Taylor Swift sparks chart-blocking accusations with new “Patient Zero” alternate versions

[u/ebradio]

https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/taylor-swift/taylor-swift-sparks-chart-blocking-accusations-with-new-patient-zero-alternate-versions

[u/Slight-Owl4300]

think you're missing my point. I've never said Taylor Swift is above criticism, nor have I suggested that enjoying her music automatically makes her some artistic genius. You're absolutely entitled to think she's mediocre. What I take issue with is your insistence that your assessment of her music is somehow an objective truth that her fans need to acknowledge before their enjoyment of it is valid.

You keep suggesting that people who appreciate her songwriting simply haven't been exposed to enough music, lack maturity, or are unwilling to acknowledge inferior art. That's not particularly constructive criticism. That's dismissing people who disagree with you while positioning yourself as someone with a more sophisticated understanding of art.

And ironically, you're now suggesting that the mature response would be for fans to concede that she's mediocre rather than challenge your assessment. Why is your interpretation the one everyone else needs to accept?

I'm perfectly capable of acknowledging that Taylor has songs I don't particularly like or consider especially impressive. That doesn't mean I have to agree with your broader assessment of her talent. Disagreement isn't insecurity, and defending an artist's work isn't an inability to accept criticism.

At the end of the day, I haven't asked you to like Taylor Swift. I've simply challenged the idea that your personal assessment of her music is somehow more legitimate than someone else's. Those are two very different things.

[u/stvura → u/Slight-Owl4300]

I don’t need them to acknowledge anything, I need them to allow themselves to confidently enjoy something they like and stop creating such a massive brouhaha any time someone says otherwise. I don’t need anyone to concede anything. I’m really trying very hard to respond as earnestly and respectfully but I really feel like that in fact you are missing my point.

Like, someone I really love and who I think is just the greatest is John Cale. If you were to say to me “you know I really just don’t think of Cale as much of a lyricist” I would maybe agree, maybe I would disagree if I thought about it but either way I wouldn’t like demand that you recognize that in fact John Cale must be an amazing lyricist because I like his music and many others do, it’s incredibly weird. Let’s pretend that you said that to me and maybe instead I was fully prepared to contend with that, like maybe inside I think is a great argument to be made here, that’s a conversation I’m interested in and no one has to feel like their feelings are hurt. I’ve been into a lot of weird music for most of my life, I’ve found myself in many situations where my taste is regarded as strange or esoteric and that can be a bit alienating or isolating at times, it’s because of this that I know intimately the experience of getting your feelings hurt because you feel insulted that someone didn’t like what you like, but there’s no reason for me to like be angry at the world for not agreeing with me about what I like, and it doesn’t mean I’m unwilling to maybe try to defend an artist I think is objectively worth defending. Like at a certain point if we just say “I like wha ti like you like what you like everything’s valid” then it feels like why talk about music or have critical discussions about it at all??

[u/Slight-Owl4300 → u/stvura]

I'm not missing your point. I understand it, and I actually agree that people should be able to criticize music without everyone getting upset. But I don't think you're quite as objective as you believe yourself to be.

Out of curiosity, I looked through your comment history. In January, you openly described yourself as a Taylor Swift "hater." In April, you called her fans "clueless," and today you've called her a hack, said you pity people who appreciate her music, and suggested anyone who disagrees simply hasn't listened to enough music.

So who's actually creating the "brouhaha" here? Nobody is saying you can't dislike her music. You're creating that narrative yourself. But apparently people expressing how much they enjoy her music are creating a problem, while you repeatedly posting negative comments about her and insulting her fans is just legitimate artistic criticism? How does that work?

I'm perfectly capable of criticizing Taylor. I think she's released bad songs, fantastic songs, and everything in between. I think she frequently chooses the wrong singles, too. I'm not demanding you agree with me, and I've never suggested she's above criticism.

But there's a difference between thoughtfully critiquing someone's work and belittling the people who appreciate it. You say you want mature conversations about art, yet you repeatedly dismiss people who disagree with you as clueless, immature, or insecure.

The irony is that you're complaining about a brouhaha you're actively helping create. People are allowed to defend music they enjoy just as much as you're allowed to criticize it. Disagreement isn't insecurity, and your opinion isn't inherently more valid than anyone else's.

So help me understand why it's perfectly acceptable for you to express your opinion, but when Swift fans express theirs, it's suddenly a "brouhaha." Why is your opinion legitimate artistic criticism, while theirs is insecurity or immaturity? Especially when you're the one repeatedly making it personal by insulting both the artist and her fans. How is that not hypocritical?

[u/stvura → u/Slight-Owl4300]

Lmao girl get help, none of this is so serious that you need to inspect my comment history like a freak. That being said, yeah, I think I can lay out this time line of getting shouted down for disagreeing with the popular perception of Swift, something that commenters I guess like you pretend like doesn’t happen? You pretend like her fans aren’t notorious for going on the attack for even perceived minor slights against her. I got used to getting called a hater any time I said anything even remotely less than glowing about her and so at a certain point I sort of started to get some maybe perverted glee from assuming the role of a hater after all, if that is in fact apparently the case. Like I don’t know what to tell you, it’s fun to antagonize those that get a pass for being nasty and generally unhinged online. Bottom line, she’s mediocre. Like her or don’t, I don’t care, but stop trying to gaslight the rest of us about it, and even if someone were to say something so innocent like “I don’t think she’s a good songwriter” if you disagree with that position say “ok” or you can present a worthwhile argument.