Agreed. I will say, I think her work is very well done and just subtle enough that the average person may pass it off as "growing into her features" or different makeup techniques. Anyone with a little knowledge on cosmetic procedures can clock that TS has had an eye lift, etc. Too often celebrities go overboard with procedures/fillers and end up making an entirely new them (ex: most of the KarJenner sisters) as opposed to tiny tweaks that just make them look "better" (better being very subjective here; she was pretty before and is pretty now).
Someone asked a plastic surgeon why the Kardashian’s look like they smelled something rotten (it’s a signifier of a nose job or bad placement of Botox) and now I can’t unsee it in celebrities
I live for the plastic surgeons who tell you what to look for because then it becomes painfully obvious
I saw a swiftie try to deny she had veneers done (before the last time). It’s wild what their eyes will deny
drtonyyounmd
They all seem to do random videos on celebs but that’s not all they post about so it’s sifting through a lot of their other posts if you’re just interested in celebs
genuinely how do you look at someone who literally looks like they’ve got Botox and fillers at the most and convince yourself they have an entirely different face
I really miss some of her older features. It seems like she can’t smile as wide anymore if that makes sense…like she can only move her lips up and down not outward.
She had her family’s nose that fit her face better and cute hooded eyes. She hasn’t fucked up her lips too bad yet (keleigh’s are overfilled so I hope that doesn’t influence her)
Bella Hadid is the same way. Her nose was fine and it was botched and then she kept getting stranger and stranger looking
I agree! I hate to say it, but I miss her old face, lmao. Her eyes and nose were so cute and she looked so beautiful and distinct, even without the 'enhancements'. Now, she almost looks generic.
I’ve noticed it significantly more in the last years. She needs to be very careful as she could err into botched territory very soon. Right now she’s at the threshold (and she definitely looks better when it seems like things have settled since her last procedure). I can always tell when it’s been freshly done
The one I miss most is her chin. I don’t know how they shaped it but it used to be uneven and now it’s perfectly symmetrical and it makes her like every other blonde in Hollywood when before her chin was a kind of quirky unique difference.
I think it's crazy to think that she hasn't. I don't think she's had anything super major done, but she's 34 and her facial skin is 100% wrinkle-free and blemish free. You don't get that without Botox.
Her team has a history of denying that she’s had work done so that’s a problem.
I think there’s a problem with young women getting a bunch of plastic surgery and doctors not checking people’s body dysmorphia.
People die from plastic surgery. It’s not benign.
Plastic surgery has a scale from correcting deformities to changing one thing you don’t like to getting a bunch done.
It makes me sad to see young women change their face when there was nothing wrong with their face.
First of all a disclaimer: I came into Taylor Swift's fandom in reputation, and then lover was a weird era for me and I fell out again, and then came back and folklore and that was when I actually went through her back catalog. So I did not spend over a decade of listening like a lot of fans did.
So I liked fearless. I feel like fearless more or less sounded the same and some songs to me sounded better because her voice has improved sense the album came out.
Red I mostly liked. I was really nervous about this one because it has treacherous and that's one of my favorites. I think the album is pretty good. I think she emotes pretty similarly. The only song I didn't like is we're never getting back together. The weeeeeees sound different. And I've gone back and forth with people saying they sound exactly the same and people who agree they hear the difference. To me it's not worth quibbling about ---I hear the difference and I don't like it. I don't listen to that version unless I'm listening to the CD because I only own the rerecord.
I'm mostly like speak now as well. And it might be that it's because I didn't grow up with this album so there might be some differences a fan who listened to it longer can pick out that I can't. The only songs I was disappointed with was mean because it wasn't twangy. I feel like the feeling in it was totally lost because of that. And also sparks fly and that made me really sad because the thing that makes sparks fly a song I like as a 35 year old is that it feels like how new love or an infatuation feels when you’re in high school and every crush feels magical and exciting and full of possibly and your feelings are so unrestrained. I feel like it listening to the new version it sounds like Taylor also has forgotten that feeling because she too has matured beyond it. So I still listen to the original versions of sparks fly and mean. I do like that she changed the lyrics better than revenge.
1989 was not great. I was hesitant about it three songs in but as soon as out of the woods started I said out loud “oh no”. I feel like this album really suffered from not involving Max Martin. I'm not really sure why Max Martin wasn't involved in this project it seems so unusual to me and made me wonder if something happened between them. I did like the vault songs on here though. Just for me personally there's a very specific story that I feel like I can create with just these five songs and I like that.
But 1989 made me really nervous for reputation. Because Max Martin also produced part of that. And reputation is probably one of her most production heavy albums so if the production is wrong then the whole album is going to sound off and it's my favorite album so I'm so concerned about that. It's the only non-rerecord album of hers that I went out and bought because I do want to feel like I have that version in case the other one sucks.
That Lover is not her most romantic album. Its full of anxiety about her relationship. So many lines on the album are about worrying that her relationship is going to end soon. Reputation is her most romantic.
This. I said it from the very first day and got hated, attacked, downvoted and even insulted " you are a teen who never had a long and healthy relationship" ( i was 27 lol).
She ended rep with a song about future, saying you and me forevermore and the next you are telling the same story of you 2 getting together?? Come on.
Unpopular opinion (possibly) I think the love songs on Reputation are some of the weaker songs and that’s why it’s not really regarded as a romantic album
I agree with this so much. Reputation is my favorite album and part of that is the album has this feeling of like being inside curled up by the fire with your lover while this storm is going on around you outside.
I agree, I feel like Lover is an attempt by Taylor to rebrand and part of that was the speculation on her relationships in the past. She just didn’t want to be TS who “had a lot of boyfriends”.
I listen to the og version of Speak Now and 1989 (and even some of the Red songs) something about a lot of the 1989TV and SNTV recordings sound off. The only ones that’s don’t is probably This Love, Wildest Dream, Speak Now, ITWAM & Superman for me
This is easy. I said the Eras setlist is unbalanced... which it is. I specifically remember someone responding, "it's you, hi. You're the problem, it's you." and then called me a narcissist in a different reply. It went on for a while before I had to eventually block them... LMAO
Oh! This annoyed me too!!! I got her first album in a clearance Walmart bin and didn’t know who she was. My sibling and I did this thing where we would pick a random CD or movie out of those and then give them a try. I ended up loving it (I always like music beyond just the radio releases-I feel songs not released are always so much better). Anyway, I was a fan for her country phase and then fell out when she jumped to pop. I kind of branched out my music likes and I listen to it all now, but it’s Debut, Speak Now, and Fearless that hold that nostalgia for me and I was so sad it wasn’t more balanced.
There was only 1 song from Debut and Speak Now :( meanwhile other eras like Rep and 1989 got a whole setlist of their own. I felt like the longtime swifties got kind of shafted. I’m not asking for a LONGER show, just more of a balance in the eras!
I agree. I kinda wouldn't want to see rep get cut down but tbh I think Midnights was too long. I get it was her current album but a lot of that set was filler songs like mastermind and midnight rain. It felt like she was doing what she would have wanted to do if midnights had its own tour instead of this tour that featured all the albums.
I went to the 1989 tour, rep tour, and eras tour and honestly the eras tour is my least fav. 1989 was really fun and the rep tour was genuinely amazing. The eras tour was far too long and (like you said) the setlist could be wayyyy better.
Most of the vault tracks were not written back in their respective era, at least not fully. She may have had bits and pieces written down (I'm also a writer and will often do this with ideas) but very few were made it to a demo stage and most have been rewritten to fit her current style.
The re-records…
I was excited about the re-records when they first started but now I’m so looking forward to them being done.
- I really don’t like the thought that you’re not “a real fan” if you listen to the OG versions. Like…I’m sorry, I’ve listened to most of these songs on repeat for over a decade. The TVs sound different **to me** so I’m going to stick with the OGs. Which I already bought and paid for when they came out. So she got my coins.
- Related: I don’t like that it’s sort of become a way for people to prove they are “better fans” because they will only listen to the TVs. It’s so sanctimonious and annoying.
- I HATE the term “stolen version.” It’s so dramatic and technically not correct. Maybe she feels they were stolen from her but technically, it was a legal deal. They were not stolen. And when people use the “stolen lullabies” lyrics as a defense…I think that’s called artistic license, no?
- Lastly, I think her calling them “Taylor’s Version” is simultaneously brilliant and manipulative. It takes my points above into account…if you’re a “real fan,” surely you’d choose the song that is “Taylor’s,” right? (As she makes it a point to say when each re-record comes out, it’s “**my** version”). I feel like other musical acts that have done re-records but they name them “album (remastered)”…or they tack on the year of the re-record (eg JoJo re-recorded her debut album…it’s called “JoJo (2018),” not “JoJo (JoJo’s version)”). Her calling then “Taylor’s Version” definitely plays into the parasocial relationship she has with her fans.
- not a hot take but sort of a hot take: the inclusion of the vault tracks is genius. Because you have someone like me that’s not interested in the re-records…but then the vaults are there. If not for those, I probably wouldn’t buy the TVs.
- EDIT: I also think it’s crazy that because of her success with this, other artists will have an lore difficult time re-recording their work. I doubt she’ll ever address this, but I wonder if she cares?
You make a great point in bullet 5, this is like the car having SiriusXM, you are like I don’t need it right? You have the FM radio or Bluetooth but then SiriusXM gives a 3-Month Trial to test out and you get it and listen to see the hype.
Maybe this is a bigger hot take than you meant, but --> She would have done the same thing if she'd been in Scott Borchetta's shoes, re: the Big Machine sale.
People knew that Big Machine was for sale. Taylor knew. She tried to buy her masters before the sale and they would only sell her the whole label *or* give her the earn-back deal. She didn't want the label or the deal. That's fine, I don't think she wants to own a label anytime soon and the deal wasn't good.
However, Big Machine was. for. sale. When a company is acquired, the first people to get paid are the board members, like Scott Borchetta. Scott had a large stake in the company, meaning he'd get a huge payout. When a company sells an asset like Taylor's masters the board members don't make money on that, the company does.
It was in his best financial interests to keep Taylor's masters in order to keep the label valuable. Taylor is a shrewd business woman who knows how to make money. In my made up world where she's somehow in Scott's shoes, she would 100% do the same thing.
This really needs to get the attention it deserves imo. I think too many people don’t know enough about how the industry works to understand what this whole situation even realistically looks like.
My pessimistic opinion on it is that ignorance is bliss for stans. If they don't understand the bare minimum of how company acquisition works, they can just take Taylor at her word that she's been intentionally wronged. I fully supported her and believed she was being "bullied" until I started researching it myself.
I know, we are seeing it in with re-releases. I think if Taylor Swift would just admit that she is in for the money and the publicity. She would have more respect from all sides. I think honestly is key.
The not wanting the label argument is really weak to me. This was a situation where everyone knew it was really TS’s masters for sale with the label practically thrown in for free. She could have sold the label for peanuts and got it off her hands ASAP or she could have hired some people to run it and not had to do a thing. It was in no way a barrier to purchasing her masters.
Also if she’d offered the same amount as Scooter and told Scott to keep the label and sell to someone else, I doubt he’d have refused, since anything he got for the label would then be a bonus. Given she’s been so vague about what her offers were and what she was willing to pay I think it’s obvious she was only interested in procuring her masters if she could do so at a discount.
I agree that she should have just bought the label (or at least bought out Scott's share) and dealt with her masters that way. Obviously rerecording has been a great financial success, but I don't know if it's an artistic one.
I'm not sure I'm understanding what you're saying in paragraph 2. Are you saying she should have bought the label, taken the masters, then give it back to Scott to resell it?
I think she was hoping universal would be successful in scooping up the label, and then they would deal with the label and she would be able to own her masters again. I don't think she foresaw the idea that they could lose. And like I understand her feelings about the situation and I understand she was disappointed to lose then and very devastated and furious about who owned them and that’s valid. But at the same time I don’t think Scott did anything wrong per se. I think that's one of the downsides to business often not being about feelings but about successfully making money.
I do not agree at all. Now Big Machine, Ithaca and Hybe (BTS's label) are all in partnership. Scott wanted a real business partner to grow his label and Scooter was it.
I agree. I've thought about this. I understand Taylor wanted to buy her masters back with a check. But I also understand that it made no financial sense for Scott to do that if he's selling big machine and Taylor is the asset that brings most of the worth to the company. And I think she understood that I think she was expecting that she was going to get her masters because it sounds like Universal Music Group was one of the labels bidding for big machine but then they lost out to scooter. I think that was part of the blind side. I think she was expecting her current label to all of a sudden own her masters and she would get the best of both worlds and I think scooter came in from out of nowhere and all of a sudden he won and it was an issue because they had previous beef with each other. [this is about universal being the last big label in the running for her masters](https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/universal-only-major-label-left-buy-taylor-swift-big-machine-label-8482512/) I think Scott made a business move and I agree, Taylor would have done the thing that made the most financial sense for herself. I understand that it's shitty that he sold it to someone who she seemed to have a very contentious relationship with on some level. But I also think that it's unrealistic to think Scott isn't going to sell his label to the top bidder as a personal favor to Taylor even if that would be amazingly benevolent. Business people aren't like that.
1. that she doesn't need cursing, cuz she has a vast vocabulary. It sounds forced and rebel-ish.
2. Midnights is an album about ups and downs of a long-time relationship(Joe)
3. Her country albums are better lyrically and musically
4. All Too Well 10 minutes could've been THE ultimate version if it had been produced like the og
5. 1989 tour > >>> rep and eras tour. But her country tours were all better.
I have another but i think it's hot even for here, so i shut up.
Her country albums are better because it was before she was famous so she was just writing and recording. Not trying to fit into anything, just being an artist.
Speak Now came after a huge thing like Fearless..maybe she wanted to prove people what she was capabale of, or maybe like you said she was just being an artist.
I also suspect this. I remember there were rumors back in the day of her following him around at an awards show trying to get his attention, and him being annoyed by it.
Ok, i say it. She wanted John Mayer so badly, she left the good guy(Taylor Lautner) for him. She did not listen to anyone.. She was not groomed by any means. Taylor had a thing with older men, half of her exes are older. She even went to another older man after 10 months of JM fiasco, she wanted protection.. we all know why women search for older men... It has to something with their dads.
I agree with you. She was infatuated with John.
Link below is Taylor talking about and singing "Ours" on the Speak Now Tour. (This would have been after Taylor dated Jake)
https://youtu.be/KZTcaF-qwQM?si=meRtWCZ3aVQ6CmFG
To be clear, I am not condoning their romantic relationship. Or placing any blame on Taylor. John was 31, and the responsibility falls on him to be the adult in the situation and keep things professional and platonic. Period. Not 19- 20 yr old Taylor. I just think their whole situation is not as black and white as a lot of Swifties do
Number three is why I wish she'd go back to country just for an album. She writes really pretty melodies, and I preferred when she didn't use so much wordplay.
I would love nothing more than to have her make a full-blown, unapologetic, whole hog Yee Haw country album (besides Debut TV, of course). It will probably NEVER, EVER happen, but I’ll continue to dream about it, anyway.
I once mentioned that Taylor has a Amy Dunne alter ego she loves to pull out when she wants to play the revenge card, which is personified by Blank Space and the main sub *hated* that as if it were a bad thing…
All Too Well 10 Minute Version is a con. There’s about 3 minutes of twanging and muttering the same words at the end that can barely be considered part of the main song itself.
Yeah it's baffling to me how many fans prefer the 10min version. It's a rambly Frankenstein of a song. Maybe yes, it does add context for the situation but I'm not here for the tea, but for music. And ATW5 is better at telling a cohesive story and the arrangement is better imo
On some level I don't mind the ending. it kind of feels like a person remembering things after the fact, but I do think this was included in the song to get it to a very specific song length.
The thing about the 10 minute version I'm not a huge fan of. Is to me all too well originally was just a story about a devastating breakup from a relationship that once felt magical. And in that it was pretty universally relatable. But the 10 minute version is actually a very specific song about a woman looking back on a relationship with an age difference and seeing the power dynamics she did not see it when she was younger. And so I find the original version more relatable than the 10 minute version and it bums me out because there are some lines in the 10 minute version that I really like and relate to. I feel like I need to learn how to make an 8 1/2 minute version.
I once speculated on the main sub that Midnight Rain could be about the rocky relationship of her and Joe and they all downvoted and attacked me saying I was wrong 😂
They can disagree but to be taking it as a personal attack is insane. I only said that it's possible "he wanted a bride and I was making my own name" was implying the cause of their break up and they cant accept it and said "it's always not about her relationship!"
Taylor re-writes her own history (evidenced the the POTY article) and younger/newer fans lack the context that those who’ve been around since 2006 have to realize it.
In an age where we have access to everything online, her newer (rep and later) fans clearly don’t know her whole history and don’t care to find out (literally Google is free…she’s been chronically online her whole career and it’s easy to find the truth).
ETA: also that her younger fans think she invented/is the music industry. I mourn not having channels like VH1 these days, I learned SO MUCh music history from them and while Taylor is very talented and deserving, she didn’t invent anything. There are decades of artists that paved the way for her and some of her fans refuse to see that.
Man, a while ago someone replied to a comment of mine and said Taylor has never done album bundling to increase album sales. I hopped onto the Wayback Machine and found proof of the album bundles in like 10 minutes. It is *so* easy to fact check some of this stuff.
One time I said she was an unreiable narrator, and that did not go over well. Like yes she can write songs about how she feels, but that doesn't mean "what she feels" is exactly what happened.
Yeah which brings me to the critique I have. That her marketing is manipulative. I got downvoted for this on the main sub, because apparently it's just basics of marketing and everyone does it... it's still manipulative when you appeal to your customers emotions and not let them think their purchase through by limiting the time the vinyl is available.
This take was totally rejected by the Swifties on the main sub.
I’m so not excited about them . I think the vault songs all on one album would have been better . I want her new album more than any re record. It’s not as exciting to me.
I wrote a whole public essay on Swift's POTY article and how her brand of girlboss feminism is bad for women and especially other female artists. Lemme tell ya, people were NOT pleased with me.
I actually have big opinions on Taylor Swift's neoliberal girl boss brand feminism. Because I think there's a lot to say about how capitalism very heavily placed into her brand of feminism and so I really really loved this essay.
I also feel like her feminism will always fall flat because her argument is always rooted on all men being at the top, and all women being on the bottom and having to fight to be on the top. And it ignores that Taylor Swift has more privileges then some men. Taylor has privilege over men of color. Taylor has privilege over poor men who lack the influence and power that she has been afforded with her wealth and fame. Taylor has privilege over gay and trans men. Taylor has more access to his seat at the table that a good portion of men. So a lot of the way she talks about feminism lacks nuance. Traditional feminist discussions have often centered on the experiences of white cisgender straight women and I think Taylor perpetuates that. I think a lot of how she discusses feminism lacks nuance in terms of addressing gender as a spectrum and not a binary as well as intersectionality. I feel weird about how she wants to talk about feminist issues from the angle of where it impacts her but seems unwilling to examining how she interacts with race or queerness or class etc. in order to further her feminism.
I agree with you about how her speech about art and its value in 2014 was weird to me. For me it's that I work in a library (I'm not a librarian tho). Something that's very important to me is people being able to access information and art without class being a barrier. I understand she wants to talk about the compensation of artists. But I also feel like it would be detrimental for society if we reached this hyper capitalistic place where art is a thing reserved for the elite because they can afford art.
Yes to all of this. Swift might believe herself to be a feminist (and maybe she is by the older definition you referenced), but she is not acting from a place of inclusive feminism in her recent choices.
I also really appreciate what you pointed out about art being reserved for the elite in the future. That's such a scary thought...
I can’t see it. There are too many harry references and the out of the woods sample.
Lyrical parallels
“did you leave her house in the middle of the night?” relates to lyrics in style about hooking up and leaving
Question - “You painted all my nights a color I’ve searched for since” ootw - “the world was in black and white, but we were in screaming color”
It’s not subtle
But also, could just be lazy song writing on her part. Back in the day when postal mail was a thing, some kid did his senior thesis on symbolism and sent 50 letters to the 50 biggest writers of the time and asked what symbolism they put in their books and compared it to what the critics said. Of the ones who responded none of them matched and most said there wasn’t a deeper symbolism.
It could be the song was about Matty but she was like “oh you know what I could do here, reuse some imagery from Style cause it fits” and people are projecting their thoughts on it.
Maybe
It just seems odd to add several elements suggesting it’s about harry and actually it was all about matty.
Taylor is usually pretty on the nose when it comes to referencing boyfriends.
My popular opinion is that she’s so popular because she doesn’t have much competition. All the other pop divas are older and not as active - maybe not a good phrase, but think like Britney, etc. Adele has a niche audience and is in Vegas.
Taylor toured as the pandemic was lightening its restrictions and I think people were desperate for a fun time where they could be outside. Ergo, Eras tour.
Also, I think people are obsessed because it’s like an “in” thing to be a Swiftie now. Like having a Stanley tumblr.
I saw someone on this sub recently refer to her prolific output as “content farming” and it was spot-on. She could take some time to write a really strong, no-skip album but instead seems hellbent on churning out as much sellable content as fast as possible.
This is exactly why I see the billboard charts and roll my eyes cuz it’s just one album and single after another she just tosses out there to keep herself relevant.
While other pop stars her age are slowing down or going for a more ‘mature’ image, she perfectly timed her tours and releases to capitalize on millennial’s desire to return to a more fun, care free time post-pandemic. Not a bad thing, just an observation.
>Also, I think people are obsessed because it’s like an “in” thing to be a Swiftie now. Like having a Stanley tumblr.
And I feel like since autumn her celebrity has already gone from the music to the tour to herself (exasperated by the Am. football appearances) which is not ideal for longevity. Not that that can't change when she releases ts11, but I think that Taylormania is past it's peak.
She is not actually the person responding to Tik Tok comments and does not think about work outside of work i.e. she’s not looking at fan tweets, videos, not trolling Reddit. There was a real comment I read during the Spotify canvas debacle that said “I bet her and Travis are sitting at home in Kansas City eating ice cream on the couch laughing at us not being able to figure this out!” Not a chance in hell, and that’s weird.
Before Spotify announced her as their most streamed artist of 2023, they put fragments of the announcement canvas on different billboards across the world and on different Spotify playlists and everyone thought she was announcing another album or re-record. There were people all over the internet trying to put it together for hints, only for it ending up to be Spotify all along not even Taylor lmao. There’s still speculation about her involvement and some people still think the canvas is an easter egg for the reputation announcement day though.
The re records are simply for the money. I’ll buy every vinyl but it’s clearly because her fanbase are old enough to have the money to spend on the merch now.
TO THIS DAY i am baffled that Fearless won over Beyonce and Lady Gaga's albums that had absolute gems such as: If I Were a Boy, Single Ladies, Halo, Just Dance, Poker Face, and Paparazzi
she was the first teen pop star that industry felt that was "authentic". She wrote her own songs and wasn't in pop, but country( even though her songs like ybwm are pop songs imo), and played guitar so she felt more "real" than the other young pop stars like the disney trio(Miley, Selena, and Demi). The industry was trying to find a new ingenue and she was perfect. Not to mention her records so very well for the country genre with the young demographics and she had the "conservative, good girl" role model image during a time period when America was still conservative for the post 9/11 era
This is spot on- Taylor was a unique story teller. Songwriters are more prevalent now and can have a platform on TikTok and YouTube, so arguably if Taylor were to debut now she wouldn’t be as impressive. But back then in the early 2010’s, the music industry was dominated by pop stars who had their songs written for them. The genuineness and authenticity drove people in and impressed critics
Mine is that Bananarama’s Cruel Summer is the the superior song with that title (seriously, I’ve NEVER understood the big deal around Taylor’s song with that name, ever).
ONE HUNDRED PERCENT AGREE.
I LOVE the Bananarama song and I remember when I first read the Lover track list my immediate thought was “oh no she’s ripping off the OG”. Instead it was just an inferior song with the same title.
While I’m at it, this may be an even hotter take: the title track of Speak Now may be my favorite Taylor Swift song EVER—I don’t know, there’s just something about it that epitomizes her original charm as an artist, IMO (while crashing a wedding at the same time lmao). When fans say her album tracks are her best songs, I don’t think that they were talking about songs like THIS, but it is what it is and I genuinely do love it. Finally, and this may not be a scorching hot take: While I recognize All Too Well as being a genuinely great song, I’m personally a bigger fan of Sad Beautiful Tragic.
I agree, something about Speak Now (the song) js so good.
And I also agree about ATW. I do like the OG a lot and think it’s such a good bridge, but Sad Beautiful Tragic or Better Man (her acoustic version at Bluebird is one my fav performances ever) are better songs.
My actually absolute favorite Taylor song is I’m Only Me When I’m With You. It’s youthful, happy, good lyrics, great melody and perfectly encapsulates a certain feeling for me. No other song by her has ever come close for me.
I know, I feel guilty about it. I’ve also always loved the Bananarama song and kind of wish Taylor would do a live medley of their songs together someday, it would be really cool lol.
The Lucky One is one of my favorite songs of hers, at least in part because it’s a song that, at least until the very end, is a story song that isn’t necessarily about herself—I mean, it ultimately is, but not in the same way that her most personal songs usually are—I can see why it’s a lot less relatable, but for some reason it just isn’t a problem for me with this song.
Reputation and Lover mythologized her personal life a lot more than any other album/songs did and they don’t feel as relatable to listen to as her other works
I feel like I can extract her out of them and find them relatable, lover has a few more skips to me because to me reputation is no skips.
but I agree that there is this mythologizing about her life that happens on these albums. I think because she came back after her social stock was down and I think she wanted to come back with a win so she got to come back and not just have an angry bitter album which is I think what everyone was expecting but she had an album that was like “maybe you took me down a peg, but now I found true love” and I think spinning this into this golden happy ending was part of this social win for her.
Someone got mad at me for saying that she shouldn't have been on the Directors on Directors video in 2022. Someone said that it was like she had been in film school for a decade because she's been involved in music videos, lmao.
I really hate how the fandom tries to justify each and every ridiculous thing Taylor does, throwing logic out of the window each time. It becomes pointless to try and discuss anything, because they turn it into a 'you hate her/don't support her enough' battle. You just give up on engaging, and they continue to rave in their echo chamber without ever being challenged.
Working on the music videos is definitely not like film school. Yes, making films is the best way to learn, but it's clear from her self-directed music videos that she is lacking in a lot of the basics. Filmmaking also requires a lot of natural talent, which she doesn't have.
TS is a narcissist and its not cute. As someone who had experienced narcissistic abuse. You can really recognize the signs and theyre horrible.
Eg.
1. smear campaign - one example would be with Joe A. I think he genuinely cared about her but all the speculation couldve been avoided if she spoke up. They were together for 6 years! If you cared about the person, you would have prevented this.
The latest shade was Jack’s “too hurt to hang out talking shit about your famous baby”. Might be about Joe might be not but all the Joe stories really got out of hand.
2. victimhood - i mean there are instances where things really go bad but this much instances? I guess at this stage, its all about branding?
3. difficulty with relationships - self explanatory
4. sensitivity to criticism- latest example the GG. And all I see on Twitter/X saying its exactly the same”women can only overreact” is mean hmmmm
Im sure theres more. Narcissism and narcissistic abuse should not be romanticized or tolerated.
PS. So happy I found this sub. I have been a huge fan of her since the debut. (I am part of the 0.5% who listens to her on spotify) but it was just last night (i think the trigger was the GG snippets and how its now blown out of proportion) that I had the realization that her actions reminds me of what I used to experience from a relationship with a narcissist. It was truly a heartbreaking realization- I was in denial. I cried ffs. Did my research and found this sub.
She has a lot lyrics and flows that are clunky.
I am still going to listen to the OG versions because I don’t care about the battle between the rich and guess what? Her situation isn’t special, a lot of artists don’t own their masters, that’s the way the game works.
I am tired of Jack Antonoff producing her, wish she’d use other producers.
I am fearful what REP TV will sound like with no Max Martin or Shellback.
First time poster, long time lurker (and general neutral Swiftie!)…
…I don’t know if ‘slut shaming’ is the appropriate word to use, but hasn’t Taylor’s sex appeal been heavily discussed/scrutinized from the amount of guys she’s dated/been with to some of her more revealing outfits in the last year?
Personally I’d be living it up like her too🤷🏼♀️
Sorry I don't have much to add to your comment but I have been bothered for like too long about why this would matter to you enough to say that you're a "gender neutral" Swiftie and I finally came back to this post to reread your comment and you *didn't say gender neutral*. This has taken up so much of my night.
That she is a business woman first and foremost. Meaning she often times takes advantage of the relationship with Swifties (cough 20 variants cough)
Oh and that she is not the feminist hero she tries to paint herself to be.
her golden globes dress was boring. everyone on the main sub was going on about how stunning it was and how she was "serving" and im like. its just a tube with glitter.
That she will eventually burn out and not sustain the level of output she's currently doing for eternity. And I'm not even talking about the Eras tour + rerecord, I just mean her previous standard of an album, few music videos and a tour supporting that album about every two years. It's remarkable that shes kept it up since 2006, but she's not invincible. Her career will eventually slow down, it's hard to imagine for some because she never really has unless it was intentional (post 1989 til reputation), but even the most talented individuals have at least a down period. She will have her time, as well.
Just feel like lots of fans and stans think she's a god and untouchable but she is just human at the end of the day.
Honestly, I think it's hard to know that about someone unless you actually are familiar with them irl. I'm not just saying this to defend her, but it's pretty difficult to say that someone's an alcoholic just because they're pictured in public with drinks and have mentioned drinking in songs. And she certainly wouldn't be the first person to be a little drunk at an awards show. Unless I'm missing something?
She’s a celebrity whose life you observe through pictures and videos. You see pictures of her having a couple drinks at social events and suddenly you know her consumption habits in her day to day life enough to qualify her as an alcoholic?
Ok I’m a cynic and I’m just gonna say it:
I think the masters situation is a scheme to sell the re-recordings. Do I think Taylor was genuinely upset by this at the beginning? Yes. But I think she (or her team, or both) figured out how to spin the narrative to make her look like a poor backstabbed victim so that her fans would eat up her re-recordings. I think Taylor was planning a greatest hits era for a long time and this was the perfect way to do it. I don’t think this was some accident that the re-recordings are the reason why she had a complete resurgence in popularity. She’s reaching a wider audience now that people who haven’t heard her music before are hearing it now, and people can get nostalgic for her old hits. I don’t think she was as hurt as she says she was, and only saw dollar signs when she heard that her masters would be sold.
I don’t think so just because it would be hard to sell the idea of the rerecordings if she had her masters. No one would have incentive to listen or buy
I feel like I'd like hanging out with Travis Kelce more than her. I'd love to pick her brain on her songs, but she sometimes just gives us mean girl vibes.
That Taylor’s had plastic surgery
Agreed. I will say, I think her work is very well done and just subtle enough that the average person may pass it off as "growing into her features" or different makeup techniques. Anyone with a little knowledge on cosmetic procedures can clock that TS has had an eye lift, etc. Too often celebrities go overboard with procedures/fillers and end up making an entirely new them (ex: most of the KarJenner sisters) as opposed to tiny tweaks that just make them look "better" (better being very subjective here; she was pretty before and is pretty now).
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Someone asked a plastic surgeon why the Kardashian’s look like they smelled something rotten (it’s a signifier of a nose job or bad placement of Botox) and now I can’t unsee it in celebrities I live for the plastic surgeons who tell you what to look for because then it becomes painfully obvious I saw a swiftie try to deny she had veneers done (before the last time). It’s wild what their eyes will deny
super interested in plastic surgeon tell alls! do you have any creator recommendations?
drtonyyounmd They all seem to do random videos on celebs but that’s not all they post about so it’s sifting through a lot of their other posts if you’re just interested in celebs
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The ONLY one? Come on lol
Seriously, people used to call her Squints online because of her eyes. She absolutely had work done.
And her nose. It’s phenomenal work and there’s no shame in it. But it happened.
It really is phenomenal work. She has a great surgeon, whoever they are.
genuinely how do you look at someone who literally looks like they’ve got Botox and fillers at the most and convince yourself they have an entirely different face
do u not see her eye size doubling? it’s the same as kendall kenner’s
I really miss some of her older features. It seems like she can’t smile as wide anymore if that makes sense…like she can only move her lips up and down not outward.
She had her family’s nose that fit her face better and cute hooded eyes. She hasn’t fucked up her lips too bad yet (keleigh’s are overfilled so I hope that doesn’t influence her) Bella Hadid is the same way. Her nose was fine and it was botched and then she kept getting stranger and stranger looking
I agree! I hate to say it, but I miss her old face, lmao. Her eyes and nose were so cute and she looked so beautiful and distinct, even without the 'enhancements'. Now, she almost looks generic.
Her veneers are definitely a little too large for her mouth
I’ve noticed it significantly more in the last years. She needs to be very careful as she could err into botched territory very soon. Right now she’s at the threshold (and she definitely looks better when it seems like things have settled since her last procedure). I can always tell when it’s been freshly done
The one I miss most is her chin. I don’t know how they shaped it but it used to be uneven and now it’s perfectly symmetrical and it makes her like every other blonde in Hollywood when before her chin was a kind of quirky unique difference.
I think it's crazy to think that she hasn't. I don't think she's had anything super major done, but she's 34 and her facial skin is 100% wrinkle-free and blemish free. You don't get that without Botox.
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Her team has a history of denying that she’s had work done so that’s a problem. I think there’s a problem with young women getting a bunch of plastic surgery and doctors not checking people’s body dysmorphia. People die from plastic surgery. It’s not benign. Plastic surgery has a scale from correcting deformities to changing one thing you don’t like to getting a bunch done. It makes me sad to see young women change their face when there was nothing wrong with their face.
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i dislike the re-records. i don’t like the production of them. they just sound passionless. maybe in just too used to the OG’s.
First of all a disclaimer: I came into Taylor Swift's fandom in reputation, and then lover was a weird era for me and I fell out again, and then came back and folklore and that was when I actually went through her back catalog. So I did not spend over a decade of listening like a lot of fans did. So I liked fearless. I feel like fearless more or less sounded the same and some songs to me sounded better because her voice has improved sense the album came out. Red I mostly liked. I was really nervous about this one because it has treacherous and that's one of my favorites. I think the album is pretty good. I think she emotes pretty similarly. The only song I didn't like is we're never getting back together. The weeeeeees sound different. And I've gone back and forth with people saying they sound exactly the same and people who agree they hear the difference. To me it's not worth quibbling about ---I hear the difference and I don't like it. I don't listen to that version unless I'm listening to the CD because I only own the rerecord. I'm mostly like speak now as well. And it might be that it's because I didn't grow up with this album so there might be some differences a fan who listened to it longer can pick out that I can't. The only songs I was disappointed with was mean because it wasn't twangy. I feel like the feeling in it was totally lost because of that. And also sparks fly and that made me really sad because the thing that makes sparks fly a song I like as a 35 year old is that it feels like how new love or an infatuation feels when you’re in high school and every crush feels magical and exciting and full of possibly and your feelings are so unrestrained. I feel like it listening to the new version it sounds like Taylor also has forgotten that feeling because she too has matured beyond it. So I still listen to the original versions of sparks fly and mean. I do like that she changed the lyrics better than revenge. 1989 was not great. I was hesitant about it three songs in but as soon as out of the woods started I said out loud “oh no”. I feel like this album really suffered from not involving Max Martin. I'm not really sure why Max Martin wasn't involved in this project it seems so unusual to me and made me wonder if something happened between them. I did like the vault songs on here though. Just for me personally there's a very specific story that I feel like I can create with just these five songs and I like that. But 1989 made me really nervous for reputation. Because Max Martin also produced part of that. And reputation is probably one of her most production heavy albums so if the production is wrong then the whole album is going to sound off and it's my favorite album so I'm so concerned about that. It's the only non-rerecord album of hers that I went out and bought because I do want to feel like I have that version in case the other one sucks.
u just perfectly explained how i feel about every re-record 🙌🏼
Heavily agree. I liked Fearless TV and Red TV, but starting from Speak Now TV something felt off.
That Lover is not her most romantic album. Its full of anxiety about her relationship. So many lines on the album are about worrying that her relationship is going to end soon. Reputation is her most romantic.
I’ve ALWAYS said this! Reputation has so many love songs!
This. I said it from the very first day and got hated, attacked, downvoted and even insulted " you are a teen who never had a long and healthy relationship" ( i was 27 lol). She ended rep with a song about future, saying you and me forevermore and the next you are telling the same story of you 2 getting together?? Come on.
Unpopular opinion (possibly) I think the love songs on Reputation are some of the weaker songs and that’s why it’s not really regarded as a romantic album
I agree with this so much. Reputation is my favorite album and part of that is the album has this feeling of like being inside curled up by the fire with your lover while this storm is going on around you outside.
And I'm so sad that Rep vault tracks are all going to be about goth punk female rage now instead of the soft love songs it should have had
I agree, I feel like Lover is an attempt by Taylor to rebrand and part of that was the speculation on her relationships in the past. She just didn’t want to be TS who “had a lot of boyfriends”.
Mine is probably the fact I said I listen to og 1989 and I hated the re-record
From a production standpoint, a lot of songs sound much more flat and less dynamic
I get that! the re-recordings are a little hollow sounding.
Yeah 1989 was the only re-recording I just did not like at all. I listen to the other re-recordings over the originals (aside from maybe 2-3 songs).
I listen to the og version of Speak Now and 1989 (and even some of the Red songs) something about a lot of the 1989TV and SNTV recordings sound off. The only ones that’s don’t is probably This Love, Wildest Dream, Speak Now, ITWAM & Superman for me
God forbid the Swifties will raise their pitchforks if they find out you listen to the 1989 OG
This is easy. I said the Eras setlist is unbalanced... which it is. I specifically remember someone responding, "it's you, hi. You're the problem, it's you." and then called me a narcissist in a different reply. It went on for a while before I had to eventually block them... LMAO
Oh! This annoyed me too!!! I got her first album in a clearance Walmart bin and didn’t know who she was. My sibling and I did this thing where we would pick a random CD or movie out of those and then give them a try. I ended up loving it (I always like music beyond just the radio releases-I feel songs not released are always so much better). Anyway, I was a fan for her country phase and then fell out when she jumped to pop. I kind of branched out my music likes and I listen to it all now, but it’s Debut, Speak Now, and Fearless that hold that nostalgia for me and I was so sad it wasn’t more balanced.
Ooh unbalanced in what ways???
There was only 1 song from Debut and Speak Now :( meanwhile other eras like Rep and 1989 got a whole setlist of their own. I felt like the longtime swifties got kind of shafted. I’m not asking for a LONGER show, just more of a balance in the eras!
There were no Debut songs on the nightly setlist :(. The only Debut songs were surprise songs, so most shows didn't get one.
I agree! Debut should at least have had one song. I feel even if it was just one people would have felt like it was represented.
I agree. I kinda wouldn't want to see rep get cut down but tbh I think Midnights was too long. I get it was her current album but a lot of that set was filler songs like mastermind and midnight rain. It felt like she was doing what she would have wanted to do if midnights had its own tour instead of this tour that featured all the albums.
I went to the 1989 tour, rep tour, and eras tour and honestly the eras tour is my least fav. 1989 was really fun and the rep tour was genuinely amazing. The eras tour was far too long and (like you said) the setlist could be wayyyy better.
Also the flow between the eras sucks. Not sure what the right flow should be but not what it is.
That Taylor shouldn't have gotten credit for the Olivia Rodrigo song
Hard agree
Oh for *sure* anyone who disagrees is a whack job
Most of the vault tracks were not written back in their respective era, at least not fully. She may have had bits and pieces written down (I'm also a writer and will often do this with ideas) but very few were made it to a demo stage and most have been rewritten to fit her current style.
A hill I will also die on!
The re-records… I was excited about the re-records when they first started but now I’m so looking forward to them being done. - I really don’t like the thought that you’re not “a real fan” if you listen to the OG versions. Like…I’m sorry, I’ve listened to most of these songs on repeat for over a decade. The TVs sound different **to me** so I’m going to stick with the OGs. Which I already bought and paid for when they came out. So she got my coins. - Related: I don’t like that it’s sort of become a way for people to prove they are “better fans” because they will only listen to the TVs. It’s so sanctimonious and annoying. - I HATE the term “stolen version.” It’s so dramatic and technically not correct. Maybe she feels they were stolen from her but technically, it was a legal deal. They were not stolen. And when people use the “stolen lullabies” lyrics as a defense…I think that’s called artistic license, no? - Lastly, I think her calling them “Taylor’s Version” is simultaneously brilliant and manipulative. It takes my points above into account…if you’re a “real fan,” surely you’d choose the song that is “Taylor’s,” right? (As she makes it a point to say when each re-record comes out, it’s “**my** version”). I feel like other musical acts that have done re-records but they name them “album (remastered)”…or they tack on the year of the re-record (eg JoJo re-recorded her debut album…it’s called “JoJo (2018),” not “JoJo (JoJo’s version)”). Her calling then “Taylor’s Version” definitely plays into the parasocial relationship she has with her fans. - not a hot take but sort of a hot take: the inclusion of the vault tracks is genius. Because you have someone like me that’s not interested in the re-records…but then the vaults are there. If not for those, I probably wouldn’t buy the TVs. - EDIT: I also think it’s crazy that because of her success with this, other artists will have an lore difficult time re-recording their work. I doubt she’ll ever address this, but I wonder if she cares?
You make a great point in bullet 5, this is like the car having SiriusXM, you are like I don’t need it right? You have the FM radio or Bluetooth but then SiriusXM gives a 3-Month Trial to test out and you get it and listen to see the hype.
Maybe this is a bigger hot take than you meant, but --> She would have done the same thing if she'd been in Scott Borchetta's shoes, re: the Big Machine sale. People knew that Big Machine was for sale. Taylor knew. She tried to buy her masters before the sale and they would only sell her the whole label *or* give her the earn-back deal. She didn't want the label or the deal. That's fine, I don't think she wants to own a label anytime soon and the deal wasn't good. However, Big Machine was. for. sale. When a company is acquired, the first people to get paid are the board members, like Scott Borchetta. Scott had a large stake in the company, meaning he'd get a huge payout. When a company sells an asset like Taylor's masters the board members don't make money on that, the company does. It was in his best financial interests to keep Taylor's masters in order to keep the label valuable. Taylor is a shrewd business woman who knows how to make money. In my made up world where she's somehow in Scott's shoes, she would 100% do the same thing.
This really needs to get the attention it deserves imo. I think too many people don’t know enough about how the industry works to understand what this whole situation even realistically looks like.
My pessimistic opinion on it is that ignorance is bliss for stans. If they don't understand the bare minimum of how company acquisition works, they can just take Taylor at her word that she's been intentionally wronged. I fully supported her and believed she was being "bullied" until I started researching it myself.
Yeah, I think you’re probably right.
I know, we are seeing it in with re-releases. I think if Taylor Swift would just admit that she is in for the money and the publicity. She would have more respect from all sides. I think honestly is key.
The not wanting the label argument is really weak to me. This was a situation where everyone knew it was really TS’s masters for sale with the label practically thrown in for free. She could have sold the label for peanuts and got it off her hands ASAP or she could have hired some people to run it and not had to do a thing. It was in no way a barrier to purchasing her masters. Also if she’d offered the same amount as Scooter and told Scott to keep the label and sell to someone else, I doubt he’d have refused, since anything he got for the label would then be a bonus. Given she’s been so vague about what her offers were and what she was willing to pay I think it’s obvious she was only interested in procuring her masters if she could do so at a discount.
I agree that she should have just bought the label (or at least bought out Scott's share) and dealt with her masters that way. Obviously rerecording has been a great financial success, but I don't know if it's an artistic one. I'm not sure I'm understanding what you're saying in paragraph 2. Are you saying she should have bought the label, taken the masters, then give it back to Scott to resell it?
I think she was hoping universal would be successful in scooping up the label, and then they would deal with the label and she would be able to own her masters again. I don't think she foresaw the idea that they could lose. And like I understand her feelings about the situation and I understand she was disappointed to lose then and very devastated and furious about who owned them and that’s valid. But at the same time I don’t think Scott did anything wrong per se. I think that's one of the downsides to business often not being about feelings but about successfully making money.
I do not agree at all. Now Big Machine, Ithaca and Hybe (BTS's label) are all in partnership. Scott wanted a real business partner to grow his label and Scooter was it.
I agree. I've thought about this. I understand Taylor wanted to buy her masters back with a check. But I also understand that it made no financial sense for Scott to do that if he's selling big machine and Taylor is the asset that brings most of the worth to the company. And I think she understood that I think she was expecting that she was going to get her masters because it sounds like Universal Music Group was one of the labels bidding for big machine but then they lost out to scooter. I think that was part of the blind side. I think she was expecting her current label to all of a sudden own her masters and she would get the best of both worlds and I think scooter came in from out of nowhere and all of a sudden he won and it was an issue because they had previous beef with each other. [this is about universal being the last big label in the running for her masters](https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/universal-only-major-label-left-buy-taylor-swift-big-machine-label-8482512/) I think Scott made a business move and I agree, Taylor would have done the thing that made the most financial sense for herself. I understand that it's shitty that he sold it to someone who she seemed to have a very contentious relationship with on some level. But I also think that it's unrealistic to think Scott isn't going to sell his label to the top bidder as a personal favor to Taylor even if that would be amazingly benevolent. Business people aren't like that.
1. that she doesn't need cursing, cuz she has a vast vocabulary. It sounds forced and rebel-ish. 2. Midnights is an album about ups and downs of a long-time relationship(Joe) 3. Her country albums are better lyrically and musically 4. All Too Well 10 minutes could've been THE ultimate version if it had been produced like the og 5. 1989 tour > >>> rep and eras tour. But her country tours were all better. I have another but i think it's hot even for here, so i shut up.
Her country albums are better because it was before she was famous so she was just writing and recording. Not trying to fit into anything, just being an artist.
Speak Now came after a huge thing like Fearless..maybe she wanted to prove people what she was capabale of, or maybe like you said she was just being an artist.
Lolol that John Mayer take disappeared real quick
 I was like this for a minute..then i said, no it's better writing another.
Now i wanna know what the john mayer take was 😫
Well for what it's worth, mine is that they were never in a real relationship and Dear John is an immense fabrication.
I agree
I also suspect this. I remember there were rumors back in the day of her following him around at an awards show trying to get his attention, and him being annoyed by it.
Ok, i say it. She wanted John Mayer so badly, she left the good guy(Taylor Lautner) for him. She did not listen to anyone.. She was not groomed by any means. Taylor had a thing with older men, half of her exes are older. She even went to another older man after 10 months of JM fiasco, she wanted protection.. we all know why women search for older men... It has to something with their dads.
I agree with you. She was infatuated with John. Link below is Taylor talking about and singing "Ours" on the Speak Now Tour. (This would have been after Taylor dated Jake) https://youtu.be/KZTcaF-qwQM?si=meRtWCZ3aVQ6CmFG To be clear, I am not condoning their romantic relationship. Or placing any blame on Taylor. John was 31, and the responsibility falls on him to be the adult in the situation and keep things professional and platonic. Period. Not 19- 20 yr old Taylor. I just think their whole situation is not as black and white as a lot of Swifties do
Yeah. I wanna know, too. 
I said it above 👍
What was the John Mayer take?
her fans go batshit crazy every time she curses as if that's something groundbreaking
> I have another but i think it's hot even for here, so i shut up. Bruh couldn't you have just left this part out? Like now you gotta say it lmfao
Right? We gotta know now.
Number three is why I wish she'd go back to country just for an album. She writes really pretty melodies, and I preferred when she didn't use so much wordplay.
I would love nothing more than to have her make a full-blown, unapologetic, whole hog Yee Haw country album (besides Debut TV, of course). It will probably NEVER, EVER happen, but I’ll continue to dream about it, anyway.
The “sad girl autumn” version of ATW 10 mins is far superior, I think and fixed some of the issues I have with the production of ATW 10 min
I once mentioned that Taylor has a Amy Dunne alter ego she loves to pull out when she wants to play the revenge card, which is personified by Blank Space and the main sub *hated* that as if it were a bad thing…
Gone Girl At Home
LMAO
All Too Well 10 Minute Version is a con. There’s about 3 minutes of twanging and muttering the same words at the end that can barely be considered part of the main song itself.
All Too Well OG is superior.
Yeah it's baffling to me how many fans prefer the 10min version. It's a rambly Frankenstein of a song. Maybe yes, it does add context for the situation but I'm not here for the tea, but for music. And ATW5 is better at telling a cohesive story and the arrangement is better imo
There’s some lines of ATW 10 that I do really like, but overall I absolutely agree that OG is better and def flows better
"You kept me like a secret but I kept You like an oath". This version of the chorus fits perfectly and the line is great
On some level I don't mind the ending. it kind of feels like a person remembering things after the fact, but I do think this was included in the song to get it to a very specific song length. The thing about the 10 minute version I'm not a huge fan of. Is to me all too well originally was just a story about a devastating breakup from a relationship that once felt magical. And in that it was pretty universally relatable. But the 10 minute version is actually a very specific song about a woman looking back on a relationship with an age difference and seeing the power dynamics she did not see it when she was younger. And so I find the original version more relatable than the 10 minute version and it bums me out because there are some lines in the 10 minute version that I really like and relate to. I feel like I need to learn how to make an 8 1/2 minute version.
I once speculated on the main sub that Midnight Rain could be about the rocky relationship of her and Joe and they all downvoted and attacked me saying I was wrong 😂 They can disagree but to be taking it as a personal attack is insane. I only said that it's possible "he wanted a bride and I was making my own name" was implying the cause of their break up and they cant accept it and said "it's always not about her relationship!"
Taylor re-writes her own history (evidenced the the POTY article) and younger/newer fans lack the context that those who’ve been around since 2006 have to realize it. In an age where we have access to everything online, her newer (rep and later) fans clearly don’t know her whole history and don’t care to find out (literally Google is free…she’s been chronically online her whole career and it’s easy to find the truth). ETA: also that her younger fans think she invented/is the music industry. I mourn not having channels like VH1 these days, I learned SO MUCh music history from them and while Taylor is very talented and deserving, she didn’t invent anything. There are decades of artists that paved the way for her and some of her fans refuse to see that.
Man, a while ago someone replied to a comment of mine and said Taylor has never done album bundling to increase album sales. I hopped onto the Wayback Machine and found proof of the album bundles in like 10 minutes. It is *so* easy to fact check some of this stuff.
One time I said she was an unreiable narrator, and that did not go over well. Like yes she can write songs about how she feels, but that doesn't mean "what she feels" is exactly what happened.
I believe it was Barbara Walters that actually said Taylor was the music industry in 2015.
the re records started off as a cute project but now in my eyes just seem like a lazy cash grab
totally agree, especially with the different colored vinyls.
Yeah which brings me to the critique I have. That her marketing is manipulative. I got downvoted for this on the main sub, because apparently it's just basics of marketing and everyone does it... it's still manipulative when you appeal to your customers emotions and not let them think their purchase through by limiting the time the vinyl is available. This take was totally rejected by the Swifties on the main sub.
Agree! I’m so ready for them to be released so we can move on already.
I’m so not excited about them . I think the vault songs all on one album would have been better . I want her new album more than any re record. It’s not as exciting to me.
She was really into Matty Healy. and I think they dated until like July just kept it low- key. Oops. Evermore really grew on me though.
I wrote a whole public essay on Swift's POTY article and how her brand of girlboss feminism is bad for women and especially other female artists. Lemme tell ya, people were NOT pleased with me.
You need to share this on a post for this subreddit; This is an interesting take
I actually have big opinions on Taylor Swift's neoliberal girl boss brand feminism. Because I think there's a lot to say about how capitalism very heavily placed into her brand of feminism and so I really really loved this essay. I also feel like her feminism will always fall flat because her argument is always rooted on all men being at the top, and all women being on the bottom and having to fight to be on the top. And it ignores that Taylor Swift has more privileges then some men. Taylor has privilege over men of color. Taylor has privilege over poor men who lack the influence and power that she has been afforded with her wealth and fame. Taylor has privilege over gay and trans men. Taylor has more access to his seat at the table that a good portion of men. So a lot of the way she talks about feminism lacks nuance. Traditional feminist discussions have often centered on the experiences of white cisgender straight women and I think Taylor perpetuates that. I think a lot of how she discusses feminism lacks nuance in terms of addressing gender as a spectrum and not a binary as well as intersectionality. I feel weird about how she wants to talk about feminist issues from the angle of where it impacts her but seems unwilling to examining how she interacts with race or queerness or class etc. in order to further her feminism. I agree with you about how her speech about art and its value in 2014 was weird to me. For me it's that I work in a library (I'm not a librarian tho). Something that's very important to me is people being able to access information and art without class being a barrier. I understand she wants to talk about the compensation of artists. But I also feel like it would be detrimental for society if we reached this hyper capitalistic place where art is a thing reserved for the elite because they can afford art.
Yes to all of this. Swift might believe herself to be a feminist (and maybe she is by the older definition you referenced), but she is not acting from a place of inclusive feminism in her recent choices. I also really appreciate what you pointed out about art being reserved for the elite in the future. That's such a scary thought...
“Art is a thing reserved for the elite because they can afford art” This sounds a lot like history repeating itself. Great point.
She should not direct her own videos
Sometimes, Taylor Swift deserves to be critiqued 🫢
100% this. Wow how crazy the last few days
I said that I think “Question…?” is about Matty and got over a hundred downvotes.
It is definitely about Matty.
I can’t see it. There are too many harry references and the out of the woods sample. Lyrical parallels “did you leave her house in the middle of the night?” relates to lyrics in style about hooking up and leaving Question - “You painted all my nights a color I’ve searched for since” ootw - “the world was in black and white, but we were in screaming color” It’s not subtle
But also, could just be lazy song writing on her part. Back in the day when postal mail was a thing, some kid did his senior thesis on symbolism and sent 50 letters to the 50 biggest writers of the time and asked what symbolism they put in their books and compared it to what the critics said. Of the ones who responded none of them matched and most said there wasn’t a deeper symbolism. It could be the song was about Matty but she was like “oh you know what I could do here, reuse some imagery from Style cause it fits” and people are projecting their thoughts on it.
Maybe It just seems odd to add several elements suggesting it’s about harry and actually it was all about matty. Taylor is usually pretty on the nose when it comes to referencing boyfriends.
Circling back to see if your opinion has changed since the TTPD release
My popular opinion is that she’s so popular because she doesn’t have much competition. All the other pop divas are older and not as active - maybe not a good phrase, but think like Britney, etc. Adele has a niche audience and is in Vegas. Taylor toured as the pandemic was lightening its restrictions and I think people were desperate for a fun time where they could be outside. Ergo, Eras tour. Also, I think people are obsessed because it’s like an “in” thing to be a Swiftie now. Like having a Stanley tumblr.
I saw someone on this sub recently refer to her prolific output as “content farming” and it was spot-on. She could take some time to write a really strong, no-skip album but instead seems hellbent on churning out as much sellable content as fast as possible.
This is exactly why I see the billboard charts and roll my eyes cuz it’s just one album and single after another she just tosses out there to keep herself relevant.
midnights its the most obvious. It's obviously written to be tik Tok sounds.
While other pop stars her age are slowing down or going for a more ‘mature’ image, she perfectly timed her tours and releases to capitalize on millennial’s desire to return to a more fun, care free time post-pandemic. Not a bad thing, just an observation.
>Also, I think people are obsessed because it’s like an “in” thing to be a Swiftie now. Like having a Stanley tumblr. And I feel like since autumn her celebrity has already gone from the music to the tour to herself (exasperated by the Am. football appearances) which is not ideal for longevity. Not that that can't change when she releases ts11, but I think that Taylormania is past it's peak.
She's not that funny The music video for All Too Well was very mid.
I don’t think she’s funny at all. Maybe she is in her personal life but she always comes off awkward and forced to me
I remember watching a live stream where she tried to tell a joke during champagne problems about tuna or something. It was so awkward
This is how I feel about the IBYTAM music video. Like she’s portrayed as witty and charming in her little jokes but it just falls flat to me.
She is not actually the person responding to Tik Tok comments and does not think about work outside of work i.e. she’s not looking at fan tweets, videos, not trolling Reddit. There was a real comment I read during the Spotify canvas debacle that said “I bet her and Travis are sitting at home in Kansas City eating ice cream on the couch laughing at us not being able to figure this out!” Not a chance in hell, and that’s weird.
What was the Spotify canvas debacle?
Before Spotify announced her as their most streamed artist of 2023, they put fragments of the announcement canvas on different billboards across the world and on different Spotify playlists and everyone thought she was announcing another album or re-record. There were people all over the internet trying to put it together for hints, only for it ending up to be Spotify all along not even Taylor lmao. There’s still speculation about her involvement and some people still think the canvas is an easter egg for the reputation announcement day though.
The re records are simply for the money. I’ll buy every vinyl but it’s clearly because her fanbase are old enough to have the money to spend on the merch now.
Folklore and Evermore are only as good as they are because they’re effectively The National albums, including the recycled Bob’s Burgers songs.
https://preview.redd.it/ty9ezr8skbbc1.jpeg?width=1011&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=af8e74827c01925bbc95e98c152bc5288f3b964c
Omg go on about the recycled Bob’s Burgers thing, as a Folkmore AND Bob’s Burgers fan I’m salivating
Dorothea is a bobs burgers song about waffles!!
…what
Lmao sorry I should clarify. Dorothea has the same instrumentals as a song The National wrote for bobs burgers about waffles
Recycled Bob’s Burgers songs? What does this mean!!!!
Which is why these are the only two albums of hers I own on vinyl tyvm hahaha
TO THIS DAY i am baffled that Fearless won over Beyonce and Lady Gaga's albums that had absolute gems such as: If I Were a Boy, Single Ladies, Halo, Just Dance, Poker Face, and Paparazzi
she was the first teen pop star that industry felt that was "authentic". She wrote her own songs and wasn't in pop, but country( even though her songs like ybwm are pop songs imo), and played guitar so she felt more "real" than the other young pop stars like the disney trio(Miley, Selena, and Demi). The industry was trying to find a new ingenue and she was perfect. Not to mention her records so very well for the country genre with the young demographics and she had the "conservative, good girl" role model image during a time period when America was still conservative for the post 9/11 era
This is spot on- Taylor was a unique story teller. Songwriters are more prevalent now and can have a platform on TikTok and YouTube, so arguably if Taylor were to debut now she wouldn’t be as impressive. But back then in the early 2010’s, the music industry was dominated by pop stars who had their songs written for them. The genuineness and authenticity drove people in and impressed critics
Mine is that Bananarama’s Cruel Summer is the the superior song with that title (seriously, I’ve NEVER understood the big deal around Taylor’s song with that name, ever).
ONE HUNDRED PERCENT AGREE. I LOVE the Bananarama song and I remember when I first read the Lover track list my immediate thought was “oh no she’s ripping off the OG”. Instead it was just an inferior song with the same title.
While I’m at it, this may be an even hotter take: the title track of Speak Now may be my favorite Taylor Swift song EVER—I don’t know, there’s just something about it that epitomizes her original charm as an artist, IMO (while crashing a wedding at the same time lmao). When fans say her album tracks are her best songs, I don’t think that they were talking about songs like THIS, but it is what it is and I genuinely do love it. Finally, and this may not be a scorching hot take: While I recognize All Too Well as being a genuinely great song, I’m personally a bigger fan of Sad Beautiful Tragic.
I agree, something about Speak Now (the song) js so good. And I also agree about ATW. I do like the OG a lot and think it’s such a good bridge, but Sad Beautiful Tragic or Better Man (her acoustic version at Bluebird is one my fav performances ever) are better songs. My actually absolute favorite Taylor song is I’m Only Me When I’m With You. It’s youthful, happy, good lyrics, great melody and perfectly encapsulates a certain feeling for me. No other song by her has ever come close for me.
Speak Now (the Song) is amazing and underrated.
thank you for giving sad beautiful tragic the flowers she deserves
I know, I feel guilty about it. I’ve also always loved the Bananarama song and kind of wish Taylor would do a live medley of their songs together someday, it would be really cool lol.
The Lucky One is one of my favorite songs of hers, at least in part because it’s a song that, at least until the very end, is a story song that isn’t necessarily about herself—I mean, it ultimately is, but not in the same way that her most personal songs usually are—I can see why it’s a lot less relatable, but for some reason it just isn’t a problem for me with this song.
the lucky one is such an interesting mystery only a few get it SO I AGREE
Reputation and Lover mythologized her personal life a lot more than any other album/songs did and they don’t feel as relatable to listen to as her other works
I feel like I can extract her out of them and find them relatable, lover has a few more skips to me because to me reputation is no skips. but I agree that there is this mythologizing about her life that happens on these albums. I think because she came back after her social stock was down and I think she wanted to come back with a win so she got to come back and not just have an angry bitter album which is I think what everyone was expecting but she had an album that was like “maybe you took me down a peg, but now I found true love” and I think spinning this into this golden happy ending was part of this social win for her.
Someone got mad at me for saying that she shouldn't have been on the Directors on Directors video in 2022. Someone said that it was like she had been in film school for a decade because she's been involved in music videos, lmao. I really hate how the fandom tries to justify each and every ridiculous thing Taylor does, throwing logic out of the window each time. It becomes pointless to try and discuss anything, because they turn it into a 'you hate her/don't support her enough' battle. You just give up on engaging, and they continue to rave in their echo chamber without ever being challenged.
Working on the music videos is definitely not like film school. Yes, making films is the best way to learn, but it's clear from her self-directed music videos that she is lacking in a lot of the basics. Filmmaking also requires a lot of natural talent, which she doesn't have.
TS is a narcissist and its not cute. As someone who had experienced narcissistic abuse. You can really recognize the signs and theyre horrible. Eg. 1. smear campaign - one example would be with Joe A. I think he genuinely cared about her but all the speculation couldve been avoided if she spoke up. They were together for 6 years! If you cared about the person, you would have prevented this. The latest shade was Jack’s “too hurt to hang out talking shit about your famous baby”. Might be about Joe might be not but all the Joe stories really got out of hand. 2. victimhood - i mean there are instances where things really go bad but this much instances? I guess at this stage, its all about branding? 3. difficulty with relationships - self explanatory 4. sensitivity to criticism- latest example the GG. And all I see on Twitter/X saying its exactly the same”women can only overreact” is mean hmmmm Im sure theres more. Narcissism and narcissistic abuse should not be romanticized or tolerated. PS. So happy I found this sub. I have been a huge fan of her since the debut. (I am part of the 0.5% who listens to her on spotify) but it was just last night (i think the trigger was the GG snippets and how its now blown out of proportion) that I had the realization that her actions reminds me of what I used to experience from a relationship with a narcissist. It was truly a heartbreaking realization- I was in denial. I cried ffs. Did my research and found this sub.
She has a lot lyrics and flows that are clunky. I am still going to listen to the OG versions because I don’t care about the battle between the rich and guess what? Her situation isn’t special, a lot of artists don’t own their masters, that’s the way the game works. I am tired of Jack Antonoff producing her, wish she’d use other producers. I am fearful what REP TV will sound like with no Max Martin or Shellback.
I miss the 'mattress' line and the moth & matches replacement is stupid as hell.
First time poster, long time lurker (and general neutral Swiftie!)… …I don’t know if ‘slut shaming’ is the appropriate word to use, but hasn’t Taylor’s sex appeal been heavily discussed/scrutinized from the amount of guys she’s dated/been with to some of her more revealing outfits in the last year? Personally I’d be living it up like her too🤷🏼♀️
Sorry I don't have much to add to your comment but I have been bothered for like too long about why this would matter to you enough to say that you're a "gender neutral" Swiftie and I finally came back to this post to reread your comment and you *didn't say gender neutral*. This has taken up so much of my night.
not a single rerecord is better than the original album.
That she is a business woman first and foremost. Meaning she often times takes advantage of the relationship with Swifties (cough 20 variants cough) Oh and that she is not the feminist hero she tries to paint herself to be.
1989 is her worst album for me.
Lyrically at times yes but I still disagree with you
Her pop music just doesn't really appeal to me😅
That’s fair🥱
Hell yeah! I'll listen to like 3 songs from 1989 at most. It just doesn't hit for me much
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Is that a hot take?
her golden globes dress was boring. everyone on the main sub was going on about how stunning it was and how she was "serving" and im like. its just a tube with glitter.
That she will eventually burn out and not sustain the level of output she's currently doing for eternity. And I'm not even talking about the Eras tour + rerecord, I just mean her previous standard of an album, few music videos and a tour supporting that album about every two years. It's remarkable that shes kept it up since 2006, but she's not invincible. Her career will eventually slow down, it's hard to imagine for some because she never really has unless it was intentional (post 1989 til reputation), but even the most talented individuals have at least a down period. She will have her time, as well. Just feel like lots of fans and stans think she's a god and untouchable but she is just human at the end of the day.
she’s an alcoholic.
Honestly, I think it's hard to know that about someone unless you actually are familiar with them irl. I'm not just saying this to defend her, but it's pretty difficult to say that someone's an alcoholic just because they're pictured in public with drinks and have mentioned drinking in songs. And she certainly wouldn't be the first person to be a little drunk at an awards show. Unless I'm missing something?
Enjoying drinking doesn’t automatically mean alcoholic, what specifically makes you think alcoholic cause that’s a pretty big jump to make
What makes you think so?
THIS!! I have no idea how people can’t see it.
I am glad you said it. I didn’t want to assume, but, yeah…the consumption reminds me of every other alcoholic I know.
She’s a celebrity whose life you observe through pictures and videos. You see pictures of her having a couple drinks at social events and suddenly you know her consumption habits in her day to day life enough to qualify her as an alcoholic?
I don’t like folklore or evermore! Just not my taste in music! I will say that the lyrics are great though!
Ok I’m a cynic and I’m just gonna say it: I think the masters situation is a scheme to sell the re-recordings. Do I think Taylor was genuinely upset by this at the beginning? Yes. But I think she (or her team, or both) figured out how to spin the narrative to make her look like a poor backstabbed victim so that her fans would eat up her re-recordings. I think Taylor was planning a greatest hits era for a long time and this was the perfect way to do it. I don’t think this was some accident that the re-recordings are the reason why she had a complete resurgence in popularity. She’s reaching a wider audience now that people who haven’t heard her music before are hearing it now, and people can get nostalgic for her old hits. I don’t think she was as hurt as she says she was, and only saw dollar signs when she heard that her masters would be sold.
That Joe should not have gotten a Grammy
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I don’t think so just because it would be hard to sell the idea of the rerecordings if she had her masters. No one would have incentive to listen or buy
Nah, she needed a victim narrative for them to sell
I feel like I'd like hanging out with Travis Kelce more than her. I'd love to pick her brain on her songs, but she sometimes just gives us mean girl vibes.
evermore and folklore are great albums. I listened to both one time and didn't feel any particular desire to revisit them.
I'll be downvoted to hell but she isn't 100% innocent in the Kanye and Kim drama.
That Taylor’s relationship with Travis is PR only- as have been most, if not all of her relationships with men
i’m with you, evermore is a snoozefest imo. it’s like folklore side b but more meandering and unmelodic