Shake it Off( Or my shameless Love of Taylor Swift)

Ok, Let’s talk T-Swift guys. This topic might surprise some of you who know me well, but for the last year or two there’s been no better “Guilty Pleasure” than Swift herself. While normally I cringe at the “GP” tag, it seems to fit for many people who are fans of hers. Especially when the fan is question is thirty-three year old straight man. The thing is though, I genuinely couldn’t give less of a shit what anyone thinks of my musical tastes. My number one rule is if the song has a great hook, and is easy to get into, I’m a fan. And plenty of her tracks have that certain something. Moving on...

Now, it wasn’t always so. When I first heard of her, it was the butt of a joke from Joel McHale in “the Soup” regarding her many relationships and how seemingly every song was about a failed relationship. Back then it was hilarious to me, but gradually over time I found myself listening to songs here and there as they crept over the radio. Ok, it’s not terrible I thought, but I still wasn’t super interested beyond the typical “Oh she’s very hot” thoughts here and there. Then the Grammys happened and that song “Trouble” came on and it was pretty cool. Slowly but surely I found myself not cringing when it came on and eventually I admitted to people around me, and most importantly myself that she wasn’t half bad.

Then, with the release of 1989’s lead single ‘Shake It Off,” shit got real. And I mean real. The song is insanely catchy and the video is even more upbeat and fun. After that “Blank Space” took over the nation, and everyone was officially on the Swift bandwagon. Here’s why she’s had so much success in my opinion: What she does for pop music of this generation is crucial. It’s more heartfelt than most standard pop affairs, but the production and technical aspects of the tracks are still superior. Now obviously it helps that she’s been making boatloads of money for awhile now, but “1989” is a modern pop masterpiece up there with the Jackson’s and Madonna’s of their own eras. It’s brilliantly recorded, and song after song brims with the confidence of a seasoned vet not only trying but easily accomplishing the feat of making pop music that everyone can relate it.

Certain events in your life sway you to certain things, and for me the catharsis presented on the album and the topics discussed really struck a chord with me, almost entirely because of a difficult and somewhat unexpected breakup of my marriage. It’s a terrible thing to go through for all parties involved, but in those weeks I found myself belting out Swift’s songs with reckless abandon and zero fucks of who would judge me or what they might think of me. Yes, I’m a grown ass man I fucking love Taylor Swift.

And it’s not even just because of the music. The more I hear about her the more I like her personal choices and the things she does for fans. All you have to do is google “Taylor Swift is good to her fans,” and you’ll see how much she cares about them. She routinely gives gifts to hardcore fans, has had families come over for Thanksgiving, as well as multiple big buck donations for worthy causes. Musicians often seem untouchable, especially when they’re as big as Swift, but for her it genuinely seems like she loves giving back, especially to the people that help make her so damn popular. It’s refreshing to be honest, and more people should really use their fame to make other lives better.

In conclusion, she’s a modern pop music icon whose capable of seeming larger than life right along with being down to earth and worthwhile. We need more entertainers like Taylor Swift, and hopefully she keeps making more and more engaging records for everyone to dance around to. Thanks for reading.