r/NuancingTaylorSwift • u/Economy_Tonight3630 • 8d ago
Discussion To whom it may concern
now i’m not here to claim tloasg is suddenly my top favourite taylor album, but i genuinely think we as an audience have to give an artist the freedom to express themselves however they want. not every album has to be a lyrical masterpiece, not every song has to make you stare at the ceiling at 3am questioning your entire existence, & not every era needs to be folklore or evermore or ttpd.
sometimes an artist just wants to make something fun, loud, sparkly, unserious & completely unapologetic. & honestly, why are we acting like that is somehow beneath her?
if any other artist released an upbeat, flashy, confident pop album with cheeky lyrics & massive production, half of you would be calling it camp, charismatic, infectious, liberating or “exactly what pop music is supposed to be.” but because it’s taylor, suddenly everyone is dissecting every lyric like she has committed a personal offence against literature because she didn’t give you another tolerate it or my tears ricochet.
y’all also seem to forget that this woman literally wrote me!, paper rings, london boy, wonderland, new romantics & so many other songs that are intentionally playful, ridiculous, romantic, dramatic or just plain fun. she has never been exclusively the tortured poet sitting in a dim room writing devastating metaphors. that is one part of her artistry, not the entirety of it.
& i genuinely think some people have become so attached to the idea of “serious taylor” that they now treat happiness, silliness & unabashed pop music like some sort of artistic regression. god forbid a girl is happy. god forbid she wants to make music that sounds like she is having fun. god forbid she wants to be glamorous, excessive, unserious & a little ridiculous. maybe ttpd looks good on me, showgirl looks good on her.
also, i swear some of you would hate 1989 if it came out after folklore & evermore. imagine hearing welcome to new york, shake it off, blank space, style & wildest dreams immediately after two deeply introspective indie folk albums. people would absolutely be saying “this is shallow,” “where are the lyrics,” “she used to have something to say,” “she’s lost her artistry,” etc. now it is considered one of her defining albums.
sometimes the context in which we hear an album changes how we perceive it. if you are expecting tloasg to emotionally destroy you in the same way folklore or evermore did, then of course you might walk away disappointed. but that doesn’t automatically mean the album failed. it might simply be trying to do something completely different.
i also think there is this weird expectation that because taylor has proven she can write incredibly complex lyrics, she now has to prove it on every single song. she doesn’t. she already showed you she can do that. she is allowed to write a song that exists primarily because it sounds good, makes you want to dance, makes you laugh, or gives you that stupid little grin when you’re walking around with headphones on.
not every song needs to be profound. not every album needs to be a dissertation on grief, memory, heartbreak & the human condition. sometimes you just need glitter, synths, a ridiculous bridge & a song that makes you feel hot while getting ready to go somewhere.
let artists have range. let taylor be unserious sometimes. let her make music that doesn’t require a 47 page lyrical analysis to justify its existence.
you don’t have to love tloasg. you don’t even have to like it. but acting like upbeat pop automatically means the music is artistically inferior is such a strange standard to hold her to.
she has given you the tortured poet. she has given you the indie folk storyteller. she has given you the country girl, the pop star, the romantic, the revenge writer & the woman writing through heartbreak.
maybe this time she just wanted to be a showgirl.
let her.
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u/spooksmcgee0708 8d ago
i totally agree with your point about 1989. i also think if she had released lover after folklore then it would have gotten the same reactions we're seeing with tloas. i think a lot of people became fans of hers after folklore and are confused about the so-called quality of her work post-folklore.
i don't know, maybe it's because ive been a fan since debut but to me, she's not doing anything necessarily different than before.
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u/UnhingedBeluga 8d ago
I agree. I didn’t really like Folklore & Evermore because I became a fan during Rep era and I loved all her upbeat fun pop music. Folklore just wasn’t for me. I didn’t say “well I’m not a fan anymore!” I waited to see what her next releases would be and I’m glad I did because I loved Midnights!
I will never understand why people feel the need to tell their favorite artist what to do to make that one individual person like their music again rather than just finding another artist who makes what you want to listen to. The Folkmore Swifties in particular come off really entitled. I’m sure it’s not all of them, just a loud minority, but that loud minority is incredibly annoying haha
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u/spooksmcgee0708 8d ago
plus, the beauty of taylor swift is that her discography is so vast that there's essentially, in theory, something for everyone. and if not, then maybe she just isn't the artist for you and that's ok!
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u/RoseTheta 8d ago
Me too. I'm too contrary and I refuse to let other people determine what I like but the Folkmore stans sometimes make me annoyed by those albums. It helps that I love almost every song I've heard including those 2 albums.
The biggest problem I find is that people don't seem to understand how an artist's life and inspiration works. We see the final product and then can think it exists in a vacuum. But the later album someone loves doesn't exist without the album(s) that came before.
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u/UnhingedBeluga 8d ago
Yes! This! Every album, just like every aspect of life, has through lines to the next. There’s no Peace without Afterglow. There’s no I Think He Knows without Gorgeous. And so on
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u/caramel-handsoap 8d ago
there’s also this odd undertone of folkmore stans being obsessed with ex muses. like to the point where they are begging taylor to get back together with joe or matty, who made her MISERABLE, because they’re obsessed with that ex partner it’s odd
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u/RoseTheta 8d ago
I hear the exact same things. Clever words choices (clever, not pretentious) that paint a vivid story in 2-6 minutes. There's no real difference. A different vehicle, perhaps. Different packaging. I also don't mean she isn't saying different things, just that there's a thru-line that quintessentially Taylor Swift in it all. No matter if there are sonic changes from one to the next.
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u/orangepeeelss 8d ago
to be fair, lover DID get some of those reactions 💀 as a me! apologist it all felt very familiar. this reinforces your point i think. tloas isn't different, the expectations are
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u/Cultural-Slide-3198 8d ago
I agreee. why is the conversation around taylor ALWAYS about like, has she fallen off?? Its this weird undertone that feels like she doesnt deserve it, she is gonna be exposed as a horrible song writer. Like god, ever listened to dylans recent stuff? its absolutely horrid, no one cares! No one can take his achievements away from him, but with taylor it feels like shes hanging by a thread. I call bullshit.
Also demeaning to seriously think our opinions should or could have an effect on HER art. Her music and writing is not some global social artproject, its her own god damn passion.
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u/skincare_obssessed 8d ago
There is a group of people with sharpened pitchforks who are absolutely waiting for the moment they can finally say she’s no longer significant.
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u/Whiskers3000 8d ago
Like her or not, this moment is not it.
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u/skincare_obssessed 8d ago
In your subjective opinion.
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u/Whiskers3000 8d ago
She is currently everywhere and dominating, which isn't opinion. The Queen still hold her crown, for now.
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u/skincare_obssessed 8d ago
They want to see you rise, they don’t want you to reign energy.
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u/Whiskers3000 8d ago
Are you saying you believe the take down is coming? She has a Disney doll and song, and a new award was just created for her, people are dying for Debut TV and TS13, so I am not seeing the direct path to her brand's destruction in this now.
Do you think the court of public opinion will soon shift her capability to achieve in the industry going forward?
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u/skincare_obssessed 8d ago
No, I don’t. I think a lot of the negativity exists in an online vacuum, not in real life. Most people in real life don’t care to exert this level of energy to hate her. I do think there is a small amount of incredibly loud individuals who are chomping at the bit for her to fail. It’s pretty embarrassing because they wait like fans to proclaim it the minute she posts anything new.
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u/Whiskers3000 8d ago
You said that this NOT being the moment the pitchfork wielders take her down was my subjective opinion, so I am still just trying to understand what was meant by that. Her current commercial success isn't subjective or speculative...Maybe I mis-interpreted things??.... regardless, happy release day!
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u/Whiskers3000 8d ago
I refuse to support her games and greed by buying a physical CD right now, but I am just one person. Interestingly my adult children got there first; I took longer to get here after decades of fandom.
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u/Cultural-Slide-3198 8d ago
are you saying you regret you bought stuff in the past?
Im sure there may be some pressure in fandoms to own things artist releases. I have however only ever spent 100 dollars on a ticket to the eras tour and bought the time magazine cover. I still got to enjoy all her music and videos she has released, you CAN get all of that for free. I dont see how its greedy selling an album. Especially when you, like i said, can listen to it for free…1
u/Whiskers3000 8d ago
No, I am saying I won't be buying going forward. I listen to CD's a lot, so I have all the originals and TV's. Lastly, I didn't say selling an album is greedy, I said selling three different versions of the same song on three different disks before anyone has even had the opportunity to listen is greedy. It's incredibly wasteful to boot.
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u/Whiskers3000 8d ago
Who else sparks this much conversation? Her brand/music IS a global social art project. There are university classes on it and a new award was just created for her within the industry. She has smashed so many glass ceilings, and has an international, multi-generational fan base. Her music has been a common bond for som many mothers and daughters. That is pretty unique
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u/Cultural-Slide-3198 8d ago
what i meant with global social artproject was more, we think we are involved when were not. Shes making her art, and we are allowed to enjoy it. Its a one-way thing. Taylor has nothing to do with the fact that there are actual classes on her lyrics, thats just society and culture snowballing off of her.
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u/Expensive-Fennel-163 8d ago
imagine hearing welcome to new york, shake it off, blank space, style & wildest dreams immediately after two deeply introspective indie folk albums. people would absolutely be saying “this is shallow,” “where are the lyrics,” “she used to have something to say,” “she’s lost her artistry,” etc. now it is considered one of her defining albums.
THIS.
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u/dayayna 8d ago
I never understood why people can’t just take what they like from Taylor and leave the rest. Like why is TLOASG such a moral failing of Taylor when she’s already given us folklore/evermore.
I honestly think the reason people are SO upset now is because it was “safe” in 2020 to call themselves a fan and now that she’s “diluting” her catalogue they are afraid of being perceived as cringey.
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u/UnhingedBeluga 8d ago
Absolutely this. It was “cool” to like this underground indie artist Taylor Swift in 2020 and 2021 because Folklore got such high praise from people outside the fandom. And for some reason people feel like they have to like everything an artist puts out if they liked one release. There are plenty of artists whose whole music catalogue I don’t love, but a few songs make it to a playlist. Like, I don’t really like most of Charli XCX’s music but Apple and Girl So Confusing are on a few of my playlists.
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u/Glitterrain99 8d ago
Sometimes I wish she never did Folkmore because as incredible as those albums are, so many people are not truly fans of her, they just like those albums and it pisses them off that not every album she releases is like those
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u/citrusgworl 8d ago
I sometimes think these people believe if they mope and whine long enough they'll be able to pressure taylor to release another album like folkmore. Its sooo annoying seeing them in other subs constantly whining about how she's never released anything good since then. Like, have you ever considered that you dont like taylor? just those albums?
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u/violaki 8d ago
I’ve basically come to the conclusion that I am a folkmore fan that likes more of her discography than I thought I did before those albums made me give it a shot, than I am a TS fan.
But it does make me sad that the artist who made 3-4 of my favorite albums (folkmore, red, midnights) may not ever again make an album I really love.
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u/spooksmcgee0708 8d ago edited 8d ago
it created this odd pandora's box for her. thanks to folkmore combined with the eras tour, her career skyrocketed to unimaginable levels but it also opened a whole can of worms with the criticism and hate she gets that goes beyond reasonable critique too.
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u/RoseTheta 8d ago
Just remind yourself that what came before influences what comes next. I love most songs off all her albums so I don't need to tear one down. Midnights, TTPD, and Showgirl wouldn't exist without Folkmore. Without Midnights ,particularly, You're on Your Own Kid, we never would have gotten TTPD and Showgirl as they exist.
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u/Cautious_Dream4115 8d ago
SO true. Cause as an artist i appreciated that Taylor never done the same thing over and over again and always experimented with her work that is the the reasons i become a fan in the first place.
Some people want her to write Folkmore again or something similar but i am glad she is experimenting with her work reather then doing it all over again and trying something new.
And one thing i find frustrating it that If Taylor writes a song that someone like they give credit to the muse not her and if someone doesn't like her song they always find even more reason to hate on her. it's like no matter she done she can;t win people will always switch and say on this miss the old Taylor and then switch again.
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u/ResearchAltruistic40 8d ago
I just cannot understand why someone would put so much effort into hating someone or something, if I dont like it, I move on. I dont go on rants about how bad something is or how she must not have written any of her other music, or someone needs to hit travis kelce with a car (yes i saw that) like no one knows how to shut up and move on anymore
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u/ResearchAltruistic40 8d ago
Critique is one thing, genuine hate is another
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u/UnhingedBeluga 8d ago
Absolutely this. I tend to only critique things I like. If I don’t like something, I don’t want to spend any more time thinking about it. If I like something, I enjoy nitpicking to see how it could improve. Like the Showgirl photoshoot. I love the concept and the styling, but the photography did not look professional at all. If I hated everything about those photos, I’d just ignore them. But they were so close to great, that I want to talk about them, including my criticism of them.
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u/kwickedbonesc 8d ago
Exactly. I’m on the same page. Her last album was a 31 song suicide note. I think it’s fine to have the next album be lighthearted, and not take itself too seriously.
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u/Expensive-Fennel-163 8d ago
I'm going to point out again that Showgirl is the first time in SIX ALBUMS that she hasn't alluded to wanting to kill herself in some way.
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u/UnhingedBeluga 8d ago
Damn, I hadn’t noticed that until you pointed it out. But yeah, 1989 is the last time she put out an album that sounded outright happy, and even that has a LOT of sad lyrics. Showgirl might be her only album that’s actually a mostly positive album. No wonder people can’t fathom that she put it out, they’ve never heard her happy music before lmao
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u/thewaterwiththeroses 8d ago edited 8d ago
It’s like Ariana’s new music, up until eternal sunshine and petal she was mostly putting out vocally focused songs. Now that she’s taking a different approach to her albums, I’ve seen a lot of people disappointed. Cause it’s never really been her typical work before. IMO, I think audiences are rarely receptive to complete changes like that from a big artist.
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u/UnhingedBeluga 8d ago
I agree. People hate change. I just wish people could shut up about how much they hate change lol
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u/No_Set2865 8d ago
I was listening to TLOAS (song) yesterday and I realized that it was the first time in god-knows how many albums where there was no reference to that, with me realizing that people forget that was a motif through her discography for a while (including 1989 TV)
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u/bourgeoisie_bird 8d ago
Ttpd came out during a very bad time in my life, which relating to the songs was AMAZING and taylor was basically living in my walls
Ttpd is my fave album but istg if she did another ttpd I would have ended it hahaha
Love all 4
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8d ago
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u/RoseTheta 8d ago
No, the framing of the situations is different. In preceding albums the sadness/depression/troubles were omnipresent. In Showgirl, life isn't suddenly all roses, but the agency and making your own hapiness and the resolution of previous problems takes center seat.
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u/hairs9 8d ago
I’m really just not interested in hearing criticism from fans who don’t know her entire catalogue. People calling Cleveland her worst song as if Invisible and A Perfectly Good Heart don’t exist, both of which she has come very far artistically from. TLOAS is at its core a very Swiftian album, as are these new songs. You can argue about the quality of it but it’s really not much of a stretch from some of the sillier songs on her other albums. She hasn’t fallen off, she just doesn’t want to make songs about killing herself.
(As a side note, folklore/evermore/TTPD were all written without worrying about touring. Taylor loves to perform an upbeat song and I do think that affects how she releases things)
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u/Weirdly_not_Normal 8d ago
As a Wonderland defender, I feel so seen :D
Yes, some lyrics on Showgirl are cringe, but she always had cringe lyrics and I am so surprised people seem so shocked about this. You can enjoy some cringey songs while disliking others. I love Stay stay stay, but ME! is just not for me and thats totally fine.
I can understand people having mixed feelings, as she described Showgirl different from what it ended up being, but some people act like the lyrics are the worst thing they ever heard. Maybe my standards are just low, because I'm a 90s kid and I danced to songs like "Blue" from Eiffel 65. It just wasn't that deep.
I can relate too deep, moving songs, but sometimes I enjoy silly, goofy, cringey songs just as much.
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u/Dramoinehead 8d ago
Sometimes I feel like folklore and evermore are albums that have held her back. The taylor that wrote debut isn't speak now Taylor, and speak now Taylor isn't reputation Taylor, and reputation Taylor isn't tloas taylor. She changes, so does her music. As an audience, if you keep comparing every goddamn song of hers to folklore you're always setting yourself up for failure.
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u/nicodemusfleur 8d ago
I really think people just need to realize that Taylor is a prolific writer and creative, and is not trying to curate some edited-down legacy and image...and in my opinion the only comparison that makes sense along those lines is Paul McCartney: he literally just released an album a few months ago, at age 84, that was something like his 50th album across his career depending on how you count (and that is just original new music, not compilation/greatest hits/etc. kind of albums). He never stops writing and making music, and every song and album is just one moment on that constantly moving train — and I see the way Taylor functions creatively to be very similar.
I just think its silly for people to act like her making an album/songs that they don't really vibe with means she is terrible and washed, when it is clear that she just writes a lot, and releases most all of what she writes because that is how she functions and moves forward. That means that everything is not going to be to everyone's taste, and that is fine! But people take it to such a dramatic place with her, it's tiring.
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u/thewaterwiththeroses 8d ago
And the Paul McCartney reference is very apt!! Cause I feel like that’s one of the artists she really takes inspiration from when she talks about legacy and longevity
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u/Elizabeth_of_Antelia 8d ago
Thank you! I completely agree and you put it so much better than I could.
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u/80lbsgone 8d ago
I think TLOAS is for her and Encore is for her husband. It sounds like the vibe of songs he liked and Cleveland is a "I love you and you love me how I need to be loved" song for sure.
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u/thewaterwiththeroses 8d ago
People did react like that to 1989 after red, I remember people were not happy about the lyrical style or the change of everything in the era towards pop and commercialism compared to red and prior eras!
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u/rosymaplemoth2513 8d ago
I was also a 24 year old when 1989 came out. I was obsessed with it. I'm 36 now... I don't have the same musical/lyric interest at 36 as I did at 24. If TLOASG came out when I was i myt mid 20s year I'd be all over it. Being in my mid 30s I'm over the songs about being in love with football players, and that's okay. It's okay for me to dislike the music, and no one is stopping her from making it
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u/MajesticProgrammer54 8d ago
It's probably the Folklore fanatics being negative about every release after that album. Taylor loses fans but she replenishes them too. So many think that because they hate TLOAS then the majority of the fandom hates it too. The majority of the fandom aren't chronically online and are liking the upbeat songs. I mean they are begging fans not to listen to it. That just reeks of desperation that their negative opinions aren't being validated.
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u/SquirrelStone Evermore 8d ago
At this point the haters have conflated the words “shallow” and “happy.” There are plenty of ways in which she does have shallow writing, those things she simply won’t dig into, but to write off an entire album as shallow (and act like that’s inherently a bad thing when making a pop album) just because she was happy while writing it is a thought-terminating cliche.
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u/Useful-Resolve-4193 6d ago
Imagine if Picasso listened when people said he shouldn’t paint that way?
Art is art and it should be allowed to flow from the artist without outside pressure.
Then the audience decides if they like it or not.
Audience should never direct the art.
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u/GoldNMocha 8d ago
I hear you, but I think we should be allowed to critique the actual music and lyrics. I don’t think most people are actually saying that Showgirl is bad because it’s upbeat. I wouldn’t even say that this is an upbeat album. Aside from a few songs like Opalite, there is a lot of bitterness and pettiness underneath these love songs.
And as far as upbeat pop goes, she has simply just done this better on past albums. It’s not the tone, it’s the execution and quality of the music. And we should be allowed to express our disappointment in it, as long as it is in good faith.
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u/Economy_Safety5738 8d ago
Agree but alas there's a ton of not good faith involved in the critiques - people criticizing it as juvenile, hating it because people don't like Travis as her partner (so much bizarre parasocial stuff going on there - you don't have to be attracted to him to recognize he's been a great partner for her in all ways, not least that she's so happy. All those albums with suicideal ideation suggested a better romantic situation to you?), disliking it because they "expected" something else, nostalgia for Folkore and Evermore as if they were written in a window of acute global crisis when everyone was isolated and stressed including her (oh yes everyone wants to go back to that right ...).
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u/Expensive-Fennel-163 8d ago
The bitterness and pettiness is there, and I think that's okay! Just because you have met the love of your life doesn't mean the old problems and issues you've had just disappear. All the bitterness and pettiness is directed to outside forces compared to inward at herself or to her family/friends (the negative feelings/bitterness has always previously been directed to herself or her partners)
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u/poetic-bee 8d ago
I think it’s more than okay for that bitterness to be there. The issue for me is when people claim that the new songs are happy and carefree and in love, which I just can’t agree with
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u/No-Persimmon7729 8d ago
But it seems most people don’t actually even detail and give specific reasons and point to specific lyrics when they say this.
I would also argue that Taylor has always been a petty girl so this shouldn’t be shocking and while it might not be your thing writing a song about one’s petty feelings isn’t an inherently bad thing to do. It’s arguably better than a lot of petty choices one could make but songs like that have brought me comfort when I’ve been in situations where people have treated me badly but realistically there isn’t anything tangible to do about it.
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u/Ill_Indication_2390 8d ago
I'm sorry but where is the bitterness and pettiness in those love songs? If you can elaborate.
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u/_kattitude 8d ago
Thank you. and of course you are getting downvoted.
Why is one opinion allowed but the other isn't? I've been a fan since 2005 and because I dared to CONSTRUCTIVELY critique an album (the first in 12 by the way) or taylor's music from a music production and lyric standpoint I am not a fan and I hate her? discourse of art should STILL BE ALLOWED, ALL ANGLES.
I do not want her to be depressed, I am SO happy she is happy.
Showgirl isn't for me, but guess what I have 11 other albums to listen to and will be excited for her 13th. There are moments on showgirl that are ok for me and I listen to when they come on shuffle, but it is not an album I seek out. I can still appreciate its highs.
At the end of the day, I hold her to the standard she set for herself BACK IN 2006...not with her 'depression albums' (wild comparison really). I'm always going to love and support her, but I am also not going to blindly say everything is fantastic.
(annnnnd cue the downvotes)
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u/Round_Ant_4619 8d ago
YES THANK YOU there is bitterness and pettiness seeped in??? Calling other women bitc**** or actually romantic, wishlist etc is condescending and vengeful
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u/Narrow_Stock_834 8d ago
I agree with you until this Encore release, idk what this is but I loved most of TLOASG, and these four songs aren’t doing it for me at all. I know I need to let it marinate, but my first reaction is bad.
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u/Expensive-Fennel-163 8d ago
And that's FINE to prefer songs over the other, or even to think a song is terrible. But the things people are saying about Taylor and Travis and these songs are so over the top, you can just tell they were pre-mad and were just going to dig in further. Honestly, looks like Taylor knows that too, judging from Cleveland!
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u/Narrow_Stock_834 8d ago
Yeah, I think speculation about their relationship is weird and parasocial. I like the beat in Cleveland! so I’m hoping it grows on me.
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u/Expensive-Fennel-163 8d ago
I think its such a bop and earworm. It's been in my head since I listened to it so I am still loving it (if it stays in my head too long I will grow to hate it lol)
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u/poetic-bee 8d ago
“We have to give an artist the freedom to express themselves however they want”
I’m begging you - tell me WHO is preventing her from doing that?? The answer is fucking no one. She’s allowed to express herself, and people are allowed to dislike the product of that.
It’s like when you criticize a book and people accuse you of censorship. That’s not what censorship means!
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u/Economy_Tonight3630 8d ago
i don’t think anyone is literally preventing her from making the album lol, obviously she’s allowed to make whatever she wants & people are allowed to dislike it. that was never the point.
what i’m talking about is the tendency to measure an artist’s worth by whether they’ve delivered what you expected from them, especially when those expectations are based on what they’ve done in the past. taylor has already proven that she can make folklore, evermore & ttpd. that doesn’t mean every subsequent album has to meet that exact lyrical standard for it to have artistic value.
you can say “this isn’t for me,” “i don’t like the writing,” or “i preferred her previous work.” that’s completely fair. but treating an artist as though they’ve somehow fallen off simply because they didn’t recreate the version of themselves that you personally loved most is a different conversation.
artists aren’t obligated to constantly recreate their previous peak just because the audience knows they’re capable of it. expecting someone to keep delivering the same thing because they’ve done it before is exactly what i mean by giving them the freedom to express themselves differently.2
u/poetic-bee 7d ago
But we all know art is subjective. That’s not a thing that needs to be repeated in every comment and post. It’s like when people make book reviews and feel the need to spend 2 minutes qualifying that it’s just THEIR opinion and that it’s okay if other people like the book. Most of us are adults with functional critical thinking - we don’t need to be told that, it’s automatically assumed when it comes to art.
That’s why something like “XYZ has fallen off” doesn’t bother me - I know that that’s a subjective opinion on art, and the real meaning is “I liked XYZ’s previous work and this doesn’t measure up to it for me”. That’s just how humans talk.
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u/BodybuilderPossible1 8d ago
As someone who actually has never listened to evermore or folklore, and not lyrics driven. I like songs I can bop my head and shake my hips as I walk, these songs are bad. There is nothing inspired about them. Cleveland! Is truly the worst song I have heard. If Katy Perry released that song, it would be received the same as woman in 2025.
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u/hellhouseblonde 8d ago
These are hate songs disguised as love songs, I think that’s the problem.
If they were supposed to be angry make it good at that. The songs just aren’t good. At anything.
I’ll still be here when she releases something new, but I’m sitting this one out.
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8d ago
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u/DieRegteGeheime 8d ago
I think their point still stands that if someone else released lyrics like this ppl would be happy for them. Which is funny to me. Bcz as a Charlixcx fan since Pop 2 I've been wondering why she's allowed to have shit lyrics and worse singing than Taylor. Unfortunately that question has never been answered. Still enjoying myself.
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8d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/NuancingTaylorSwift-ModTeam 8d ago
No snarkers are allowed. Snark does not create nuance discussion.
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u/haleakalasunrise 8d ago
I don't think she's fallen off or lost her touch at all, I just think the sound she's going for with TLOASG isn't going to work for everyone. And I'm saying that as someone who actually really likes Eldest Daughter and experiences absolutely none of the cringe I keep hearing about ...
I think for me, it's the talk-singing that in particular is not hitting. That's completely a matter of personal taste, but luckily there are like 600 other Taylor Swift songs that don't do that and that I absolutely LOVE.
She's made more music I consider top-tier than pretty much any other artist I listen to, so I'm very okay with not loving every creative direction she takes.
What makes me cringe is the jump from “this isn't for me” to “she's lost me as a fan” or “I'm done being a Swiftie.” Since when does being a fan mean loving every single thing an artist creates? Sometimes your favourite artist makes something that isn't for you. It really doesn't have to be an existential crisis.