A Mix for: People Who "Don't Like Taylor Swift"

You had to know this was coming!

Over this past week, like many weeks before, I’ve been thinking about Taylor Swift. I am a very committed Taylor fan: I have seen her in concert twice (should have been three times, damn you, 2020), can hardly do a load of laundry that doesn’t have a Taylor t-shirt in it, and have been in the top 0.5% of Taylor Swift listeners on Spotify for years. That is honestly just the tip of the iceberg, but I’ll leave it at that!

Taylor was in the news and on my mind this past week when it was revealed that the carbon footprint of her private jet is significantly larger than that of any other celebrity’s. While this sucks to learn, I’m not surprised. So glad I bring my own grocery bags and use metal straws and skip produce bags and compost and eat plant-based and buy secondhand etc. ETC. ETC.!!!!!! while rich celebrities obliterate the planet with private jets. Realistically, I know personal choice has little to do with climate change in the face of capitalism, but STILL! Couldn’t you all fly to your third home one or two less times a month?

I think it’s valid to question why she (and anyone else for that matter!) is flying private jets with abandon. I think not questioning the actions of people in the public eye is limiting. Inevitably, even the nicest, funniest, best-est celebrities will do something to disappoint you (ie. RuPaul fracks, Ellen is cruel). They are human after all- and really rich at that! It’s fair to critique the actions of people we support and to hold them accountable for questionable behavior. As a Taylor fan, I am constantly wanting her to do better.

This isn’t the first time I’ve been critical of Taylor’s public persona and absolutely won’t be the last. The only unwavering loyalty I have to Taylor is to her talent as an artist and performer (with the caveat that I can recognize when she puts out a bad song or picks a terrible lead single!). Tell me that you don’t like Taylor Swift’s music and it’s suddenly my mission to convince you otherwise.

Which leads us to this week’s mix! I consulted with a friend for this one. Thank you to Julia (who not only tolerates, but meets me in my love for Taylor) who responded “I LOVE THIS GAME!” when I asked, “what are 10 songs you would use to try to win over someone who said they ‘didn’t like Taylor Swift?’” This week’s mix is made up of the 10 songs we each chose- there are 18 songs total, so there was a little overlap between our picks. Our criteria included:

• songs that don’t sound like the singles you’ve heard in passing

• songs that you might be shocked to learn were Taylor if you heard them on the radio

• songs that we personally know have won over skeptics

Julia curated the order of this mix, so we suggest you don’t shuffle!

1. State of Grace (Taylor’s Version)

2. gold rush

3. betty

4. Death By A Thousand Cuts

5. Cruel Summer

6. Clean

7. ivy

8. mirrorball

9. Style

10. False God

11. Call It What You Want

12. Come Back…Be Here (Taylor’s Version)

13. right where you left me

14. Lover

15. coney island (feat. The National)

16. Afterglow

17. august

18. Tim McGraw

We also agreed that this performance of “Wildest Dreams” at the Grammy Museum in 2015 (sadly, not available on Spotify) should be included in any attempt to silence a critic:

Did we miss anything?! What’s on your mix for convincing a skeptic? If you yourself are a skeptic, do any songs speak to you?

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Thanks as always for reading and listening, especially this week! If you liked this, please let me know/share with a friend/subscribe!