Can someone please explain the Taylor Swift thing to me

[MrSquished]

Don't know a single one of her songs and the couple times someone told me this is a TS song playing now, it wasn't my thing. But I respect her talent and her passion. She does play instruments well, writes music and songs. She isn't just some puppet. And she seems to be a pretty good person from what we can tell in these types of situations. She spent 22 million of her own bucks this last tour on giving the concert staff and truckers big bonuses. That's just what we have heard of over the years. She is also for fighting the evil of the GQP in very small ways - urging Tenneseans to vote out the filth that is Marsha Blackburn, and now by simply asking voters to get involved by registering, she has pissed off the right. Gotta give respect to that. I give her props for where she is. She doesn't seem to be doing anything shady or malicious or exploitative to get where she is, and in fact is willing to touch upon a few touchy things these days even though it could cost her fans, just to do what is right.

 

[WelshBloke]

Don't know a single one of her songs and the couple times someone told me this is a TS song playing now, it wasn't my thing.

I was talking to one of the girls at work about her and they were saying that she has a back catalogue of like 250 songs! Just a quick check on Spotify says that's in the ballpark. That's ridiculous for someone in their early 30s!

Admittedly all those songs are either about her meeting a boyfriend or splitting up from a boyfriend but still...

 

[Zeze]

My 43 year old guy friend is a metal head and shreds on his guitar.

And he's a total Swifty. This dude eats it all up - the merch, the 'diaries of Tay', the poster, the works.

 

[Zeze]

She can sing?


Who cares?

I actually find 'uglier' girls than her to be prettier than her.

Her face kind of looks like a rat or a squirrel. That red background pic's face doesn't help her case. She's lanky and slender. I prefer more curves.

 

[lxskllr]

Sometimes she looks pretty cute, and other times not so much. In any case, that's the least important criteria for a musician.

 

[Ns1]

One of the ways I judge, 30 years from now will anyone be playing any Taylor Swift song?

Her first album is already 17 years old

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Sometimes she looks pretty cute, and other times not so much. In any case, that's the least important criteria for a musician.

But one of the most important for a PopStar.

 

[QueBert]

Sometimes she looks pretty cute, and other times not so much. In any case, that's the least important criteria for a musician.

There are not too many musicians anymore, with the introduction of videos MTV started the trend of looks being important. And the internet took it many levels up. When I was a child in the late 70's and early 80's I loved music and outside of Kiss I had no idea what anyone I listened to looked like. Hell, I listened to rap for a solid 3 years before I even knew it was "black music" because I hadn't actually ever seen a rapper lol. I miss the pre MTV and internet days. The music was so much better.

If it was about musicianship today Taylor wouldn't make it.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Is she a musician? Does she play any instruments? Write music?

Or is she a singer/entertainer/performer? I guess she writes lyrics, but who sets them to music?

 

[mikeymikec]

But one of the most important for a PopStar.

I feel tainted liking this post because I think the pop industry is absolutely toxic particularly in this respect, but facts are facts in terms of how the industry operates.

 

[Torn Mind]

I didn't know torn mind was such a music afficianado/wizard

I was impressionable even as a kid. However, I am not bound "to the times" I grew up in. I remember in summer camp the driver's radio would vary. So I got a dose of both American Pie and The Boy Is Mine. Both were latently seared into my memory and even to this day, they both earned their place as chart-toppers.

The major can opener for some serious infatuation with music would started with playing a piano reduction of Beethoven's 5th in middle school.

I studied mozart's 12th(mvt. 3), 8th(mvt. 1), and 17th Piano concertos(mvt.1). The 12th and 17th would prove impactful later in life but I would not realize how.

Also, I did listen many hour to the Mozart operas La Clemenza di Tito, Cosi fan Tutte, Don Giovanni, and Marriage of Figaro. The Marriage of Figaro is the best and most "natural" of his operas. Not a truly dull moment, lots of comedy, and jabs at some of the nobility.

Those GM commericials featuring Eminence Front would also be a big deal to me, as that track is something I sometimes fell into listening to unceasingly.

In 2017, I bought a complete set of Beethoven's works. So that's how I came across less well-known music by him, such as "Ich Denke Dein" or the Waldstein variations(not the Waldstein sonata). Another thing I learned is that arranging music is also not a trivial task and more than just copying notes from one instrument to another. It is a true "reconceptualization" and requires more than mere copying to make a good one.

Favorite singer not boosted by songwriting? I would probably answer Belinda Carlisle. Judith Blegen is the best Susanna for the marriage of Figaro.

2019 would introduce me to Belinda Carlisle, Old Town Road, and Olivia Newton-John. Old Town Road would spawn a derivative video that would lead me to JoJo(Joanna Levesque) and that's why would eventually get to Mariah Carey in late December2021.

 

[QueBert]

Is she a musician? Does she play any instruments? Write music?

Or is she a singer/entertainer/performer? I guess she writes lyrics, but who sets them to music?

I had to google to see, I watched a video of her playing the banjo, a guitar and a piano. It's like Prince & Alicia Keys had a child together, but the child only inherited a small amount of their musical abilities. The way she looked playing them I can't imagine she writes the music. Pretty sure I could watch guitar lesson videos on YT and with 2 months of practice play like she does.

IMHO she plays exactly like I'd expect a popstar who isn't a musician would play, so what I said wasn't meant to be overly harsh as she doesn't push herself as a musician.

 

[nakedfrog]

I had to google to see, I watched a video of her playing the banjo, a guitar and a piano. It's like Prince & Alicia Keys had a child together, but the child only inherited a small amount of their musical abilities. The way she looked playing them I can't imagine she writes the music. Pretty sure I could watch guitar lesson videos on YT and with 2 months of practice play like she does.

IMHO she plays exactly like I'd expect a popstar who isn't a musician would play, so what I said wasn't meant to be overly harsh as she doesn't push herself as a musician.

I'll bet not. Maybe, if you have a natural affinity and practice a lot. I'm not saying she's a super-proficient player, but it does take a bit of effort to have the level of competence she does, especially while singing. Probably more like 1-2 years.
I don't think she actually plays banjo, I was curious so I did a quick search and I do see her playing a banjitar/six-string banjo. That's not actually a banjo, it's just a guitar made like a banjo. I have one. I'm also currently learning the actual five-string banjo (different tuning, chord shapes, and right-hand technique). But she is a songwriter, and learned to play guitar before she was famous.

 

[Ns1]

delete.

 

[Torn Mind]

I had to google to see, I watched a video of her playing the banjo, a guitar and a piano. It's like Prince & Alicia Keys had a child together, but the child only inherited a small amount of their musical abilities. The way she looked playing them I can't imagine she writes the music. Pretty sure I could watch guitar lesson videos on YT and with 2 months of practice play like she does.

IMHO she plays exactly like I'd expect a popstar who isn't a musician would play, so what I said wasn't meant to be overly harsh as she doesn't push herself as a musician.

I'll bet not. Maybe, if you have a natural affinity and practice a lot. I'm not saying she's a super-proficient player, but it does take a bit of effort to have the level of competence she does, especially while singing. Probably more like 1-2 years.
I don't think she actually plays banjo, I was curious so I did a quick search and I do see her playing a banjitar/six-string banjo. That's not actually a banjo, it's just a guitar made like a banjo. I have one. I'm also currently learning the actual five-string banjo (different tuning, chord shapes, and right-hand technique). But she is a songwriter, and learned to play guitar before she was famous.

Seems like her playing more advanced than people presume based on whatever presumptions they hold.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Seems like her playing more advanced than people presume based on whatever presumptions they hold.

A lot of pop musicians are actually extremely talented, they just get those talents hidden behind the moneymaking apparatus.

I would hope this video would have been seen by enough people that it's old news at this point, but just in case.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Yep, good art and good business very often do not cross paths.

 

[Torn Mind]

A lot of pop musicians are actually extremely talented, they just get those talents hidden behind the moneymaking apparatus.

I would hope this video would have been seen by enough people that it's old news at this point, but just in case.

There is a lot of presumption that women can't do shit musically. And more general presumptions about music that might prejudice someone's perception.

One, there is the presumption that mild-mannered songs are inherently "easier".
Two, that a lack of key changes equals lack of skill. Rick Beato is just one of many simpletons who get caught up waay too much in judging key changes. Yes, someone wanders into distant keys can be a genius but just because the music doesn't do that does not mean it is not musical.
Three, Autotune's presence is an auto-disqualification of musician.

Regarding presumptions against women, here are a couple:
1. The more sexed up their image, the less skilled they are
2. If there is a male producer, he's actual writer
3. The more "teenage girly" the voice, the less serious she is taken as a "musician".


Olivia Newton-John is freaky agile and easily projects when she sings. Landslide is the song shows the limits she can reach. But Hopelessly Devoted to You is not easy even if it is mellow-mooded.

That's not to say that sometimes, untalented people get a push because they look marketable, but determining legitmate talent is not simple. JLo got a lot of push and also "stole" one of Mariah Carey's ideas to make it big.

 

[Zeze]

I didn't even read anything but I'll spew my unsolicited opinion on Taylor Swift and pop artists in general.

• I generally don't care for her, but I really like her hit catchy songs. Shake It Off is just an S tier song for everyone. Amazing message too.
• She's does not have a great vocal prowess. She can't do that crucial vibrato or belting (pulsating pitch changing). But then not every pop artist needs to be an amazing singer I guess.
• She IS a superstar though. If you must compare, Lady Gaga is all pop yet can really sing and carry a duet with Tony Bennett.

 

[HomerJS]

I didn't even read anything but I'll spew my unsolicited opinion on Taylor Swift and pop artists in general.

• I generally don't care for her, but I really like her hit catchy songs. Shake It Off is just an S tier song for everyone. Amazing message too.
• She's does not have a great vocal prowess. She can't do that crucial vibrato or belting (pulsating pitch changing). But then not every pop artist needs to be an amazing singer I guess.
• She IS a superstar though. If you must compare, Lady Gaga is all pop yet can really sing and carry a duet with Tony Bennett.

I would say Lady Gaga and Alicia Keys are in the same league. Both have serious musical chops.

Both IMO > Taylor Swift

 

[Zeze]

I would say Lady Gaga and Alicia Keys are in the same league. Both have serious musical chops.

Both IMO > Taylor Swift

Sounds about right in terms of vocal prowess.

Alicia is kind of a nobody today out of the three though.

 

[HomerJS]

A lot of pop musicians are actually extremely talented, they just get those talents hidden behind the moneymaking apparatus.

I would hope this video would have been seen by enough people that it's old news at this point, but just in case.

She can play in heels proves what? Check this out.

 

[Hans Gruber]

She can play in heels proves what? Check this out.

Prince was a weird dude. He was basically like a band director. He could play every instrument in all of his songs. I have heard that all of his studio mixes featured Prince playing every part of his songs.

 

[QueBert]

She can play in heels proves what? Check this out.

Unfair, even though I dislike Taylor, Prince was like a 1 in a billion cyborg of a human. Put any musician up against him and with only a few exceptions they'll all fail. I remember seeing an interview with Shelia E and Fred White and both said Prince was as good on the drums as he was on the guitar. And both are well respected drummers. And he was probably as good, if not better than most musicians on whatever instrument you named. The story is he played all the instruments on his debut, which was 27 according to t3h g00gl3s. Now I'm sure 75% of those were variations of others, but still damn impressive.

 

[Hans Gruber]

Unfair, even though I dislike Taylor, Prince was like a 1 in a billion cyborg of a human. Put any musician up against him and with only a few exceptions they'll all fail. I remember seeing an interview with Shelia E and Fred White and both said Prince was as good on the drums as he was on the guitar. And both are well respected drummers. And he was probably as good, if not better than most musicians on whatever instrument you named. The story is he played all the instruments on his debut, which was 27 according to t3h g00gl3s. Now I'm sure 75% of those were variations of others, but still damn impressive.

There are videos of Prince starting out with the guitar, moving to the keyboards and then playing the drums and whatever is on the stage. Then going back to the guitar in the same song while doing the vocals. He had his own music studio at his house and he played every instrument in his songs.