Taylor Swift’s Travis Kelse-inspired truck shakes Swift
Swifies has flooded social media with reactions to Taylor Swift’s new track “Wood” from Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl.”
After hearing the most controversial tracks – “Thu,” “Cancel!” and “Really Romantic” from Taylor Swift’s new album, “The Life of a Showgirl” – I could hardly last.
I wasn’t a self-proclaimed “Swiftie,” but I took an ERAS tour with my mother in 2022 and would like to thank the complicated storytelling in “Folklore” and “Evermore” for “Evermore.” The same artist who created such beautiful melody and story (it’s hard to imagine “Your House is Haunted / I think your dad must always be angry”; she can sing on “Seven”). She has already proven to be a great songwriter even before her 2020 album, so why is she going to reflux years of internet slang?
And despite my desire to erase “wood” from my memory forever, criticism of the album was inevitable in my social media feed.
Many people pointed to Kelse as a root problem. “He should have been a better muse,” one critic posted on X, with others claiming that her best music was inspired by her six-year relationship with Joe Aleun. Others joked, perhaps creatively, that she could be the first case of a “second hand CTE.”
The headlines for The New Yorker and Slate are called Swift and call the album “Cringe’s masterpiece.”
But aside the criticism of the music, some fans feel that they are betrayed by the album, not just the lyrics. For them, it’s personal.
why?
Swift develops close relationships with her fans, but the “Stan culture” could go too far and grow into a parasocial relationship, a “illusion of friendship” with public personas. When Swift acts like he’s out of character, the audience feels cheated.
Why some fans feel disappointed
Kaeli Dance, a 26-year-old content creator, says some fans are “clearly disappointed.” “But they would have been disappointed no matter how good each song was because they weren’t familiar,” she told USA Today early on the release of the October 3 album.
“She has the most loyal fans and the most loyal hatred,” one fan posted on Instagram, explaining how each album was initially hated, but was ultimately praised.
Swift is not the first artist to face resistance to change. Having run six number one albums perfectly in the UK, starting with its 2006 debut, Arctic Monkeys has turned Slack into Get Slack to change the sound between each album. Even Olivia Rodrigo received backlash when he got from soft ballads to “guts” fierce, explicit pop-rock for “sour” (except “brutish”). But for both artists, their later albums have become part of their most famous.
This disappointment can be attributed to parasocial relationships. Swift’s song narrates many of the milestones, heartbreak and victory, so people feel like she knows personally, says Dance.
After announcing her engagement, many fans took her to social media to celebrate “close and personal friend, Taylor Swift.” “I’m so happy to be engaged to Taylor at the same time,” one fan wrote.
“Fans are incredibly shocked to say anything that contradicts the image Taylor has accumulated in her head,” says Dance. “At this point, Taylor Swift’s ideas are much bigger than the real people, and I believe they understand her because of her dedication to music. I don’t think that in reality, many people know her very deeply.”
Contribution: Nicole Forrelt
