For all the “haters gonna hate hate hate hate” with the Time mag accolade it’s clear T Swift is significant -- even if the evidence of her impact on the economy wasn’t enough of a reason for a piece a few month ago.
If you need more of a justification, check out some of the alt right (Loomer for eg) who believe TS is part of a larger plot to steal the upcoming election from Trump once again.
Or, her cover photos on the Time magazine that got some of the Trad men foaming at the mouth for TS being, gasp, held up as an example since she is a “promiscuous, single, old woman that lives with a cat.” Seriously it made me cackle out loud. And I’m married to a man with child FYI.
Anyway, she will just shake it off because she’s a mastermind. ❤️
Just came to say that "All Too Well" is hardly about a scarf. It is about Taylor's brief relationship with Jake Gyllenhall. The scarf is merely part of the narrative.
Clever to use a Taylor Swift essay on a college application. Brown likely thought you were part of the 40% of its student body that does not identify as heterosexual. 😊
Glad you enjoyed the show and appreciate Taylor. Saw the Phoenix show with my 27 year old daughter. Best three hours of the year. Best four minutes was dancing to "Shake It Off" with her. I am actually a bigger Swiftie than her.
Good luck with your next journalism position. Tough field.
as soon as i saw “taylor swift got me into brown university” i popped open a can of coors, burned all my books, and moved to montana to cleanse myself from the self congratulatory smugness of a modern ivy leaguer. my hope is to continue the trend and make the ivy league undesirable and pariahs. as soon as i see a columbia or brown or yale application on my desk-i throw it away. more trouble than they are worth tbh. give me an ohio state or rutgers grad who act like real people and are smart or smarter.
It is very creepy. The whole article was a worship piece devoted to Taylor Swift. Many of the comments are the same. I haven’t distorted anything. Allowing ourselves to become obsessed with famous people is a huge problem and it distorts our ability to see clearly and think rationally. It leads us away from God. I don’t know what you mean by frequency being divine, but I certainly do not see anything here that could be described as divine.
This. All humans - even the best among us - are somewhat mediocre and flawed and none deserve hagiographies such as this. Hero worship is yet another thing that the earliest literate members of the species were able to discern to be 'problematic.' Manias come and go - people who look great one day turn out to be less than that after a while.
The problem even manifests itself in these comments. Those who love Swift can brook no criticism of her music - even though Mozart, it ain't. Those who don't care for Swift feel the need to be petty and criticize not only the singer, but also her fans.
The truth is that Swift is popular because of a number of confluent societal factors - including her age, looks and skin color - just like Elvis and the Beatles were. Her music is less of the overriding attraction. She plays the celebrity game well - self deprecating enough to seem 'normal,' over the top enough to be larger than life.
Will these people still be paying to hear 'Lavender Haze' 30 years from now? Will her detractors ever come to grips with the fact that just because you don't like something that many other people do doesn't mean you're better or superior? I feel somewhat sorry for Swift. There is no way that the rest of her life will live up to this type of treatment. Look at what is going on with Madonna - or what happened with Kurt Cobain. Then again, she courts this attention - and doesn't turn down the money. So - if this story doesn't have a happy ending like some of her songs... oh well. Them's the breaks.
Someone may have already noted this, but the $160 million per night figure is an economic impact estimate, not a ticket sales or event revenue number. Also, the $860 minimum ticket price seems to imply an unrealistic total--say the average price is $1,000 and the number of tickets at SoFi is 60,000. This would result in total gross ticket revenue of $60 million per night for eight nights or $480 million total--just for LA and not counting any of the revenue from souvenirs, clothing items, etc. etc. at these concerts. Of course, Taylor Swift (or whatever legal entity is her financial avatar) doesn't get the whole gross--there are major costs and lots of people to pay to put on these spectacles.
Wow. I’m an opera conductor with a doctorate from a prestigious conservatory. I don’t pay a lot of attention to pop music. (Music is critical, hard mental work, it’s difficult to shift gears and just have visceral fun with a hook and a beat). But this article filled me with sympathetic joy, partaking a little in the author’s exuberance. I can’t imagine spending that much $ on a concert! But maybe I need to see what all the fuss is about.
While working at the Salzburg Festspiel (pinnacle of classical music festivals) with an all-star cast, we found ourselves on a rehearsal break sharing videos clips of our favorite historical singers. Suddenly the Italian bass-baritone (ostensibly the biggest star in the cast) interrupted and said, excuse me--THIS is greatness: and played us the video of Shake It Off. He knew all the dance moves. He was right. The catchiness was genius. The attitude was contagious and positive.
I find myself once again thinking I should explore what makes this artist tick.
For all the “haters gonna hate hate hate hate” with the Time mag accolade it’s clear T Swift is significant -- even if the evidence of her impact on the economy wasn’t enough of a reason for a piece a few month ago.
If you need more of a justification, check out some of the alt right (Loomer for eg) who believe TS is part of a larger plot to steal the upcoming election from Trump once again.
Or, her cover photos on the Time magazine that got some of the Trad men foaming at the mouth for TS being, gasp, held up as an example since she is a “promiscuous, single, old woman that lives with a cat.” Seriously it made me cackle out loud. And I’m married to a man with child FYI.
Anyway, she will just shake it off because she’s a mastermind. ❤️
Evan Gardner is one heck of a writer.
I went to the Eras Tour in Los Angeles and had the best time. It was such a fun and positive atmosphere. We need more of that!
I love TS songs and she seems like a good human but I would not spend hundreds of $ on a concert. Just goes to show how easily humans are influenced.
Just came to say that "All Too Well" is hardly about a scarf. It is about Taylor's brief relationship with Jake Gyllenhall. The scarf is merely part of the narrative.
Clever to use a Taylor Swift essay on a college application. Brown likely thought you were part of the 40% of its student body that does not identify as heterosexual. 😊
Glad you enjoyed the show and appreciate Taylor. Saw the Phoenix show with my 27 year old daughter. Best three hours of the year. Best four minutes was dancing to "Shake It Off" with her. I am actually a bigger Swiftie than her.
Good luck with your next journalism position. Tough field.
I'm not part of this crowd, but I love that it exists. Fun read. Thanks.
Where do I sign up to be a curmudgeon? I heard there was a line but can't find it...
Also having read the comments I had no idea Swifty was so polarizing.... Lol....
{sarcasm said with a deep respect as if having a gun pointed at my head...}
....doesn't say too much for Brown University...not exactly a den of intellectualism
...I rather like the current meme of Taylor making the rounds: "She makes millions singing about her bad choices in men ...and endorses Joe Biden". 🤪
as soon as i saw “taylor swift got me into brown university” i popped open a can of coors, burned all my books, and moved to montana to cleanse myself from the self congratulatory smugness of a modern ivy leaguer. my hope is to continue the trend and make the ivy league undesirable and pariahs. as soon as i see a columbia or brown or yale application on my desk-i throw it away. more trouble than they are worth tbh. give me an ohio state or rutgers grad who act like real people and are smart or smarter.
Well you seem pretty knowledgeable huh? Yes, that's the origin.
And my wife and kids say thanks, he's always that way:)
It is very creepy. The whole article was a worship piece devoted to Taylor Swift. Many of the comments are the same. I haven’t distorted anything. Allowing ourselves to become obsessed with famous people is a huge problem and it distorts our ability to see clearly and think rationally. It leads us away from God. I don’t know what you mean by frequency being divine, but I certainly do not see anything here that could be described as divine.
This. All humans - even the best among us - are somewhat mediocre and flawed and none deserve hagiographies such as this. Hero worship is yet another thing that the earliest literate members of the species were able to discern to be 'problematic.' Manias come and go - people who look great one day turn out to be less than that after a while.
The problem even manifests itself in these comments. Those who love Swift can brook no criticism of her music - even though Mozart, it ain't. Those who don't care for Swift feel the need to be petty and criticize not only the singer, but also her fans.
The truth is that Swift is popular because of a number of confluent societal factors - including her age, looks and skin color - just like Elvis and the Beatles were. Her music is less of the overriding attraction. She plays the celebrity game well - self deprecating enough to seem 'normal,' over the top enough to be larger than life.
Will these people still be paying to hear 'Lavender Haze' 30 years from now? Will her detractors ever come to grips with the fact that just because you don't like something that many other people do doesn't mean you're better or superior? I feel somewhat sorry for Swift. There is no way that the rest of her life will live up to this type of treatment. Look at what is going on with Madonna - or what happened with Kurt Cobain. Then again, she courts this attention - and doesn't turn down the money. So - if this story doesn't have a happy ending like some of her songs... oh well. Them's the breaks.
Someone may have already noted this, but the $160 million per night figure is an economic impact estimate, not a ticket sales or event revenue number. Also, the $860 minimum ticket price seems to imply an unrealistic total--say the average price is $1,000 and the number of tickets at SoFi is 60,000. This would result in total gross ticket revenue of $60 million per night for eight nights or $480 million total--just for LA and not counting any of the revenue from souvenirs, clothing items, etc. etc. at these concerts. Of course, Taylor Swift (or whatever legal entity is her financial avatar) doesn't get the whole gross--there are major costs and lots of people to pay to put on these spectacles.
I'm not a huge Swift fan, but exile with Bon Iver is amazing.
The girl that sings about her poor choices in men and then demands everyone vote for Biden.........
Wow. I’m an opera conductor with a doctorate from a prestigious conservatory. I don’t pay a lot of attention to pop music. (Music is critical, hard mental work, it’s difficult to shift gears and just have visceral fun with a hook and a beat). But this article filled me with sympathetic joy, partaking a little in the author’s exuberance. I can’t imagine spending that much $ on a concert! But maybe I need to see what all the fuss is about.
While working at the Salzburg Festspiel (pinnacle of classical music festivals) with an all-star cast, we found ourselves on a rehearsal break sharing videos clips of our favorite historical singers. Suddenly the Italian bass-baritone (ostensibly the biggest star in the cast) interrupted and said, excuse me--THIS is greatness: and played us the video of Shake It Off. He knew all the dance moves. He was right. The catchiness was genius. The attitude was contagious and positive.
I find myself once again thinking I should explore what makes this artist tick.
Good article. The first caption has a repeat "the" in it.