May 1, 2024
taylor swift has some bangers. on my first ipod - a blue first-generation ipod shuffle with my name engraved on the backside - i had asked my mom to upload love story and listened to it constantly. though at the time far removed from any circumstances which would allow the song to be relatable, it was still enjoyable! the extent to which she has persisted in the public eye and propelled herself to one of the most-listened artists in the world is quite interesting from a pr perspective. that being said and reflecting on her new album, it seems as if the one thing that she cannot do is grow up.
as of 4/18/24, taylor swift is 34 years old. though nowhere close to the brackets of old age, she is in fact at the time in which adulthood is to be expected. and yet her music has not progressed much lyrically from that which i listened to when i was ten years old. meanwhile, she does curse now (wow!) on her new album. the themes behind her songs are the same trite rebellious tropes that one would expect from a teenager – emblematic of this is “but daddy i love him”. familial disapproval may remain constant regardless of age; some are born unlucky. but what may change is one’s reaction to it. there is a wide spectrum between teenage rebellion and capitulation and it feels as if ts chooses to play to the lowest common denominator every time. if one is to model their lives after those in pop culture (as they are wont to do) there must be better icons than those stuck in a perpetual adolescence.
furthermore, it needs reminding that swift is fabulously wealthy. unbelievably so. good for her! but let’s not pretend that her problems are the same as ours – at some point wealth is a grease for life’s friction. she can quite literally make most inconveniences disappear; why else would she be such a frequent user of private planes (or sue the person who made a tracker of them?). her – and most celebrities singing about worldly issues – at best come across as insincere; at worst reifying a structure that they are not subject to. in this an inversion of the jester performing for the court.
anyway, tpd gets a 7/10 its probably my favorite ts album. i’ve been complaining that she doesn’t do enough music outside her comfort zone and it’s a step in the right direction.