This is amazing. It is such a fresh perspective on art. It has given me so much to think about as both a consumer and a creator. i think the purpose of art has become so success oriented (at least in my mind) that i feel like i can’t ever post unless it’s polished and perfect (regardless of how much i personally love it). I’m committing to allowing my art to fluctuate in quality from now on. thank you!
After reading this piece I am both speechless and also desperate to SAY ALL THE THINGS. (I'm afraid I won't make a lot of sense because my thoughts are all over the place, but let's give it a shot!)
There is definitely so much entitlement, especially on social media, when it comes to consuming art. It seems like people believe that because they don't like something then it must be inherently bad, rather than maybe, just maybe, it wasn't intended for them. Maybe they weren't the targeted audience. Maybe the artist created this thing because THEY needed to, like Taylor Swift has with TTPD. It's like all intentions from the artist are completely forgotten and it's just the consumer being all "what about me?".
Or perhaps, even simpler, they didn't enjoy it simply because they didn't and should just move on. Sometimes I wish I could scream at people to stop spreading such negativity about somebody's else art.
Personally, I don't believe there is "bad art" or "good art". Art is art. When we create or write, every piece of art helps us to grow as creators and artists, but also human beings. It allows us to express ourselves, to explore our creativity and to put our emotions/thoughts into something physical to be witnessed, to be seen. It's only when it becomes consumed by others that labels such as 'bad' and 'good' come up. And that's especially true when people are paying for it.
I just don't understand why people can only choose to see good or bad. Why can't they look/hear something and like it for what it is? Why can't they see what they don't like AND what they do? Or why can't they simply say "that's not really for me and that's okay"?
Anyway! This is such an incredible post. I loved every single point you touched upon 🤎
yes to all of this!!! and it’s so hard because i give into that negativity mindset far too often - even when you are aware of how much it DOES NOT MATTER it’s like we’ve conditioned ourselves to fight people!! and it’s so sad because art is a gift to for and by humanity 😭
Jenna, Jenna, how dare you release such a brilliant essay when I should be working!!
I have so many thoughts on this because I, like you, am a bit baffled by the reception to TTPD. I also didn’t immediately love the album (I wouldn’t use the word disappointment—maybe I felt just a bit baffled by some of its lyrical/musical choices), but it’s been playing on loop for days, and I appreciate it more and more with every listen—and that includes the tracks I didn’t originally love or completely understand.
What I find so timely and relevant about your essay is the fact that we are indeed living in a social media-led world, where consumerism managed to mar even the most precious things about the art we all enjoy; the way that I would describe this, if I had to use a metaphor, is that we’re back to high school. Never in my life have I felt so similarly to when I was 15. People are running to write their hot takes not out of a genuine curiosity towards the medium they’re engaging with, but to establish some kind of moral superiority over whoever happens to voice their opinion right after. Oh, ew, you really listen to *this*?? Who’s Taylor Swift anyway? The takes on TTPD are so disingenuous and mean-spirited that I can only envision them as pertaining to high school setting.
People criticise lyrical choices because they’re ‘cringe’, but they do so by taking them out of context. The whole Charlie Puth/tattoed golden retriever like works perfectly in context once you remember she’s employing an almost diaristic way of logging a relationship, or at the very least parts of it. We did this, you said that. It’s not the first time she’s done it, and it’s in fact perfectly in line with the rest of her discography. But oooh, nooo, it’s cringe because she dared mention an artist you don’t personally like >:( Taking such a line out of context is lazy and I can’t even give the benefit of the doubt to anyone who does that: either they have something against TS specifically*, or they have very poor media literacy. Any artist has lines like this, but maybe it’s not even about the lines themselves. ‘We hate tears in heaven/But it’s sad that his baby died/And we fought about John Lennon/Until I cried’ should be equally as cringe, but Phoebe Bridgers* has never sung a happy-go-lucky, radio friendly pop hit, so people are just quicker to perceive her as a serious artist...
The other thing that drives me crazy is the critique over the whole «the 1830s but without all of the racists», as if that is A) not a valid opinion to have when asked about what era you’d like to live in, and B) just a way for Taylor to seem quirky and special and not like other girls, and not a very interesting (and previously unseen) way to communicate to us, the audience, her relationship to other people (in this case, her peers when she was a child, which could as well be a metaphor about how she relates to others now). Like, that line isn’t a quirky throwaway!! It’s part of a story, and if you listen, you can actually understand more about her character and the song itself! Come on, people!
I also find it really funny that you mentioned Karma by Jojo Siwa, because I’ve been reading the worst takes on that song specifically. It’s completely fine not to like the song. But to imply that the original recording artist did it ‘so much better’, or that the original production worked best, is to be willfully mean-spirited against Siwa. Sure, her attempt at creating a new persona, breaking the mold or having her Can’t Be Tamed moment (funnily enough, the two songs share two co-writers!) can seem a bit artificial, and not at all smooth, but to say that the original version of the song is so much better when the lyrics are the same and the production has only been updated to fit today’s standards in Jojo’s version? Now come on now...
Which is all to say: yes to not liking things. Yes to voicing your opinion about things you like or don’t like. No to assuming an artist has to fit the mold of your expectations. The topic is, of course, much more nuanced than whatever I could write in a comment, so I’ll just stop ranting and thank you for starting this conversation. If anything, I really like TTPD *because* I don’t love it wholeheartedly. I was so scared that it wouldn’t be to my taste, and that it would somehow ruin my relationship with Taylor Swift’s music, but I’m so gland that I can criticise it as well as enjoy it for what it does very well. At the end of the day, it’s honest, just like you said. I’m happy about it.
*Absolutely no shade to Bridgers, I love her music and love that song. It was just to highlight a clear double standard. But we could be doing this with Ariana Grande, Lana Del Rey, Drake, literally anyone.
you are speaking language!! i’m so over people taking things out of context especially with taylor. sure sometimes her lyrics are a little odd but as someone who as experienced a tattooed golden retriever guy getting head scratches….she’s spot on 😂😂 and you’re so right about phoebe - love that girl but i never understood why people thought she was such a lyrical genius 🤷🏻♀️
let jojo siwa have her can’t be tamed moment!!!! let her be a little cringe!!!!! she’s having fun!!!!!!
This is amazing. It is such a fresh perspective on art. It has given me so much to think about as both a consumer and a creator. i think the purpose of art has become so success oriented (at least in my mind) that i feel like i can’t ever post unless it’s polished and perfect (regardless of how much i personally love it). I’m committing to allowing my art to fluctuate in quality from now on. thank you!
After reading this piece I am both speechless and also desperate to SAY ALL THE THINGS. (I'm afraid I won't make a lot of sense because my thoughts are all over the place, but let's give it a shot!)
There is definitely so much entitlement, especially on social media, when it comes to consuming art. It seems like people believe that because they don't like something then it must be inherently bad, rather than maybe, just maybe, it wasn't intended for them. Maybe they weren't the targeted audience. Maybe the artist created this thing because THEY needed to, like Taylor Swift has with TTPD. It's like all intentions from the artist are completely forgotten and it's just the consumer being all "what about me?".
Or perhaps, even simpler, they didn't enjoy it simply because they didn't and should just move on. Sometimes I wish I could scream at people to stop spreading such negativity about somebody's else art.
Personally, I don't believe there is "bad art" or "good art". Art is art. When we create or write, every piece of art helps us to grow as creators and artists, but also human beings. It allows us to express ourselves, to explore our creativity and to put our emotions/thoughts into something physical to be witnessed, to be seen. It's only when it becomes consumed by others that labels such as 'bad' and 'good' come up. And that's especially true when people are paying for it.
I just don't understand why people can only choose to see good or bad. Why can't they look/hear something and like it for what it is? Why can't they see what they don't like AND what they do? Or why can't they simply say "that's not really for me and that's okay"?
Anyway! This is such an incredible post. I loved every single point you touched upon 🤎
yes to all of this!!! and it’s so hard because i give into that negativity mindset far too often - even when you are aware of how much it DOES NOT MATTER it’s like we’ve conditioned ourselves to fight people!! and it’s so sad because art is a gift to for and by humanity 😭
Jenna, Jenna, how dare you release such a brilliant essay when I should be working!!
I have so many thoughts on this because I, like you, am a bit baffled by the reception to TTPD. I also didn’t immediately love the album (I wouldn’t use the word disappointment—maybe I felt just a bit baffled by some of its lyrical/musical choices), but it’s been playing on loop for days, and I appreciate it more and more with every listen—and that includes the tracks I didn’t originally love or completely understand.
What I find so timely and relevant about your essay is the fact that we are indeed living in a social media-led world, where consumerism managed to mar even the most precious things about the art we all enjoy; the way that I would describe this, if I had to use a metaphor, is that we’re back to high school. Never in my life have I felt so similarly to when I was 15. People are running to write their hot takes not out of a genuine curiosity towards the medium they’re engaging with, but to establish some kind of moral superiority over whoever happens to voice their opinion right after. Oh, ew, you really listen to *this*?? Who’s Taylor Swift anyway? The takes on TTPD are so disingenuous and mean-spirited that I can only envision them as pertaining to high school setting.
People criticise lyrical choices because they’re ‘cringe’, but they do so by taking them out of context. The whole Charlie Puth/tattoed golden retriever like works perfectly in context once you remember she’s employing an almost diaristic way of logging a relationship, or at the very least parts of it. We did this, you said that. It’s not the first time she’s done it, and it’s in fact perfectly in line with the rest of her discography. But oooh, nooo, it’s cringe because she dared mention an artist you don’t personally like >:( Taking such a line out of context is lazy and I can’t even give the benefit of the doubt to anyone who does that: either they have something against TS specifically*, or they have very poor media literacy. Any artist has lines like this, but maybe it’s not even about the lines themselves. ‘We hate tears in heaven/But it’s sad that his baby died/And we fought about John Lennon/Until I cried’ should be equally as cringe, but Phoebe Bridgers* has never sung a happy-go-lucky, radio friendly pop hit, so people are just quicker to perceive her as a serious artist...
The other thing that drives me crazy is the critique over the whole «the 1830s but without all of the racists», as if that is A) not a valid opinion to have when asked about what era you’d like to live in, and B) just a way for Taylor to seem quirky and special and not like other girls, and not a very interesting (and previously unseen) way to communicate to us, the audience, her relationship to other people (in this case, her peers when she was a child, which could as well be a metaphor about how she relates to others now). Like, that line isn’t a quirky throwaway!! It’s part of a story, and if you listen, you can actually understand more about her character and the song itself! Come on, people!
I also find it really funny that you mentioned Karma by Jojo Siwa, because I’ve been reading the worst takes on that song specifically. It’s completely fine not to like the song. But to imply that the original recording artist did it ‘so much better’, or that the original production worked best, is to be willfully mean-spirited against Siwa. Sure, her attempt at creating a new persona, breaking the mold or having her Can’t Be Tamed moment (funnily enough, the two songs share two co-writers!) can seem a bit artificial, and not at all smooth, but to say that the original version of the song is so much better when the lyrics are the same and the production has only been updated to fit today’s standards in Jojo’s version? Now come on now...
Which is all to say: yes to not liking things. Yes to voicing your opinion about things you like or don’t like. No to assuming an artist has to fit the mold of your expectations. The topic is, of course, much more nuanced than whatever I could write in a comment, so I’ll just stop ranting and thank you for starting this conversation. If anything, I really like TTPD *because* I don’t love it wholeheartedly. I was so scared that it wouldn’t be to my taste, and that it would somehow ruin my relationship with Taylor Swift’s music, but I’m so gland that I can criticise it as well as enjoy it for what it does very well. At the end of the day, it’s honest, just like you said. I’m happy about it.
*Absolutely no shade to Bridgers, I love her music and love that song. It was just to highlight a clear double standard. But we could be doing this with Ariana Grande, Lana Del Rey, Drake, literally anyone.
you are speaking language!! i’m so over people taking things out of context especially with taylor. sure sometimes her lyrics are a little odd but as someone who as experienced a tattooed golden retriever guy getting head scratches….she’s spot on 😂😂 and you’re so right about phoebe - love that girl but i never understood why people thought she was such a lyrical genius 🤷🏻♀️
let jojo siwa have her can’t be tamed moment!!!! let her be a little cringe!!!!! she’s having fun!!!!!!