# 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:** 49
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/962 "2024-02-10T15:58:10Z")
Google thinks it’s “Half The Man I Used To Be” by Nirvana. Google is apparently wrong. Still a good example of the point about lyrics being a mash. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/963 "2024-02-10T16:25:11Z")
Happily married Taylor would be terrible for the Swift brand, but the divorce, oh the divorce… ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/964 "2024-02-10T17:06:25Z")
It’s like no one realizes that, until recently, Taylor had been quietly in a 6-year apparently happy relationship, during which she released numerous successful albums which contained very few breakup songs, and none of which hurt her brand at all. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/965 "2024-02-10T18:07:39Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > _Out of the Woods_ is supposedly about a snowmobile ride she took with some guy, and they wrecked. “Some guy” in this case was Harry Styles. (Not confirmed, I don’t think, but by all accounts.) Pretty much all of the bitter songs about exes come from her first four albums, and mostly from just Speak Now and Red. And for every one of those in that era there is at least one deeply uncynical song about love (“Our Song”, “Love Story”, “Mine”, etc.) One of my favorites of that era, “Back to December”, is about how great the guy (in this case Taylor Lautner) was and how she was the one who fucked it up. She’s mostly known for that because the “bitter ex” songs happen to be bangers and the exes in question were in many cases other celebrities. As others have pointed out, she was dating the same dude for her last five albums, so there aren’t many breakup songs to be found there. The one coming in April may be a doozy, though. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/966 "2024-02-10T18:52:26Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > Pretty much all of the bitter songs about exes come from her first four albums > (…) > She’s mostly known for that because the “bitter ex” songs happen to be bangers and the exes in question were in many cases other celebrities. May go to the common comment that some people are stuck thinking of the essence of any act’s art as being what work of them was popular when they were on the up slope and those people first were listening. And some other people I suppose just are into the whole “bitter ex” thing and she’s left them wanting more. Now, sure, of course, by now there is a heap of people out there who really only know of _Someone Named Taylor Swift, Entertainment Celebrity whose Media Presence I Can’t Escape_. For them of course it would be hard to explain how we got there since they were not the target demographic of her career rise and were quite happily not paying attention until it became _impossible_ to not pay attention. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/967 "2024-02-10T18:54:59Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > “Some guy” in this case was Harry Styles Yes, it was a joke, probably only funny to me, calling out the subsuming of women by their husbands,’ like “George Clooney’s wife chosen as _Time’s_ woman of the year.” (I know they weren’t married, and I also know it isn’t a terribly originally call out, with such obvious lines as “Swift’s boyfriend has big game coming up” bouncing around.) ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/968 "2024-02-10T20:48:44Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > Yes, it was a joke, probably only funny to me Yeah, I should have realized that. In fact, the Super Bowl party I’m attending is titled “Taylor’s Boyfriend vs. Some Other Guys” in the FB invite. Thinking more about the “bitter ex” thing (and not calling anyone out, just a thought)…even if Taylor did mostly write bitter songs about her exes, so what? No one ever asks why all of AC/DC’s songs are about women they want to bang, or if Jimmy Buffett ever writes about anything but getting drunk in tropical locations, or complains that all of Bob Seger’s songs are about how hard his dick used to get. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/969 "2024-02-10T20:56:04Z")
Taylor’s boyfriend’s girlfriend is on the way to his game, callsign _The Football Era_. > **[Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map | Flightradar24](https://www.flightradar24.com/VJT993/33f1c5ed)** > > View flight VJT993 from Tokyo to Los Angeles on Flightradar24 ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/970 "2024-02-10T22:02:42Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Taylor’s boyfriend’s girlfriend is on the way to his game, callsign _The Football Era_. Godspeed, Great American Hero! ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/971 "2024-02-10T22:08:22Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I would have thought it was totally standard to promote yourself and your work a bit when you have that spotlight. “I would like to thank God, my parents, and football. T-shirts available in the lobby.” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/972 "2024-02-10T22:12:13Z")
That answers the question of where she is going to park. LAX then limo to Vegas. She’ll be there by midnight. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/973 "2024-02-10T22:26:22Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > That answers the question of where she is going to park. LAX then limo to Vegas. She’ll be there by midnight Parachute onto the field, or lowered down by helicopter à la Lady Gaga. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/974 "2024-02-10T23:43:47Z")
Honestly, I didn’t know who Kelce was until Taylor dated him, so I don’t think she’s > [@Irishman](#): > > You also suggest that choosing a 2 time Superbowl winner for a boyfriend was done to increase her profile, and that she could be dating a lower profile person. Honestly, I think it increased his profile rather than the other way around. I am somewhat embarrassed to admit this, but I had no clue who he was until Taylor started dating him. I pretty much only follow the NFC, but clearly casually. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/975 "2024-02-10T23:53:12Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I had no clue who he was until Taylor started dating him He said he showed up at one of her concerts and couldn’t get backstage to meet her, so she probably didn’t know who he was until she started dating him. ---
**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:** [February 11, 2024, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/976 "2024-02-11T00:26:31Z")
Right Taylor was and is much much higher profile than Travis and that’s no shade on him. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2024, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/977 "2024-02-11T00:44:46Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > It’s important to note that celebrity is not entirely a personal choice. Taylor Swift will get attention no matter what she does, because media makes money selling “news” of her. She can’t withdraw completely from the public because she wants to perform concerts. And that generates enough interest in her that media will always publish about her. yep - its the media … at a certain moment it becomes a self-fulfilling-prophecy … and honestly - it is the very same underlying mechanics that made DT president … having card-blanche to appear 24/7 in the media … of course DT instrumentalized that way more by playing that instrument to perfection by being the obnoxious pompous idjat that he is. The media hated him, but at the same time they loved the clicks he brought them - and ultimately they were the king-makers. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2024, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/978 "2024-02-11T00:57:12Z")
NORAD will be tracking her plane from Japan as if it were Santa Claus’ sleigh going over the North Pole on Christams Eve. Will she make it in time? There is rumored to be a football game the same day! ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2024, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/979 "2024-02-11T01:07:25Z")
According to **Riemman** ’s linked tracker up a few posts ahead, as I started to type this she was already on final into LAX. ETA correction: she was already at the FBO – the overlay of flights made it look like hers was still coming in but it’s just the tracks of the others coming in over where she is. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2024, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/980 "2024-02-11T01:13:42Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Honestly, I think it increased his profile rather than the other way around. I am somewhat embarrassed to admit this, but I had no clue who he was until Taylor started dating him. I pretty much only follow the NFC, but clearly casually. To be fair, Kelce is one of the best tight ends of his generation: he’s been named All-Pro four times (and second-team All-Pro another three times), and was named to the league’s All-Decade team for the 2010s. At a position (tight end) where his career has overlapped with several other outstanding players (Gronkowski, Kittle), it’s been an impressive career for him. Even so, his level of fame is absolutely several orders of magnitude below Swift’s. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2024, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/981 "2024-02-11T01:15:18Z")
That’s why I say I’m embarrassed to admit it. I should have known all that. I learned it after he started dating Taylor. I just pay zero attention to anything happening on the AFC side of things. (Well, okay, I should know better, as we’re also a Bills family here now, so I need to study up. I just make the wings and the occasional beef-on-weck come football night and cheer on Allen, Diggs, and co.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339.md?page=48) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339.md?page=50)