Taylor Swift

[Gryffindorian]

Why can't you see-ee-ee ... You belong with me-ee-ee, you belong with me.

How can anyone not like her songs?

I think she's pretty and she's quite talented at what she does.

 

[RoJoHen]

Taylor Swift isn't a good singer, nor is she a good performer, and above all else she's a terrible songwriter. That's a fact.

Um, no, that's not how facts work.

 

[Adm_Hawthorne]

Taylor Swift isn't a good singer, nor is she a good performer, and above all else she's a terrible songwriter. That's a fact.

Um, no, that's not how facts work.

You know, when you really break it down, it's not that she's horrible. It's that she's young and inexperienced. Being able to write songs and sing them well requires that you understand and have some base working knowledge of how things work out there in the real world.

She just doesn't have it yet. She's too young.

I'm not saying all people her age are too young. We all mature at different rates, but she is too young.

Once she has a few lessons from Hard Knocks, I think we'll find that she's a much better singer/song writer.

 

[Garm Bel Iblis]

it was a hell of a production. but she's a kid. you can see how overwhelming it is for her.

there were a couple of songs she actually did from within the crowds in the stands, then would make her through during a song, hugging her fans signing autographs and just mingling. i thought that was really cool.

HOWEVER, 15,000 teenage girls were. holy jailbate batman. they were dolled up to the nines. most of them looked 20 themselves but were barely out of middle school. which is odd, because Swift was conservatively dressed, nothing sexy, nothing revealing.

WHen those girls would scream, it was a sound my brain could not compute. it literally felt like when your in the shower and you let the water rush into your ear. Made my teeth hurt.

the show was about 4 hours long, Swift was on for a constant 2 hours. the warm up act was some country band called Gloriana and they just did a bunch of 70's rock songs. then kelly pickler came out as a "surprise." funniest moment of the night was when the little girl that was with my co-worker said "I'm really tired of Kelly Pickles, Mom."

All in all it was an experience. Made me feel really old and really young at the same time.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

If you can tolerate country/pop-crossover, man hating, songs about unrealistic expectations in a relationship for the perspective of a 16 year old (yeah I know she is 20), fluff, you'll survive.

Edited for accuracy.

I took my daughters to her concert in Feb of '09. They enjoyed it. So did the other 50 bajillion other teen aged girls in attendance. But I listen to a majority of her lyrics and go . Seeing her in person with the on stage antics made me go . Nah she didnt do anything like biting the head off a bat, but Christ allmighty. All she did was bitch about guys and how they always treat her like crap and stuff. Someone needs to tell her that if all the guys in her life are treating her like crap maybe she ought to look at the constant in all those relationships and work on that.

She is popular. She has a very pretty voice, but man she is about as mature as my 12 year old.

The handful of songs I've heard did not include any of this man-hating business, so I admit to a lack of knowledge on that subject.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

The handful of songs I've heard did not include any of this man-hating business, so I admit to a lack of knowledge on that subject.

In fact, I've yet to hear one that does.

I think she's pretty and she's quite talented at what she does.

The fact that she's won virtually every award possible this year in her field results from the same show biz herd mentality that gave Avatar the Oscar for Best Picture this year.

 

[Garm Bel Iblis]

The handful of songs I've heard did not include any of this man-hating business, so I admit to a lack of knowledge on that subject.

In fact, I've yet to hear one that does.

I think she's pretty and she's quite talented at what she does.

The fact that she's won virtually every award possible this year in her field results from the same show biz herd mentality that gave Avatar the Oscar for Best Picture this year.

^ Hurt Locker.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

The handful of songs I've heard did not include any of this man-hating business, so I admit to a lack of knowledge on that subject.

In fact, I've yet to hear one that does.

I think she's pretty and she's quite talented at what she does.

The fact that she's won virtually every award possible this year in her field results from the same show biz herd mentality that gave Avatar the Oscar for Best Picture this year.

^ Hurt Locker.

And...?

 

[GeorgeKirk]

I don't enjoy Taylor Swift's music, but then again I doubt that 32-year-old men are really her target demographic.

It's easy to say that Swift's music is childish and formulaic compared to female country stars of yesteryear like Loretta Lynn or Dolly Parton. However, the fact is that Swift has had a much less eventful life than many of her predecessors. Dolly Parton grew up poor with a dozen siblings, Loretta Lynn was married at 13 and had 4 kids by the time she was 17. Taylor Swift is an attractive blonde who probably enjoyed a sheltered childhood in the suburbs. Until her music career took off, her biggest concerns in life were probably getting some boy to notice her and what she should wear to the mall. It doesn't exactly make for riveting storytelling. You write about what you know, and Taylor Swift simply doesn't know a whole lot at this point.

 

[Garm Bel Iblis]

In fact, I've yet to hear one that does.



The fact that she's won virtually every award possible this year in her field results from the same show biz herd mentality that gave Avatar the Oscar for Best Picture this year.

^ Hurt Locker.

And...?

I completely misreadyour post. that's my brain fuzz still wearing off

 

[Garm Bel Iblis]

I don't enjoy Taylor Swift's music, but then again I doubt that 32-year-old men are really her target demographic.

It's easy to say that Swift's music is childish and formulaic compared to female country stars of yesteryear like Loretta Lynn or Dolly Parton. However, the fact is that Swift has had a much less eventful life than many of her predecessors. Dolly Parton grew up poor with a dozen siblings, Loretta Lynn was married at 13 and had 4 kids by the time she was 17. Taylor Swift is an attractive blonde who probably enjoyed a sheltered childhood in the suburbs. Until her music career took off, her biggest concerns in life were probably getting some boy to notice her and what she should wear to the mall. It doesn't exactly make for riveting storytelling. You write about what you know, and Taylor Swift simply doesn't know a whole lot at this point.

You nailed it. Suburban PA, homeschooled, mom was a homemaker, dad was a stock broker. pretty even keeled kid.

 

[Sakrysta]

I will say this for her. I appreciate her avoidance of the starlet drama that has characterized so many others - Britney & Lindsay, I'm looking at you. If I had a daughter, I wouldn't have any problem with her being a fan of Taylor, though we might use her lyrics as teaching opportunities.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Dolly Parton grew up poor with a dozen siblings, Loretta Lynn was married at 13 and had 4 kids by the time she was 17.

This is a point that speaks more generally to the difference between country music of a generation (or more) ago and current "country pop" - i.e., the country has changed. Not only are the performers a great deal less likely to come from a rural poor background, but the target audience is suburban middle class.

Taylor Swift, in fact, knows a good deal about life and writes pretty directly about it - what she knows, though, is stuff that most of us have forgotten about by the time we're out of our twenties but seemed pretty damned important at the time...and so it was, and is.

 

[Garm Bel Iblis]

Dolly Parton grew up poor with a dozen siblings, Loretta Lynn was married at 13 and had 4 kids by the time she was 17.

This is a point that speaks more generally to the difference between country music of a generation (or more) ago and current "country pop" - i.e., the country has changed. Not only are the performers a great deal less likely to come from a rural poor background, but the target audience is suburban middle class.

Taylor Swift, in fact, knows a good deal about life and writes pretty directly about it - what she knows, though, is stuff that most of us have forgotten about by the time we're out of our twenties but seemed pretty damned important at the time...and so it was, and is.

Off topic, I still think you are Anthony Bordaine

 

[Thestral]

well as far as some middle tennesseans are concerned she walks on water..
taylor swift donates 500,000 to middle tennessee flood relief effort.

Rather an unfortunate choice of words, walking on water? Hope your part of the state's recovering.

That said, for her!

 

[Joeman]

All I know is that I saw her perform twice on TV, once on SNL, and the other was either on the Grammy's or a late night talk show. Both times she sounded like a cat being stepped on. I really don't know enough about her otherwise to really judge her. I don't listen to her kind of music much.

She's 1000 times more successful than I am though, so more power to her I say.

 

[Smiley]

I think that Taylor's songs and voice are about average. Where she excels is in the presentation. At every awards show performance, she does something besides just standing and singing. I am reminded of the type of show that Reba McEntire would put on in the 1990s when I see Taylor perform. I would love to see her show the next time she comes to town.

From a purely marketing perspective, Taylor Swift and her team are brilliant. She is tapping what used to be considered merely a peripheral demographic in country music through both the type of songs she sings and her online media presence. Also, attracting the younger audience means that the parents or older relatives will buy concert tickets, too.

 

[Garm Bel Iblis]

I think that Taylor's songs and voice are about average. Where she excels is in the presentation. At every awards show performance, she does something besides just standing and singing. I am reminded of the type of show that Reba McEntire would put on in the 1990s when I see Taylor perform. I would love to see her show the next time she comes to town.

From a purely marketing perspective, Taylor Swift and her team are brilliant. She is tapping what used to be considered merely a peripheral demographic in country music through both the type of songs she sings and her online media presence. Also, attracting the younger audience means that the parents or older relatives will buy concert tickets, too.

I'm very impressed too. Glad she's not heading down the White Trash Mylie (Disney Whore) Cyrus road. And hope her upbringing makes her a Reba\Dolly Parton type, rather than the Britany Spears\Christina Aguilara type.

 

[stoneroses]

Her music is terrible that is all I care about. She is plane

 

[Sakrysta]

I think I understand why Christina Aguilera sometimes gets grouped into the trashy starlet group, seeing as she rose to popularity at the same time as Britney Spears. But really, her career has been much different. For one, she is actually an enormously talented singer and artist who takes her music seriously. For another, she has had a successful adult life - she is happily married to a NORMAL man and has a son. Really, if you know anything about Christina's life & career, she couldn't be more different from Britney, aside from having gotten her start in a similar way.