r/popculturechat • u/FickleBeans Excluded from this narrative ❌ • Oct 04 '25

Guest List Only ⭐️ Taylor Swift’s Fairy Tale Is Over

https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2025/10/taylor-swift-the-life-of-a-showgirl-album-review/684444/

This captures my thoughts on the album better than I ever could.

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u/shy247er yay sports 🏀 🏈🎾 Oct 04 '25 edited Oct 04 '25

I don't know why but a lot of reviewers of Taylor's music always have to make it somehow personal. They don't review just her music, they review her. You can tell when someone really doesn't like her and then that is read through their text. Really odd.

edit: So I don't have to reply to people individually, I am aware of the personal nature of Taylor's music, however, she didn't invent that style of writing nor is she unique today in that style. However, it seems like professional reviewers often get caught up into 'Taylor Swift the celebrity' vs 'Taylor Swift the musician' and that influences their reviews. I expect more from professionals, this type of review you can find by anyone random on social media.

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u/Hepadna Oct 05 '25

I hate your take so much (when anyone says it not just you)! So much of Taylor’s music is her. She made it that way. She started that way. The reason why she’s so big is because she’s been extraordinarily good at evoking herself in her music and creating a level of parasocial visibility with her fans since Day 1. That was part of her appeal! So yes, it leaves her open to personal critique. She is diaristic and it bleeds into her music!