elevating her over others far more talented is yet another way that the PTB are actively inverting reality and purposefully crushing people who have real talent so that they either fall into despair or give up altogether. Music has always been one of the best ways of elevating the soul throughout time, and now even that is being diverted and perverted. IMHO anyway.
Fundamentally I don’t disagree but this is not a new or recent phenomenon. Jeez, in the 50’s a boatload of mindless garbage came roaring down the pike on radio and juke boxes nationwide and has never stopped.
It’s partly about subjective taste (what’s mindless negative garbage Vs what do “I” like. And When it comes to taste, there are few objective absolutes). But the history is fascinating.
50’s Taylor Swift = Elvis. Elvis was a natural reaction to the bland “drink your bourbon and martinis, pursue the American dream, and STFU” embodied by Perry Coma, Brenda Lee, Dean Martin, Doris Day etc. Elvis the pelvis was the spearhead of a rebellion from traditional values and a release from pent up societal repression. Personally, I detested Elvis’ music but I was only 7 when I started hearing him on the radio and I was a weird kid.
60’s was a period of diversity and societal splintering, drug culture expansion, social causes but there was no one all-encompassing mega star like TS. The whole point of that era was a fracturing so a mega star wasn’t needed or even possible.
The 70’s. IMO, disco was the mindless soma used to get people back to non-thinking, and start promoting the agendas. (Elton John, the Village People). The BeeGees could be viewed as a Taylor Swift of that era. But it was a conglomeration of stars in the disco party space. (stfu, party on the weekend and go back to sleep) (Even Rockers went disco.)
So as I write this, what I think is unique about Swift is what a broad focal point she is. (They tried with Madonna too). Like if you took the popularity of the BeeGees, Donna Summer, Diana’s Ross etc of the 70’s and rolled them into one you’d have Taylor Swift.
The hive mind is also at play. The decades of past programming is another thing in play. And some of the stats may be cooked, too. They are lying about the economic numbers and inflation numbers and Biden numbers, so why exclude manipulating the perceived popularity of Taylor Swift?
What you (and Beato) are also right about is the homogenization of pop music. But it’s pop music. The random excellent, creative, expressive music artists have always existed and they still do.
The mass promotion of limited options has been perfected: Like a musical vaccine for all. But we are all allowed to listen to what we like in our own earbud cocoon world so long as we stay hypnotized and don’t act in unison to confront the system.
It’s a complex and wonderful topic.
But, being mystified that large groups of programmed, brainwashed masses should rally around a stupid choice should not come as a shock! This is clown world, remember?
But in all seriousness, I’m not even half joking there! I simply can’t stand that so called “music“. Most, if not all of it, is sickening to me.
