The Disappointment of a Showgirl...

The life of a showgirl was promised to us as a return to form to Taylor Swift's pop bangers. Working with legendary producer, its shell back and Max Martin for the first time since reputation, this same producer being the one who did iconic songs like Break Free by Ariana Grande, Three By Britney Spears, and even Blinding Lights by The Weekend. And after Tortured Poets Department, which had very mixed reviews by the fandom, people were very excited about this. One department really leaned into more of that melancholic singer-songwriter side of Taylor. So seeing her return to form in this deeply pop euphoric side was something that people were really looking forward to. Combined with the visuals of the album, which were all in themes of the showgirl, people seemed so excited for this album, however, once it dropped, that was not the sentiment at all. Not only was the rigging heavily criticized, but Taylor did an entire diss track about Charlie X and response to her song "Simpathy as a Knife," which was a very honest and vulnerable song discussing Charlie's insecurity as a woman in the industry, the pressures of comparing yourself to other people, and how that creates this feeling of unworthiness. Yet Taylor's response to that felt a bit petty, simplistic, and antagonistic of the song, ignoring the themes of that insecurity and comparison altogether. This upset the fandom even more, as it felt like it was very opposed to this sort of girl's girl, and we need to uplift women's mentality that Taylor has always embodied. On top of that, there have been some discussion about the number of vinyl variants, 28 total variants, in less than seven days since the release of the album, causing some more backlash. I guess you could say, she grow bossed too close to the sun this time. I'm sorry, I just, I had to, okay. So what actually went wrong here? Is this album actually bad, as people say it is, or are they just hating? Where do that disconnect from her fandom come from, as someone who has been known as being one of the best at cultivating this relationship with their audience? Well, that is exactly the question we said to solve here today. We were talking about all things, the life of a showgirl, giving a bit of my album review, also sort of discussing this, like, Charlie's situation, as well as, like, the way the music industry has responded to this. So, welcome back to Nicky and I. I'm your host, Nicky Reardon, and a bit of a disclaimer, okay, I'm going to be very honest. This is the first time I have ever made a video about Taylor Swift on this channel. It, because it has been something I have intentionally avoided. I'm going to be honest, like, the way that I have seen and had comments on videos from Taylor Swift fans, really saying things, extremely mean, extremely mean, if I'm being honest. I'm not saying that is a reflection of her, more so the way that there is, like, very, you know, toxic, argumentative fandoms online. So much so to the point that, like, it has completely scared me off from the topic altogether, okay? So, like, this is me being honest about my tadyk, I'm going to say things I've liked about the album. I'm going to say things I disliked about the album. I'm going to talk about this Charlie and Nicky's situation. And if that bothers you, if Taylor Swift is your absolute faith and, like, you don't want to hear or engage with any sort of critical thinking about the potential criticism, that is so fine. This is not going to be the video for you, okay? And I'm not doing this out of, like, an intent to be, you know, antagonistic of her in any way. This is my honest take. And this is, like, how I feel about the thing. Also, I really want to, like, I made a video talking about this and talking about the Charlie situation, like, a TikTok video. And people, like, I lost 1,000 followers in a day because I said I thought that the song was, like, a little bit too much in response to simply his knife. And, like, I got called a misogynist in the comment section, I had all of those things happen, okay? And, like, it really, I'm going to be honest, it really hurt my feelings. Like, it was just so, like, I feel like there is so much this mentality of people, like, make these videos, talking about how we need to bring back music journalism and music criticism, but then, like, if I ever actually give a moderate critique, it is meant only with, like, hatred and real, like, a deep attacking of my person in a way that upset me. You know, like, it was, it sucks to have someone call you that when, you know what I mean? It's like, okay, I can make 90 other videos on this channel about pop stars that I love and being completely uplifting. And clearly, I love pop music. I like it. You know what I mean? But, like, to have one critique somehow instantly outweighs all of that positive positivity that you have generated in the videos I've talked about, like, appreciating someone's work or discussing their work, whatever. Um, I don't know, it just really upset me. Also, going to be honest, was really having a bad mental health month. So, like, got kicked while I was down a little bit in a way that was, like, really hurtful. Um, so all that to say, I want to be civil, I want to have an open discussion. You can tell me I'm wrong. I love that. Tell me why I'm wrong. If there's songs in this album that you thought were amazing that I didn't like the writing of, tell me why. Like, I think that's a beautiful discussion. Um, also, another hot take I have before really getting into the album review is, like, I actually really disagree with this sentiment of, like, you can't compare pop stars because you're pitting women against each other. And that that is somehow one misogynistic and two, like, a bad thing. Like, in my opinion, you compare your favorite sports teams all the time. Michael Jackson and LeBron James have been getting compared to forever. Um, you compare your favorite movies all the time. You talk about your favorite actors. You talk about which Twilight movie you liked more than the other ones, right? This idea of comparing two things in the same category and saying which one resonated with you more and why and giving pop, you know, things you liked about one and critiques of the other is not in a tack on the other person. It's me explaining my preference. And if you have a different preference, that's okay. I'm also not trying to invalidate the way you think about the thing, you know, like, if you think differently, tell me why. That's great. Like, it doesn't need to be like, oh, you're just a misogynist who doesn't like Taylor Swift. It's like, no, like, I just, we all have different favorite Taylor albums and like, this one was on my favorite Taylor album and that's it, right? Like, it is not like some deep hidden piece of somebody's moral character because they don't like the same pop song that you do. And that's not, I think, reflective of like what, you know, feminism and misogyny actually is, I think it's actually a bit of infantilizing the issue a little bit, you know, like feminism is like a real social issue. There are like real pay gaps and like real problems that we can discuss as to like real feminist issues, but saying you liked a Beyonce album more than a Taylor Swift album is not misogyny. It's just not. And like comparing the two of them is okay, you know, it doesn't mean that like, it means I think all of all of the streams and all of the views and all of the album sales should go to the one and not the other, right? So with that, let's dive into this album review of Taylor Swift's life of a showgirl. I think I'm going to talk about the album itself first before I really get into like the Charlie XCX section of it all because what I want to make clear is like my critique of this album really, I think, are geared towards the writing. Like that's really where a lot of it fell short for me. Whereas I think the sort of like discussion of actually romantic and like the diss track of it all is more of like a personal feud or like personal disagreement between those two. And I want to have like an honest discussion about the music before we even get into like the person behind it, if that makes sense. So starting with the life of a showgirl, the first thing that really caught my eye, I'm going to be honest was like, I don't really feel like this album was showgirl at all. The presentation and the visuals were very showgirl, but like there was no brass section at all really. There was not a lot of like woodwind or saxophone like when I think showgirl and flapper and what that means, like it is actually a specific sound and type of music. Whereas this album was really just like a Taylor Swift pop album that had showgirl visuals put on top of it. And I think this is one of the things that I have always not loved about Taylor Swift and I think the way that she does her writing and visuals is like, I think the way she approaches it is like, she writes all her music first and have this idea of like the story she wants to tell and like the things she's willing to talk about and explore and then thinks of a theme after and you know, like how does she want to package it and what does the era want to be and blah blah blah. And I don't think that that's like a fully bad approach. I think it's actually, you know, there's some beauty to that to really like starting with the art for some really starting like with this holistic like inward approach of like what is my story here that I'm trying to tell. However, it does make me like I want it to feel cohesive. When I see showgirl, I'm like, I want can can dancing. I want the flower on the head. I want big trumpets and trombones like, I want it all right? Like that is what it is like a great example of like an album. I feel like really nailed a theme to for me was like cowboy Carter, right? Like not only was the presentation extremely cowboy, but like all of the songs are like titled Levi's Jeans and Sweet Honey Bucking, but then also like is country music in so many different ways, right? can be this very like country pop, like a Texas hold on, but also very like, poetic and valid about like the wrong doings of America and a song like American Requiem, you know what I mean? Like it took the theme and explored it in many, many different ways and like all of the avenues that are that theme. Whereas I feel like, again, like this was like a Taylor Swift knew what she wanted to do, she knew the sound that she wanted to do, she knew what she wanted to make this pop out and what she wanted to write about. And then it was like, what is an era I haven't done yet? Which is very interesting considering this is like Max Martin shell back production. You know, like again, talking to people that have done like art, break free, Ariana Grande, three by Britney Spears, blinding lights by the weekends. You know, those are like, again, these like big showy songs. And a lot of the production on this wasn't that. It was incredible production. I just, in fact, like really, really, I think like, like the first seven seconds of wood is like exactly the sort of production I wanted. It's like a little groovy, a little showy. Like I imagine a big spotlight on the stage in the girl with like the feather and she's like a diamond dress. Like that was what I was giving me. And that was really when I felt like that production was really hitting that sort of like show girl type feel that I wanted the music to have and expected the music to have, which I think is very interesting. And again, not to say that the production was bad, it was just like when I had this expectation of the show girl, it, that's what I expected it to be. And I really didn't think we got there. However, I will say they're, you know, songs like "A Fade of Ophelia" and "Opalator 2" were like, one thing about Taylor Swift is that girl knows how to write a catchy melody in like an infectious song. Like her music is so like, it just sticks in your head. Like instantly, I don't know how, I don't know why. It's like the magic science of music and something she's really good at is like knowing how to create sort of that type of sound. Like that super catchy, just like pop that will stick with you. And I think those two songs really show that. However, the writing on this album was a lot for me. I'm not gonna lie. Like it felt very elementary, which is crazy to say about a Taylor Swift album. Like saying, "But I'm not a bad bitch and this isn't savage on Emma's daughter." Is all of the same person who wrote folk lore is like crazy. Like it does feel like two completely different people. And I think it really leans into sort of this like, I don't, I want to say like clunkiness or like, you know, the millennial cringe that is some of Taylor's writing, right? Like a song, again, literally like, "Did you girl boss do close to the sun?" It's so like, oh my God, I feel like it would be on a poster at home goods. That's how I, you know what I mean? Like in a suburban mom's kitchen, like that, you know, it's just like, no one has said like, "Bad bitch and savage in the same sentence and like, popular culture since 2017." You know what I mean? Like that, it just felt a little bit out of touch with the lexicon of the way actually, people actually speak and young people actually speak. And one of the ones that really, really bothered me was actually the song "Canceled," where she says, "Good thing I like my friends canceled. I like 'em cloaked and Gucci and scandal, which is a crazy thing to say when you're like buddy, buddy, best friends with Britney Mahomes, who's like openly a Maga supporter, openly anti-LGBT, openly, you know, against a woman's rights and shoes, openly in support of fascism in the United States." And you're like, "Oh, she's just canceled and covered in Gucci and scandal." Like, come on, come on. You know, and it's like, even if that's not who she's talking about in the song, read the room, read the room. You have to know that that is not gonna be perceived while at this moment of time. And like, it's a bit of that out of touchness again, that I feel of like, the writing on this album just feels like somebody who is not actually in tune with the emotions of the random, common working class person, like just a random girl who listens to Taylor Swift. And that was really, really, you know, something that was just like bad to, like I just didn't like that. And again, it's so, I have some critique slider to get into. Next was really, like, wood, which was her trying to step into this sort of like Sabrina Carpenter-esque humor in the sexual innuendos. You know, I think that Taylor very much felt that when she was calling up as a pop star, that was something that was not allowed. And honestly, I think that's like a true. Like, you're really not allowed, like, you know, like when you think of this sort of like, that like Disney Channel-esque, you know, like the way they wanted people like Taylor and Miley Cyrus and then Ariana Grande and like, like they were so focused on them being these like perfectly packaged thing to appeal to teenage girls and being so brand safe and being so public, you know, safe. And I think it was, to Taylor, like, liberating to see someone like us Sabrina Carpenter have success doing that now and that, you know, the cultural norms of like, the way a woman can discuss her own sexuality has expanded. And that's a good thing, you know, genuinely, even though the way that they're doing it is through humor and Sabrina Carpenter is very satirical about it. I think it's a good thing that that sort of rhetoric has been normalized, but it was the way she did it that bothered me, right? Quote, all over me, it's understood. I ain't got a knock on wood. Forgive me, it sounds cocky. He dignitized me and opened my eyes. Redwood tree, it ain't hard to see. His love was the key that opened my thighs. I don't, it's just like weird to me. Am I crazy? I don't know, it's just like felt uncomfortable. It feels like balance of like trying to be like PG, but also sexual at the same time, which makes it feel like kiddie and infantilizing, while also talking about like, your fiance's hard dick. (laughs) You got to pick a lane and like doing both is like, it's just like, it doesn't rub, right? Like, there's something about it that is not right. And I really just like was not vibing with that. Again, that's what I'm saying, this, like when I said earlier that the writing felt like elementary, that's sort of like what I meant by this. Like it feels like kiddie and a bit out of touch in that sort of way, like out of touch with the lexicon and out of touch with like sort of the way people would perceive these types of things. And then with the writing, we really get into this sort of, one of I think Taylor's like negative impulses is this very like instant self- victimization, which is so what happened with actually romantic. Because I think her entire take about sympathy as a knife was that it was a diss track. And that is not what that song means at all. Sympathy as a knife is really about Charlie's own insecurity. She talks about, you know, when she, her fiancee now husband, is George Daniel, the drummer of the 1975, when Taylor Swift was dating Maddie Healey, they spent a lot of time together. They would see each other at shows, blah, blah, blah. And what's simply the knife is really talking about is like, you are the biggest pop star ever that has ever lived. And who you are and the way you present yourself and the way you market yourself and everything you do is so opposite to me. It could not be different, right? That's why Charlie has lines in the song. Like I'm so opposite, I'm on the other side. I couldn't be you if I tried. It is her talking about how like she sees somebody pursuing the same thing that she is pursuing and how much success they are having with that and how much people love her for that. And it's like, oh my God, I could not be more different as a person. I could not be more different in my music. I could not be more different in my presentation or my marketing, all of it. So it makes me feel insecure because I am like comparing myself to this person and this pinnacle, the golden standard of the industry and I'm so different that I'm like, oh, am I not gonna be able to get there? Am I never gonna be able to get there? It's actually like a very introspective song. It's actually a very inward song. Like I would say Taylor's involvement in the song is more so like talking about how like her being around somebody like that was a trigger for her own insecurity. Not like even is it discussing any sort of action that Taylor took or anything like that, right? There's why I say that song is not antagonistic of Taylor Swift in any way. I would actually even argue Taylor is not the subject of the song. Charlie is the subject of the song. Her insecurity is the subject of the song. Taylor is just kind of there, right? She's kind of just like this moving piece in the equation that may Charlie feel that way. Which is why when the response that Taylor gave that was so like attacking, it felt unwarranted. But let me be clear before I say that too. I do think Taylor has every right to respond. I am not, I'm very in the belief that if you open that door as an artist, if you write a song about the something or someone or some relationship, whatever, you have to be accepting and willing that that thing is gonna come back to you, right? And Charlie absolutely opened that door first, 100%. But what was upsetting was the way Taylor did not explore the nuance of that song, right? Like I, especially when you compare it to the way that like Lord did, right? With Girl So Confusing. Which actually I would say is like a song that is a little bit antagonistic of Lord, you know? It literally says like we don't get along and like sometimes I think you might hate me and we don't have much in common. And you don't even mean like it is actually a lot more directly about her, and in some ways even negative. But. But the beauty of like the way Lord handled it was working out on the remix and squashing that beef, right? She so felt the emotion that Charlie had felt before in this like weird unspoken tension that you can have with people and how that can lead to weird competition and comparison. And um, was like, oh my God, I didn't know you felt this way. Like, I want to give you my side and I think we should come together to squash this. And like, to me, that is a real feminist moment. That is a real woman uplifting woman moment, right? And it was beautiful for the fans also like how cool was that to see. And it was Lord really taking in that song and sitting with it and thinking about it and being like, whoa, like I, I, I had no idea that is what you were going through. I want to talk about what I was going through, right? And she talked about how when she was recovering from her eating disorder and how that made it hard to be around people and how she always felt. Charlie was this party girl and so cool and everything in her life is so big and glamorous. So like, I'm just nothing being around you and like, it was so, it was beautiful. And that is really where Taylor upset me was not exploring the nuance of that, right? Like, I would have loved if Taylor had a song that was talking about, you know, like the pressures of being on top and the fact that she's like, holy crap. Like, I didn't even know this person was comparing themself to me and I didn't feel competitive with them in any way. And it makes me so sad that like us being around each other created that sort of like emotional turmoil within you. And that is such a thing that happens in this industry of the way, you know, like women are, are like that with each other. And like to explore that from the other side would have been so interesting, right? Explore, explore what it feels like to be like when you are on top, you become the standard that everybody has to compare and measure up to and imitate or replicate and how that is tough on you too, right? Like there was so much interesting dialogue there. And also I feel like genuinely one would have been in line with the things Taylor Swift has written about in the past and to so perfect for this idea of show girl, right? Like the entire, when she explained the album, she was like, oh, I really want it to be talking about, you know, sort of this like behind the scenes of the show girl. Like I just got off the biggest tour of my life and the biggest show I've ever done. And this is really what it felt like, you know, when the when the curtain closed and I was, you know, alone in that dressing room, like that's who I was, right? And like how amazing would that sort of narrative and writing have worked with this album? And it being not being there at all was so disappointing to me. And the fact that Taylor even starts it with like, I hear you call me boring Barbie when the coax by your brain is like one, like coming out the gate first line in the song swing, right? Obviously actually romantic being a compared, like a illusion to everything is romantic. Also like the way Taylor boils it down to just being like, oh, well, you're just obsessed with me and you're actually in love with me. And like that's why you're thinking about me all the time is like, come on. You know, it's like, that's not what the song was about at all. It's not about her being obsessed with you. It's about like a real vulnerable moment in a person's life. And how did you not see that? How did you not feel that, you know, like that? It was so disappointing and to come back with that one, I also just dislike the time anybody uses like drug use as an insult. I have been around many addicts in my life and like, I don't know, you know what I mean? Like I just, you don't know what somebody's going through and it's like if they were instant grounds for insulting somebody is to like call out drug use, I don't know. I just don't think that's like a healthy thing to do. And to like, you know, a bit, a lot, I want to talk about it like a lot of the responses to this that I've seen of people saying like, well, well, something must have gone on behind the scenes. And that's why Taylor responded this way, right? One, maybe it did, you know, like that's probably likely, and I'm not saying that that isn't a realistic outcome at all. But what is frustrating to me is like, as an artist, you have to know that like when you say something, your fandom is going to run with it and talk about it for like years and speculate and blow it off for years, right? So even if Charlie felt that way, even if she was calling her boring Barbie all the time, it doesn't like her music, whatever, Charlie had the discipline to not say that because she knew that her fans would take it and run with it and then turn it into this stand war, right? And that is actually, I think a respectable thing. An artist have to like each other, not all artists have to like each other's music. That is so fine. I don't like all artists music, neither do you, the viewer listening to this, right? But where there is kindness and honor and respect is to keep that opinion inward because she doesn't want people to spin it out of control, right? So like when people are like, well, maybe something happened, I'm like, well, yeah, but like Taylor's one making this like a beef, you know what I mean, and a public beef and and wanting her to do that, right? And I respect Charlie's discipline, even if that is true to like not do that, right? Also, like, I just genuinely hate the sort of like mindset of like, well, maybe something happened behind the scenes and in anything because it's like, well, now we're just getting just speculation. Now we're just getting into conspiracy. You know, like maybe behind the scenes, she's a dragon and Charlie X X is a mermaid and like, we're just like talking about hypotheticals, we're just like literally spinning conspiracy theories that are not actually based in like any sort of like factor evidence. So like what is the point of discussing it? You know, like I'm trying to discuss like the words that were written in both songs because like that I know happened. That I know is like the way one person said their piece and the way the person responds to that piece, right? We can actually have a discussion about that and an intellectual discussion about that. But to say like, well, maybe so what's so happened behind the scenes is just this like, what are we doing? Like, we're just not going to get anywhere. We're just spinning, you know, conspiracy and also something that really bothers me about this is like, you know, when whenever I feel like the sort of people talk about will something happen behind the scenes and then, you know, you bring up the fact that like Taylor Swift's suit Olivia Rodrigo or writing credits and money on a song because she said in one interview that it was inspired by Taylor Swift. And then they're like, well, neither of them released an official statement. So like we don't actually know what happened, blah, blah. And I'm like, you know what I mean? It's like, okay. So like, do you want to talk about it? Does that happen behind the scenes? You don't want to talk about it? But like, you know what I mean? I'm like, like I can tell you the lawsuit genuinely happens. I can tell you like, that's a real thing. But like, people don't want to like, they want to speculate when it's convenient to speculate for like their take. But when they're, there's something actually that happened in the real word that's contradictory to their take. Suddenly they don't want to talk about speculation. Suddenly they don't want to talk about what can happen behind the scenes. You know, and like that, again, like that's what this sort of rhetoric in fandom upsets me because I'm like, we're just not getting anywhere, you know, like we're not, we're not actually having a conversation about anything. And also like, we got to talk about the vinyl variance, okay, like we got to, like we got to talk about it. I'm sorry. Okay. And again, I liked Taylor Swift's music. But this is something about her that I just do not like. Is this the way she releases vinyl variance, 28 variants of a song within the first seven days. There's more variants of the vinyl and stuff than there is songs on the album is crazy. And like, yes, do all artists release different variants of their vinyls? Absolutely. Do they release different versions of their songs? Absolutely. But it is the quantity within the first week to boost sales numbers and break records that is frustrating to me because what it does for the industry of music is that makes it so, oh, if someone else wants to compete, now they have to release 30. For the next time Taylor Swift does an album, she's going to release 32 and it's literally just like inflation, right? We just keep like growing the number of all of these things that are like, it's wasting all this plastic. It's bad for the environment. You're kind of just like taking an extra $50 from fans when you're already like a millionaire or a billionaire to, you know, get a higher billboard chart, like who cares? It's not like a real actual thing. Like who cares? Congrats. You got a record on some chart, on the Hot 100, whatever. And what it does is it, again, it just creates this inflation of music that like in order to compete, everyone has to keep doing these things and keep doing and the amount of standards they just do that is annoying and then billboard themselves even, you know, change the rules this past year to try and counteract that, right, where they were like, you can only do, you know, they're only going to count like four of a fan bought vinyls, like they would only count a maximum of four, like per person. So then what do they do? They've released a bunch of target exclusive variants this time. Why? Because those don't count as like an individual sale, they count as like a sale through target. So that gets around the rule. It's also why she did iTunes specific variations because they don't, those count as like sales through iTunes. That's like direct to consumer sales. And again, it's just like we're always doing this and like this isn't a uniquely tailored problem. It's a music industry problem. I'm using her as a primary example because she's the biggest artist that does it and she does it more than anyone. She does it more than anyone. And it just bothers me again, like not in the sense of like, I don't think it demeans the art in any way, but in this, in just what it does for the industry music, I think is what I'm trying to say. And then also makes it impossible if you're like an independent artist who's like just getting started or like just starting to have momentum, like, and you can't fund 28 versions of a vinyl for yourself. you will never be able to compete, right? And that's upsetting. I want to create an industry in a space where a little guy can have a moment, can get a top 10 album. I think that's cool and exciting. And I don't want it to only be true if you have this massive distribution right network and this massive record label that's willing to produce 28 versions of something. It's just what it does for the industry music that bothers me. And the way that people use it to block people is so annoying and frustrating, like the fact that Taylor released UK exclusive variants. The same time Charlie did brat like in her home country to stop her from getting a number of come on. It's a release five by no variance the week hit me hard and soft came out. And like that again, I'm just like what are we doing? Like you are your album already win number one and it's release week. That's awesome. That's amazing. I'm so happy for you. Now another artist is going to release their album and we should let them have a turn. We should let like that is how it works. And like the blocking thing is real. It is a real thing in the music industry. I am asked a lot of people. And again, I just hate what it does for the industry music. So that's really how I feel about this album being honest. It was not my favorite Taylor Swift album. I'm going to be honest. I would probably rank it in like my bottom three. Again, does that mean I hate Taylor Swift? No, does that mean it's an absolute competition where we have to yell and call me a misogist? No, this is my personal opinion. This is what, how the songs and the album resonated with me. So with that, thank you for tuning in. I love y'all. And I'll see you next week. Bye.