OK. So #TaylorSwift. OMG. So much OMG.
For years, she was just some chick who made some decent music. Whatevs.
Then some of my friends became obsessed with shake it off. Ok. Cool. This is a fun song.
Then. Then! Then I saw the Shake It Off video!!!! It made me super crazy happy. She wasn't taking herself too seriously. She was having FUN! It wasn't super sexy or super anything. It was just FUN and celebrated different types of dance and was just FUN! I fell in love with Shake it Off.
Just a few weeks after that, I first heard Blank Space, via a video she did with BBC1 I believe, which was basically an extended selfie of her and a DJ (?) singing and dancing around in the car. What? I do that! A LOT! Rather exuberantly! And the song itself. She is clearly poking fun at her reputation and being tongue and cheek. So fun! Plus its a super fun song and it reminds me a little of some of my relationships when I was younger.
Shortly after this, I purchased the album on iTunes, and really enjoyed the majority of it. So, when it came to be that she would be kicking off the US leg of her 1989 World Tour in little ol' Bossier City, LA, where I recently relocated, and my friends wanted to go, I was IN! I haven't been to a show in ages. I haven't been to an ARENA show in WAY ages. I haven't been to a POP show since..... ummmm.... New Kids on the Block.
But here it is. I am a 33 year old woman, super psyched about going to a Tay-Sway concert, complete with rockin' my 80's-i-fied puffy painted shirt.
The concert last night BLEW ME AWAY. I LOVED IT.
Two things that REALLY stood out to me were that a) when her hair got messed up, she left it there, b) while all the same basic size and shape, there was actually a good amount of diversity in her "backup" dancers. c) She was really in the moment and, while I am sure it was super scripted, seemed to talk from the heart.
She talked about how she has a lot of amazing friends right now - her friends, family, fans, etc. She talked about how music has helped her get through the rough times in life, and in a way that legit seemed real. She talked about not fitting in. About how, even being on an amazing tour, selling a gajillion records, etc, THAT hasn't made her happy. That learning to be herself and embrace who she is at any given time, even as it changes, is what lets her be happy in life.
Taylor Swift. I wish you were my friend. I wish I had as good a head on myself at age 25 as you do. Even if you don't believe half the stuff coming out of your mouth, it will sink in as you keep saying it, and (this sounds terrible, but I kinda think this is even more important), it will sink in to the minds and hearts of the millions of young people that listen to your music, go to your concerts, and follow you on all the social media.
Yeah. Some of the sexualization bothered me, with the young audience. But lets be honest, most of it probably went over their heads. Yeah, you feed the "fairytale" stereotype that I don't believe is healthy. But you are an amazing woman, and I adore your freaking face. (I wanted to say "self" but the consonance of "face" just was too good!)
No comments:
Post a Comment