Love her or hate her, Taylor Swift is one of the hugest stars in the universe. She puts out hit after hit like it’s her job (mostly because it is) and she’s good at it. She’s an incredibly talented and gifted young lady. Furthermore, she’s really… grown up. Screw it, let’s be honest. She’s painfully attractive. Yet her critics come out in droves, just waiting to point out any and every flaw or mistake.
Not long ago, I noticed one of the thousands of chick magazines at a gas station begging the question, “Will Taylor Swift every find love?” Are you kidding me? She’s 24 years old. Most normal or sane people will not have found “love” by that time in their lives. I can already hear you asking about all of her ex boyfriends. So? How many people have you dated? Most of us have dated a lot of different people and it hasn’t worked out. She’s found a way to put those situations into songs that the world loves. It also happens to make her a giant pile of money.
Now let’s move on to the country purists that say her music isn’t country anymore. It’s pop and therefore garbage. A lot of the popular country music these days has a ‘poppy’ or rock sound to it. It’s one of the reasons country has become so huge the last decade. Country fans like me owe that burst in popularity to people like Taylor.
If you’re wondering if I’m crying with mascara running down my cheeks like the “Leave Britney alone!” guy, I am not. Sorry to burst your bubble. So, next time you want to call her an idiot, think about what you’re saying. You don’t have to like her music, but respect the girl for what she’s done. Can someone now please help me down off of my soapbox?
Dave Pastern • Mar 13, 2014 at 7:07 pm
Well said! Country music owes Taylor an awful lot – she has pretty much single handedly revitalised this dying genre and made it popular again. I don’t see people bashing Faith Hill or Shania Twain (both of who are decidely ‘pop’ in their musical delivery I might add) or a myriad of other country artists who are popular at the moment. Is Taylor traditional country – hell no! Is country just about a southern accent and guitar twang – imho, no it isn’t. It’s about telling a story. I’ve bought a bunch of ‘country’ albums over the past few years, and i’m sure a lot of Taylor’s other fans have done likewise. How many of us would have done so if Taylor hadn’t gotten us listening to the genre?
I totally agree about Taylor and the dating scene too – she’s not dissimilar to the majority of 24 year olds when it comes to partners. People also forget that Taylor may write a bunch of songs about the same person – each song is not about a unique individual. I think people need to chillax. Taylor’s young, beautiful, successful and wealthy and she’s going to take her time finding the guy who’s right for her. And good on her for doing so I say!
One final thing – Taylor is involved in every aspect of her career – from the recording stages of an album, to marketing, to set design for her elaborate tours, to the songwriting and performance. She plays multiple instruments, and whilst she’s no Jimi Hendrix at the guitar, her abilities show that it’s pretty clear that she’s a talented musician as well as a songwriting savante.
I personally consider Taylor up with the songwriting greats – people like Bruce Springsteen or Bob Dylan and I think that if she chooses to stay in the industry, she’ll be recognised as one of the greats of all time.
Dave