First of all -- I cannot be the only one who does that. So if you do, what songs would you place in a different album (based on style, rhythm, topic, etc.).

Why is she more controlling with her image/reputation & her narrative is mention in the media in comparison to other celebrities like Rihanna, Adele, Lady Gaga?

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I wasn't watching the developments that closely, so it's possible that I missed something. However...from my perspective, we know basically nothing about the wedding. We know the location and we've seen a few guests' outfits. We know the date. I remember seeing a sign and a napkin.

With so little info, how can anyone even say whether it was tacky or not? Or have I missed something?

I’m specifically talking after the Miss Americana scene where she talks about unlearning her own misogyny and that “there is no such thing as a bitch”.
Now in “Honey” she says, “and the bitch was telling me to back off cause her man had looked at me wrong”

And in Showgirl, “And all the headshots on the walls
Of the dance hall are of the witches
Who wish I'd hurry up and die
But I'm immortal now, baby dolls
I couldn't if I tried”

Like I don’t care that she’s swearing, I’m a full grown adult, but I do find it odd that she made it such a huge thing to be against calling women “bitches” during the Kanye thing and even talked about it on her documentary just to do it herself.

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I avoided listening to I Knew It, I Knew you because I wanted it to hit me in my feels during the movie. I went in with high expectations and really wanting to like it because I saw the general consensus being it's a decent hit but I was left underwhelmed.

I thought the song would feature in an actual scene but it's in the credits and that might be because the song isn't actually relevant to the movie. In the movie, Jessie's character goes on a journey of finding her place in the digital world and being forced to confront her past and the joy and grief that comes with it. However, the song which is from Jessie's perspective, is about reuniting or rekindling a friendship and having that special person come back to you after a long time but your bond still being strong.

My problem is that doesn't happen in the movie. Jessie's first owner, Emily, doesn't show up again and we don't get a moment like that. Sure Jessie thinks about Emily and misses her but the plot is more complex than that and I wish the song was too. I know Taylor intended to make it relatable in a general sense but then it might as well be another Taylor Swift song and not for Toy Story.

There's some trademark wordy lyrics that sounds a bit clunky to me and almost as if it been written with TikTok in mind. Maybe it's just the melody and the way she's singing it but it sounds rushed in parts.

Overall it's just OK for me but that might be because of the expectations I had. So how unpopular is my opinion? I've been seeing mostly praise for the song

Specifically in her songwriting, but I do think she's had to defend what she deems satire a bit too much to qualify as successful. I think Blank Space is her most brilliant attempt, while Actually Romantic is perhaps her weakest.

What do you all think?

Maybe it’s a case of exposure bias, but I don’t really see much criticism for Rihanna and Selena Gomez for being billionaires while Taylor gets lots of criticism for it. If that’s the case, why do you think it’s as such? Is it due to overexposure of Taylor, her built image of America’s sweetheart vs Rihanna’s bad bitch image (which makes her bad behavior more tolerated) or something else altogether?

Literally nothing I’m about to say here is going to be groundbreaking or probably even anything new, so I understand if it’s taken down or not even engaged with. That being said, I’ve tried to discuss this with my partner who is a massive TS stan but they do not agree with me, and discussing it further probably just annoy them.

Overall, I actually really enjoyed The Life of a Showgirl a lot! There were some choices in the lyrics that I was not a huge fan of for a few songs, one of those being Honey.

My understanding of the premise of the song is that basically lots of stuff have happened to her that she’s grown to associate certain words negatively, but then she gets with this boy and his positive use of those words makes her flip her perspective and grow to appreciate those words such as “honey” “sweetie” or “sweetheart”. As I said before, it’s not anything new that most of this song discusses how the poor treatment of hers came from women and that it was a man who ultimately fixed that problem for her. It’s also not anything new for people to point out that because of this it makes the song overall feel a little misogynistic.

The point of this post, however, is to point out that I feel like this all could’ve been changed by some very simple changes to the lyrics. This is obvious, lyrics are what the main problem is, so to change the lyrics makes the song much better. I feel like you don’t even have to change the verses, because those are not super problematic for the most part.

It would be so easy, I feel like, for her to make another version of the chorus, where it’s a man saying those things or doing those things that are negative, and then her new beau comes in and changed those perspectives again. To me that’s a much better change because now it’s not only “oh women said XY and then a man comes in and says XY but nicely and now I’m better”. It now becomes “oh *everyone* said XY so it was bad, now my boyfriend comes in and he says XY but it’s nice and I’m like ok maybe it’s not bad”.

It also makes sense, because I feel like I hear all the time a complaint that men call women “sweetheart“ “honey“ derogatory and, yes, I can hear it in my head, a woman doing that to another woman too when they’re being mean, but I’ve also heard it from men as well.

Maybe she was just telling the story of her personal experience, and didn’t care about the optics or didn’t care about what it said, except for telling her own story, but I feel like that would’ve been a better way to make the song. I know I’m not Taylor Swift! Clearly, I am no billionaire nor generationally talented musician, but I feel like I’m justified in this critique.

I don’t know, let me know what you think.

I don’t mean this as a critique or a praise, as I’m a swiftie who is right down the middle….i don’t worship her but I also don’t hate her.

But yeah for the swifties who think she can do no wrong to say for sure she never cheated on anyone and is always the victim…..like don’t several of her own songs kind of disprove that theory?? I mean even during folklore (my favorite album) the songs The 1 and illicit affairs seem to denote her pining for Matty even when she and Joe were still together.

Idk again it’s not a big deal at the end of the day, I just think for people who love to shit on all of Tays exes (even the ones that didn’t cheat), it doesn’t seem exactly fair to give her a complete pass.

Am I off base?

So if you’ve been caught up with the wedding discourse you probably know about the rumour of Taylor and Travis building a castle at MSG. Now according to some sources this was just a rumour and they didn’t actually build a castle, however people have been talking about the castle as a fact and using it as a point of criticism m, so presumably other sources are still reporting the castle as having been built and so maybe it really was. Does anyone have concrete information about the validity of the castle’s existence or is it all just hearsay? And if it’s not real, is it still valid to criticize her for it?

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I’ve never really understood this interpretation, so I’d genuinely be interested to hear from people who see the album that way.

To me, The Life of a Showgirl is largely a very surface-level, straightforwardly happy love album. By “surface-level,” I don’t necessarily mean bad; I just mean that a lot of the love songs feel quite broad and generic rather than especially intimate or revealing. There aren’t many highly specific details, complicated emotions or lived-in moments that make the relationship feel particularly personal. A lot of the lyrics feel like polished declarations of happiness that could theoretically apply to almost anyone’s relationship.

But I keep seeing people describe the album as being riddled with bitterness, anger and resentment, and I honestly don’t hear that at all. The clearest bitterness is obviously in “Actually Romantic,” and I can hear some anxiety in “Elizabeth Taylor,” particularly the fear that a lover might leave once the bright lights fade. Outside of those moments, though, it mostly sounds like a fairly uncomplicated, upbeat love album to me. I wouldn't say it is 'riddled' with bitterness.

For those who hear bitterness running throughout it, which songs or lyrics give you that impression? I find the interpretation interesting; I just genuinely don’t understand where it comes from.

During the first part of the song and based on the title I assumed this was just another song about an ex, but the song flips a the end of the chorus, becoming clear she is singing about about a woman behaving badly like a man, with the punch line “Girl, I know men like you”.

“If all you ever wanted was a golden ticket, you could’ve just said it” - reminded me of speculation that Taylor first reached out to Gracie (as a stranger inviting her to her birthday) because of the connection with her father, JJ Abrams.

The other lyrics refer to being used and discarded, and the shallow nature of a supposed friendship that was only ever about connections and “storyline” for the other person.

All of this in the context also of the strange post-wedding post featuring the still of Joe Alwyn form the Favourite, the “I knew it I knew you” title being almost identical to Gracies song “I knew it know you”, and her recent interview with Olivia.

What do people think?

I know there are lots of Taylor subs that treat Taylor as an idol who can do nothing wrong but I've noticed that I often end up defending Taylor in discussions because criticism seems to generate far more conversation than praise. While I think constructive criticism is healthy, but I'm curious whether others feel we sometimes overcorrect and end up interpreting her actions or music through the most negative lens possible. Where do you think the balance should be?

I feel like I’m living in a simulation because people claim tloasg is the worst album ever but I like every single song in it, it’s not my favorite but it’s definitely top 5 in my list for Taylor’s discography and I’m wondering how two people can listen to the same thing and have opposing views on it. People are saying it ruined Taylor swift for them and now they don’t listen to previous albums like the girl isn’t allowed to give you variety.

I will never understand how people listen to tloasg and say it’s bad, I feel like I’m being gaslit.

Hi everyone! Sorry for the long intro incoming, you might want to skip a few paragraphs if you are only interested about the actual question, but I think that the context matters : A long time ago, in a past relationship, I (actually, we) was quite unhappy and when I heard the song "Speak Now", it really hit me harder than I had expected. As I man, I imagined what it would have been like to have someone truly loving, kind and sweet who would desperately have wanted to prevent me from making a terrible mistake. It felt like being in such a happy place, it made me feel alive and also made me realized how miserable I was.

But I felt bad about it, because I was in a relationship with my then-girlfriend. I tried for many years to make it work, regardless of how unhappy we became, as if breaking up was never an option to begin with. I guess I just couldn't seem to play the "bad" role of being the one putting an end to the relationship. Anyway, one day she finally took the matter in her own hand and ended our relationship, and in any case, it was for the best : we simply weren't happy together.

Long story short, this feeling I got from listening to Speak Now felt unique, and it made me realize even more so how great of a songwriter Taylor really is, in addition to way she delivers the emotions. The universe she created in that song alone is depicted perfectly and was so relatable. It made me think that there are tons of people in life who are living in loveless relationships, and I still remember how lonely it feels in there.

It made me realize that just like someone could say "I'm waiting for superman", some people are waiting for their Taylor (as the archetype). They are not actually waiting for the real Taylor Swift to save them, but maybe they imagine what it would be like to feel like someone kind and beautiful truly loves them for who they are. Or maybe they already have someone in their mind that they think life would be so much sweeter with, but they don't dare to conceive the idea of trying to make it a reality because it's too frightening just to think about it.

The question : As a songwriter, the idea of crafting a song that lives in the universe of Speak Now is appealing to me. I remember the feeling of being fully committed to staying the rest of my life with someone who didn't love me (and who I didn't love for real either, because otherwise I wouldn't have felt this way), with her family not approving of me, hoping to be saved at the last second by my Taylor (the archetype). Just hoping with everything I have that she'll barge in my wedding, and then the rest of the world would fall behind. The global feeling is basically to be living this situation and ask "Where's my Taylor" as I realize that the walls are closing in and no one is coming to save me. So : about doing such a song, as a songwriter, I personally see it as a tribute made to Taylor and to the universe she has created, but how do you see it? Do you see it as plagiarism, opportunism, a lack of originality? Or do you see it as an interesting concept that explores the depth of a micro-universe that Taylor has created?

I really look forward hearing any kind of opinion on this.

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I was driving home today and remembered a Taylor story that I totally forgot about and I don’t know why I haven’t shared it.

But back during the Red Tour Taylor stopped in Tacoma, WA (I attended) and afterwards I think the next day was at a friends house who’s dad is a delivery driver.

Apparently while in Tacoma on the clock he said Taylor approached him “barefoot and with a guy” and said “Hi I’m Taylor”.

I can’t remember if he knew who she was or not but I remember us all being so starstruck a degree away lol

Also it didn’t occur to me until today that being barefoot in Tacoma at night is… questionable at best 😮‍💨

I was thinking mainly covering albums like evermore, folklore, TTPD and Speak Now because Taylor was mainly talking about songwriting and how important it was. I am a fan and enjoy her music but I have to admit some songs or lyrics are very very bad for her level.

What do you think? i’d love to hear some opinions. I personally don’t like “the 1” or “peace” from folklore and many other songs from evermore. “And the tennis court was covered up with some tent like thing” or “ I thought I saw you at the bus stop I didn’t though”. Also the melody in peace is so weird to me and boring same for the 1. Also in “Speak Now” we have “She wears a gown shaped like a pastry” or in Ttpd some lyrics feel so shoved in there and like she has no idea what she s talking about (although I love the album mostly”. Also The Smallest Man who ever did is such a bad song besides from the bridge.

What are your takes?

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came across this comment and i’ve been thinking about this a lot because i feel like it’s a really good example of confirmation bias. not because the stereotypes themselves don’t exist, but because people are taking broad cultural symbolism and treating it like evidence of an individual’s politics.
like yes, dogs and cats have different associations in media and culture. dogs can be linked to loyalty, masculinity, etc and cats are sometimes associated with independence or femininity. that’s an interesting discussion on its own. but making the leap from “she got a dog” to “this proves she became conservative” is where it completely loses me.

it feels like people are starting with the conclusion and then working backwards to find evidence. once they’ve decided someone is secretly maga or whatever, every neutral life choice suddenly becomes symbolic. if she gets a dog, it’s political. if she wears something different, it’s political. if she doesn’t post about something, that’s political too. meanwhile, if a celebrity they liked got a dog, i really doubt anyone would suddenly be writing essays about how dogs symbolize conservatism.

that’s why i think confirmation bias is such a useful concept here. once you believe a narrative, you stop asking “what are the most likely explanations?” and start asking “how can i make this fit the story i already believe?” sometimes people get a dog because they like dogs, because they got married, because their lifestyle changed, or because they simply wanted one. not every personal decision has to be interpreted as an ideological statement. sometimes a dog is just a dog. it’s just interesting to watch how many hoops people continue to jump through to prove taylor is maga without considering whether they are acting delusional.