I'm a card-carrying Taylor Swift fan right alongside the rest of young-20s America, but while the love for her and her music is absolutely earned and warranted, the ascension of Taylor Swift to "Infallible Goddess" territory is getting plain annoying.
The following are all, in my brain, non-negotiable statements.
Taylor Swift is unquestionably one of the greatest, if not the greatest, songwriter of our generation. Her suitcase full of classics across three decades puts her right next to Paul McCartney and Elton John when it comes to sustained quality over time. And when I say quality, I mean quality, regardless of what genre she was playing in that year.
Not all of Taylor Swift's songs are great. Some of them feel childish (see "ME!"), and others just aren't super riveting. And, despite what the Twitter brigade might imply, it's okay to admit if you don't like one of her songs. She's not infallible. If there's anything I'll fault Taylor for in her discography, it's her lack of a filter when it comes to album lengths. Many of her albums would be much stronger if two to four weak tracks were cut.
Some men will unfortunately break Taylor's heart. Likewise, Taylor has a right to reflect on that experience in an angsty, emotional, and oftentimes downright brutal song. Us fans have absolutely no role in that exchange. We don't have to immediately begin pointing our pitchforks at whoever it is that broke her heart. Breaking up is a pretty natural part of dating. We can still appreciate a 10-minute version of "All Too Well" without demanding Jake Gyllenhaal's head on a pike.
Taylor Swift's "vault" tracks are usually just, well, decent songs. Let's dispel with this idea that her throwaway tunes are better than most other artists' lead singles. It's just not true. I love that she's using these re-releases to open Pandora's box and let us into her entire songwriting past, but don't be surprised when the "vault" output is only decent with the occasional stand-out tune here and there. In the HIGH majority of cases, songs that are genuinely that incredible aren't put in the vault to begin with.
This re-release project is an amazingly impressive undertaking and proves Taylor Swift is one of the best all-around artists in the world today.
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