The student news site of Benilde-St. Margaret's School in St. Louis Park, MN

Knight Errant

The student news site of Benilde-St. Margaret's School in St. Louis Park, MN

Knight Errant

The student news site of Benilde-St. Margaret's School in St. Louis Park, MN

Knight Errant

Taylor Swift: overhyped

I will never ever-ever be a Taylor Swift fan. Like, ever. She’s a beautiful girl who has worked hard for her success, but I cannot stand one more song about her hapless romances that all end in shaming her exes and rivals. Whether it be a 27-second-over-the-phone breakup with Joe Jonas, or the infamous Kanye West incident at the 2009 VMA’s (which apparently she just can’t get over), the 22-year-old Grammy winner seems more like one of her fans: a hormonal 13-year-old.

I’ve never been a fan of country music, but I do know that Taylor’s country twang gave her some distinction in a world full of pop-music clones. Yet her new album “Red” strayed away from her country roots and experimented with a more cookie-cutter sound. This new pop/alternative rhythm manages to make most of her redundant, miserable sob stories sound like generic, whiny pop songs, and makes me feel even less sympathetic towards her unfortunate relationships than I already was.

Taylor has become known for her honest and vindictive songs about her past relationships. Some girls find this relatable; I find it conniving. Her lack of shame for airing out other’s dirty laundry is perplexing, and her new album just continues her bitter indecisiveness and ex-boyfriend shaming in an even less articulate manner than her previous albums.

No matter what album Swift sings, her love of playing victim has been undying. She’s had a few notable songs in the past, such as “Fifteen,” that have been insightful and relatable to young girls, her target audience. But Swift’s on an emotional roller coaster, and she’s throwing blame on everyone except herself. This doesn’t set a good example for her young, impressionable female audience because it’s not a valid representation of young women. Not all of us are indignant and irritated over every little failed social encounter. Women should learn to be strong and move on, as opposed to being spiteful to those who try to make them weak.

Perplexingly enough, the country starlet has sold millions of albums, yet she can’t sing. Her vocal range is that of Nicolas Cage. I’m not saying she’s flat-out awful; I’m just saying that her voice is unbearably boring. A majority of her songs consist of her monotone voice repeating the same hooks over and over again loudly, but sometimes she switches it up for an unpleasant whale-like whisper. Some people seem to enjoy this monotonous noise, but it’s obvious that her music lacks vocal variation or any type of creativity that would result in mental stimulation.

I’ll admit that I enjoyed a few of the songs off of “Red” and that I may or may not have even jammed out to “I Knew You Were Trouble,” but Taylor’s boyfriend bashing is uncalled for and frankly becoming excessive. I can understand why she may have relationship troubles though. If I was dating Taylor Swift, I would feel threatened that she may write an unnecessarily slanderous song about me too.

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The student news site of Benilde-St. Margaret's School in St. Louis Park, MN
Taylor Swift: overhyped