Nobody Puts Tay-Tay in a Corner

If you're an alternative music fan, just stop reading now. Please. If you continue and get a stomachache, don't say I didn't warn you. I like alternative. I listen to a lot of it. But that's not what this post is about. This post is about TAYLOR SWIFT. Okay, now that's done, we can move on.

Quite a few years ago, I was at a David Grisman concert when he asked the question of the audience "How many of you like pop music?" Of course no one would admit to it who was there, including me, being as I am not the sort to jump up in front of everyone and proclaim that the first record I ever purchased with my own money was a 45 of Goody Goody Gumdrops by The 1910 Fruitgum Company (just remembering the name of this band makes one cool by default, so there). However, two decades and many Hot 100 hits later, I can answer David with an unapologetic "Yes, I like pop music"! That doesn't mean I only like pop music, just as the fact that I like hamburgers doesn't mean I don't also like pan-roasted filet mignons with potato-walnut confit, port wine reduction, stilton cheese, and shallot rings. And that's where Taylor Swift comes in...

There is a part of me that really wants to dislike Taylor Swift. It's the part of me that appreciates John Hiatt for rhyming "kiss" and "somnambulist" or The Decemberists for the line "Queen of supply-side bonhomie bone-drab". And it's the part of me that went along with everyone else at the concert mentioned earlier. Big problem here though: I can't. As much as I want to run away somewhere far, far out of earshot near the beginning of "We are Never Ever Getting back Together" I can't. Why? Because I like pop music. and Taylor Swift is pop music. After listening to 1989, it's clear once and for all. Nobody does this kind of stuff better than T-Swizzle. Not Katy, not Lady Ga-Ga and definitely not Miley. This particular brand of pop is owned by Ms. Swift, with nary a contender even waiting in the wings to step in and assume the throne.

What is it about Tay-Tay that we hate to love? It really amounts to what it is about pop music that keeps us listening: it makes us feel good. Despite what you may be thinking, I'm never going to confuse "Deep Red Bells", a Neko Case number about the Green River Killer that contains the line

A hand print on the driver's side

It looks alot like engine oil

and tastes like being poor and small

And popsicles in summer

with

And all you're ever gonna be is mean

Why you gotta be so mean?

because that isn't the point. The point is which song you'd rather listen to on a hot summer day blasting along the road or swimming in the pool, and therein lies the attraction. Pop songs have the ability to sweep us along on a tide of pure positive emotion, if only for 3 minutes and 17 seconds at a time, and the best ones can do that over and over again. The litmus test for pop has always been which song sticks in your head most immediately, hence the "hook" of popular songwriting, and again, it's all Taylor lately, as witness the repeated chorus "areweoutofthewoodsyetareweoutofthewoodsyetareweoutofthewoods" playing in my brain while writing this post.

So, for the haters, just stop already and listen to what makes you happy. For the 1989ers - never mind, that's a whole other post. For the rest of us, (that includes you too, David) remember, don't put Tay-Tay in a corner. You can enjoy the summery pop confections and the musical gourmet dishes both, they're not mutually exclusive.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and listen to some Neko Case.