I also haven't listened to The Tortured Poets Department. And the -more albums. It would be dishonest to include Midnights, because I did listen to a few songs when it came out, but then never listened again. So I’ve been pretty out of Taylor Swift for the last five years. This is something I am perfectly okay with. I don’t feel like I’m missing out, because what she does is so pervasive in the culture, I feel like I get the gist of the music.
The fact of the matter is, she’s just not doing anything interesting. She’s not taking big wild swings musically. She’s writing about the same old things she’s been writing about since she was 16, with seemingly no new perspective. Frankly I’m bored.
But the worst parts of the Taylor Swift Experience, especially of the last few years, are her fans and her seeming greed.
Her fans are no longer a fan base, it is a cult. The way they mobilize around her, talk about her, and defend her against anybody who dares say anything negative about her, is wild. They have no concept of pop culture out side of her and relate everything can back to her. I’m sorry but Taylor Swift is not the center of the universe, and it’s fine if people don’t like her. Chill out.
The thing that really kills me is the greed. Just the amount of different variant covers of albums, and certain songs only available on certain additions. And because her fanbase is a cult, they buy it all. Not to mention all of the merch. I know trademarking is important for art ownership, but I remember when she tried to trademark “1989”. Just the number. There was no art or image as a part of it, she tried to trademark the year 1989.
So yeah, feeling a bit smug not listening to her.