Why cant they just leave us alone?

[Theo W.]

2. The goats a nice touch.

I laughed so hard.

Also, was Taylor Swift picked on in school? I would picture a pretty woman/future pop-star like her to be popular in high school. (She didn't grow up to be that big anyway..)

[mandolino maximus]

Here's a quick thought. There is no criticism meant by the original post beyond paraphrasing the jist of the song. The thread title is a lot like me telling a joke to my wife and then having to expla .... Oh, just never mind then.

Whoops guess not.

[250sc]

can't delete this mistaken post

[Peter Kurtze]

Who's "they?" Who's "us?"

There are two kinds of people in the world:
Those who believe there are two kinds of people in the world,
And those who don't.

[Mike Bunting]

It's just trivial.

[Mike Bunting]

P.S. My introduction to bluegrass was The Battle of New Orleans, a huge crossover back in the days. It was the first 45 my mother let me put on the player by myself. She was ready to kill me.

I don't recall that song being a bluegrass tune, a big country hit for Johnny Horton.

[Charlieshafer]

I have no problem with that at all. Good message for sure, and if 1/100% of her audience thinks that playing acoustic instruments is cool, then she will have introduced far more kids to mandolins and banjos than a forum of this size ever will. I like the vintage vibe; again, if it opens a few doors to the old-time aesthetic, then props to her. If you catch your youngster liking this, it's a very easy jump to introduce her some old Nickel Creek, and from there, some acoustic Grateful Dead, on to Old And In The Way, and back onward. This is a great teaching moment, folks.

[mandolirius]

It kinda went on too long but I liked it. I thought the mandolin playing was pretty good.

[Peter Kurtze]

It's harmless, it's no threat to any established genre, and if its positive message helps one "tween" girl survive Middle School, so much the better. I say that as the father of a daughter who nearly didn't.

[journeybear]

Why you gotta be so mean?

People take Taylor to task for being more pop or rock than country, and then here's this, a nice catchy tune with a good message and country/bluegrass colorings, and she still gets chided. Guess some people would rather put people down than see the positive aspects of what they are doing. Just no pleasing some people.

Verbal bullying is still bullying, and it's still hurtful. What do get from making snide remarks about this? Does it make you feel better about yourself? Can you do better? If so, let's hear it.

I'm surprised at some of you. I've come to expect more consideration and better manners around here, even accounting for personal tastes. In fact, this whole thread pretty much stinks.

Why you gotta be so mean?

[Mike Bunting]

I think Scotti was trolling. -)





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[MikeEdgerton]

I think she might have gotten the idea to use the 6-string banjo from me, I've played one out for years. I have no problem with the song, it's a Taylor Swift song. It's no different than all the rest of them. I mean, is there anyone in this thread that's making a living playing music? If so, how are you doing in relation to how she's doing? It's OK to not like the song, to not like the artist, the despise the video, but hey, she is what she is and she's making a living doing it. I'll give her credit for that.

[Jim Ferguson]

Alright.........how many of us commenting are under 40????? Her music fan demographic is far from our generation.....:-)
The teenie boppers love her and her music and she sells millions of records & has more $$$ than any of us will ever see.
Not a bad song for the audience it was meant for and some nice mando thrown in will maybe inspire some youngsters to pick up the instrument.
Peace,
Jim

[Brian Harris]

I got nothing against a catchy tune. It's the synthetic, over-produced, auto-tuned, hyper-compressed production values I can't stand.

Sheryl Crowe's Tuesday Night Music Club is a delicious example of wonderful engineering.

[John Flynn]

Who's "they?" Who's "us?"

There are two kinds of people in the world:
Those who believe there are two kinds of people in the world,
And those who don't.

I heard there are 10 kinds of people in the world:
Those who understand binary and those who don't.

[MikeEdgerton]

I heard there are 10 kinds of people in the world:
Those who understand binary and those who don't.

And there are 10 kinds of people that will read this message. Those of us that understand it and those that don't.

[journeybear]

I think Scotti was trolling. -)

Ya think? But it was the piling on I didn't like.

I don't care how young or old a songwriter is if he or she has something worth saying and produces a well-crafted song, musically and lyrically. Lennon and McCartney turned 21 in 1961 and 1963 respectively, and a lot of their early songs' subject matter skews a little young. I'm not saying Taylor Swift is in the same league - but look at how many people our age still listen to those songs and idolize those young men - but I do believe she has a pretty good way with a lyric, and has written some catchy songs, and has a way of putting them over that rivals many other country artists, most more than twice her age. So I am more than willing to let her career grow, and expect in a few years that her voice will catch up to the rest of her burgeoning talents.

I don't understand complaints about auto-tuning (which I don't hear) and compression (so prevalent in the industry as to be a non-issue). I wish musical efforts would be judged on musical merit. And I think this has a nice sound, I like the instrumentation, and like the song even a bit more than some of her other songs, which rock just a bit too hard for what belongs (more or less) on the country charts. As to the video, some of the production design leans heavily on cliche, which seems par for the course for music videos. All in all, it's a decent song with a timely message fairly well presented. Got no problems with it. And she features mandolin more often than a lot of her chart mates, so that is always a plus with me.

Thanks for being willing to take the bullet for the guitarjo (or is it a banjar?), Mike, but she could just as easily (if not more so) have been influenced by Shakira's use of it in last year's "Gypsy."

[MikeEdgerton]

Thanks for being willing to take the bullet for the guitarjo (or is it a banjar?), Mike, but she could just as easily (if not more so) have been influenced by Shakira's use of it in last year's "Gypsy."

Where do you think Shakira got the idea? For crying out loud, I'm so tired of being a trend setter.

[Clement Barrera-Ng]

I like it - it's catchy, and I dig the message. Will I go out and buy it tomorrow? Probably not. But more power to TS

[Mike Bunting]

[QUOTE=journeybear;927105I don't care how young or old a songwriter is if he or she has something worth saying and produces a well-crafted song, musically and lyrically. , [/QUOTE]
That's a big if. I find both the musicality and the message to be trite in that song.

[mandopete]

2. The goat's a nice touch.

I was just thinking the same thing!

[Mike Snyder]

You cannot have too much goat in a music video. I liked it, for what it is. I play sometimes with a brother/sister duo out of Missouri. She does alot of Swift amd Twain, he does alot of cowboyhat neo countrywestern. Not my choice in music, but done acoustic in a trio, not awful, either. Gives me a chance to stretch out a little. She likes odd keys.

[journeybear]

That's a big if.

I know. My standards are ridiculously high. On the other hand, I am also a big softie.

Where do you think Shakira got the idea? For crying out loud, I'm so tired of being a trend setter.

OK, thanks for popularizing the guitarjo. Now, how about doing something for the MANDOLIN!

[Ivan Kelsall]

I took one look at her & the 'music' just seemed to fade away. She was on a UK TV chat show a couple of months back - what a stunner, & very pleasant person as well,
Ivan

[swampstomper]

I don't care for pop tunes like this, and I did resent the implication (or even directly said in the song and shown in the final scenes) that country people / hillbillies are ignorant bullies but we will show them all when we move to the city and become more sophisticated than "them". Rather than saying the bullies are just ignorant and pathetic (well, she says that too) and "we" the bullied will go our own ways, maybe to the city and maybe not. But all in all a positive message.

All pop music aimed at the mass market dumbs down production and emphasizes hooks and style over soul. I'm not looking for Thile and Daves to hit it big with the 14-year old girls singing a raw "You're Running Wild" anytime soon...