Oh, it is not fun to speak critically about Taylor Swift’s album The Life of a Showgirl online right now. While many are just enjoying the album and going about their days, different pockets of negativity are popping up online.
On one hand, you have people who are excited that it isn’t unanimously loved, either because of their personal grievances towards Swift or simply because of misogyny. On the other, you have a vocal minority of fans who are angry that anyone is speaking negatively about it, even if those criticisms are shared by other people in the fandom.
The reality is simple: People can dislike The Life of a Showgirl, and that’s fine. While people’s feelings about art (and especially music) are capable to change over time, you can’t force someone to like it. But also, attacking people for liking Swift and the album isn’t okay, either. As someone who definitely does not considers myself to be a Swiftie, but who does not outright hate her music, I have a unique perspective on this entire situation.
I do think it is weird that publications like Rolling Stone gave Showgirl a perfect score, especially now that the general consensus (even from some Swifties) has been that this isn’t necessarily Swift’s strongest album. That kind of rating felt fake — and even if it wasn’t, and is just the reaction of a diehard fan who happened to click with the album, the criticism people have for that review is warranted. At the same time now Pitchfork‘s review, which is very middle of the road, is getting hate from Swifties.
Frankly, that’s not how that works. You cannot praise reviews that feel bought, and hate on reviews that aren’t perfect. That feels disingenuous.
Music is subjective, and we need to remember that
For me, that pushback against criticism has been the most frustrating part of this situation, especially when it comes to The Life of a Showgirl‘s lyrics. One major argument has been that this is, lyrically, not Swift’s strongest album. Part of that could be due to the whiplash of how dense the lyrics were in some of her recent past work on albums like folklore, evermore, Midnights, and The Tortured Poets Department, but it could also just be a matter of personal preference. I, personally, think that there is a lot of The Life of a Showgirl that, lyrically, just simply felt beneath Swift. That does not take away from her past work… and if you like the album’s lyrics, that’s also fine!
And yet, I have seen people try to defend their argument by comparing Showgirl‘s lyrics to songs like “Espresso” and “Pink Pony Club”… intentionally cherry picking lyrics along the way. And I have seen some respond to that pushback by basically arguing that pop music doesn’t need to have “good” lyrics to begin with.
Actually, that’s not true at all. Swift’s own discography proves that, and so do decades of music history. One of the best pop songs ever written was “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” by Whitney Houston, which is iconic because of catchy and thought-provoking lyrics and a beat that won’t leave your head. Pretending that pop music doesn’t have to have great lyrics is a disservice to the genre.
Justifying critiques doesn’t help either
Sure, yes, we do have a lot of people thriving on the lack of universal love for The Life of a Showgirl. But part of my frustration is that even saying “Hey, this wasn’t for me,” feels like inviting in a lot of hate.
As someone who, for one reason or another, loves most every movie I’ve seen, I understand the need to “defend” something you love. But at a certain point, when someone is being genuine in their dislike, you can just let them have it. There will always be the “haters” of something because they simply think it is too popular, and Swift’s work does often get that kind of pushback. It is okay to leave even those people alone.
But the problem with all of this is that: the vocal minority of fans who keep fighting people over their criticism of Showgirl are just fueling the fire. Not only for the people who want to make fun of Swifties, but for the people who typically do like Swift’s music, but might not want to engage with her work moving forward if it’s going to be met with this kind of response. I used to listen to Swift every day in high school. I am, generally, a fan of her work. So when I don’t like something, it isn’t coming from a place of negativity, but rather because it just wasn’t for me. And that is okay!
As Swift herself put it when she first announced Showgirl on the New Heights podcast: “You should think of your energy as if it’s expensive. As if it’s a luxury item. Not everyone can afford it.” That can apply to a lot of different situations, but also to how to approach people who might not agree with you about this album.
It’s fine that I don’t like The Life of a Showgirl. It is fine that you do. Music is subjective, and we need to remember that.
(featured image: Taylor Swift)
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