Taylor Swift

[Danoff]

Life of a Showgirl dropped last night. I know this is a little out there for this particular group, but this thread is to discuss all things Taylor. I imagine that she'll be in music news for a bit with this new album. Some of the tracks on Showgirl seem like they're crafted well to top charts and work their way into every media outlet.

I go to the movie tonight. I'll report back tomorrow.

This new album has quite a few tracks that are straight disco, which is not something I'm used to from Taylor. She's done country, she's done straight pop, and she's done a ton of folk. The pop has veered into 80s synth occasionally (with TTPD), and some pure singer-songwriter piano compositions. But disco? That feels new for her, at least to me.

Disco is a genre that a lot of musicians play with on occasion. No Doubt even had a fantastic b-side disco track on tragic kingdom way back in the day. So it's not like it's unheard of for a musician to toy with. But this seems like ostensibly a disco album, at least on my first listen. Taylor's fans have followed her a lot of places, so perhaps they'll have absolutely zero issues following her here. I personally have no problem with it. I'm a fan of Kylie and Goldfrapp and this feels like it's very much in their arena.

What's your take?

[TheCracker]

As a guy in his 50's i'm not exactly her target audience, but i have to say i've never disliked anything i've heard of hers - unlike a majority of her contemporaries who i find offensively bland. At best.

I can see why parents would be quite happy for their kids to be fans of hers. She seems to be quite savvy and not affraid to say what she thinks about political matters, even when it could quite easily alienate her from specific groups of people and put her in their crosshairs.

[Danoff]

As a guy in his 50's i'm not exactly her target audience, but i have to say i've never disliked anything i've heard of hers - unlike a majority of her contemporaries who i find offensively bland. At best.

I can see why parents would be quite happy for their kids to be fans of hers. She seems to be quite savvy and not affraid to say what she thinks about political matters, even when it could quite easily alienate her from specific groups of people and put her in their crosshairs.

Yea I'm not either. I was pretty much exclusively a metal/guitar god fan as a teen. I hated all things pop, and had a special hatred for country.

Honestly I'd probably be pretty ambivalent about Taylor if not for the fact that I have 3 daughters. I've listened to so much of their music... and some of it is absolutely awful. But Taylor consistently worked her magic on me over time.

[Furious]

I tried to listen to Swift and while it's not the worst music I've ever heard, I don't get the obsession.
She just seems very bland to my taste. I'm not going to say I heard a lot of her songs, but I tried to listen to a few top ones and it all sounded just like the same stuff. Again, if she was just a regular pop artist, I guess that's about normal, but she seems to be attracting some kind of a massive audience, which I don't really understand why.

Out of the modern artists, I'd say the only one that's pretty big these days that I actually kind of like is Billie Eilish. More some of the more recent stuff than her older music, which also wasn't particularly interesting.

[Danoff]

I tried to listen to Swift and while it's not the worst music I've ever heard, I don't get the obsession.

I'm not entirely sure you want an answer to this but... this is a discussion board and you posted so here you go.

She just seems very bland to my taste. I'm not going to say I heard a lot of her songs, but I tried to listen to a few top ones and it all sounded just like the same stuff.

She's all over the place in terms of sound. Country, pop, rap, rock, and now disco. If you're talking about chord progression, sure, she uses a lot of the same chords (but don't they all).

Again, if she was just a regular pop artist, I guess that's about normal, but she seems to be attracting some kind of a massive audience, which I don't really understand why.

Mostly it's the sheer number of hits, which is astronomical. But I think she also gives people enough of a dialog that they feel like they really connect with the lyrics and message, and to a certain extent, with her. Because she at least gives people the impression that they're getting to know her through her lyrics.

In terms of sound... was it that you think she sounds like The Pixies? Because the latest album has what I would call almost too close to the Pixies "Where is my mind" hit. Honestly her version is quite good in its own right. Have a listen to pixies for a second and then check how Taylor "borrowed" it. Her version has biting sarcastic lyrics.

[Furious]

I tried to listen to Swift and while it's not the worst music I've ever heard, I don't get the obsession.

I'm not entirely sure you want an answer to this but... this is a discussion board and you posted so here you go.

She just seems very bland to my taste. I'm not going to say I heard a lot of her songs, but I tried to listen to a few top ones and it all sounded just like the same stuff.

She's all over the place in terms of sound. Country, pop, rap, rock, and now disco. If you're talking about chord progression, sure, she uses a lot of the same chords (but don't they all).

Again, if she was just a regular pop artist, I guess that's about normal, but she seems to be attracting some kind of a massive audience, which I don't really understand why.

Mostly it's the sheer number of hits, which is astronomical. But I think she also gives people enough of a dialog that they feel like they really connect with the lyrics and message, and to a certain extent, with her. Because she at least gives people the impression that they're getting to know her through her lyrics.

In terms of sound... was it that you think she sounds like The Pixies? Because the latest album has what I would call almost too close to the Pixies "Where is my mind" hit. Honestly her version is quite good in its own right. Have a listen to pixies for a second and then check how Taylor "borrowed" it. Her version has biting sarcastic lyrics.

Eh...I don't know, doesn't really remind me of Pixies. It's too "popified". It's not bad, but it's kind of like late 90s or maybe 2000s pop music is what it sounds to me. I guess compared to a lot of crap we have these days it's better, but that's a low bar in my mind. I don't want to be a hater or anything like that, it's just her songs to me don't stick in my head for some reason. But still, it's better than a lot of other crap these days that is autotuned to hell with absolutely asinine lyrics, so there's that.

[Jezza819]

So that's why my Youtube feed was showing a special section with her songs? I knew she had a new album coming out but I didn't know when.

I don't listen to her songs generally but I will catch the occasional concert clip as I do like to watch various recorded live things. I have nothing but the highest respect for her for speaking her mind politically. I don't believe that just because your probably the biggest music superstar on the planet you should keep your mouth shut. I also love how much she tweaks conservatives. They can rant and rave all day long about how much she sucks and her music stinks but come the next concert tour their kids will be right there in that huge stadium screaming their brains out for her.

The whole pop princess music genre doesn't interest me much as I'm certainly not in their target demographic. But I do like Olivia Rodrigo since she really seems to have a lot of respect for those that came before her. At Glastonbury this year she did a couple of songs with Robert Smith of The Cure and she has said before that she is a huge Cure fan. Olivia was in the Lilith Fair documentary I watched last week saying how much she loved the music from that era.

[Danoff]

I thought I was cutting edge with that pixies reference today, the first day the album is out. But I already found 3 articles mentioning it?!? Late to the party I guess.

[Joey D]

I admittedly know nothing about Taylor Swift and can probably name only a handful of songs. What I'm surprised about on the new album though is that there's an entire song dedicated to Travis Kelce's penis. I get a lot of music is sexual in nature, but having someone with such a big name be so blatant about Kelce's manhood opening her thighs seems a bit jarring.

I guess I always assumed Swift's core demographic was pre-teen girls too. Seems strange to just up and make a song about being boned by a washed up tight end.

[Danoff]

I admittedly know nothing about Taylor Swift and can probably name only a handful of songs. What I'm surprised about on the new album though is that there's an entire song dedicated to Travis Kelce's penis. I get a lot of music is sexual in nature, but having someone with such a big name be so blatant about Kelce's manhood opening her thighs seems a bit jarring.

I guess I always assumed Swift's core demographic was pre-teen girls too. Seems strange to just up and make a song about being boned by a washed up tight end.

I'm a big Taylor Swift fan, and my wife and sister are both as well. And none of us are happy about this song. It's just a song, we don't have to listen to it. But it is off-putting. It's actually a decent song (of course), but the lyrics are a bit... not quite right. It doesn't feel sexual or authentic, it feels like a caricature. I don't mind sexy music, or music from the perspective of female sexuality. But this one doesn't feel sexy, it feels like a joke.

Anyway, yea, don't like that one. I also don't like father figure (it is catchy and sounds good though). It feels poorly conceived and makes no real point. It's almost like she wrote it watching the godfather or something. I also really don't like WI$H LI$T, which 100% feels like a lie. Taylor undermines the message in wish list directly with the tile song Life of a Showgirl with Sabrina Carpenter. I actually don't love that song either, but it feels WAY more honest than wish list.

That being said, this is still an outstanding album. Ophelia, Elizabeth, Opalite, Eldest Daughter, Ruin the Friendship, and Actually Romantic are each super solid. Which, in comparison to the most recent Paramore album (I love me some Paramore), is an unbelievable run of great songs.

Edit:
Do you remember that song "peaches" by POTUS back in the day? Wood reminds me of that song. Never cared for that one either.

[Zero_Sum]

Danoff is a closet swifty... Rather than own it, he created a thread for "others" to discuss T.Swift.

Come on, Dan. This is a safe space.

Personally I've managed to go this far in life only hearing a handful of her songs, as I don't listen to a pop-radio station (mainly metal/rock and Preach FM!).

I've orbited enough music sites to understand why she's so famous - every generation needs their icon, and T.Sweezy with her looks, three-chords, genre hopping music appeals to a lot of kids (and secretly to a lot of grown-ass men).

There is exactly one song from The Swift that gets stuck in my head, so enjoy...

[Danoff]

Danoff is a closet swifty... Rather than own it, he created a thread for "others" to discuss T.Swift.

Come on, Dan. This is a safe space.

Personally I've managed to go this far in life only hearing a handful of her songs, as I don't listen to a pop-radio station (mainly metal/rock and Preach FM!).

I've orbited enough music sites to understand why she's so famous - every generation needs their icon, and T.Sweezy with her looks, three-chords, genre hopping music appeals to a lot of kids (and secretly to a lot of grown-ass men).

There is exactly one song from The Swift that gets stuck in my head, so enjoy...

I wouldn't say I'm in the closet on this one. Ok, so you haven't heard much of her music. Let's play a little game, I'll give you a list of Taylor Genres to choose from, you pick one, and I'll give you what I think is an outstanding song of hers from that genre.

- Rap (prefer you don't pick this one, I don't like this one)
- R&B (prefer you don't pick this one either)
- Rock
- Soft Rock
- Folk
- Disco
- Pop
- Country
- Synth-Pop
- Singer-songwriter (this is like, one-person song so a piano or guitar and vocals and that's about it, maybe some drums)

[Zero_Sum]

Danoff is a closet swifty... Rather than own it, he created a thread for "others" to discuss T.Swift.

Come on, Dan. This is a safe space.

Personally I've managed to go this far in life only hearing a handful of her songs, as I don't listen to a pop-radio station (mainly metal/rock and Preach FM!).

I've orbited enough music sites to understand why she's so famous - every generation needs their icon, and T.Sweezy with her looks, three-chords, genre hopping music appeals to a lot of kids (and secretly to a lot of grown-ass men).

There is exactly one song from The Swift that gets stuck in my head, so enjoy...

I wouldn't say I'm in the closet on this one. Ok, so you haven't heard much of her music. Let's play a little game, I'll give you a list of Taylor Genres to choose from, you pick one, and I'll give you what I think is an outstanding song of hers from that genre.

- Rap (prefer you don't pick this one, I don't like this one)
- R&B (prefer you don't pick this one either)
- Rock
- Soft Rock
- Folk
- Disco
- Pop
- Country
- Synth-Pop
- Singer-songwriter (this is like, one-person song so a piano or guitar and vocals and that's about it, maybe some drums)

This feels like you're trying to convert me, sir! But I will entertain this idea, so singer-songwriter...

[Danoff]

This feels like you're trying to convert me, sir! But I will entertain this idea, so singer-songwriter...

Ok there are quite a few choices on this one. The obvious pick is All Too Well.



But... I'm going to go with a b-side on this one from tortured poets department. Now you'll notice that there is some "band" playing in this song, but she sings it live just her and a piano and it probably sounds even better.

The Black Dog

[Danoff]

I know that having a number 1 song is not as meaningful as it sounds. And I know that at this point, whatever Taylor releases next is guaranteed to go to number 1, even if it's terrible. But like the transformers franchise, you can only do that so many times before you ruin the brand. So while each one may not be a referendum on the song itself, the fact that you can string these together means it is.

What astounds me about this career is how long and consistent it is. None of these songs by themselves are the most stunning works of musical achievement ever. But if you look at all them in total as a kind of way to approximate what her career has been like, it's absolutely unbelievable. Over a 13 year span Taylor has had 13 number one hits. The only years where we didn't have a number 1 Taylor track in that span were 2016, 2018-2019. That's it. She'd have had more number one hits too if not for the fact that her own songs keep her songs from hitting that mark. For example, Opalite currently sits at number 2, and that's common for her album releases.

Number 1 songs:

• '25 Fate of Ophelia
• '24 Fortnight
• '23 Is It Over Now? (Taylor's Version)
• '23 Cruel Summer
• '22 Anti-Hero
• '21 All Too Well (Taylor's Version)
• '20 Willow
• '20 Cardigan
• '17 Look What You Made Me Do
• '15 Bad Blood
• '14 Blank Space
• '14 Shake It Off
• '13 We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

[Danoff]

I'm watching The End of an Era, the docuseries on the Eras Tour... because of course I am.

There's something really interesting that I realized based on the most recent episodes. During each show, Taylor would put on an "acoustic" set, where she would go out to the end of the stage, surrounded by tens of thousands of fans in all directions, and put on a show basically by herself alternating between a piano or a guitar. No backup singers, no dancers, no light show, no moving stage, just her and the fans.

But she did something else during that acoustic set, she would mash up multiple of her songs, sometimes three at a time, into a single tune. She does these kinds of mashups a lot, and she of course didn't invent the concept of mashing up two songs. But there's a twist, she would do new mashups at every show. And I honestly had not given this much thought, but I'm thinking about it now. Because seeing behind the scenes how she would prepare these mashups for every show made me realize how insane that is.

Essentially every day that the show would go on, Taylor would take two or three of her songs that she wanted to create a new piece out of. She would work through it in front of her mom a couple of times, and then that night walk out on stage and play it flawlessly in front of a stadium.

When you think about performances, this is completely insane. The opportunity for screw ups is huge. A new song every night? Practiced a handful of times? What if she forgets how she arranged it? Why do it every night? Once, sure. Twice, maybe. But dozens of times, you're going to forget. They'll blur in your head.

The answer is that from a financial or show perspective, this makes no sense. I believe she did it so that she could make each show unique. Give every person in the audience a sense that their show had something special that was unlike all those other concerts. If you look at how much work went into the show with Florence, you get a sense of how much they're willing to customize everything, choreography, lights, stage movements, for a single show. It seems like she wants fans to come away from each show with a personal sense that they had something that was just theirs.

From just about any perspective, this seems like a bad idea. But it can be understood from the perspective of giving the fans a great experience. The same is true of the length of the show in general.

The episode with Ed Sheeran showed Ed giving Taylor some pointers on specific chords. If you watch his guitar playing, he's playing more sophisticated and challenging bar chords than Taylor is. And certainly there are singers that are more capable. But Taylor has a level of comfort with songwriting that is so impressive. Her ability to rework her songs into something unique night after night and perform it live after just a few takes in front of her mom is remarkable. And it had to be an acoustic set, it had to be the part with just her on stage - because there's no way anyone else could keep up.

[Mikey]

Double post; please delete

[Mikey]

My friends forced me to listen to Life Of A Showgirl while giving me a lift last night.

The track about her boyfriend's penis is the first song I've ever heard from her that was catchy enough for me to listen to it all the way through. Perhaps I was merely allergic to Jack Antonoff's production on previous albums although this may be the first Max Martin track that sounds okay to me too.