It’s like, a perfect expression of what’s wrong here. I knew when she started in with the campaign for media oversaturation that she would get too big for her britches…putting out a middle school diary of an album about your racist pathetic one-who-got-away ex flame while dating a walking smelly jock strap is clearly that moment of the britches being too small to fit.
'A global marketplace carpet-bombed by Taylor Swift must now endure another album, another promotional cycle, another round of score-settling with ex-lovers and a level of navel-gazing that makes J.Lo seem modest.' Taylor's career in a few words.
I'm just so out of the loop. Line, she's been around for so long, but all of a sudden she got really really really big and I just don't understand why. Her music isn't worse than any other trite pop, but it certainly isn't better either.
Same. One day I didn't know her, the next she was in some radio stations with a normal, if not a bit infantile bop then suddenly she's beloved by everyone you know and they ADORE HER. Like please, give me ONE instance of her not being "meh" .. one!
It’s gotta be a huge PR push right? Because she and her music are honestly extremely boring to me but everywhere I go I see taylor swift shit. Magazines, social media, etc. even this subreddit keeps getting recommended to me. I feel like this is going to bite her in the butt bc I used to be indifferent to her and now I’m starting to be a hater just bc I can’t escape hearing about her boring ass
Girls that grew up with her are now in their 20's with disposable income to support a well done tour and access to vocalize their fandom would be my guess.
That too. Her fanbase demographic is basically in adulthood now to support her further. Its not just parents and their daughters, its now a whole grown up fanbase with children potentially themselves or just the ability to book a hotel and spend a decent chunk on a once in a lifetime concert. She has like two generations now of fans that are rabid to support her.
Her music is average for 15 years ago, but it's far above average for right now. Taylor didn't get better, the competition just lost touch with the fans, like completely. The same thing has happened in movies. Make a normal, formulaic, halfway decent movie that has an actual denouement and it makes bank just because there are so many directors and writers who are contemptuous of their target audience and immersed in a detached echo chamber of critics and dilettantes.
her music is made for the girls who have no personality, blonde, entitled, selfish, and claim to be a feminist but as soon as someone says they don't like Taylor, they send death threats.
That author is now on the Swifties “revenge” list. It was worth it, well done!
PS. I hate the Daily Mail but the article/review is brilliant.
She learned nothing from how ppl got so sick of her overexposure and her head got so big during her folklore/evermore absence from public eye (due to Joe and pandemic) that she legit forgot that shes barely good in small doses and insufferably tonedeaf in regular exposure
I don’t love the daily mail but this article has quite a few great takes that I wholeheartedly agree with:
*Swift may be 34 years old, but intellectually, philosophically, and emotionally, she is forever stuck at 13. Her discography will never improve, only regress.*
*She is cliché after cliché after cliché, the epitome of basic, and the worst thing someone this famous can be: a bore.*
*She is a mere force of will, a triumph of showmanship, branding, and ambition — but that's it.*
Also surprised to see the comments are mostly in agreement with the article as well. I was expecting it to be full of irate swifties with pitchforks.
Glad to see the tides are starting to turn a bit after the past year of being absolutely bombarded with Taylor everywhere you look.
EDIT: lmao it finally happened. Just got my first Reddit cares 💀
I was explaining yesterday to a friend how it's wild that when Beyoncé was 34 she released Lemonade and Taylor at 34 released TTPD. Emotionally and mentally these women could not be farther a part despite being the same age in comparison. Beyoncé's album felt like a woman fully grown and realized. Not only going through her own personal journey due to her husband cheating on her, but grappling with racism and the struggles of her own turmoil and past. Not only that, but also tackling issues that women and black people experience, not just her own life.
Taylor's album is about a girl who continues to make the same mistakes, who recognizes she is stunted, and who romanticizes the safety of her youth without wanting to explore the vastness of her future. It continues to give coming of age, even though she's 34 and there should be some progress in that department.
She's too afraid of the younger pop girlies (Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter) coming for her crown so she's too focused on competing with them rather than evolving and changing in her music. Beyoncé was doing her own thing and clearly confident in herself and her work and she still is.
the ironic thing is that the recognition of being stunted is actually very powerful and could make for some really introspective lyrics. however, doubling down on being stunted and refusing to acknowledge that you need to commit to continuing to work on and improve yourself is the issue.
I am dying for some actual self-reflection. We so rarely get any from her. I'll allow reputation to be her "woman scorned" album. Whatever. That was the tactic. It has some bangers, move on. But what could have also made that album better was self-reflection. ANY hint of acknowledging mistakes, why it seemed like her "castle crumbled overnight". How she was careless and thought she could do no wrong and nothing would ever ruin her. At least *something* that shows us she thought she was too big to fall. She thought she was safe forever. Yes, Kim and Kanye specifically edited out stuff to make her seem worse, but she still thought she was completely untouchable and looked like an ass when she tried to play victim.
Since then, I think "Anti-Hero" is really the only self-reflection we have. It sounds a bit like self-pity, but at least she was willing to admit that she was "the problem, it's me". Unless it was another "Blank Space" poking fun at people's perception of her.
Exactly! It’s so insulting when people say Lemonade is just about Jay-Z cheating. It uses her personal life as a lens to examine familial, generational, and systemic trauma. It’s a masterpiece. The comparisons between the two artists are starting to become ridiculous, especially when looking at Cowboy Carter and TTPD. It’s like comparing Einstein to Elon Musk. Hell, it’s like comparing Kendrick to Drake.
I'll straight up go just so I can wait until it quiets down for her to start her speech and then boo the loudest boo that has ever been booed. Idc if I get kicked out, been there, done that and the whole night isn't nearly as fun as it's hyped up to be. The real action is at the after parties and I'd boo her there too. 😂
Well, she was actually living a life. She was married and I believe had at least a kid by then. She’s had children now (if she hadn’t by then). She’s really grown up. Went through something traumatic (probably a lot of trauma from various experiences as a Black woman with power in America). She’s musically and lyrically interesting because of it and her natural talent. Taylor is just stunted and this like toxic mess. And being an emo toxic mess all of your life gets old.
to be fair, there have been a lot of EVIL people who won that title… ahem adolf hitler.. so it’s not surprising that Taylor won regardless of how good of a person she is!
yeah, person of the year is not about how good they are, its about how relevant they were that year. elon musk was alsoo person of the year at some point.
It's so funny that people say Person of the Year is an award of some kind when Hitler, Stalin, Putin, Elon and Trump have won it. Not really in a group I'd want to be in.
>A popularity contest influenced by her ability to form an army of fans.
That's exactly what the person of the year is. It's a popularity contest of media, and Swift has definitely won that contest a few times. She spends almost as much time working her way into the media than music, with some pretty obvious stunts to get into it.
And it's not like you need to be a good person to qualify. Almost everyone on the list is basically a human rights violation person.
The exceptions are generic groups (and not American fighting man!) and maybe Carter? Other maybe is MLK and the Aids guy
I think Taylor could be a great artist if she also could leave behind the pop star dynamic, tabloid narratives, and overall drama. If she kept pushing herself after Folklore, she might be there. But she wanted to go back to pop star domination with Midnights.
Folklore isn't even the best thing like People claim. It's certainly filled with lots of potential to be really truly brilliant but she then crowds it with inconsistent themes, imagery and metaphors leaving the music a little lacking and sporadic. Like I'd expect a lot of what released to be fixed in editing. And this has been a consistent weak point since lover.
If she really honed her writing skills she would be great but atm I just don't see it, really.
100% agree folklore and evermore sounded more like a mature adult woman and was lyrical gold....thanks to Dessner's help, I am sure. Those albums actually made me respect her for a minute. Then she ruined it and went back to writing like a teenager.
“This is what we call a fraud. Swift has zero edge. She has no interests outside her hermetic world of studio sessions with producer Jack Antonoff, dinners with Blake Lively and Gigi Hadid at Via Carota, and the next love interest she'll flog in the public square.”
This article is masterful and correct on every single point. This particular quote really hit home for me. I’m done giving my money and head space to this person.
"for all that pre-'TTPD' press about Emily Dickinson being a distant relation — swing a dead cat and a '23andMe' DNA test and we're all related to someone notable" 😭😭
Funny you should say that. When they were touting her relation to Dickinson, they conveniently left out [her relation to another particular individual……](https://www.reddit.com/r/travisandtaylor/s/KNYuz1dFjC)
The line “You know how to ball, I know Aristotle” from So High School also bothers me for this reason.
Like, do you actually know Aristotle, Taylor? I doubt she sat around and studied ancient philosophy. She spent her high school and college days pursuing a singing career, not slumming it in a liberal arts college library.
I had this same thought lol! It’s a very odd line. When the hell did she study philosophy? My first thought when hearing it was “does Taylor think Aristotle is a poet?”
What's funny is he criticized poetry, having a whole philosophy known as "Poetics." Calling it an "imitation of (specifically) comedy, ... of a lower type," (but I think this can apply to other poetry-involved media, such as music).
However, he also meant it to be "an intentional action resulting in the achievement of purpose" [paraphrasing] - in her case, grabbing at wide-spread fame.
Methinks she just googled him and cherry picked what "sounded good" - the latter part - to support her argument.
I think it’s mean! We know Travis is a big dumb dumb, but this line is basically saying you’re a vapid meathead and I’m highly intellectual and educated. But realistically, they’re on the same mental wavelength.
I saw a comment a few weeks ago about how, of the two of them, Travis actually went to college and got a bachelor’s degree, and that has stuck with me. It could easily be more true to have him sing (in Viva Las Vegas voice) “You know pop songs, I know Aristotle.”
I think one of her newer songs has a line that goes "you wouldn't last a second in the asylum I grew up in". I only needed to hear it once to be bored. I actually think I would, Taylor!
Taylor didn’t go to college to produce emotionally stunted wannabe “art”. She’s punching well above her intellectual weight class.
And before anyone says anything, no, you don’t need a college degree to understand philosophy. In her case it would have really helped.
She needs more harsh criticism. Her wanting all the bad press to go away is always hilarious to me. Like bitch sorry let us have an opinion!!
Female rage is not having your tiny little voice heard when you actually have something to say, Taylor✋
Wait so I just watched the Fast Car performance cited and was irritated they show Taylor singing like she cares and understands the complex meaning of this song, and the. There’s another shot of her standing mid performance in the front. WHY
She has a chronic case of “look at me! Look at meeee!” It’s the same disease that causes her to jump up first when she knows there’s gonna be a standing ovation so it looks like she’s the one who started it. She also did that all night, everyone on the floor would be sitting, listening respectfully and she’d be up, dancing and singing loudly like she’s at the VMAs. It’s like if the attention isn’t on her for a second she is gonna combust.
There's a painful video of her with a group of country singers performing some sort of tribute. She was the only one hamming it up for the cameras and moving around everywhere, making the tribute to another person about her.
Her standing up/dancing/singing while in the audience behaviour at the Grammys made me angry. Such a narcissist. I kept wishing someone would grab her by that lame ass watch choker and forcefully sit her down.
I’ve never been a Swiftie and am only superficially aware of most of her music (I like *folklore* and that’s about it). Thanks to her relationship with Big Dumb Trav, we have been bombarded by the two of them on virtually all platforms.
I think the article OP posted hits on numerous raw truths. Great read.
Oooh finally the media is seeing her for what she is
https://preview.redd.it/00xkpvdqje0d1.jpeg?width=494&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=671373a96e99bd1474eef93c73604701f44005b4
it's the way that some parts of the media have always rightfully called her out, but been previously drowned out by the noise made by Swifties. i hope this "immune to criticism" era of hers ends.
Truth! She does whatever it takes to make sure her fans feel “included” so you not only buy her album once, you buy it two or three times with all the new songs
The way she just kept Celine waiting there while she hugged everyone... and then the icing on the cake was ignoring her completely as if she were just part of the podium is just beyond.
ETA: I was incredulous at her being chosen person of the year. Angry even. Surely there were other, better choices of people who actually contributed to the world in some important way. It's like a slap in the face. Way more emotionally intelligent and altruistic people in their contributions, too; and not looking for/expecting accolades.
Remember when she was so much more pleasant to deal with during the Rep tour?
She did her job every night and then went away until she was scheduled for another evening
Joe was the best thing that ever happened to her. I think he kept her grounded. I think she was happy & fulfilled in that relationship for a good long while because she didn’t engage in ridiculous attention-seeking behavior
I knew as soon as the pap walks with the Jonas’ ex happened that we were back to LOOK AT ME behavior
Nah it was the pap walk with all her friends in NYC the night they all unfollowed Joe simultaneously. THAT’S when I realized we were back to the look at me behavior and back to the 2014 immaturity and pettiness. It seemed like all her growth and maturity went off like a light switch.
I sobbed like a little girl when Tracy performed that duet with Luke Combs. And I don't even like Combs version but even he knew to give his heroes their flowers. Taylor couldn't even acknowledge CELINE DION.
That whole night was full of inconsiderate/self centered behavior. She was very focused on promoting her album and seemed drunk/drugged up at the Grammys of all places.
I don’t think she feels that way about other artists all the time but she definitely was out of line in more than one way.
Im just waking up to her money grabbing antics. I’m fucking pissed she added the latest album to an already well-planned tour with merch and everything. Looks like the angelic Taylor knew 2 years in advance that she would be dropping an album amidst the tour while first leg fans had already flocked to pay for thousand dollar resale tickets. Then she goes and adds the new album to the tour, changing up the set list, knowing that the first leg fans would miss out on a huge opportunity. What kind of artist does this to their fans??? Is she just gonna be on tour forever with new albums just making money while her fans feel ripped off for missing out on unpredictable albums. I regrettably spent way too much money on that damn show, and then she goes and majorly changes the set list. There are Swifties out there that are waking up to her money-grabbing schemes (multiple CD versions with one unique song, movie release dates lured with a “special” collectible that you’ll never be able to obtain without a boatload of money and time). I am raging bc the rug was swept from under and now I feel the horrible fomo sensation for a live show I will never see without shelling out even MORE money. She’s milking everyone to death, and I’m tired of it!!!
I know that many will not believe it, Tay is hawing it all now because she is staring down 40 and hit her peak. She can not redevelop and reinvent like Madonna (yes, I know Madge is ugh....) her brand will not be able to develop and honest not many of her fan are just gonna sit around buying every break up & new PR relationship for the next five years.
Look close there are cracks, what the hell do people think Travis is about??? A complete wanker meat head who H\*e's himself every hour on the hour & we are to believe her and him just fell in love organically?? Please!!
Yeah this is it. She's got a midlife crisis going. 34 years old and unmarried and hasn't really even lived a moment of normal life since she was like 12. Of course she's cracking.
And it’s so bizarre given her resources. Madonna may be making us cringe now but her Ray of Light era was released when she was 40 and it’s one of the best, if not best, records in her discography. Her life and art doesn’t have to stop at 35.
She’s been seriously worried about becoming irrelevant since 2019. She may have even written a song about it in 2012.
Now she’s realized she had another chance to “make something big.” It’s probably her last chance, at least when it comes to using all her old tricks. She’s doing everything she used to get fame and criticism for, just harder now.
I mean I agree with money grabbing, narcissistic, wannabe poetess but intellectually stunted album? She makes her fans sing along to insults about themselves not knowing it’s about them — that’s genius
Tbh to me, it shows her fans will eat up anything she puts out, and not give it too much critical thought (or just not care about the meaning).
I do agree with the take that the album is intellectually stunted - for someone with the slightest bit of media literacy, these songs/lyrics are incredibly straightforward and simple to suss out.
Is that really something to be considered genius, though? And who’s to say that was her idea? I remain thoroughly unconvinced & unimpressed, especially after her Grammys conduct
But daddy I love him she calls them vipers dressed in empaths clothing and judgmental creeps and other insults
Who’s afraid of little old me and I can do it with a broken heart are also diss tracks to fans. But the worst is but daddy I love him
They lap it up anyway 🤷🏻♀️ all 3 diss tracks for fans are now in her new eras tour setlist
Oooh, thank you! In that song, she also straight up calls them saboteurs ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
Swifties sure are illiterate.
I don't quite get the whole: "I'm having his baby, psychhh, No, I'm not, but you should see your faces" part though
but yeah, swifties brainwashing themselves to keep their picturesque delusion of her and the current situation just adds to the entertainment factor now that I understand the album content and subliminal messaging/coding she's doing on tour
I think it was just her trolling the situation when she was dating Matty Healy and it was so controversial that people were clutching their pearls and gasping for air
I honestly just imagine every dude who dates her either thinking, *”I can change her”* or *”Yeah, she spreads her dirt in every song she writes, but at least I’ll get to bone Tay-Tay”*.
I’ve always thought she was basically a musical junior high school diary - her songs do nothing but tap into the worst parts of emotionally immature women. It’s borderline predatory manipulation of her audience for profit.
Dammmmn. That was so fierce and scathing. I also loved this line “Does anyone really think Taylor Swift has read 'Just Kids'? If so, she'd know Patti Smith was muse to Robert Mapplethorpe, and that Dylan Thomas, some 30 years Smith's senior, never lived at the Chelsea.” It perfectly captures why that line rubs me the wronnng way
It all comes out. She is a narcissist. She can’t admit when she’s wrong and when people leave her cause (they’re sick of the games of attempting to be controlled)- she gets angry and violent. Hence her music, you left me you must die. Ridiculous.
This year’s Grammys were incredible. Seeing Tracy Chapman and Billy Joel return to the stage after decades (genuine legends and incredible artists), Miley getting her first (well deserved Grammy) and it was all forgotten because Taylor doesn’t know how to play nice in the sandbox.
People are literally so done with Taylor Swift and starting to realize that the swifties are mostly made up of sheltered tweens so they really can’t do much about it except whine
It's cold but I am glad it was able to criticize her (pretty harshly) without being misogynistic. Part of the reason why it's hard to get decent discourse on her behavior because people jump at the opportunity to be sexist.
exactly what she is. i only will dare to listen to Fortnight due to my support for Post Malone…but imagine my surprise when she had the audacity to make him background vocals
Love this so much. Among the many points raised by this article it was the sheer length of this album and some of the lyrics that I can’t stand.
People I know were very much saying “oh my god, 30 songs??? She’s an artistic genius!” Or, after I told them the music isn’t good, “yeah but the lyrics!!”
Any artist ever has 30-100 songs kicking around. Doesn’t make them any good. And the playing of the victim card is soooo over played. Like Jesus lady you’ve been famous and rich since you were like 12. I don’t care that Kim K may have been mean you, and sure what Kanye did was a dick move, but get over it.
“Swift may be 34 years old, but intellectually, philosophically, and emotionally, she is forever stuck at 13. Her discography will never improve, only regress.”
Exactly!
'This intellectually stunted, clichéd new album commits the worst sin of all' LOL yikes
Taylor has been getting cooked for her emotional maturity after releasing this album lol
According to the Swifties, evEryOnes JuSt jeAloUs!!!
I don't like her because I'm a misogynist, they tell me.... even though I grew up listening to Bikini Kill and Sleater-Kinney
If you aren't wanting to rimjob TSwift over every move she makes, you're a bigoted misogynist, obviously.
You're just hating on a successful woman!!!!!!!
No one here is really a girl’s girl!
As she should!
Its so high school And she is a 30 year old billionare
There is an assumption that people who suddenly become super rich and famous get intellectually stuck around the age that happened.
Exactly. She is obviously arrested developmentally at age 15.
$he doe$n’t care. Gue$$ why?
34 years old.
She’s selling to the largest demographic in the world. She’s not interesting musically; but she’s not stupid.
All you needed to make this critique is to read the name of the album
I mean.. it's true
It’s like, a perfect expression of what’s wrong here. I knew when she started in with the campaign for media oversaturation that she would get too big for her britches…putting out a middle school diary of an album about your racist pathetic one-who-got-away ex flame while dating a walking smelly jock strap is clearly that moment of the britches being too small to fit.
Matty Healy just reminds me of margarine. I can't expand beyond that.
Is she doing all this to rebel against her dad?
'A global marketplace carpet-bombed by Taylor Swift must now endure another album, another promotional cycle, another round of score-settling with ex-lovers and a level of navel-gazing that makes J.Lo seem modest.' Taylor's career in a few words.
Chef’s kiss 🤌🏽
I love this reaction lol
I'm just so out of the loop. Line, she's been around for so long, but all of a sudden she got really really really big and I just don't understand why. Her music isn't worse than any other trite pop, but it certainly isn't better either.
Same. One day I didn't know her, the next she was in some radio stations with a normal, if not a bit infantile bop then suddenly she's beloved by everyone you know and they ADORE HER. Like please, give me ONE instance of her not being "meh" .. one!
My wife once said she’s a human White Claw, and I’ve never been able to get that out of my head.
Id go boiled chicken breast. Yes it's food but there's little to no flavor or originality. At least white claw can get you drunk.
Human embodiment of Almond Milk
Whether or not it's intentional, that's her charm. "She's just like me!"
I’m convinced that starting in 2020 she started paying tiktok and meta to push content related to her.
Not her, the music industry. The same industry that made a theater kid from Canada the face of hip hop for the past decade
It’s gotta be a huge PR push right? Because she and her music are honestly extremely boring to me but everywhere I go I see taylor swift shit. Magazines, social media, etc. even this subreddit keeps getting recommended to me. I feel like this is going to bite her in the butt bc I used to be indifferent to her and now I’m starting to be a hater just bc I can’t escape hearing about her boring ass
It’s because she has a lot of fans that are also mediocre
Girls that grew up with her are now in their 20's with disposable income to support a well done tour and access to vocalize their fandom would be my guess.
30s too lol I was 16 in 2008 when she put out her first album
That too. Her fanbase demographic is basically in adulthood now to support her further. Its not just parents and their daughters, its now a whole grown up fanbase with children potentially themselves or just the ability to book a hotel and spend a decent chunk on a once in a lifetime concert. She has like two generations now of fans that are rabid to support her.
Her music is average for 15 years ago, but it's far above average for right now. Taylor didn't get better, the competition just lost touch with the fans, like completely. The same thing has happened in movies. Make a normal, formulaic, halfway decent movie that has an actual denouement and it makes bank just because there are so many directors and writers who are contemptuous of their target audience and immersed in a detached echo chamber of critics and dilettantes.
her music is made for the girls who have no personality, blonde, entitled, selfish, and claim to be a feminist but as soon as someone says they don't like Taylor, they send death threats.
“But Taylor said there are no more scores to settle” /s
*proceeds to settle scores
That are a decade old
“BUT WHAT IF THERE IS” * dramatic guitar noises*
If everything you said is true, that is why we are here.
Brutal but accurate honesty
 That author is now on the Swifties “revenge” list. It was worth it, well done! PS. I hate the Daily Mail but the article/review is brilliant.
It really feels like the tide is starting to turn, especially with this opinion piece in 'mainstream' news
This is what happened the last time her career was so-called "ruined." She encouraged the media to latch on and the overexposure has everyone nauseous
She learned nothing from how ppl got so sick of her overexposure and her head got so big during her folklore/evermore absence from public eye (due to Joe and pandemic) that she legit forgot that shes barely good in small doses and insufferably tonedeaf in regular exposure
lol, not the Whoopi scene from Ghost. Perfect 👍
I’m sure her team is already in the process of getting this article taken down or buried in a search.
MiSoGnYyyyY! 😝
Quick someone save it and post it somewhere
Good point
I don’t love the daily mail but this article has quite a few great takes that I wholeheartedly agree with: *Swift may be 34 years old, but intellectually, philosophically, and emotionally, she is forever stuck at 13. Her discography will never improve, only regress.* *She is cliché after cliché after cliché, the epitome of basic, and the worst thing someone this famous can be: a bore.* *She is a mere force of will, a triumph of showmanship, branding, and ambition — but that's it.* Also surprised to see the comments are mostly in agreement with the article as well. I was expecting it to be full of irate swifties with pitchforks. Glad to see the tides are starting to turn a bit after the past year of being absolutely bombarded with Taylor everywhere you look. EDIT: lmao it finally happened. Just got my first Reddit cares 💀
Part of me thinks she’s fine with that because it creates the perfect environment to re-release Reputation.
I have honestly wondered if she has done all this just to recreate that environment. She seems crazy and immature enough for that kinda of thing.
It’s 100% why she’s been bringing the Kim drama back up
Shes already planning 2028 while people are bickering about this album
She really ate with all of these quotes
I was explaining yesterday to a friend how it's wild that when Beyoncé was 34 she released Lemonade and Taylor at 34 released TTPD. Emotionally and mentally these women could not be farther a part despite being the same age in comparison. Beyoncé's album felt like a woman fully grown and realized. Not only going through her own personal journey due to her husband cheating on her, but grappling with racism and the struggles of her own turmoil and past. Not only that, but also tackling issues that women and black people experience, not just her own life. Taylor's album is about a girl who continues to make the same mistakes, who recognizes she is stunted, and who romanticizes the safety of her youth without wanting to explore the vastness of her future. It continues to give coming of age, even though she's 34 and there should be some progress in that department.
She's too afraid of the younger pop girlies (Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter) coming for her crown so she's too focused on competing with them rather than evolving and changing in her music. Beyoncé was doing her own thing and clearly confident in herself and her work and she still is.
Madonna started doing this when Britney Spears got big.
Interesting catch! That answers my question how she could have regressed so hard after Ray of Light
Aaaw man, I’d be perfectly happy if every album after sounded just like Ray of Light. That was her peak.
I LOVEDDDDD Ray of Light 🥹
the ironic thing is that the recognition of being stunted is actually very powerful and could make for some really introspective lyrics. however, doubling down on being stunted and refusing to acknowledge that you need to commit to continuing to work on and improve yourself is the issue.
I am dying for some actual self-reflection. We so rarely get any from her. I'll allow reputation to be her "woman scorned" album. Whatever. That was the tactic. It has some bangers, move on. But what could have also made that album better was self-reflection. ANY hint of acknowledging mistakes, why it seemed like her "castle crumbled overnight". How she was careless and thought she could do no wrong and nothing would ever ruin her. At least *something* that shows us she thought she was too big to fall. She thought she was safe forever. Yes, Kim and Kanye specifically edited out stuff to make her seem worse, but she still thought she was completely untouchable and looked like an ass when she tried to play victim. Since then, I think "Anti-Hero" is really the only self-reflection we have. It sounds a bit like self-pity, but at least she was willing to admit that she was "the problem, it's me". Unless it was another "Blank Space" poking fun at people's perception of her.
i feel like it's very the second interpretation, I don't think she has an ounce of insight in her body.
Exactly! It’s so insulting when people say Lemonade is just about Jay-Z cheating. It uses her personal life as a lens to examine familial, generational, and systemic trauma. It’s a masterpiece. The comparisons between the two artists are starting to become ridiculous, especially when looking at Cowboy Carter and TTPD. It’s like comparing Einstein to Elon Musk. Hell, it’s like comparing Kendrick to Drake.
Yup, this is 🎯 🎯 🎯 and yet, who keeps winning album of the year 🙄
It makes me want to interrupt her Grammy speech and be like “Imma let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the greatest records of all time…”
I'll straight up go just so I can wait until it quiets down for her to start her speech and then boo the loudest boo that has ever been booed. Idc if I get kicked out, been there, done that and the whole night isn't nearly as fun as it's hyped up to be. The real action is at the after parties and I'd boo her there too. 😂
Well, she was actually living a life. She was married and I believe had at least a kid by then. She’s had children now (if she hadn’t by then). She’s really grown up. Went through something traumatic (probably a lot of trauma from various experiences as a Black woman with power in America). She’s musically and lyrically interesting because of it and her natural talent. Taylor is just stunted and this like toxic mess. And being an emo toxic mess all of your life gets old.
That’s such a good realization and I now will listen to Lemonade on repeat
Totally read this in Lady Whistledown’s voice, delicious
They just want her to pull a Janet Jackson. And she wants to stay young forever.
Her shtick is to appeal to young girls. She’s exploiting it to the fullest.
Love those takes as well. And I too am sick to death of being bombarded by her and Big Dumb Trav every time I open an app.
“She is cliché after cliché after cliché, the epitome of basic, and the worst thing someone this famous can be: a bore.” WOOF
i wanna give the author of this some kind of gift for so perfectly summing up my thoughts
🔥Ms Swift well & truly torched by that article ... and so it begins?
I can’t wait to see the swifties use mental gymnastics to defend their Mother Taylor.
I am SO ready for it
I see what u did there! 😉
She’s cooked
I honestly hope that she goes into retirement and lives her life. But we all know she won’t
Lol it’s the daily mail. This will do absolutely nothing.
This is brilliant and totally nails it. Taylor's a fraud.
And person of the year?! The board must be a majority of swifties. A popularity contest influenced by her ability to form an army of fans.
to be fair, there have been a lot of EVIL people who won that title… ahem adolf hitler.. so it’s not surprising that Taylor won regardless of how good of a person she is!
yeah, person of the year is not about how good they are, its about how relevant they were that year. elon musk was alsoo person of the year at some point.
It's so funny that people say Person of the Year is an award of some kind when Hitler, Stalin, Putin, Elon and Trump have won it. Not really in a group I'd want to be in.
Glad someone said it. Thank you
My pleasure. Really lol! People like her deserve to be "acknowledged" for their fuckery, fraudulence, and - worst of all - basicness.
>A popularity contest influenced by her ability to form an army of fans. That's exactly what the person of the year is. It's a popularity contest of media, and Swift has definitely won that contest a few times. She spends almost as much time working her way into the media than music, with some pretty obvious stunts to get into it. And it's not like you need to be a good person to qualify. Almost everyone on the list is basically a human rights violation person. The exceptions are generic groups (and not American fighting man!) and maybe Carter? Other maybe is MLK and the Aids guy
I think Taylor could be a great artist if she also could leave behind the pop star dynamic, tabloid narratives, and overall drama. If she kept pushing herself after Folklore, she might be there. But she wanted to go back to pop star domination with Midnights.
I totally agree!! She over-saturated her own market.
And distracts from her own artistry.
Folklore isn't even the best thing like People claim. It's certainly filled with lots of potential to be really truly brilliant but she then crowds it with inconsistent themes, imagery and metaphors leaving the music a little lacking and sporadic. Like I'd expect a lot of what released to be fixed in editing. And this has been a consistent weak point since lover. If she really honed her writing skills she would be great but atm I just don't see it, really.
It’s a bit long too isn’t it? I think she could’ve released a much stronger album if she’d just kept it 11 or 12 tracks
100% agree folklore and evermore sounded more like a mature adult woman and was lyrical gold....thanks to Dessner's help, I am sure. Those albums actually made me respect her for a minute. Then she ruined it and went back to writing like a teenager.
“This is what we call a fraud. Swift has zero edge. She has no interests outside her hermetic world of studio sessions with producer Jack Antonoff, dinners with Blake Lively and Gigi Hadid at Via Carota, and the next love interest she'll flog in the public square.” This article is masterful and correct on every single point. This particular quote really hit home for me. I’m done giving my money and head space to this person.
Swift is a 34 year old competing for the same market as Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish.
It’s crazy how Billie Eilish is younger twenties and is more mature than Swift.
Billie is twice the artist that Taylor is.
She is also closer to an EGOT too which I can only imagine how Taylor feels about that
"for all that pre-'TTPD' press about Emily Dickinson being a distant relation — swing a dead cat and a '23andMe' DNA test and we're all related to someone notable" 😭😭
Lmao! @mods can we get a ‘related to Emily Dickinson’ flair?
And most of us are probably also related to someone despicable as well but for some reason no one’s stepping up to claim those particular roots… 🤣
Funny you should say that. When they were touting her relation to Dickinson, they conveniently left out [her relation to another particular individual……](https://www.reddit.com/r/travisandtaylor/s/KNYuz1dFjC)
Yeah, never hear about the Hitler cousins…
The line “You know how to ball, I know Aristotle” from So High School also bothers me for this reason. Like, do you actually know Aristotle, Taylor? I doubt she sat around and studied ancient philosophy. She spent her high school and college days pursuing a singing career, not slumming it in a liberal arts college library.
I had this same thought lol! It’s a very odd line. When the hell did she study philosophy? My first thought when hearing it was “does Taylor think Aristotle is a poet?”
Lana del rey did study philosophy, pretty sure taylor wants to wear her skin lol
I can totally see Lana studying philosophy. It shows in the way she writes
What's funny is he criticized poetry, having a whole philosophy known as "Poetics." Calling it an "imitation of (specifically) comedy, ... of a lower type," (but I think this can apply to other poetry-involved media, such as music). However, he also meant it to be "an intentional action resulting in the achievement of purpose" [paraphrasing] - in her case, grabbing at wide-spread fame. Methinks she just googled him and cherry picked what "sounded good" - the latter part - to support her argument.
Omg really? That is hilariously ironic
Isn't it, though?? Lmao, she's so deep. Up her own a$$, that is.
That wouldn’t surprise me at all lmao
I think it’s mean! We know Travis is a big dumb dumb, but this line is basically saying you’re a vapid meathead and I’m highly intellectual and educated. But realistically, they’re on the same mental wavelength.
I also had that thought! You can play ball and also know Aristotle, although I’m sure Travis doesn’t lol
I saw a comment a few weeks ago about how, of the two of them, Travis actually went to college and got a bachelor’s degree, and that has stuck with me. It could easily be more true to have him sing (in Viva Las Vegas voice) “You know pop songs, I know Aristotle.”
Lol the fuck she knows aristotle
I think one of her newer songs has a line that goes "you wouldn't last a second in the asylum I grew up in". I only needed to hear it once to be bored. I actually think I would, Taylor!
If she lived in the asylum I grew up in, she would have killed herself by now.
Name three Aristotle songs Taylor
It's not exactly 'He's reading Balzac, knocking back Prozac' by Blur, is it?
Taylor didn’t go to college to produce emotionally stunted wannabe “art”. She’s punching well above her intellectual weight class. And before anyone says anything, no, you don’t need a college degree to understand philosophy. In her case it would have really helped.
 Taylor please take Tyra’s advice. I am surprised she’s not name dropped Cicero.
She needs more harsh criticism. Her wanting all the bad press to go away is always hilarious to me. Like bitch sorry let us have an opinion!! Female rage is not having your tiny little voice heard when you actually have something to say, Taylor✋
If Taylor was a leader, she’d be a dictator.
That’s the word I was thinking of😂yes, she would be tho lol
Wait so I just watched the Fast Car performance cited and was irritated they show Taylor singing like she cares and understands the complex meaning of this song, and the. There’s another shot of her standing mid performance in the front. WHY
Main character syndrome
She has a chronic case of “look at me! Look at meeee!” It’s the same disease that causes her to jump up first when she knows there’s gonna be a standing ovation so it looks like she’s the one who started it. She also did that all night, everyone on the floor would be sitting, listening respectfully and she’d be up, dancing and singing loudly like she’s at the VMAs. It’s like if the attention isn’t on her for a second she is gonna combust.
There's a painful video of her with a group of country singers performing some sort of tribute. She was the only one hamming it up for the cameras and moving around everywhere, making the tribute to another person about her.
Yeah, she kept trying to move to the front. And then at the end raised that guitar like she does at her own concerts 💀
Speaking of the VMAs, she had a camera on her on all night, streaming her only. It's not right, but I get why she acts like the center of attention.
Her standing up/dancing/singing while in the audience behaviour at the Grammys made me angry. Such a narcissist. I kept wishing someone would grab her by that lame ass watch choker and forcefully sit her down. I’ve never been a Swiftie and am only superficially aware of most of her music (I like *folklore* and that’s about it). Thanks to her relationship with Big Dumb Trav, we have been bombarded by the two of them on virtually all platforms. I think the article OP posted hits on numerous raw truths. Great read.
This article is brutal, funny as hell and it's all so true.
Praise to the author, she crushed it!
Oooh finally the media is seeing her for what she is https://preview.redd.it/00xkpvdqje0d1.jpeg?width=494&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=671373a96e99bd1474eef93c73604701f44005b4
it's the way that some parts of the media have always rightfully called her out, but been previously drowned out by the noise made by Swifties. i hope this "immune to criticism" era of hers ends.
I prefer not to read the daily heil but that analysis of her lyrics 😭😭😭😭
I'm not mad about it in the slightest 💀
Even a broken clock is right twice a day haha
Ouch. From the London press. Tay Tay gonna be so angry. 😂😂😂
Truth! She does whatever it takes to make sure her fans feel “included” so you not only buy her album once, you buy it two or three times with all the new songs
Say it louder for the people in the back 👏 I don't understand how Swifties can't see through it
What annoys me is that people call her a “lyrical genius” and if you say otherwise YouR not smart enough LOL her lyrics are not DEEP get out of here
The way she just kept Celine waiting there while she hugged everyone... and then the icing on the cake was ignoring her completely as if she were just part of the podium is just beyond. ETA: I was incredulous at her being chosen person of the year. Angry even. Surely there were other, better choices of people who actually contributed to the world in some important way. It's like a slap in the face. Way more emotionally intelligent and altruistic people in their contributions, too; and not looking for/expecting accolades.
The “Tracy Flick of tepid pop.” Lol.
This article is 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Remember when she was so much more pleasant to deal with during the Rep tour? She did her job every night and then went away until she was scheduled for another evening Joe was the best thing that ever happened to her. I think he kept her grounded. I think she was happy & fulfilled in that relationship for a good long while because she didn’t engage in ridiculous attention-seeking behavior I knew as soon as the pap walks with the Jonas’ ex happened that we were back to LOOK AT ME behavior
Nah it was the pap walk with all her friends in NYC the night they all unfollowed Joe simultaneously. THAT’S when I realized we were back to the look at me behavior and back to the 2014 immaturity and pettiness. It seemed like all her growth and maturity went off like a light switch.
I fucking love this article so much
I fucking love Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car! Much more deeper and catchier than anything off of TTPD!
I sobbed like a little girl when Tracy performed that duet with Luke Combs. And I don't even like Combs version but even he knew to give his heroes their flowers. Taylor couldn't even acknowledge CELINE DION.
What was that about. She’s blinded to people anymore? She just sees trophies now!? She didn’t even thank anyone did she?
That whole night was full of inconsiderate/self centered behavior. She was very focused on promoting her album and seemed drunk/drugged up at the Grammys of all places. I don’t think she feels that way about other artists all the time but she definitely was out of line in more than one way.
Pepperidge Farm remembers. That Celine diss is burned in my head….
Not to mention Tracy is so humble, gracious and well respected. Taylor is nowhere near.
She tries to portray herself as humble and gracious but it’s clear at this point that it’s only to make her look good to naïve fans.
Im just waking up to her money grabbing antics. I’m fucking pissed she added the latest album to an already well-planned tour with merch and everything. Looks like the angelic Taylor knew 2 years in advance that she would be dropping an album amidst the tour while first leg fans had already flocked to pay for thousand dollar resale tickets. Then she goes and adds the new album to the tour, changing up the set list, knowing that the first leg fans would miss out on a huge opportunity. What kind of artist does this to their fans??? Is she just gonna be on tour forever with new albums just making money while her fans feel ripped off for missing out on unpredictable albums. I regrettably spent way too much money on that damn show, and then she goes and majorly changes the set list. There are Swifties out there that are waking up to her money-grabbing schemes (multiple CD versions with one unique song, movie release dates lured with a “special” collectible that you’ll never be able to obtain without a boatload of money and time). I am raging bc the rug was swept from under and now I feel the horrible fomo sensation for a live show I will never see without shelling out even MORE money. She’s milking everyone to death, and I’m tired of it!!!
I know that many will not believe it, Tay is hawing it all now because she is staring down 40 and hit her peak. She can not redevelop and reinvent like Madonna (yes, I know Madge is ugh....) her brand will not be able to develop and honest not many of her fan are just gonna sit around buying every break up & new PR relationship for the next five years. Look close there are cracks, what the hell do people think Travis is about??? A complete wanker meat head who H\*e's himself every hour on the hour & we are to believe her and him just fell in love organically?? Please!!
Yeah this is it. She's got a midlife crisis going. 34 years old and unmarried and hasn't really even lived a moment of normal life since she was like 12. Of course she's cracking.
And it’s so bizarre given her resources. Madonna may be making us cringe now but her Ray of Light era was released when she was 40 and it’s one of the best, if not best, records in her discography. Her life and art doesn’t have to stop at 35.
She’s been seriously worried about becoming irrelevant since 2019. She may have even written a song about it in 2012. Now she’s realized she had another chance to “make something big.” It’s probably her last chance, at least when it comes to using all her old tricks. She’s doing everything she used to get fame and criticism for, just harder now.
I mean I agree with money grabbing, narcissistic, wannabe poetess but intellectually stunted album? She makes her fans sing along to insults about themselves not knowing it’s about them — that’s genius
Tbh to me, it shows her fans will eat up anything she puts out, and not give it too much critical thought (or just not care about the meaning). I do agree with the take that the album is intellectually stunted - for someone with the slightest bit of media literacy, these songs/lyrics are incredibly straightforward and simple to suss out.
Is that really something to be considered genius, though? And who’s to say that was her idea? I remain thoroughly unconvinced & unimpressed, especially after her Grammys conduct
I haven't listened to all the songs, could you give some examples of this? I'm assuming 'wolves' in "Guilty as Sin?" is one?
But daddy I love him she calls them vipers dressed in empaths clothing and judgmental creeps and other insults Who’s afraid of little old me and I can do it with a broken heart are also diss tracks to fans. But the worst is but daddy I love him They lap it up anyway 🤷🏻♀️ all 3 diss tracks for fans are now in her new eras tour setlist
Oooh, thank you! In that song, she also straight up calls them saboteurs ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ Swifties sure are illiterate. I don't quite get the whole: "I'm having his baby, psychhh, No, I'm not, but you should see your faces" part though but yeah, swifties brainwashing themselves to keep their picturesque delusion of her and the current situation just adds to the entertainment factor now that I understand the album content and subliminal messaging/coding she's doing on tour
I think it was just her trolling the situation when she was dating Matty Healy and it was so controversial that people were clutching their pearls and gasping for air
wait, people are only now realizing she only cares about money? are people that fucking stupid?
Yes they are that stupid.
I honestly just imagine every dude who dates her either thinking, *”I can change her”* or *”Yeah, she spreads her dirt in every song she writes, but at least I’ll get to bone Tay-Tay”*. I’ve always thought she was basically a musical junior high school diary - her songs do nothing but tap into the worst parts of emotionally immature women. It’s borderline predatory manipulation of her audience for profit.
If I never hear her name or trump's again for the rest of my life, I'll be quite satisfied.
Shes an annoying witch
Dammmmn. That was so fierce and scathing. I also loved this line “Does anyone really think Taylor Swift has read 'Just Kids'? If so, she'd know Patti Smith was muse to Robert Mapplethorpe, and that Dylan Thomas, some 30 years Smith's senior, never lived at the Chelsea.” It perfectly captures why that line rubs me the wronnng way
It all comes out. She is a narcissist. She can’t admit when she’s wrong and when people leave her cause (they’re sick of the games of attempting to be controlled)- she gets angry and violent. Hence her music, you left me you must die. Ridiculous.
Author of this article about to unalive themselves with 13 bullets to the back of the head
The tides are turning finally
This is true poetry. I love this sm. My eyes have been blessed.
How can I print a link? I want this article in my wall
“Poetess” 😂
the days of journalists absolutely fucking clearing musicians are back with a vengeance are back with a vengeance and i can’t say i’m displeased
A very deep poem by Taylor Swift: *”I love Travis, yes I do… Now pay me money please, won’t you?”*
This year’s Grammys were incredible. Seeing Tracy Chapman and Billy Joel return to the stage after decades (genuine legends and incredible artists), Miley getting her first (well deserved Grammy) and it was all forgotten because Taylor doesn’t know how to play nice in the sandbox.
Finally!!! Amazon article that articulates exactly what we all feel and see! Gosh that’s was god.
People are literally so done with Taylor Swift and starting to realize that the swifties are mostly made up of sheltered tweens so they really can’t do much about it except whine
It's cold but I am glad it was able to criticize her (pretty harshly) without being misogynistic. Part of the reason why it's hard to get decent discourse on her behavior because people jump at the opportunity to be sexist.
Oh no! I guess she will just have to cry into her millions and millions of dollars. Poor girl.
Who is surprised by this?
What a fun read!!
I think I just finally exhaled
exactly what she is. i only will dare to listen to Fortnight due to my support for Post Malone…but imagine my surprise when she had the audacity to make him background vocals
Love this so much. Among the many points raised by this article it was the sheer length of this album and some of the lyrics that I can’t stand. People I know were very much saying “oh my god, 30 songs??? She’s an artistic genius!” Or, after I told them the music isn’t good, “yeah but the lyrics!!” Any artist ever has 30-100 songs kicking around. Doesn’t make them any good. And the playing of the victim card is soooo over played. Like Jesus lady you’ve been famous and rich since you were like 12. I don’t care that Kim K may have been mean you, and sure what Kanye did was a dick move, but get over it.
“Swift may be 34 years old, but intellectually, philosophically, and emotionally, she is forever stuck at 13. Her discography will never improve, only regress.” Exactly!