Taylor Swift

[FreddyKrueger]

C'mon admit it, you kind of like her.

[the secret wars]

Everyone's raving about her and her new album. I listened to some of it and I don't know what all the fuss is about, personally.

[PoisonInMyVeins]

no.

[cscwell107]

Yea I like her................................ ...........















On my cock

[thesafeword]

She's not hot and she doesn't make good music.

[CellarGhosts]

She's not hot and she doesn't make good music.
Backed.

[fadedmemories]

She's not hot and she doesn't make good music.
Agreed

[IamTheINDUSTRY]

new album is great

[Kid B]

Yea I like her................................ ...........















On my cock
Haha I was just going to say something like this

[caLLmEnOoNe]

she has a couple of good songs

[funkel]

I like her in the way that I don't.

[KatieKutthroat.]

Don't care for her at all.

[Machu505]

Would.

[Mskillet90]

I like her. She can't sing live, though : (

[DilesMavis]

Can't stand her.

[3eb23]

haha i like pretty much like every song i've heard from her actually.

[c_rob2700]

Music: No
Sex: Yes

[Kassie09]

I love Taylor Swift.

[kearn1tm]

She's the new poster girl of Walmart. The whitetrashistas have embraced her. It's only a matter of time before, upon realizing her career is dead, she panders to the built in Nascar audience and aligns herself with the promotion by becoming the "national anthem girl."

Oh yes, when I think of purchasing apple crum cake from the bakery area, I immediately associate it with Taylor Swift (not innuendo - she has nothing I want).

[Kid B]

I wonder how long it will be before she is sponsored by Candie's apparel.

[Here It Goes]

I was drooling over a picture of Taylor Swift in a magazine at work one day, and then this lady I work with leaned over and said "Ahh, she probably has a hairy ass." And I've never been able to look at her or listen to her music since. Not a huge loss, but still...a hairy ass. Gross. Probably does.

[c_rob2700]

No hairy ass love?

[pseudonym28]

how is this bitch selling 600,000 records in the first week?

[FreddyKrueger]

I was drooling over a picture of Taylor Swift in a magazine at work one day, and then this lady I work with leaned over and said "Ahh, she probably has a hairy ass." And I've never been able to look at her or listen to her music since. Not a huge loss, but still...a hairy ass. Gross. Probably does.

I don't follow her logic.

[eatsound]

not a fan.

[CellarGhosts]

I'll say it again - she is not that hot. Seriously. She looks alright sometimes but most of the time she's wearing way too much make up.

[shit stroll]

freddy krueger.

[WakeUpBlondie]

Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would. Would.

[thespearkid]

She's a product made to sell to the growing number of "redneck preps" in Southern high schools. Rascal Flatts is too. And so is that guy who made "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk".

[CellarGhosts]

She's a product made to sell to the growing number of "redneck preps" in Southern high schools. Rascal Flatts is too. And so is that guy who made "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk".
Truth.

[absolutecrunk]

She's a product made to sell to the growing number of "redneck preps" in Southern high schools. Rascal Flatts is too. And so is that guy who made "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk".
Country chic is the worst thing ever. It makes me miss wigger kids.

[&IllBeTheReason]

I feel bad for her.
:-(

[shit stroll]

I feel bad for her.
:-(
and why is that?

[&IllBeTheReason]

and why is that?
I keep seeing all that Joe Jonas stuff everywhere and it must be embarassing to be dumped for someone else so openly.

[thespearkid]

Country chic is the worst thing ever. It makes me miss wigger kids.
What's worse is when the mix all three (fake gangsta, fake redneck, prep). A good portion of the guys in my high school were like that.

[shit stroll]

I keep seeing all that Joe Jonas stuff everywhere and it must be embarassing to be dumped for someone else so openly.
yeah i have a hard time feeling bad for 18 year old multi millionaires.

[&IllBeTheReason]

yeah i have a hard time feeling bad for 18 year old multi millionaires.
Taylor Swift is not a multi-millionaire.

[shit stroll]

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_rich_is_Taylor_swift

[CellarGhosts]

"our song" or whatever its called has to be the most irritating fucking thing I've ever heard in my life.

[Mskillet90]

Taylor Swift actually does have a net worth of over one million dollars. She has had sold out stadium tours and is the #1 country artist in the world right now. Who are you kidding?

Who said something about a "fake redneck"? Who's trying to be redneck?

She is very pretty. I'd do her.

[absolutecrunk]

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_rich_is_Taylor_swift
Hahahahaha I don't think I've ever seen one quality answer from wiki answers

[shit stroll]

yeah, i laughed hard at that.

[Throwback]

Fuck her. She's from Wyomissing. Rich bitch.

[RetardedInLove]

I tell you what, if it fell in, I sure wouldn't take it out.

[Sese]

Guys, not try to make a harsh voice here. But since this is her thread, I am trying to say something that can make other viewers see both sides of the coin. No offense.

Swift won the America Music Award against Coldplay and Reba McEntire. It's her first and she looked absolutely exciting and fabulous. She was humble and gave compliment to Coldplay and Reba for their great albums on the stage. I just love her truthfulness to herself and her intuitive song-writing gift. Her achievement and songwriting skill are respectful for her age of 19. Fearless (http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/taylorswift/albums/album/23658659/review/23947375/fearless) is truly a good album, with a country heart and a rock soul. It sounds professional-crafted in music and guileless in lyrics. Swift also have no problem to name names, which also make her songs sound really personal and intimate to the audience. Swift claimed that the songs for Fearless was selected from the 500 songs that she wrote in her bedroom. The hit songs in Fearless, such as ''Love Story' and "Forever and Always" are both from her dairy entries. http://image.listen.com/img/170x170/4/4/5/1/1441544_170x170.jpg

[WordsSoRadical]

I've downloaded her newest cd but haven't made myself hear it yet. But her performance at the AMA's has me sorta wanting to hear the cd at least just once. Her song wasn't that great but it made me slightly interested.

[fadedmemories]

Still would

[Throwback]

Guys, not try to make a harsh voice here. But since this is her thread, I am trying to say something that can make other viewers see both sides of the coin. No offense.

Swift won the America Music Award against Coldplay and Reba McEntire. It's her first and she looked absolutely exciting and fabulous. She was humble and gave compliment to Coldplay and Reba for their great albums on the stage. I just love her truthfulness to herself and her intuitive song-writing gift. Her achievement and songwriting skill are respectful for her age of 19. Fearless (http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/taylorswift/albums/album/23658659/review/23947375/fearless) is truly a good album, with a country heart and a rock soul. It sounds professional-crafted in music and guileless in lyrics. Swift also have no problem to name names, which also make her songs sound really personal and intimate to the audience. Swift claimed that the songs for Fearless was selected from the 500 songs that she wrote in her bedroom. The hit songs in Fearless, such as ''Love Story' and "Forever and Always" are both from her dairy entries. http://image.listen.com/img/170x170/4/4/5/1/1441544_170x170.jpg
Stuck up bitch is from my area. She's a Wyomissing girl, aka a complete bitch who was born with a silver dick in her mouth. In this case, a music industry one. Fuck her and her faux-southern sensibilities when she lived across the street from the mall.

Also, I'm lactose intolerant so I want nothing to do with her dairy entries har har har har har.

[Throwback]

Fuck her. She's from Wyomissing. Rich bitch.
Didn't realize I already posted in this thread. Reading has produced Innerpartysystem and Taylor Swift. Take your pick.

[SLoT]

It's a good pop/country album. Now wherever pop country is on your shit list is where this album lays.

[Poultrylicious]

Her songs are great to sing to that's all that counts.

[3eb23]

America's Best Selling Album Artist of 2008?
http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1602002/taylor-swift-was-americas-bestselling-album-artist-of-2008.jhtml

[theguy77]

Guys, not try to make a harsh voice here. But since this is her thread, I am trying to say something that can make other viewers see both sides of the coin. No offense.

Swift won the America Music Award against Coldplay and Reba McEntire. It's her first and she looked absolutely exciting and fabulous. She was humble and gave compliment to Coldplay and Reba for their great albums on the stage. I just love her truthfulness to herself and her intuitive song-writing gift. Her achievement and songwriting skill are respectful for her age of 19. Fearless (http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/taylorswift/albums/album/23658659/review/23947375/fearless)is truly a good album, with a country heart and a rock soul. It sounds professional-crafted in music and guileless in lyrics. Swift also have no problem to name names, which also make her songs sound really personal and intimate to the audience. Swift claimed that the songs for Fearless was selected from the 500 songs that she wrote in her bedroom. The hit songs in Fearless, such as ''Love Story' and "Forever and Always" are both from her dairy entries.

jeez, and those were the best songs out of 500? i dont even want to hear what the others sounded like

[Miss Heartcore]

Pretty sure she only has two kinds of facial expressions.

[pseudonym28]

Taylor Swift actually does have a net worth of over one million dollars. She has had sold out stadium tours and is the #1 country artist in the world right now. Who are you kidding?

Who said something about a "fake redneck"? Who's trying to be redneck?

She is very pretty. I'd do her.

you mean sold out arena's. if she sold out stadiums that would be crazy as fuck considering stadiums hold 60 - 80 thousand people and arena's hold only 10 - 20 thousand.

i don't think she is hot and it pisses me off that all her songs are about romeo and juilet.

[Fin.]

She's actually a better than average songwriter, which makes her better than almost all other current mainstream country music artists. She's actually also very critcally acclaimed. If you check out metacritic.com you'll see that she has a score of 81 out of 100 as an average from all combined major music critics scores. That puts her in the top tier of albums released in 2008.

[hailthewarrior]

I thoroughly enjoy her, haha. The fact she's an incredibly popular artist who writes atleast 50% of every song she sings, and more than that usually, should give her some credit.

[just.Starla.]

I only really like a few of her songs, but other than that no, but at least she writes her own stuff.

[chipdip18]

jeez, and those were the best songs out of 500? i dont even want to hear what the others sounded like

Haha seriously. Imagine being her producer.

"We're only on song #74? And we've got to listen to 500 of these?! These are all so terrible so far. We've got like three, maybe four useable songs up to this point, and those sound the same. She only knows six chords on the guitar, and can handle a capo. We're going to have to overdub these with two banjo tracks, six violins, and a loud drummer so these little 10-14 girls don't realize we're rehashing the same song over and over again."

Oh man i could go on! haha.

[Magnus]

I bought Fearless on itunes :whistle:

[3eb23]

Haha seriously. Imagine being her producer.

"We're only on song #74? And we've got to listen to 500 of these?! These are all so terrible so far. We've got like three, maybe four useable songs up to this point, and those sound the same. She only knows six chords on the guitar, and can handle a capo. We're going to have to overdub these with two banjo tracks, six violins, and a loud drummer so these little 10-14 girls don't realize we're rehashing the same song over and over again."

Oh man i could go on! haha.

either he's thinking that or he's thinking, "hey we're only on song #74 and we've got about 74 songs that have the potential to be singles. god, this girl is a hit machine. pop radio is going to eat these songs up and it's going to get me so much future work.

[chipdip18]

either he's thinking that or he's thinking, "hey we're only on song #74 and we've got about 74 songs that have the potential to be singles. god, this girl is a hit machine. pop radio is going to eat these songs up and it's going to get me so much future work.

Haha could be true also. Maybe a mixture of both.

[SilenceBrokenTT]

I enjoyed the new CD.. for the msot part. Actually had the most plays on my last.fm for the year and it came out on 11-11... jesus.

[DejaNew]

I wanna fuck her. In the butt.

[theguy77]

Haha seriously. Imagine being her producer.

"We're only on song #74? And we've got to listen to 500 of these?! These are all so terrible so far. We've got like three, maybe four useable songs up to this point, and those sound the same. She only knows six chords on the guitar, and can handle a capo. We're going to have to overdub these with two banjo tracks, six violins, and a loud drummer so these little 10-14 girls don't realize we're rehashing the same song over and over again."

Oh man i could go on! haha.

hahahahah, its so true, and this kid who lives down the hall from me in my college dorm is all over her shit, he got her cd for xmas and is all like "shes amazing she worte all this herself omgzz" and im just like, hahaha, except for the like 35 musicians she probably hired to make parts for her

[chipdip18]

hahahahah, its so true, and this kid who lives down the hall from me in my college dorm is all over her shit, he got her cd for xmas and is all like "shes amazing she worte all this herself omgzz" and im just like, hahaha, except for the like 35 musicians she probably hired to make parts for her

Haha writes her own songs. Exactly! Whatever label she's on adds so much to the chords she strings together haphazardly. My sister does nothing but blast her new album and when i hear all the extra parts, i just laugh to myself. She is one huge pop machine.

[theguy77]

Haha writes her own songs. Exactly! Whatever label she's on adds so much to the chords she strings together haphazardly. My sister does nothing but blast her new album and when i hear all the extra parts, i just laugh to myself. She is one huge pop machine.

why does the radio suck! haha

[chipdip18]

why does the radio suck! haha

Haha mainly because it's the sme 30 multi-intrumentalists hired by various label who write music for everyone. It's all one conspiracy.

[theguy77]

and they say the media isnt manipulated.

[chipdip18]

Oh man. American is run by 30 musicians.

[theguy77]

can you imagine how much power you would have if you were quincy jackson or somebody like that

[chipdip18]

Seriously. Oh man. You could do whatever you wanted really.

[3eb23]

this is just how it works in country. taylor has some songs she wrote with a guitar or whatever, they hire some studio musicians to add in the other parts, and they make the songs complete. this is what everyone in country does. nobody plays every instrument on their cd or anything like that. that's pretty unrealistic. they are solo artists. the fact is that she does write her own songs, which says a lot for her genre (country/pop/whateveritis). in nashville, country artists have songs plugged to them all the time. there are countless huge hits that the artists singing them did not write. that's how it is period. there are professional song writers and that's what they do. they write songs for other people. taylor actually says ok here i wrote my own songs and i want these to be on my record. let's get some studio musicians and figure out the rest of the instrumentation, but here is the actual song let's make it happen. what's wrong with that?

[theguy77]

hey guys this is just how it works in country. taylor has some songs she wrote with a guitar or whatever, they hire some studio musicians to add in the other parts, and they make the songs complete. this is what everyone in country does. nobody plays every instrument on their cd or anything like that. the fact is that she does write her own songs, which says a lot for her genre (country/pop/whateveritis). in nashville, country artists have songs plugged to them all the time. there are countless huge hits that the artists singing them did not write. that's how it is period. there are professional song writers and that's what they do. they write songs for other people. taylor actually says ok here i wrote my own songs and i want these to be on my record. let's get some studio musicians and figure out the rest of the instrumentation, but here is the actual song let's make it happen. what's wrong with that?

i was about to say something snarky becuase i thought you said "this is what everyone in THE country does" hahaha

but regardless if a producer and otuside musicians basically made your whole album and all you have otherwise are just some crappy lyrics and some generic chords you are not an artist or a musician. you are not making art you are selling your singing talent.

[chipdip18]

We're just playing around. Lots of musicians hire outside musicians to add to the album. Look at Bright Eyes. I don't really know how Country works, but it seems like Country is just one big pop-fest with a southern twinge. At least nowadays.

[chipdip18]

i was about to say something snarky becuase i thought you said "this is what everyone in THE country does" hahaha

but regardless if a producer and otuside musicians basically made your whole album and all you have otherwise are just some crappy lyrics and some generic chords you are not an artist or a musician. you are not making art you are selling your singing talent.

But Ryan does have the real point. An entire album of people layering all over your guitar chords = lame.

[theguy77]

We're just playing around. Lots of musicians hire outside musicians to add to the album. Look at Bright Eyes. I don't really know how Country works, but it seems like Country is just one big pop-fest with a southern twinge. At least nowadays.

well bright eyes is much different. he writes incredible, metaphorical, insightful lyrics and the straight folk basis of his songs is already good before it's produced.

[3eb23]

i was about to say something snarky becuase i thought you said "this is what everyone in THE country does" hahaha

but regardless if a producer and otuside musicians basically made your whole album and all you have otherwise are just some crappy lyrics and some generic chords you are not an artist or a musician. you are not making art you are selling your singing talent.

she's an artist. they sell her as an artist. they are selling her image and her (yes her) songs.

[3eb23]

haha everyone in THE COUNTRY!

[chipdip18]

well bright eyes is much different. he writes incredible, metaphorical, insightful lyrics and the straight folk basis of his songs is already good before it's produced.

Very true about the lyrics, and the hiring of outside musicians i would say really only applies to Lifted and Digital Ash the most. But yeah, Pop/Country, make a band at least. Like Taylor and Super Swifts, and be lame that way.

[3eb23]

btw theguy77, i was in college park today. i went to the terps game. holler.

[theguy77]

she's an artist. they sell her as an artist. they are selling her image and her (yes her) songs.

so i can play a generic blues chord progression, and if i hire joe satriani as my guitarist i automatically get credit for being a creative and talented guitarist, right?

btw theguy77, i was in college park today. i went to the terps game. holler.

haha sweet. i wasnt, lol. im so cynical about my college and maryland in general its not even funny, i realy want to move back to florida. sorry for such a joykill response haha, but thats cool you were there, you a terps fan?

[3eb23]

so i can play a generic blues chord progression, and if i hire joe satriani as my guitarist i automatically get credit for being a creative and talented guitarist, right?

haha sweet. i wasnt, lol. im so cynical about my college and maryland in general its not even funny, i realy want to move back to florida. sorry for such a joykill response haha, but thats cool you were there, you a terps fan?


no. if you wrote the lyrics for the song and came up with the melodies and basis of the song (your blues progression) then you would get credit for writing a good song (if it is in fact good). this is why taylor swift gets credit for the songs she writes, not the guitar solos, violin riffs, etc. the fact is that if a guitarist played on your song, it is not his song. it's yours. it sells because of your voice, your melodies, and your image. as far as hiring joe satriani...i'm sure he would get credit for the guitar playing, not you haha. it would be like "the guy77 feat. joe satriani" or something.

yeah i'm a terps fan. i've been since i was a kid. but that sucks you're not digging it man. it must be a lot different from florida.

[thesafeword]

The Terps are pretty sweet, I've kind of liked them for a few years, after I went to Maryland a couple of times.

[3eb23]

The Terps are pretty sweet, I've kind of liked them for a few years, after I went to Maryland a couple of times.

haha awesome that rules man

[thesafeword]

Yeah, I have kick ass Nike Twill Maryland shorts, they're nice and yellow.

[theguy77]

no. if you wrote the lyrics for the song and came up with the melodies and basis of the song (your blues progression) then you would get credit for writing a good song (if it is in fact good). this is why taylor swift gets credit for the songs she writes, not the guitar solos, violin riffs, etc. the fact is that if a guitarist played on your song, it is not his song. it's yours. it sells because of your voice, your melodies, and your image. as far as hiring joe satriani...i'm sure he would get credit for the guitar playing, not you haha. it would be like "the guy77 feat. joe satriani" or something.

what we're saying is all that extra instrumentation is what makes her songs and without them she would get like zero recognition. we think it's lame that any pretty face (which isnt even that pretty outside of music videos and photoshop) with a pretty voice can be hooked up in a way where they're given credit and money for things they never would have accomplished on their own efforts.

yeah i'm a terps fan. i've been since i was a kid. but that sucks you're not digging it man. it must be a lot different from florida.

oh it is even the people are drastically different

[3eb23]

what we're saying is all that extra instrumentation is what makes her songs and without them she would get like zero recognition. we think it's lame that any pretty face (which isnt even that pretty outside of music videos and photoshop) with a pretty voice can be hooked up in a way where they're given credit and money for things they never would have accomplished on their own efforts.

oh it is even the people are drastically different

i understand where you're coming from. that's just the business man. but the fact is that all that extra instrumentation would not exist without an actual song to base it around. the extra instrumentation is added onto an existing song that taylor wrote that has a melody and chord progression. these studio musicians hear the song first and then write. they don't say hey i've got this cool riff and i want taylor swift to write a song around it. the core of a song is what actually makes a song and that's what she writes. a quick example is when you pitch a song to publishers, a&r people, etc. they prefer a demo or just an acoustic guitar and a voice, not the flashy instrumentation. they know that stuff enhances the song and can be added later in various ways, but it is a real core actual song they want to hear. they know how good it can be because of that, not because they think they can add a cool violin riff in the chorus later on.

taylor writes good songs and i think this separates her from various pop artists that don't write and are in actuality just a pretty face. i think it's helped tremendously that she is so marketable and without a doubt there are many better songwriter's out there that probably deserve more credit, but an image is part of making it in music and there's no way around that, so you can't blame her. also, i see you mentioned something about a pretty voice- well that's what draws some people in and there's nothing wrong with that. if taylor had a husky voice maybe i wouldn't like her songs, but so what? if a band you listened to had a singer with a different sounding voice instead, that could very well determine whether you like them or not.

[theguy77]

youve got to understand that creating generic music around an image to fit a business is not art. her songs could have been written by anyone, there is nothing about her core songwriting that warrants being put on a pedestal, and i know you'll probably respond with "obviously the a&r crew thought differently" but really all they were looking for was a talented voice, they know in their minds that they can make marketability out of any song so the songwriting doesnt even really matter. and to be honest with you it is almost never the voice that draws me to the band, i look at the composition of the music first and foremost, and the composition of the lyrics and melodies both hold more importance than the talent of the singer. and i'd be surprised if you found people who came to listen to bright eyes or the weakerthans on the sole basis of the vocals -- the only things that are going to turn me off in that department are 1) vocals that are forced to sound scene or 2) vocals that are flat out off key. so again there is a difference between writing music and selling a talented voice. im not interested in music as a business, as a career yes but not in a way where business has a role in how the music is made in order to maximize profits.

[3eb23]

As far as certain music being an art form and some not- that could be debated for an entire lifetime, so i'm not going to get started on that. ok you have a problem with creating generic music around an image to fit a business. and that's fine. it's difficult to decipher this for me though because i've got to define "generic" and then i've got to figure out an artist's true motives for writing a song, which i can't do. but the thing is that if we take taylor for instance: she is a 19 year old girl writing songs about things in her life up to this point. whether it's "generic" or not, she is writing about her life and how she perceives things. the fact that she has a pretty face and fits a certain mold which we perceive is irrelevant to me because i see a girl writing songs about what is close to her and i can dig that. it's not her fault she's tall and blonde- she didn't grow this way to cash in on a business down the road.

About the whole image and marketability thing and relating it to art, etc... image is so huge. and i know everyone thinks they realize this already, but it's bigger than most people think about. every artist is selling an image whether they want to or not. you don't like the image taylor is associated with. but the fact is that image is tied to the reason you like any artist you do. if you hear a band, you perceive an image too. every artist you, me and everyone listens to has a certain image. we cannot completely separate image from songs. if we hear conor for the first time for example, we're picturing someone or something someone is standing for. say you dig his lyrics and you're really vibing with him. you're like "man this guy has some great things to say and i totally feel it." well now you're associating this song with a guy who writes lyrics you dig. you now see this cool (or not cool, whatever you think) songwriter dude who plays the acoustic guitar and sings his heart out, talking about things that mean something to you. and you like this image. taylor's image vibes with certain people the same way conor's image vibes with certain people. his records may sell to a different segment of people, but image was equally important.

[theguy77]

As far as certain music being an art form and some not- that could be debated for an entire lifetime, so i'm not going to get started on that. ok you have a problem with creating generic music around an image to fit a business. and that's fine. it's difficult to decipher this for me though because i've got to define "generic" and then i've got to figure out an artist's true motives for writing a song, which i can't do. but the thing is that if we take taylor for instance: she is a 19 year old girl writing songs about things in her life up to this point. whether it's "generic" or not, she is writing about her life and how she perceives things. the fact that she has a pretty face and fits a certain mold which we perceive is irrelevant to me because i see a girl writing songs about what is close to her and i can dig that. it's not her fault she's tall and blonde- she didn't grow this way to cash in on a business down the road.

see im not going to just "dig it" becuase it means something to her, haha. i dont fault her for doing what she does but the problem with the industry is that you simply dont have to be good at the songwriting part of it to succeed. note that i say the following on the highest, most mainstream level, but its not a business that rewards the most talented writers -- it hasnt been that way for a long time. it only really rewards the most talented performers, but performer =/= artist. the image is not important to the artist like it is to the performer. its not like its such a bad thing that she makes money becuase shes a good singer, i just dont think that what she does warrants artistic merit, that's all i'm saying.

and as for "figuring out an artist's true motives" i never said that it was her intention to mold her music to fit a business, im saying the music she writes intrinsically isnt very good but the business loves her image and voice so much that they will go out of their way to mold her music into the business.

About the whole image and marketability thing and relating it to art, etc... image is so huge. and i know everyone thinks they realize this already, but it's bigger than most people think about. every artist is selling an image whether they want to or not. you don't like the image taylor is associated with. but the fact is that image is tied to the reason you like any artist you do. if you hear a band, you perceive an image too. every artist you, me and everyone listens to has a certain image. we cannot completely separate image from songs. if we hear conor for the first time for example, we're picturing someone or something someone is standing for. say you dig his lyrics and you're really vibing with him. you're like "man this guy has some great things to say and i totally feel it." well now you're associating this song with a guy who writes lyrics you dig. you now see this cool (or not cool, whatever you think) songwriter dude who plays the acoustic guitar and sings his heart out, talking about things that mean something to you. and you like this image. taylor's image vibes with certain people the same way conor's image vibes with certain people. his records may sell to a different segment of people, but image was equally important.

the same thing is said about singer-songwriters like secondhand serenade or dashboard confessional but there is a difference between having the image of a wise man and actually being a wise man. john madden has the image of a top football analyst but while he does have a load of knowledge from being a legendary head coach i cant stand his analysis during football games becuase he plays captain obvious the entire time. that wasnt really too good of an analogy hahaha but the main point im trying to put across is that, yeah maybe a person's talent can create an image for me, and i'll think "man kevin devine is so cool, i love the way he looks at politics and the music industry, hes the kind of guy i'd like to have a beer and a mature conversation with on a thursday night" ultimately it's the talent that enhances the image, not the image that enhances the talent. to someone that truly appreciates the composition of music you cant just prop up an image and expect them to think any more highly of their songwriting -- it usually has a reverse effect becuase that person is bothered by the idea that a poor songwriter is even perceived that way, much like how jacob and i are about taylor swift.

[theguy77]

so jacob how you been lately?

[Mikey Radigan]

One time, I had a dream me and her went out. IT WAS AWESOME.

[fly_guy]

Taylor Swift is hawt.

[fightinirish217]

I'm in love.

[bradsonemanband]

i decided i'd give "fearless" a chance today. i put it on my ipod so i could listen to it at work. i'm not into country, but this isn't too bad so far.

[MADSTA]

So overrated.

[bradsonemanband]

So overrated.

totally. i don't really see how this differs from other girl country-pop acts. oh well.

[xJesusFreakx]

True story: I was hanging out with my one friend at like 1 or 2 a.m. on the day Fearless came out and impulsively decided to go to Walmart and buy it. Really, it's a great pop album. I like "Fearless," "The Best Day," and "Love Story" a lot, and "Hey Stephen" is just contagious. Fearless is a simply beautiful snapshot of a girl's childhood, told with her own words, and I'm a sucker for nostalgia, so I love that.