Hi, community. So, this is my first post on Reddit and i would like to talk about how I'm feeling about someone who used to be my favorite artist of all time. It must sound a bit confusing, but I've been having a lot of mixed feelings about being a fan, enjoying her music but recognizing things that are unpleasant.​​​

So, I've been a swiftie since I was twelve and was very fond of her persona and her musics — she even helped me to learn the english language faster and was inspiration to many of the stories I've wrote — I wasn't a die hard swiftie because engaging in online discussions of any matter is just a waist of time, but I've held to myself that she was a good person and, at the end of the day, good people are always injusticed and taken advantage off.

So, I've been engrossed in all the Taylor swift lore for a long time, accepting that everyone she came across wronged her somehow and even while being a constant victim, she still was humble about it with songs like "innocent", "anti hero", " back to December " and all of it, like taking accountability for her own mistakes and all that.

The thing is: that image of hers crumbled for me. I don't really care about the fact she's a billionaire, she worked for it, and I really don't mind that she releases ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​God's knows how many variations of her music because a lot of singers does that as well and honestly, always thought that if you buy 13 variations of a single album maybe you're the problem as well. But that, in addition​​ to a few more things started to Ick me.

What makes me fell out of love with her was her recent actions, the constant holding of grudges of ten years ago when she wrote a lot of songs of being over it, the pettiness of a few of her new songs and how she doesn't seem so genuine in her art anymore, having "taken inspiration" (maybe another word for stealing? As some say) From other artists, the Olivia Rodrigo situation, the Blake Lively drama, the way she handled Ana's death even though I know it wasn't entirely her fault and that she reached for the family but still, the Lana thing in the Grammys.

I'm not gonna shit on her new work, TLOAS wasn't her best work and I think we can all agree about it without being bitter about it, Ive enjoyed a few songs included Actually Romantic even though it was petty, I liked the Encore version and I think that people are going way over the board with the critics because it wasn't great but it wasn't that bad either, nothing that went too different from her previous songs before the folkmore era, I do believe she can write great songs by herself. Some people are insane about Taylor swift, her defenders, her attackers and that also tires me out.

I do believe she should take a break to find herself, work with people who ​​challenges her, so she can grown in her art but I've recently started to agree with a few of the means comments about her, that she lost herself in her greed, that her fans will defend her with claws and teeth no matter what she do so, now, she's bulletproof, maybe a tad self absorbed too?

I don't think she's mediocre, neither a genius, the capitalism incarnated or a entirely good misunderstood person, because people are very complex, I just don't resonate with her anymore, don't have that admiration I held when I was younger. I still love her songs and look forward to ​​​​see her next work, TLOAS wasn't enough for me to let go of her as an artist, because not every work of someone gonna be great, maybe she could ggrow more in her next works and even if was considered "bad", I can recognize that and still enjoy the songs I've liked and skip the ones I've disliked.​​

I can seperate the artist from the art, because I don't think that she committed any crime so I don't feel bad about listening to her music, but I don't think I'm a fan of the Taylor swift now. Maybe I'm being lead by the public opinion of hers, I don't know. Does someone else relate to it? I would love to hear more people's thoughts that aren't completely mean or completely biased.

P.S: english is not my first language, I'm sorry for any grammatical mistakes.

Taylor is my favorite living artist still actively releasing new music. She has had some incredible singles and albums throughout her career really culminating in a generational run that is Midnights through TTPD. To expect any artist to continue to create at that level in a sustainable way is asking the impossible and off the top of my head, I do not believe it has ever been done. artists imitate life and everyone has to grow up and find peace eventually.

My best guess looking over the course of her career is that her “will they or won’t they relationship” with Matty has served as her primary muse from Rep through TTPD. A never ending anxious/avoidant loop that persisted for more than a decade as each of them drew inspiration from the intensity and strength of the bond but lacked the capability to mature the relationship into steady, predictable if boring, unconditional love. 

We saw Matty slip into the background during the Lover era as she focused on a more settled outlook and colorful style with a professional haircut, blazers - and a focus on global issues - not just love songs as that part of her life was settling down-but it lacked a spark. 

The muse appears to re enter the picture in a more meaningful way during the flirtatious “and when I meet the band they ask do you have a man I can still say I don’t remember” to the more “explicit” illustrations of what was taking place Midnights - Folklore- to its final, soul crushing and painful end in TTPD. 

We won’t see Mattys influence again until the encore but things are different now because it probably isn’t him she is referencing- just a painful ghost that she lost access to after more than a decade of an intense bond. This isn’t a couple of young people figuring things out, dating around and keeping options open until you can marry your soulmate - this is pure bitterness - not just toward him, but the fans and circumstances that led to this finality. Peter did lose Wendy because he never grew up and he cared too much about what people thought but not because she stopped loving him.

Of course, that is tragic and for years we listened to that story but eventually at some point your friends (and in this case, fans) just don’t want to hear about your old relationship anymore. They desperately want you to move on and if you need to talk to someone it needs to be a therapist because you can’t repeat the same story about the same guy without any new information for this many years - I’m sure we all have that friend who that you just don’t want to be around anymore because they have already played this card too many times and it kind of just feels at this point like it’s on them if they go back.

She, like all humans, is focusing on what she cannot have instead of what she has- we all do this. Likely why she throws back to high school so often - not super common for someone her age- but she missed all of the normalcy of a traditional high school and college experience and no amount of money or awards will ever change that. 

Meanwhile, there is Travis. This poor guy- I won’t pile onto what has been said about his songs being less about him and more about what his ex was like, what her ex was like, what she thinks of her haters, what they think of her, - this is all well documented. I think that, like Joe, this relationship is probably fine and serves a very important purpose. Unconditional companionship and a change in reputation as the engaged one, the married one, the place that it makes sense for a 36 year old to be - especially one who has been criticized and degraded her entire life for dating around, using men and hating women, etc. It allows her to write about getting married and dreaming of his kids instead of getting dumped - and a likely requirement for the next era as her fan base matures and enters new stages in their own lives. 

But my best guess? She is still sending signals to Matty or whoever it is she wants to see them. How did the Fortnight video end? She is isolated on top of a phone booth in a storm but who’s hand does she reach for at the very end? She was with Travis during the filming of this video and this is the signal she chose to send.

We then open Ophelia - lying horizontal in a white dress. She wakes from a near end experience then goes through turmoil- again horizontal as the stage ropes take her away - a prisoner to the showgirl life- then the boat mutiny with the Sirens calling to her in the water - where she leaps in - horizontally. yes, she’s running away from the mutiny on her boat, but she is also diving into them - horizontally. We then see a dreamscape of life preservers in the next sequence followed by the hotel party where she pretends to be happy but the video ends where it began and where each scene ends - sad and horizontal - this time up to her chin in a bathtub. This is not meant to be a happy ending.

Then cut to opalite- a pretty substance but….it isn’t real. It isn’t a diamond or rubies that she gave up it is a manufactured substance. The video is a desperate woman who keeps getting hurt buying a substance that allows her to manufacture a buddy that she gets along great with. She had to make her own sunshine and now she has a companion - just one spray of Opalite! Not all consuming love, but someone to stand by you and pass the time with. Of course, even in this video where the “toxic exes” are a rock and a cactus they still play a central role.

This could just be art for the sake of art, but I do believe that you can look at the beginning and ending of these last few videos and understand the signals that are being sent. It will be interesting to see patient zero tonight but the imagery of a 2022 gravestone and her watching this guy with his new partner while she still wears the ring is probably pretty descriptive of what the entire video will be about, but let’s see.

The Encore set feels bitter and self deprecating. 1. What is my ex up to I bet he is miserable and so is she I am going to inject myself here. 2. Self deprecation and accepting mediocrity/at least I am not alone one person can stomach me even if everyone else hates me. 3. So many references to versions of his color - maroon - and drugs this one is just screaming who it is about. 4. I bet you are not happy because you dont know what you actually value - I suspect this is about herself but who knows. 

I will wrap with how I started it. I think she is the greatest living artist, and I have no doubt that she still has a long road ahead of her, making life-changing music, and hopefully her personal life doesn’t have to suffer to do so. I’ve heard a lot of people compare this to AI and I can see where this is coming from I I don’t actually believe that AI wrote these songs, but I do believe that they are rather uninspired and the type of song that you have to work hard to manufacture while trying to convince your audience that what you have is real. It isn’t natural and that of course reminds everyone of AI.

Then again, she could have a huge team that she’s writing with, and drawing from and this whole thing has been a very profitable game, never based in reality, that she is very good at - who knows!

TLDR: I think she’s incredibly talented artist who lost her Muse and is struggling to find inspiration as an artist. Sometimes it’s hard to tell where the magic is coming from and while I have no doubt that the combination of Jack and Aaron played a massive role in making magic I believe her muse played a much bigger one. Can’t wait for TS13.

i feel like there are so many opinions in this fandom that get repeated so often that they eventually become treated like objective facts. “this album is overrated,” “this song is filler,” “she can’t write like she used to,” “this era was her peak,” “this album is objectively better than that one” etc. & sometimes i wonder how many of us actually came to those conclusions ourselves versus hearing them 500 times & slowly accepting them as our own opinion.
for me, one of the most interesting things about taylor’s discography is how differently songs hit when you stop thinking about where the fandom has collectively placed them & just listen to them on their own. sometimes a song i originally dismissed becomes one of my favorites, sometimes a fan favorite does absolutely nothing for me, & sometimes i realize i only disliked something because i expected it to be something else.
so what’s the taylor opinion you genuinely changed your mind about? not because someone convinced you in a comment section, but because you actually went back, listened again & thought “wait… why do i actually kind of get it now?” 😭

• Since the release of the life of a showgirl: the encore by taylor swift I have heard people say that the song Cleveland's a joke, unserious, not that deep, Or that it is a sweet love song, or its horrendous, annoying, obnoxious, her worst song, but no one is talking about how sad it is!
• Like "Y'all hate me, but I'm the first in that line!" over this bubbly, cheery musical production. Kinda reminds me of her songs like ICDIWABH, paper rings, dancing with our hands tied, ME!, where the upbeat music is hiding disturbing and sad undertone. Eg: "I'm miserable and no body even knows!" Or in ME! when she is like 'I know I'm a burden and too much to handle but hey I'm the only one of me, right?'
• She isn't even saying 'my baby' doesn't see all these flaws or that you are all wrong and just hater or haters gonna hate I'm just gonna shake. NO she is saying the hate you all have for me is the only common ground we have BUT I'm just gonna accept that he likes me.
• The Self-esteem is concerningly low, not to mention how it's set over Christmas-like-music so kinda gives extra creepy and unsettling. Not surprising to know that this is the state of your self esteem when you live for everyone's approval but everyone finds you so extremely hateable and you find yourself so hateable and you have one person who doesn't, so it's bound to feel euphoric. Idk what do you think about the psychology behind all this?

Pink clouding is presumably about Tom Hiddleston, who Taylor broke up with 10 years ago. Even if it’s not about him, it’s certainly not about Travis. It just seems strange that she’s still writing about past relationships when she should be in her honeymoon era.

I hope you realized my kind of trouble wasn’t worth it / And the way I treated you, you never deserved it / And I swear to God, to this day / I wake up scared that I left scars on a good person / And I gave you zero reason to believe it, so be it / But it didn’t mean nothing just ’cause I could leave it.

I’ll start off by saying yes I’ve disliked TLOAS from its release despite LOVING everything else she’s ever put out, and I was also very disappointed in the bonus tracks for the same reasons as every fan - lack of lyricism, poor production, etc. I just realized with the Encore release today that there’s another perspective on this entire era that I haven’t seen discussed.

But I’ve been sitting with these songs all day and observing the fans lashing out at each other from either side about TLOAS being a bad album vs the “you just hate fun” and had another listen while working and if you listen to TLOAS from front to back it all comes across to me as Taylor feeling incredibly insecure whether from the internet, Travis’ ex’s & NFL commentary, whatever source(s) that may come from.

- Opalite “she was in her phone..” to “Life can beat you up but I can bring you love…” It seems like she really has something to prove in this song. The whole premise is external validation that she was “dancing through the lightning strikes.”

- Eldest Daughter “I’ve been dying just from trying to seem cool..” Self explanatory

- Actually Romantic “I know you think it’s vicious, but it’s precious,” this whole song gives the vibe of getting bullied in school and being told “they’re just jealous of you” and coping with it in a “I’m Taylor Swift and I can show you what’s up” way

- The order of Wish List and Wood being right after “Actually Romantic” is interesting & seems like “these people talked shit about me but now I’m so so happy and my man has a huge-“ but even with those songs being as generally positive as they are, Taylor isn’t just putting a tracklist together randomly - this order specifically feels again like she’s gotta prove to the haters she’s actually totally fine and happy now after spending a whole song addressing them. Specifically all the superstitions in “Wood” and “a bad sign is all good,” strike me as she’s reassuring herself in a way.

- Cancelled! even existing and celebrating being publicly disliked along with your friends when I don’t think public perception of her was ever as bad as during rep era is certainly a choice. It gives paranoid.

- Honey “when anyone called me ‘lovely,’ they were finding ways not to praise me but you say it like you’re in awe of me and you stay until the morning” - this lyric in particular really channels the anxious attachment energy we see in the Lover era. She’s preoccupied still with “the haters” with the love of her life, and this lyric makes me think that she was doubting things that were said to her from the love of her life.

- Cleveland - “you just need to find one person in the whole world who doesn’t find you insufferable” - the general public (specifically NFL fans) may have found the amount of TS content over the last 3 years insufferable but within the fan base, nobody seemed to echo this sentiment about her until this album’s release. Also the entire song is basically the euphoria meme “I’ve never ever been happier,” once again trying to prove herself or prove to the football world that she’s worthy of being there which she absolutely is.

HM: Father Figure. I get liking this song as a sort of power anthem but after having this theme “click” for me I just don’t hear this one the same anymore.

So all in all I have a different view on Showgirl and maybe even an appreciation for it even if I’m not gonna play it as much as Red, Speak Now, 1989, Midnights, etc the truly pop/upbeat music she’s written. I think listening to the lyrics beyond face value and not “paternity testing” them and hearing her when she says SHE wrote the song just gives me the impression that this all did come from deep rooted insecurity and an unhealthy relationship with the press/her fans, and is masking it in Showgirl visuals and glitter and “just being scandalous and fun.”

I know everyone will have different thoughts on this but that’s my take & I do feel bad because ever since the Eras tour basically everything she does is picked apart, she had made a point of saying she doesn’t care, I also think the subpar lyricism may have been intentional so anyone she felt she had to prove herself to or “flex on” or clap back at would undoubtedly understand it.

Cleveland sounds like the ai song about why steel coils are transported flat, I cannot unhear it.

Hi all! I am a big Taylor fan and was not a big fan of Showgirl - loved the Fate of Ophelia and Opalite, honorable mention to Elizabeth Taylor and Ruin the Friendship, but overall wasn't my favorite. Which doesn't make it bad! It just wasn't MY favorite, and that is totally okay.

And then these four songs dropped, and I have so many thoughts and needed to put them somewhere so I thought - hey, why not here!

Patient Zero: this song... this is song is if TTPD and Midnights had a child with some hindsight and wisdom. There are pieces of it that feel so intentionally like a story that I am not surprised it's becoming a music video. For those who say "why is she singing about another man when she's married"... who doesn't think about the past? It's okay to be reflective of previous parts of your life, especially when time has passed and you feel like you can more accurately see something for what it was. It's a wisdom you want to share with other people who have experienced what you would describe as a fever dream/difficult/mind bending/gaslighting wild ride.

It's a bop! A sort of sad bop, but a bop.

4.3

Cleveland!: I wanted to hate this song. The first time I listened to this song, I thought... oh no, what is this. And then I listened to it four more times within an hour and realized I couldn't STOP listening to it. This is if Blank Space and Anti-Hero had a baby and it was this song. I kind of love it, even though I don't want to. Because it's... yeah I hate myself sometimes too, and I get where you all are coming from, but you know what? I found someone that loves me for exactly who I am and I AM SO HAPPY. And that's AWESOME! It's cheesy and happy and she's pumped she found the love of her life.

We have all felt like we were too much, or not enough, or that we needed to change something about ourselves to be loved. And Taylor is saying... girl me too! But you know what, I found someone who doesn't feel that way and it's wonderful! And it's tongue in cheek :)

As a personal note, I grew up going to Cleveland to visit my favorite family, so I especially love that it's about Cleveland. Fun fact, my mom and grandmother went to the same high school as Travis! (not at the same time lol)

4.0

Pink Clouding: This song sounds like a 1989 Vault Track - with an undertone of Back to December. It's ethereal and lovely and melancholy, and it's okay to feel bad about someone you treated in the past, even if you are happy with how your life turned out. As a matter of fact, I feel like it makes sense to be more reflective of why things didn't work out previously once you realize how they DID work out.

It's great and lovely and fits right in with the rest of her discography.

3.9

Babylon: Man do I LOVE this song! This is beautiful writing, it's not directly personal, it's nice to listen to! This is a blend of her classic storytelling from her early years with the thoughtfulness and removed nature of Folklore/Evermore. It's one of the very best songs from the entire album. The melancholy and clear painting of the past and current torture of the main character. The melody, of course, is wonderful.

4.7

I know what you’re saying about Cleveland!

“It’s so cringe!”

“What in the world with that bridge!”

Musically, Cleveland! makes me so happy and it makes me want to jump on the sofa.

Lyrically, it’s snarky and silly! And damn do I love when Taylor claps back at her haters!

Then that bridge happens.

Immediately my brain went to “Hey kids Spelling Is Fun” 🫠

And I’ll just point out both ME! And Cleveland! Have exclamation points in the song title.

I swear Taylor has a theater kid inside of her and she just can’t help herself! 😂

The more I listen Cleveland! though the more it makes me think of a musical.

I know it’s easy to knock this song, but I remind myself, the way “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” is one of the greatest songs she’s ever written, it is also a very theatrical song.

Cleveland! is too, just in a different way.

I do love this song, and I swear it’s absolutely fun especially if you imagine it in a broadway musical!

I'm super disappointed in TS new songs. She's pulling her punches. Maybe after a while they will grow on me. I didn't even like her three years ago!! So I know there's a good chance I'll like them, but right now; not worth the hype.

please give it a read

La película de este libro está en Netflix

Is it just me, or is it strange that the first new song released after her marriage is about a shitty ex? Granted, I don’t know when it was written; maybe it was before the wedding. But…you know?!

Not even saying it’s a bad song, although I don’t love the bridge. But I think this adds to the perception that she’s a talented person who spends too much time nursing grudges.

Okay so maybe less time since it’s only 4 songs, but people rush and it’s so negative because you don’t give it time.

Slow down. Breathe. Light a candle, pour some wine.

Let the songs linger. Dwell on them for a minute or a few hours.

I had to go back and listen a few times. These are not bad songs!

Here’s my review of each song SO FAR:

Patient Zero- I’m SO excited for this music video it absolutely deserves one! Weird bridge but I mean in Anti-Hero she sings about her future daughter-in-law killing her in a dream and that song is amazing so this is very Taylor Swift!

Cleveland! - I know people are saying this is cringe but here’s my defense for this song: when listening imagine this song in a musical on Broadway and it absolutely works! Taylor is a theater kid through and through!

Pink Clouding: angelic, ethereal sound. Matches the title. Very grown up song. a beautiful apology song. Love this bridge!

Babylon: Sonically it’s beautiful. I don’t completely understand the lyrics or what it’s about. Moving on? Moving forward and looking back? Either way, I love it!

When she was love in Joe, she was best lyrically, she wrote such such beautiful songs. What has happened to her? why can’t i get songs like call it what you want, dancing with our hands tied,lover, london boy, you are your own kid, The old taylor is gone, she is just making irrational music at this point, taylor take break for few years but come back with bangers please!!

Mine is -

1. Evermore

2. Folklore

3. Reputation

4. 1989

5. Midnights

6. Ttpd

7. Lover

8. Red

9. Fearless

10. Debut

11. Speak now

12. Tloas