# 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:** 51
**Author:** ![nicky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f0a364/32.png) [@nicky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nicky)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/1002 "2024-02-12T08:33:55Z")
Meh, people like pop music, then random chance and the network effect can push one lucky star into hypersuccess. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/1003 "2024-02-12T20:49:47Z")
I had to share this Onion article, as it made me giggle: > **[Depressed Taylor Swift Going To Miss Being In The Spotlight Now That Super...](https://www.theonion.com/depressed-taylor-swift-going-to-miss-being-in-the-spotl-1851248869)** > > NEW YORK—Realizing her 15 minutes of fame had come to an abrupt end, a depressed Taylor Swift told reporters Monday that she was going to miss being in the spotlight now that the Super Bowl was over. “I guess it’s just me and my cats now that the big... ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/1004 "2024-02-12T22:39:43Z")
I like the take demonstrated by the Cetaphil Superbowl ad. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/LogewA_yYw8/maxresdefault.jpg "Cetaphil "Dads and Daughters" Super Bowl LVIII (58) 2024 Commercial") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LogewA_yYw8) Dad found a way to get his daughter to spend more time with him and show her something he enjoys. Bonding over football and Tay-tay. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/1005 "2024-02-12T22:57:27Z")
No! I’m not crying! I was…cutting an onion or something. Sincerely, Father of a teenage daughter. ---
**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 13, 2024, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/1006 "2024-02-13T03:44:33Z")
Gizmodo had an [article of AI generated Super Bowl images](https://gizmodo.com/super-bowl-lviii-58-football-ai-deepfakes-1851249522) next to the real images. I’m not sure why they did that, but I liked this Taylor Swift deepfake: [![](https://i.kinja-img.com/image/upload/c_fit,q_60,w_645/eb41304f053511f4ffbd3756371620af.jpg) ](https://i.kinja-img.com/image/upload/c_fit,q_60,w_645/eb41304f053511f4ffbd3756371620af.jpg) ---
**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:** [February 13, 2024, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/1007 "2024-02-13T04:02:33Z")
Taylor’s looking awfully ripped in the one on the left, but Kelce’s arm on the right looks like he might be suffering from some sort of severe wasting disorder. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2024, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/1008 "2024-02-17T15:31:11Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, that’s a really fucking weird take. I mean, you know, the broadcasters could choose not to show her, too. Obviously that’s physically possible but don’t think that’s true in the commercial sense. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/1009 "2024-02-18T00:04:48Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Then I guess we have to address the elephant in the room, the Shakespeare acrimony. I just realized what you meant by this post, that’s funny. Call me slow. _No_ acrimony towards Shakespeare. My username is based on a story in a later edition of 1970’s “Ball Four”, the first tell-all sports book. Author Jim Bouton was the most hated man in baseball for revealing the secrets that ballplayers had been keeping from the public (and their wives). Pete Rose expressed his disapproval of Bouton’s literary efforts, as the latter warmed up on the mound: “F\*CK YOU, SHAKESPEARE!” ---
**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 18, 2024, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/1010 "2024-02-18T01:24:09Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > Pete Rose expressed his disapproval of Bouton’s literary efforts, as the latter warmed up on the mound: “F\*CK YOU, SHAKESPEARE!” If you like creative insults, I’m sure you’re aware of the rich tradition of “sledging” in cricket, but have you seen the TV series VEEP? I never saw it when it first aired, I but binged watched it a few years ago and the writing on that show is the apotheosis of absurdist abuse. A couple of my personal favorites: “You’re not even a man, you’re like an early draft of a man where they just sketched out a giant mangled skeleton but they didn’t have time to add details like pigment or self-respect.” One very unfit man to another very unfit man while jogging: “You move as slowly as a Mississippi detective investigating the murder of a young Black man.” Here are all the insults in just the first 4 seasons one after the other. Don’t miss the part right at the end where all the Jonah insults are read off deadpan into the record at a Congressional hearing for some reason I can’t remember. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/iOxa4S6mIHg/maxresdefault.jpg "ALL THE BEST VEEP INSULTS VOL I SEASONS 1-4") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOxa4S6mIHg) ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/1011 "2024-02-19T01:26:18Z")
I just heard a story that’s relevant, but it’s a bit long. This is not a joke, but something that happened, though I’m getting it third- hand. Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) was at a big party with a bunch of celebrities. Paul McCartney gets on piano and sings some songs to the delight of the crowd. When he’s done, the audience start calling for Grohl to play something. Now he doesn’t play piano, and plays a lefty guitar, so odds of having an instrument he can play are low, and he’s a bit drunk, so he’s thinking “How can I politely say no? How do I deal with this?” Then Taylor Swift pops up and says she will play, and he’s thinking, “Thank you, Taylor. Wait, that song she’s playing is familiar. Hey, that’s my song!” And so he’s able to sing along and satisfy the crowd despite the obstacles he thought would prevent him. Now a lot of artists could have stepped in to play next, but most would have played their own stuff. And if he’d made an open call someone might have offered to play for him. But Taylor did it without him having to request it. It was a considerate thing, and she just did it. That’s who she is. ---
**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 19, 2024, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/1012 "2024-02-19T01:35:25Z")
Here’s the story (I found it because I was confused as Dave plays a normal righty guitar) > **[Dave Grohl Recalls That Time Taylor Swift Saved Him from Embarrassing Himself...](https://relix.com/blogs/detail/dave_grohl_recalls_that_time_taylor_swift_saved_him_from_embarrassing_himself_in_front_of_paul_mccartney/)** > > Dave Grohl owes a lot to Taylor Swift, as it turns out. One night at a party hosted by Paul McCartney, Grohl found himself "super high" and being urged to ---
**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 19, 2024, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/1013 "2024-02-19T01:49:55Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I was confused as Dave plays a normal righty guitar That confused me, too, so thank you for finding the article, which clarified the lefty guitar thing (i.e., Grohl wouldn’t have been able to play McCartney’s left-handed guitars). ---
**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 19, 2024, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/1014 "2024-02-19T02:49:55Z")
or McCartney’s left handed piano … ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/1015 "2024-02-19T02:54:56Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > or McCartney’s left handed piano … ⁢ Can you imagine a backwards piano, with the higher notes on the left? It would be like playing inside the Tiktok dimension (because videos on Tiktok tend to use face cams, which tend to flip the image, like a mirror) ---
**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 19, 2024, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/1016 "2024-02-19T03:04:53Z")
sounds weired, doesnt it? … but then again you have “lefty” drum kits … ---
**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 19, 2024, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/1017 "2024-02-19T04:11:34Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Can you imagine a backwards piano, with the higher notes on the left? It exists. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/uIgO4LqvU-0/maxresdefault.jpg "Left-Handed Piano") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIgO4LqvU-0) ---
**Author:** ![ColdBrew50](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9a140/32.png) [@ColdBrew50](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdBrew50)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/1018 "2024-02-19T10:23:46Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Can you imagine a backwards piano, with the higher notes on the left? It would be like playing inside the Tiktok dimension Yeah, actually. I’ve done it with a simple MIDI conversion inside a DAW. For some odd reason, I seem to remember Joe Zawinul played around with a synth he had set up that way…no cite, perhaps an hallucination on my part, but it sounds true. Actually, kind of a neat sound…the symmetry of the keyboard sort of guarantees that at least something resembling music will emerge, I suppose. And it’s not that difficult to wrap one’s head around while playing. A fun stunt, I suppose. But no way in hell is anybody playing a righty guitar just flipped around and not sounding like hot garbage. (Not without years of practicing, anyway). There have been studies performed! By which I mean, highly capable guitarists tried it and have failed most shamefully. ---
**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 19, 2024, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/1019 "2024-02-19T10:27:58Z")
a moment where muscle memory def. is fighting you … ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/1020 "2024-02-19T12:26:03Z")
Nevermind (heh heh). ---
**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:** [February 19, 2024, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/1021 "2024-02-19T12:50:02Z")
> [@ColdBrew50](#): > > There have been studies performed! By which I mean, highly capable guitarists tried it and have failed most shamefully. Actual studies? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339.md?page=50) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339.md?page=52)