Okay so, last night I posted a pic of my CD collection (attached below) to a couple subs just for fun and because I was bored. I have 13 Taylor CDs (out of a collection of probably 35-40ish) along with a PLETHORA of different artists. Literally all the comments (also attached) were about Taylor and even implied I was somehow musically illiterate and couldn’t even comprehend the rest of my catalog. I even did say that yes, OBVIOUSLY better artist exist than Taylor. I felt like people were going out of their way to downvote and be rude to me just because I own Taylor cds. What is going on, why are people treating listening to hear as a moral failure??

This Alex Mars guy responded to a video suggesting that Taylor released Patient Zero variants to block Olivia. Are we supposed to take any of his music criticism seriously when he’s joining in one the stan wars? Where’s the professionalism?

Anyone else really like Patient Zero? 

I really like Patient Zero. I think it has many callbacks to songs like “Is It Over Now” (with the infidelity scene ("And when you saw another woman coming out of his place
I bet he kissed the rain off your face" and the relationship falling apart because of it) and “All Too Well 10 Minute Version” (especially with the “And you thought it's 'cause he loves you/But it's 'cause he loves how everybody else loves him (Uh-huh). I know it seems like he shines so bright/But he's bathing in your reflected light” section) which seems to be a great callback to “A never-needy ever-lovely jewel, whose shine reflects on you”. 

The partying with someone who may know about the devil on his shoulder may refer to “Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve where “And I damn sure never would've danced with the devil”. In both cases, Taylor has gone through a traumatic relationship experience, and is advising someone else (Dakota’s character? The public? One of Taylor’s friends) not to go through something similar. This theme would reoccur later in the lines “Take it from someone who said all of this to his face/Someone who knows she's more than just the chase/Someone who had him and walked away.”. 

Taylor Swift is great at alluding to previous sections of her discography to make it more of a unified whole. While some people have criticized this as “Star Wars Callbacks” (like how Star Wars calls back to itself often), I like how Taylor self-references or at least makes it easy to cross-reference her discography. A unified whole is a good idea. The music video is top-notch, and all the death and murder imagery seems to call back to "No Body No Crime" or "My Tears Ricochet". The choreography is also one of the best for the music videos. There are also the piano and acoustic versions, both of which (hot take) are better than the original version. 

RTL, Germany’s biggest football broadcaster, had their commentators talk about Taylor defending Travis on X. In Germany we call it “Medienkompetenz”, media literacy. At RTL, it’s dead.

I feel like all these crazy negative reactions are just gonna make it so people in a couple years pivot in the completely opposite direction and call it a masterpiece that was unappreciated in its time.

Truly it’s not that bad of an album, don’t get me wrong it’s no masterpiece either, and not her best, but it has some gems and the rest of the songs just feel like mindless fun.

A lot of the hate for the album feels like hate for sakes of hating Taylor. It’s going to make people very nostalgic in a couple years is all I’m saying. Even when she loses, she wins I guess.

It’s really interesting how Livies and the general public reacted to Taylor dropping the Patient Zero acoustic and piano versions on streaming platforms, but no one criticized Olivia when she released the ‘Stupid Song’ acoustic video as Patient Zero MV came out. Not to mention, Olivia also released new vinyls the same day Tate McRae, her supposed best friend, announced her comeback single, ‘Housewife.’

I think that a lot of lyrics of Taylor’s that she wrote when she was a teen getting mocked nowadays is weird.

Disclaimer: You are entitled to opinions. I am as well. I am not hating on Taylor, anyone who respectfully disagrees with me, or really anyone else related to this post.

There are two main examples that convinced me to make this post:

1. “That’s fine I’ll tell mine you’re gay”

-From Picture To Burn

This lyric was later changed to “won’t mind if I say,” (and that is what she from now on switched to during live performances as well) as the public viewed this lyric as an insult to the LGBTQIA+ community.

1. “She’s better known for the things that she does on the mattress”

-From Better Than Revenge

This lyric was changed to “He was a moth to the flame she was holding the matches,” when TS re-recorded Speak Now, and after she re-recorded it she switched to performing the changed version live, (although the original recordings still exist). This was due to the fact that she believed she came across as sexist and decided that for the respect of the antagonist of the song it was better to change it.

I do prefer the original lyrics in both of these examples (NO HOMOPHOBIA INTENDED*) as they well, sound like what a teenager would write. It sounds like what a mad sixteen year old would scribble in a notebook. That’s why I love it and why I will always gravitate toward it.

I can understand why other people may not. Maybe they just didn’t have experiences like that sixteen. Maybe they just don’t think like that. Whatever the case is I don’t see how hating on a lyric created years ago, as well as one that is objectively good, is productive.

*I am absolutely not trying to be homophobic. The OG lyric in Picture To Burn was probably better off living in distant memories as it can seem homophobic. However that wasn’t Taylor’s intent. She was like “ugh my boyfriend sucks. I wonder if he’s gay sarcastic laugh” and turned that into a lyric.

I realize the way I put this altogether is shitty, but I hope the point still stands. Long story short, I think hating on lyrics an angry teen wrote 20 years ago is pointless. And yes, I have actually seen a lot of conversations about these lyrics to this day.

I want to know what you guys think though and feel free to ask me clarify my paragraphs

I’m so tired of discourse that treats charting on the Billboard or Spotify charts as a feminist issue (e.g., some variation of “poor (insert current woman of the hour) being blocked by Taylor Swift—she’s not a feminist, she’s not a girl’s girl”) when there’s actual horrible things happening to women all over the place and all the time.

Equating chart tactics to feminism or even linking the two is genuinely insulting to actual women’s issues. Most (if not all) of the people (and i say people because there’s been men too) that Taylor has “blocked” are famous multimillionaires that are largely insulated from the woes of the world.

It’s completely unserious and I’m tired of it.

I don't know where this comes from. I feel like people only say that because she is white and doesn't try to act like other races. It could be 'basic' white girl stereotype. But it is so untrue. Taylor swift is one of the only artists who keeps switching it up. Who else is doing a showgirl themed album. Her albums have themes and they are creative af.

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It’s shocking to me how much Taylor Swift occupies the minds of people who claim kot to like her. But not to like her because she “tries too hard” is… well, a messed up way of thinking.

It’s not that I don’t appreciate great vocal performances, of course I do.
But for me personally? It’s always been more about character and delivery.
Taylor can act with her voice. That’s always been true. I don’t need her to hit dolphin level high notes for me to respect and enjoy her craft.
She can emote with just her voice. She can make a joke land, she can change the context of a word, all with the way she sings something.
That’s a talent in and of itself.
I’m a huge fan of emo and post hardcore music. Not exactly known for producing the most technically skilled vocalists in the industry.
Though, those genres certainly have some seriously technically skilled vocalists. It’s not about that.
It’s about the emotion behind it.
If I want to hear dolphin notes, I can go listen to an artist who does that. They exist.

I come to Taylor for the emotion.
The tremble.

The break.
The hesitation.
The whisper.
The demand.

It’s not even like Taylor is the first artist to have a skill she needed to hone.
She’s done that. And she’s managed to keep her own voice while doing it.

Babylon and its Sister Songs. 

Babylon to me feels like a sister song to Dorothea and Tis the Damn Season. Contrasting mundane with famous environments or a before and after. In the beginning, the casino line may refer to the music industry not liking Taylor Swift’s extreme success. Competitive balance, some people have said. Taylor sets up more imagery with the lines about the electric fence and the fleeing stallion, and more importantly the box being a cage despite being wrapped up nicely. The protagonist feels trapped in a gilded cage. 

"And that small town's even smaller now in your rear view
You ran with all the wild things
A liberated libertine who then longed for home"

This feels similar to “Tis the Damn Season” where the protagonist of that song misses the small town of origin. The “wild things” may relate to “Where the Wild Things Are”. A libertine is someone who has challenged moral principles. Despite the supposed fun of celebrity or the interesting experiences of youth, the protagonist wanted to go back home. This can be compared to “And the road not taken looks real good now/And it always leads to you and my hometown” in “Tis the Damn Season”. 

" 'Cause it's where you're from
Aunt Virginia with a church dress on
No elbows on the table
And the neighbor's lawn always looked better
Your hand-me-down sweater should've been from the mall"

This further sets up the imagery of the small town location where the protagonist is from. This could be compared to Dorothea where small-town family issues can often be memorable, as seen in  “Do you ever stop and think about me?
When it was calmer/Skipping the prom/Just to piss off your mom/And her pageant schemes”. In both cases, there is something endearing about the towns where they came from. Taylor does very well with making a scene vivid by adding key details. The “hand-me-down sweater” should’ve been from the mall could mean that the sweater given to her wasn’t very good, and a mall-bought one would be of higher quality. Maybe it’s the thought that counts. 

"And you hate this song
But you wake up on the train with your headphones gone
Then that melody is all you want
You never knew that it was Babylon
'Til it was gone."

The song about not realizing what you had until it’s gone does seem to have some similarities with “I Bet You Think About Me” except that “Babylon” is not meant to be a playful jab. At first, the familiar nostalgic song seems annoying, and the main character hates it. That will change later.

"Give the people what they want, then you keep it movin'
Make your plans and friends, a stranger's makeup on your tie
Twenty watches in the safe 'cause your time is money
Love is ice upon the ladder that you need to climb
She captured your attention, so free of all pretension
It stopped you cold."

The main character is moving up in the societal ladder and getting famous. Some people think this is allegorical for Travis Kelce’s NFL career, but many people think what a story is about matters more than who a story is about. Regardless, the societal structure had little room for an actual love because the main character was very focused on job issues. Until now. 

"Because she loved you so
Pretty as a picture that you didn't post
Looking at you like you're made of solid gold
Never official
You mention you're single to the girls at the bar."

This may be an unrequited love situation similar to “Teardrops On My Guitar” or “Hey Stephen” at least at first. She was very appealing and loved the main character, but it couldn’t be official perhaps due to job concerns. The main character may be downplaying said relationship because it’s not official, hence “you mention you’re single…”

"You're using nostalgia as a weapon to hurt yourself
But darling, you end up hurting everybody else
The self-harm of never being where you are
It's bedtime, but you're sitting in your car
You're missing all the best parts."

Nostalgia for home, and perhaps an unwillingness to commit to an official relationship, has hurt everyone else. Looking into the past instead of the present and future may be a form of self-harm. The main character needs to actually enjoy life. 

"And they're all at home
She's hanging Christmas lights with your son
Sneak into the bathroom to call her mom
And say, "It's not working
It's just not worth it if we're not what he wants"

This may have been a flash forward to a possible future. Their relationship may not have worked after all. (I don’t really know what to make of this). 

"But you love this song
You wake up on the train with your headphones gone
Then that melody is all you want
You never knew that it was Babylon
And now, it's almost gone."

The melody that the main character once hated is now loved. It is a memory of home, which the main character didn’t realize was precious or beautiful until it was almost gone. Babylon here is metaphorical for something beautiful due to the ancient city’s grandeur, especially with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. There are also similarities to “Cowboy Like Me”, where Taylor uses the hanging gardens metaphor in “now you hang from my lips like the Gardens of Babylon”, which is an interesting call-back. There is a biblical interpretation of “Babylon” as a symbol of hubris or pride, but this does not make sense with the context of Taylor Swift.  

Happy Throwback Thursday! This video is making the rounds so I wanna share how hilariously blunt Taylor’s answer were this night. (Also the 22 performance this night was super iconic. It really was early 2010s millennial optimism in the best way)

The screenshot is from Ophie Dokie on YouTube, she makes some of my favorite analysis type videos. She also coined the term 'Misogyny Slop Ecosystem' referring to the low-quality, usually anti-woman clickbait that the algorithm loves to favor.

So, with all the hate, snark and misinformation in the past album cycle, I'd love to find some more content creators who make well-researched and nuanced videos. Especially after seeing some creators who I thought were nuanced falling for the typical sexist twitter talking point.

Also, another creator I'd like to highlight is Little Shop of Ali, her Sabrina Carpenter videos are some of my favs. She's so thorough and quotes actual research papers and experts, not just repeating what some random TikTok account posted as truth.

TTPD's release week was annoying, and all the discourse about variants too, she was very overexposed in 2024, but it didn't even come close to what the hate towards Taylor became after Showgirl and continues to be (even when she was quiet in the first part of the year).

In the first half of 2025, everything seemed better and heading towards people being more normal about Taylor. There was a lot of positivity during the Grammys, her masters' purchase, and in general, since she wasn't in the spotlight, there wasn't much to say and she didn't have so many people following her every move just to criticize her (which is happening now even when the woman's hiding).

People were also mostly neutral or positive about the podcast and Showgirl'a announcement and her engagement. And while I do understand that many people think Showgirl is pretty bad, but I don't see how one album could have triggered so much derangement and hatred towards her to the point that it makes it seem like the image people had of her in 2024 was super positive.

Is it because this fanbase was still developing many sub-sects that ended up imploding when Showgirl failed to meet their expectations (whether in terms of quality or narrative) and that resulted in Taylor hate? Are fans and snarkers feeding each other and the hate just gets worse because fans are frustated that she is not fulfulling their fantasies? Is it because there are more bots now than in 2024? Could the It Ends With Us lawsuit have anything to do with this?

I just can't think of anything so terrible that Taylor did during the Showgirl era that was very different from anything that she did before the release in 2024/early 2025. Her wedding is the only thing I can think of, but in my opinion, the overreaction to it and her choices comes more from the growing disapproval against her.

What do you think? I'm genuinely interested in a conversation about this...

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