Known for her consistent pop hits, stage presence and innumerable fanbase, Taylor Swift has become one of the most influential artists of 21st century pop. By setting the stage for artists like Sabrina Carpenter and Gracie Abrams, Swift has created a legacy that will carry on throughout generations.
However, in the past couple years, Swift has been lacking in originality and authenticity in her music. Her most recent release, The Life of a Showgirl, was a colorless world, empty of any creativity, with lyrics and production that make her 2019 song “Me!” sound palatable. The music magazine Pitchfork even gave her one of their lower reviews of the year at a marginal 5.9 out of 10.
Taylor Swift started out as an upbeat country girl, releasing beautifully written love songs like “Love Story.” Recently, it seems her lyrics have taken a turn for the worse. In her new song, “Eldest Daughter” Swift uses oversimplified language to describe rather emotional thoughts, making the song feel convoluted.
“Every eldest daughter was the first lamb to the slaughter, so we all dressed up as wolves and we looked fire,” wrote Swift. It is hard to understand what messages Swift is trying to convey in this song, and the rather casual descriptor “fire” feels out of line with the rest of the lyrics.
This is not the only example of substandard writing from The Life of a Showgirl. Swift’s song “CANCELLED!” is out of touch, talking about how Swift prefers when her friends are controversial. This song also features empty lyrics. For instance, when she writes “Did you Girl–boss too close to the sun?” Swift again uses language that tries too hard to be trendy, while being two years late too the slang. Not only does this decrease the meaning of the track as a whole, but it reduces the impact of the allusion to Icarus and the sun.
Not only are the lyrics subpar, but the marketing is as well, more specifically, the fact that there is too much of it. Her merchandise website features poorly manufactured sequin shirt dresses selling for over $100 and reselling for over $350. A price that high shows how desperate Swifties are to get their hands on the newest releases and add them to their collections.
Swift is also notorious for releasing many variants of the same album, which some speculate is for profit purposes. Not only does this expensive merchandising feel negative, but it shows the capitalist nature of her music.
Still, what is it about Taylor Swift that keeps these fans coming back, regardless of how poorly constructed her music is? The answer lies in consumerism and a cult–like following who will support anything she does.
The quality of her work doesn’t matter because these fans are buying for the brand, not the content. Her image and stage presence is priceless to fans and keeps her first week copy sales sky high.
However, from a music enthusiast’s point of view, I don’t buy the image. If any other artist produced this quality of work, it would not perform well. However, because of the empire Taylor Swift has built around her career, it seems not even the worst creative decisions can tear her down. Swift has been integral in shaping modern music, but her effort is lacking and her work has deteriorated over time.
As much of an impact she has had, it can confidently be said that Swift needs to revisit some of her older writing and have a serious rebrand.
