Friends, as our border collapses, as our government (such as it is) drowns in red ink, and as our senile president taunts our most powerful enemies without any coherent plan to defeat them, Time magazine has drawn the only logical conclusion: Taylor Swift, vapid pop star, is the foremost among us, and is the lodestar that will lead us out of the abyss. Uh huh. Sure she will. Now, I don't mean to demonize Taylor and her legions of adoring "Swifties". She makes some passable music, yes. Be that as it may, her political opinions are of the most ordinary and hackneyed type, by Hollywood/pop icon standards: she hates Trump and loves abortions. Way to go out on a limb, Taylor! The focus of her "art", however, is the vicissitudes of romantic love and and the challenges of self-realization. In other words, Swift sings about her feelings, and that, presumably, is why her fans find her so relatable -- because they too are egomaniacs who believe that the whole world should revolve around their inner turmoil. Well! Count me among those are who are unimpressed by Swiftism and puzzled by its ability to saturate so much of our popular culture. Hey, at least Time didn't have the temerity to name Joe Biden as their Man of the Year, and to sing the praises of Bidenomics. I don't suppose that would have sold many magazines, would it?
FROM RAY
ReplyDeleteTaylor is not even close to the adoration that was given to Elvis and the Beatles with the special BS they offered. When I use BS, that of course means that I personally was never impressed with Elvis or the Beatles. My tastes are pretty much restricted to classical music, and I don't mean Country & Western "classical" or "classical" jazz. But Hey! That's me. Nevertheless, Taylor can try all she wants but she will never ever match Elvis or the Beatles. She probably won't even come close to The Beach Boys in the long run.
Dr.Waddy and Ray et al from Jack: I don't think I have ever heard a Taylor Swift song. My impression of her is of a nice kid whose performances are shallow,banal and overwrought. Her political views appear conventional and insubstantial. I have little but contempt for Time but I realize it does herald popular cultural trends
ReplyDeleteI am grateful I was exposed as a kid to "serious" music.My favorite now is a variety of medieval and Rennaissance works. I like older country and western , like Buck Owens and I like Brazilian bossa. I think the Beatles were an extraordinary phenomenom; their transition from subjects common to popular music to astonishing and creditable innovations was a fascinating experience to live through.
Ray fromJack: Ithink she would have to go a long way to approach the Beach Boys. Their Pet Sounds album came close to matching up with the brilliance of Sgt.Pepper.
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ReplyDeleteI must be a distinct global minority in that I detest the Beatles, Elvis, and the Beach Boys. Ha! I don't like Johnny Cash either.
FROM RAY TO JACK
ReplyDeleteAs far as the Beatles go, I particularly disliked John Lennon and Yoko Ono. I remember their Bed-in for Peace antics at luxury hotels.
Both of them were getting stinking rich when they did that, and the press was running around kissing their butts. For what? What did it accomplish? Can you think of something, since you clearly like the Beatles so much? Let me know. I'm not asking you this to get into a fight. I'm just curious.
Ray from Jack: No problem. I didn't like Lennon and Ono either.I especially disliked their disdain tor law enforcement and their lugubrious sympathy for the Attica rioters. What business was it of Lennon, not an American, anyway!? I trained in Attica and worked with some veterans of the riot. Surprise, surprise: there are alot of very bad people there and they do bad things. Lennon was a cynical often sour minded bloke; Ono was a mindlessly quirky psuedo intellectual whose singing would commend her to the population of a frog pond. The rest of the Beatles were and are nice guys I think. Together with their brilliant director, George Martin, they created some very enjoyable popular music. Paul McCartney was quoted: "all we were was a good little band". They were and are alot of fun but the boomers took and still do take them too seriously. That has had counterintuitive and unanticipated degrading effects on our culture, even our civilization.
ReplyDeleteRay from Jack: I liked Johnny Cash and his music until I read of him saying of his concert at San Quentin "I had them right in my hands; I could have started a riot and I did think about it. . . ." Sorry but that was just plain stupid!
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DeleteWhatever our musical tastes, thanks for reminding me of your prison work. I'm sure you will/might agree with me, that the people who run our country now (for the time being) believe that the "perps are the victims, and the cops are the perps." That was a misquote from the movie "CopLand" but I think it applies to what has been going on for the last 60 years, during which a group of people with personality disorders have taken over our once more sane society, and perverted it for their own purposes. I could go on, but I'm sure you catch my drift.
Ray from Jack:The misquote nonetheless accurately describes the opinion I personally heard expressed by some(not all )of the decision makers in the NY State Dep't of Corrections when I worked in those joints. It obviously inspires and informs the recent spate of insane "prisoners' rights - police and the law abiding beware! - legislation our NY supreme soviet has enshrined in law since it took dictatorial power.
ReplyDeleteRay from Jack: Yeah, I read that Johnny Cash and his familywere eventually victimized by violent thugs. Perhaps that wised him up a bit
ReplyDeleteSad that it takes that kind of a wake up call to open up the pinched little minds of those who manifest, as you point out, personalities as skewed as to think the law abiding responsible for the criminal outrages casually enjoyed by presumptuous barbarians.
Ray, I expect you're right. Taylor Swift is no Michael Jackson either. Maybe that's a good thing?
ReplyDeleteJack, I can easily picture you grooving to the beat of some Gregorian chants... Rock on!
Interesting discussion of popular music/criminology. The two domains may not be as separate as we sometimes like to think! Personally, I take it for granted that even deplorably inadequate human beings can, and often do, make excellent music. Thus, I don't have to like someone's politics to enjoy their "art". As you both pointed out, too many people go as far as to idolize musicians and other creative types. That's just silly. Sure, they have some talent. Good for them. But that doesn't make them wise, or virtuous, or beautiful, or anything else. Let's keep our heads about us.
Dr.Waddy from Jack: But the only way we can know many of these ethereal beings is through their "art"yes? Let us then view them through eyes unclouded by public acclaim at their time of greatest glory(?)Nah, it aint likely. Though it is counterintuitive, many of these lowlifes have had profound influence on our culture and even our civilization
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lived through it!
True, Jack. Civilization keeps ticking along, generally speaking, despite the ramblings of artistes...
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