Anybody who knows me knows that I am obsessed with Taylor Swift. Anybody who knows me, however, also knows that I hate pop music and avoid country, for the most part too. There are a million reasons why I love Taylor Swift, but in simplest terms, I think that she possesses the kind of talent that most artists can only dream of.
I have never been one to listen to what’s popular; I think that most good music is not popular and most popular music is not good. I do not like pop radio and I do not listen to it, but I refuse to write somebody off just because their name appears on the Hot 100.
Taylor Swift is the best songwriter our generation has to offer. I know that most people will disagree with this, claiming she is just another pretty blonde that the music industry pimped out, so perhaps some history would help dispute that claim.
Swift was signed at the age of 14 as the first artist on Scott Borchetta’s brand new Nashville label, Big Machine Records. The label is now a staple in country music and Swift is now the biggest name in music, but the humble beginnings say a lot.
Borchetta has said that, at first, people did not take him or his label seriously and did not want to work with him because his first move as CEO was to hire a 14-year-old songwriter, but Borchetta believed in Swift. He saw her play a show at the Bluebird Café with a 6-string and some songs she wrote in middle school, and he was hooked.
The truth is that when you take away the glitter and the 106 million Instagram followers, Swift is still that same girl from the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania, that knows how to write a great song.
Swift verbalizes things that you didn’t even know you were feeling until you heard them. She crafts relatable yet deeply personal works of art that should not be taken for granted.
You may think that you know who Swift is as an artist because, well, she’s unavoidable. Swift’s lengthy Billboard history includes five no. 1 hits, 22 top 20 hits and 75 top 100 hits. But the real Taylor lies deeper than the catchy yet mildly annoying pop songs you can’t seem to escape.
Swift has the capacity to craft better lyrics than any other artist in the public eye, but she chooses to display that minimally, so that she can stay atop the charts in today’s shallow remainder of the music industry. The lyrics in her pop songs are typically decent, but her ballads are breathtaking.
Each record that Swift has written contains at least one, stripped-down, purely poetic ballad. “All Too Well,” “Last Kiss,” “New Year’s Day,” “Dear John,” “Clean,” “I Almost Do,” “Ronan,” “The Best Day,” “Fifteen” and “Begin Again” are my recommendations. Every one of them has made me cry.
If you can listen to each of those songs and still deny Swift’s talent, that’s your prerogative, but at least give her genuine music a shot. You won’t regret it.
Halle Weber is a sophomore studying journalism with a focus in news and information at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Do you agree? Let Halle know by tweeting at her @HalleWeber13.
