Immensely popular and now veteran pop-star, Taylor Swift released her newest studio album October 3 in the form of “The Life of a Showgirl.” The 12-track record debuted to mixed critical reception. While influential publications, like Rolling Stone, offered glowing praise, less enthusiastic takes, like the one from “Pitchfork,” are floating around as well.
In the media sector however, Swift’s work was immediately bombarded with criticism. Disapproval of “cringe lyrics’ and redundant pop sound, to accusations of racist undertones in a selection of songs and questionable marketing choices all contribute to the bad blood that fans have with the latest album.
This much pushback from Swift’s fanbase is almost unheard of. What is contributing to this change, and why now?
One of Taylor Swift’s largest pulls as a music artist, since the beginning of her career, has been her aptitude for songwriting. Her lyrics are incomprehensibly relatable, she has always been able to connect with her fanbase really well, her songs felt like reading her diary.
She is also a masterful storyteller, her songs so well crafted and packed with literary value. Stanford University even offers multiple courses to study Swift’s discography.
Fans are upset with lyrics such as “Every joke’s just trolling and memes” from “Eldest Daughter” and “They want that spring break, that was f***ing lit” from “Wi$h Li$t.” They feel of lesser quality than what she’s put out in the past.
“It’s not what I was expecting from her true ability to create lyrics that are super deep and meaningful,” German teacher and Swiftie Herr Alex Paul said.
In defense of Swift, her fans have grown accustomed to the melancholy mood of her lyrics from “Folklore” and “Evermore.” “The Life of a Showgirl” has a poppier sound and siller, fun lyrics. Maybe that’s just not everyone’s cup of tea.
Some fans are choosing to have a more positive outlook on initially disappointing lyrics. Giving an album a few listens can be helpful.
“The more I listen to it, I’ve come to really like it, and appreciate the lyrics,” English teacher Ms. Katelyn Scaffidi said. “I feel like she’s really creative with her lyrics. As an English teacher, I just noticed that she uses so much imagery and figurative language in her lyrics, that just makes my English teacher’s heart happy.”
Some fans feel like a few lyrics are borderline microaggressive. In “Opalite” and “Eldest Daughter” a few lines are perceived as digs at Swift’s fiance’s ex-girlfriend Kayla Nicole, who is Black.
Swift concurrently put out a necklace on her merchandise shop that paired with the song “Opalite.” Some fans felt like that necklace was a dog whistle, or at least insensitive and unprofessional.
“One of the things that really came out strongly to me, especially as a German teacher, was that she then put out a necklace for the song Opalite and it had symbolism of Nazism in the necklace, which feels very untasteful, but it also doesn’t feel like traditional Taylor Swift,” Paul said”.
While it’s unlikely that Swift intended for the necklace as a Nazi symbol, for someone of Swift’s caliber, how did a design that contained any trace of hateful connotations make it past her team?
Taylor’s fiance Travis Kelce and his conservative-seeming football friends, her massive CO2 production from her private jet trips, as well as Swift’s perceived dig at fellow pop girl Charli XCX in her songs “Actually Romantic” come off as petty, immature, and very un-feminist.
It all feels so high school.
Perhaps most troubling to me is the recent crickets when it comes to speaking out about politics or social issues. While it’s totally arguable that it’s not in a pop star’s job description to be an activist, Taylor Swift has said time and time again that she wants to be politically active.
In her 2019 documentary, “Ms. Americana,” Swift expressed desire to speak out about her political values, and regrets that she hadn’t before. Since then, she’s done little to fulfill this promise. She has not spoken out about the current administration which she publicly criticized years ago, or any other social issue.
This leads me to believe it was all performative and self serving, possibly to align with the political climate of her fanbase back then and promote her brand.
“I kind of wish she’d get a little bit more involved in politics. Especially with the last election she didn’t get as involved as she should have,” sophomore Elizabeth Whitehead said.
While it’s okay to be upset with the way Swift is altering her persona, values and music for now, the reality is that artists are people too, and they are going to change over time.
“I think she’s an artist, and that every artist goes through a journey or an evolution,” Scaffidi said. “I like to see different things come out from different artists, and I appreciate this era.”
