Taylor Swift – The 21st Century’s Most Disorienting Artist?

Taylor Swift’s can sometimes be difficult to relate to. It’s sometimes a concept, phrase, or even a word, that in that moment makes you realize that this song isn’t about you. This song is about Taylor Swift.

In 2017’s “…Ready for It?”, it’s the little, self-referential wink, “He can be my jailer, Burton to this Taylor / Every lover known in comparison is a failure.”

In “Blank Space,” released in 2014, it’s the entire premise of the song — a joke about a woman who runs through men too quickly, and then dramatically turns on them when they aren’t exactly who she wants them to be.

In “22,” it’s the cheeky, spoken-word “Who’s Taylor Swift anyway?” that follows the line, “This place is too crowded, too many cool kids.”

And that is part of Swift’s strength, and maybe her weakness as well. In many ways she makes sure that all of her songs belong to her. There’s a reason there aren’t as many covers of Taylor Swift tunes as other artists. Swift told NPR in 2014, through her lyrics, “People have essentially gotten to read my diary for the last 10 years.” It’s pretty hard to cover someone else’s diary.

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