Taylor Swift and the Strange Days We Live In

I like to think I'm pretty in tune with pop culture and music in general. I always have been. When it comes to Taylor Swift, I must be living under a rock. After writing a simple article on a local theater showing her concert film, I was truly surprised at the hate mail and negativity I received for it.

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Case in point, this email I received from a local gent after talking about the showing on the air: "Perhaps you should remember what genre you play on this station. Gen X r’s don’t give a s*** about tay-ho swift.. a bunch of us didn’t even watch the superbowl because of that b***… I seriously doubt that the college crowd listens to this channel"

To that statement, I largely guffawed, loudly. I am firmly Gen X, and as a whole, we're known to be a generation that was open to all kinds of different music and attitudes. I know plenty of Gen X and Boomers who are all about Taylor Swift's music and speak highly of her art.

My roots are in the punk rock and hardcore scenes of the 1990s. We adhered to the DIY or do it yourself ethos. We booked our own tours, paid for our recording sessions and CD pressings, slept in vans, slept on floors, and lived to expect the unexpected. While Taylor Swift's shows amass loads of cash, her shows and way of doing business always kind of felt just a bit punk rock. She and her team negotiated the release of the film on their own terms without studio input. They were in control of the art. That's punk rock.

I stumbled on a quote from Gen X icon Eddie Vedder published just a few days ago in Mojo. It turns out that my assessment is spot on. He said about a show he attended with his daughters: “The craziest thing was it reminded me of punk rock crowds, of being aligned with all of the misfits in our town, back in the day,” he told the publication. “It was galvanizing and powerful.”

Facebook comments were bizarre as well. Commenter Mason P. said "She needs to stay out of N.Y.! The Super Bowl was rigged bc she was there!" I guess there truly is a conspiracy theory for everything in 2024.

Finally, another commenter said "I wouldn't take kids either lol but that's my opinion and when you know you know." I'm still waiting on whatever big secret folks seem to be sure of. Until then, I'll happily accept donations of friendship bracelets.