# Can someone explain the Taylor Swift phenomenon to me? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [March 19, 2023, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339 "2023-03-19T02:50:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hostility](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hostility](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hostility)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/1 "2023-03-19T02:50:13Z")
She’s been around a pretty long time. We’ve all heard about the concert ticket fiasco last fall. She just started her tour those tickets were for. People are just nuts for her. I’ve listened to some of her music (even watched a fan’s video from the _tour opener concert_), and I just don’t get it. Her songs are very similar to each other, mundane, absolutely no musical innovation or originality. I don’t know any of her lyrics, so perhaps the “stories” she tells in her songs are her secret sauce(?). She seems to have her fans hypnotized, and she’s certainly making a mint in her career. I mean…good for her, but can someone explain what exactly about Taylor Swift _resonates_ with her fans? ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/2 "2023-03-19T02:58:43Z")
Different people like different things ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/3 "2023-03-19T03:03:06Z")
Yup. I really like some of her albums. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/4 "2023-03-19T03:07:03Z")
The key to answering questions like this is: remember I’m not the only sentient creature in the universe. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/5 "2023-03-19T03:08:33Z")
> [@Chingon](#): > > Different people like different things This is a non-answer. The OP, I’m sure, already knows this, and is asking _what_ it is about Taylor Swift that people who like her like. > [@hostility](#): > > can someone explain what exactly about Taylor Swift _resonates_ with her fans? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/6 "2023-03-19T03:12:21Z")
She’s a good songwriter who puts a lot of her personal life into her songs, she first broke big as an early teen (my mother saw her do a free concert at Sea World when Taylor was 13) who was sort of the antithesis of the manufactured bubblegum pop star, and she’s always had a great band and good producers behind her. She’s very intelligent and has done a great job of managing her own career and controlling the rights to her music in a way that many pop stars over the years haven’t been able to, and despite being richer than God at this point she’s managed to maintain that “gosh I’m just a regular girl from Pennsylvania who’s gone through all the same stuff you have” vibe to her. I’m pretty much the antithesis of the typical Taylor Swift fan, but I fell in love with her music when I first heard Love Story on the radio in 2008, and saw her live several times before her shows got too big and expensive for me to shell out for. (I even got close enough to high-five her at one of those shows!) ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/7 "2023-03-19T03:12:51Z")
I didn’t have much regard for her at all until I happened to notice that she has some really clever lyrics. So I listened to odds and ends and it’s pretty good pop music. Of course I am in her target demographic, 70 year old males. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/8 "2023-03-19T03:15:17Z")
> [@hostility](#): > > Her songs are very similar to each other, mundane, absolutely no musical innovation or originality. I don’t know any of her lyrics How do these two things reconcile? You know enough about her songs to determine that they are all “mundane” and “unoriginal” but don’t know any of the actual words to any of them? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/9 "2023-03-19T03:15:26Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > This is a non-answer. The OP, I’m sure, already knows this, and is asking _what_ it is about Taylor Swift that people who like her like. Well, the OP wrote that… > [@hostility](#): > > Her songs are very similar to each other, mundane, absolutely no musical innovation or originality. … and so it seems they’ve listened to her music, and it doesn’t feel like a completely sincere exploratory question. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/10 "2023-03-19T03:17:09Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > This is a non-answer. …not really. Because this: > [@hostility](#): > > can someone explain what exactly about Taylor Swift _resonates_ with her fans? Isn’t really the sum total of the OP. The rest of the OP, which includes lines like “Her songs are very similar to each other, mundane, absolutely no musical innovation or originality” and “She seems to have her fans hypnotized” demonstrates to me that the OP doesn’t _quite_ understand that different people like different things. ---
**Author:** ![hostility](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hostility](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hostility)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/11 "2023-03-19T03:17:18Z")
> You know enough about her songs to determine that they are all “mundane” and “unoriginal” but don’t know any of the actual words to any of them? That’s right. I listen to the music. Not lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/12 "2023-03-19T03:18:04Z")
> [@hostility](#): > > I listen to the music. Not lyrics. Then perhaps you should take ten minutes and actually pay attention to the lyrics of her masterpiece. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/sRxrwjOtIag/maxresdefault.jpg "All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault) (Lyric Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRxrwjOtIag) ---
**Author:** ![hostility](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hostility](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hostility)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/13 "2023-03-19T03:20:24Z")
> Then perhaps you should take ten minutes and actually pay attention to the lyrics of her masterpiece. Nope, don’t care to. Is your point: “Her _lyrics_ are her secret sauce, the key to her enormous popularity?” ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/14 "2023-03-19T03:21:09Z")
> [@hostility](#): > > Nope, don’t care to. If you’re not willing to actually pay attention to one of her songs to find out what people like about her, then I don’t think your question is capable of being answered. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/15 "2023-03-19T03:21:40Z")
> [@hostility](#): > > Nope, don’t care to. “Why do people like this thing and also I’m not interested in learning anything about it.” ---
**Author:** ![hostility](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hostility](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hostility)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/16 "2023-03-19T03:25:05Z")
> “Why do people like this thing and also I’m not interested in learning anything about it.” Q: “Is it her lyrics people like?” A: “ **You must listen to her lyrics!** ” ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/17 "2023-03-19T03:25:51Z")
“I don’t care for this song and also I have no idea how the song goes or what the song is about and am not interested in finding out.” ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/18 "2023-03-19T03:27:31Z")
I feel like ultimately this is just a pitting of (those hypnotized) Taylor Swift fans, and is in the wrong forum. But that aside, I like both the lyrics _and_ the music. The good news is that I hadn’t listened to Folklore in a while, and I am right now, and I’m enjoying it! ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/19 "2023-03-19T03:27:32Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > “I don’t care for this song and also I have no idea how the song goes or what the song is about and am not interested in finding out.” Reminds me of an episode of _Newsradio_: Joe Garrelli : I thought you liked rap. Bill McNeal : I did, but that was before I knew it had words. Catherine Duke : Wait, you didn’t know it had words? Well, why did you think they called rap? Bill McNeal : I thought it was just because of the rhythm. You know, rap-rap, rappity-tap ---
**Author:** ![hostility](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hostility](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hostility)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/20 "2023-03-19T03:28:17Z")
> “I don’t care for this song and also I have no idea how the song goes or what the song is about and am not interested in finding out.” And my original question was “Can someone explain the Taylor Swift phenomenon to me?” You (nor anyone else) has answered my question. Replying with “YoU hAvE tO LiStEn!!!” is an answer to a different question. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339.md?page=2)