually translates to sales).

 

The public narrative for both artists after the incident was, of course, at polar opposites. Kanye got cast as the "bad guy" who stole Taylor's (the innocent, hard-working underdog) big special moment of getting her first VMA. Did it make Taylor "famous", as Kanye would later say in one of his songs? Not necessarily, but there isn't a definite answer to that, either. Again, it got major publicity--to the point where even President Obama commented his opinion on the spectacle. And it was a bit of a spectacle. 

 

Of course now some might ask--why would they orchestrate that, especially since it made Kanye look horrible?

 

And this is why the importance of the timing in this incident comes into play. Kanye had already established himself as a respected and innovative artist, so he had some cushioning to fall back on. He is also--just the facts--male, which arguably means he didn't have to try AS hard as a female would to win back the public's forgiveness. Of course, it also wasn't such a horrible thing that people couldn't even fathom it. And as well as his aforementioned established personality and career, since a lot of his speech was about Beyonce, there was room for his defense. He wasn't being an asshole, some could say, he was just being an artist and coming to the defense of another artist--Beyonce--who he believed really deserved that award. And Single Ladies was everywhere that year and a huge video, while Taylor's video didn't quite reach the same heights (at least in terms of the public's consciousness). There was more pressure on Kanye to "rebound", but again, he already had enough talent and general public support that he absolutely could and did with his next album. 

 

And of course, Taylor had the most to gain from this. The whole thing fit into her narrative of the gracious and kind underdog, she had huge amounts of public sympathy (like, for years people referenced this event when talking about her), and--with all of those headlines--she also had a lot more interest in her work than before. All of this was coming at a time when her music was slowly starting to introduce elements of pop. Of course, she has always had those elements. It was important that she did not just switch and “sell out”, but instead introduced more elements gradually, to adjust her listeners and the public at large. It was more of a natural evolution than taking advantage of extra publicity.

 

It’s also important that she also had a career before the VMAs. If she hadn’t, the attention might have been too much—for anyone. History has shown way too many examples of people who got loads of attention way too soon and completely crashed and burned. Fame-studying Taylor likely knew that, and again, when extra attention was granted her way, she already had the foundation and knew the ropes of the music industry well enough that she could navigate it. And of course she did.

 

The years 2010 through 2014 aren’t really relevant, so I’ll mostly skip over them, but just stay that—from what I remember—her star was only climbing, and she had managed to avoid pretty much any controversy. The most controversial thing about her seemed to be the idea that she dated too many guys and used them as material for songs/attention from the public that got funneled into attention to her songs (which guy is this about?). But those are hardly controversial and easily dismissed as misogynistic—which was the angle Taylor and a lot of the public took. There was also some rumblings that she seemed always too perfect or kind or squeaky clean or acted too excited over everything (fake), but again, easily dismissible and not really controversial, and they played into her brand, too.

 

By 1989, it really was Taylor’s “moment” in a way that it had never been. The album and era were huge. The absolute biggest yet in her career. And, having put out albums since 2006, she deserved that moment. And since she hadn’t ever really changed her persona (at least not a considerable amount), the full-on pop didn’t feel like selling out as much as rooting for your quirky and lovable friend getting what she deserved, the (still) underdog who was taking on the world.

 

But, since it was such a big year, this is why I kind of believe that the last year or so has been another calculated move: because the most historical and consistent narrative in pop music is that the public loves to bring someone up to unbelievable heights only to watch (and actively root) for them to fall. And it was Taylor’s turn to fall. And, if you are going to fall, why not do it yourself?

 

From the end of the 1989 album and tour until the Famous thing, nothing much was happening with Taylor other than taking time off and being in a long-term relationship with Calvin Harris, which is neither a fall nor anything the public can speculate on.

 

 In a lot of ways, the Famous song that Kanye put out is a lot like the 2009 VMAs. It caused a bit of a stir, but also wasn’t the worst thing imaginable he could have said about someone. Of course there were elements of misogyny (why “that bitch”? and having a man take ownership over a female’s success), something Taylor worked into her speech for AOTY and which again made her look like the gracious warrior defending herself once again from “a narrative she did not wish to be apart of” or whatever the exact comment is.

 

From certain angles, there were ways in which Kanye could be defended—one, that it was just a remark blown out of proportion and, two, that there were a lot of people who didn’t know who Swift was until the mic-grabbing incident. Did he make her famous? If so, how much? It started a bit of a conversation, while also playing into some of the criticism Swift has faced from others (I have seen loads of comments pre-Famous that mentioned they only felt she was known because of Kanye). But it was important that the footage that eventually got leaked didn’t get leaked for a few more months. Taylor had to fall a little more first. Her breakup with Calvin I think played into some of that, specifically the whole drama of Calvin’s song that Taylor wrote and some feeling that she was trying to make him look bad (I’m hazy about the exact details of this and don’t really care to look it up again, but basically it made her start to look a little mean/calculating and maybe the start of a reevaluation of her character). This, as well as Katy’s comments and the Bad Blood story getting rehashed (all that just because of backup dancers) came up as well.

 

The leaked footage in the summer of 2016, of course, was the “big moment” a lot of people seemed to realize that she wasn’t quite as she has portrayed herself. And again, for anyone wondering why Kim and Kanye would either go along with or actively co-orchestrate this moment with Taylor, it’s because it didn’t really hurt anyone’s careers besides Taylor’s, which needed to take a bit of a plunge anyway. It brought more attention to Kim and Kanye, and since Kim was the one who “leaked” the footage, it put her in good standing with anyone who already disliked Taylor. Kim was exposing the truth, maybe even doing justice.

 

Taylor’s very bizarre relationship with Tom Hiddleston again came at a very “convenient” moment because it made her look like she was falling harder, while also bringing a lot of attention. The whole “I Heart TS” shirt and awkward make-out pictures on the beach filmed right in the paparazzi played again into how some people view Taylor—that she manipulates and uses the men in her life to get attention—while also posturing the whole thing as a bit of a meltdown (or, at least, the most of a “meltdown” Taylor has ever had, and likely will have). It’s important that it was with Tom versus someone like Harry Styles because it just looked so awkward. Tom didn’t seem Taylor’s type at all, they didn’t seem to have much in common, it just didn’t fit, and it wasn’t supposed to fit. It gave people who hated her a chance to make fun of her, to declare her “over” with and dead. And she let them have that, by staying silent on the issue completely and going (mostly) offline for over a full year.

 

But, let’s be real, that silence also did another thing, which was to build mass amounts of anticipation on what her next album would be about. Because, since so much of her music comes from her life (or so the image goes), it seemed unreasonable that she wouldn’t address all of this. Or would she? Would she try and pretend she was innocent, or even that it didn’t happen at all? Would she admit to everything? By saying nothing (from her or her reps—the only thing that got said was that new music was reportedly being worked on, but nothing ever confirmed), she was almost giving herself that much more marketing in a strange way, while also letting people cool off from hearing about her all the time. And when she did come back, she had a better story. Her personal life had been “out of control”, she seemed to be down completely, but then she rose back up again, knowing full well what people have been saying about her and “reclaiming” it. The “underdog” once again that got hated on by the world and came out stronger.

 

At the same time, things are a little different now. She couldn’t have been the same person/persona forever, especially as she looks to the end of her twenties. Acting like a innocent and excited teenager (or so people said) doesn’t quite have the same look, and it was time for a reinvention anyway. But since she has kept so mum about much of her new album (we know almost nothing beyond the title, cover art, and that there are 15 tracks), it keeps curiosity very high. Is this a new Taylor completely? Was she joking when she said the “old Taylor” is dead? Is she going for darker themes this era? Is that going to work with the current political climate? She will likely continue to keep things as quiet as possible until November 10^th (while also teasing out just enough info/new songs to keep momentum), but judging from how many views and think pieces she has already generated, it’s all being set up for this to be her “comeback” album.

At least, those are my thoughts.

 

[Wynwood 19,967]

weirdly excited for the new album, might give 1989 a listen especially since it has Without You on it

[Sitar 22,218]

At least 8 tracks will knock

[Wynwood 19,967]

Ok

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1989 is so good

[Tammy 2,291]

Well, we could say the same about that "swish swish bish" shit.

True! But to be honest, I like the song and video. And I do like Katy.

 

Sad to see the girls haven't noticed yet that there are Taylor fans who listen to Katy and Katy fans who listen to Taylor. If the girls would stop fighting and would come together again they could create something that's bigger than their freaking ego and maybe bigger than anything else ever heard before...

[LaMartine 1,201]

What do you guys think about Taylor's plot with the concert tickets? 

 

For those that missed out, fans who buy expensive merch get a boost in line for ticket sales. You also get this for watching the music video and buying the album but not as big of a boost as buying a $60 sweatshirt. Here's a link 

http://fortune.com/2017/08/30/taylor-swift-concert-tickets/

 

Personally I think it's thinly-veiled greed and disrespectful to fans 

the thing is, taylor isn't the only one who does that but she's the only one who gets criticised rn, if she deserves the backlash i don't know i'm not sure 

 

it's a technique to avoid scalping, basically greedy men who have cash buy several tickets as soon as they are available and sell them for a multiple price i know that i really struggle to buy tickets because it takes me a lot of time to make a decision :/ especially if the artist doesn't go on tour very often (which i don't know for taylor but it's definitely true for the PEOPLE I LISTEN TO GODDAMIT) and as far as i know you can be priority for free, i know those who yell that you need to buy the album several times to get a ticket lie -.- basically it counts how many views you have on her vevo, tweets, IG, other social media you need to #her + merch/downloads/other stuff you buy. it's for the fans who really are into the artists but get denied tickets because they can't get to buy them. i remember how happy i was to know paolo conte of all people was having a concert in my city (in france!!!) but it was already sold out by the time i opened my laptop and a lowlife was selling tickets 4 times the price like they were leaves of bread. it's really a no win-win situation, if tickets are too expensive you're greedy but if they're too cheap scalpers who lurk the internet will buy lots of them and i don't think these teenagers' parents like to buy stuff from them 

 

at least i think that's why, whenever i see an article about taylor swift i admit i take it with a grain of salt because people love to hate her so much and i despise click baits  

 

plus it also makes sense to me that if you are invested with an artist you should be have easier access? it's like a vente privé from a shop you go to very often 

[Wynwood 19,967]

Listened to 1989 and this is my rank of the songs

 

All You Had To Do Was Stay

New Romantics

Blank Space

I Know Places

Wildest Dreams

Style

I Wish You Would

Wonderland

Shake It Off

This Love

How You Get The Girl

Out of the Woods

Clean

Welcome To New York

You Are In Love

Bad Blood

[callmedecember 2,319]

True! But to be honest, I like the song and video. And I do like Katy.

 

Sad to see the girls haven't noticed yet that there are Taylor fans who listen to Katy and Katy fans who listen to Taylor. If the girls would stop fighting and would come together again they could create something that's bigger than their freaking ego and maybe bigger than anything else ever heard before...

 

I like Witness, I think it's not a bad album and Teenage Dream is one of my favorite albums ever but, you know, people can't say that "look what you made me do" is childish when they stan someone who sings "swish swish bish" that makes no sense at all.

[graham4anything 2,859]

@@pawn shop blues

 

I agree and it helped both of them

[BlueJeans 2,608]

Cool mashup:

 

[Constantine 4,075]

Song is really so bad. that chorus is straight from a Meghan Trainor album and her bridges are so cringeworthy when she writes a lame ass line which she thinks is killer and just repeats it (blank space)

and why does she always sing about having a list of names (the last time, blank space)

she's literally playing a caricature of a villain in the song.

Y'all act purposely dense when it comes to The Lord and She still keeps winning(and is a better songwriter than all your favourite female artists)

[Melania 2,386]

i stan

[Dum-Dum 3,515]

this new song sounds so dated ...lwymmd wig is still glued tight. the beat sounds like something familiar (i can't figure it out though) but the part where she says 

 

In the middle of the night

In my dreams

You should see the things we do

Baby hmmm

 

it sounds like a mix of Wildest Dreams and miley's intro to Drive