Thursday, February 12, 2009

Taylor Swift?! Uh-huh!


Today I rocked to country.
Yes. I did.

I rocked to country music.

The reason I say this twice is because, well, for lack of a better phrase, I don't do country. I don't know why. I just can't. I am not attracted to it. I never was. While I'm sure that country music feeds many people, it doesn't manage to feed me in any way. Not even with carbs. It's a preference issue, you see. For example, I love Verdi, Wagner, Beethoven, and Mozart but I don't care for Schumann. I love Indie rock but basically everything about Grunge bothers me. And, yes, Nirvana is an exception. Kurt Cobain is bigger than any genre. And I loved him. Very much. I still do. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" continues to be a high-frequency track. It's not grunge, it's classic. So there are exceptions within certain genres, of course.

Now back to my country encounter today. I rocked out to Taylor Swift's "Love Story."
At the end of the tenth lap at the pool, I thought I would take a 60-second break and change up the routine. I remove the items that guarantee my isolation from the surroundings and I suddenly hear this uber-loud song blasting from the loudspeakers.
I gave out a 'huh?' Hmm. The pool is sounding like a Bavarian disco? How about that!

After my 60-second break at the pool, I found myself rocking to the song the loudspeakers were feeding my already-filled-with-water ears. At the end of the mini-break, I found myself singing along with Taylor: "Romeo, save me... My daddy said "stay away from Juliet" Marry me, Juliet... Baby just say 'yes.''

I remember letting out a 'HA!' and then put my cap and goggles back on and got to the second half of the work-out. I couldn't get Swift's words out of my head. I then tried to switch to Verdi. Verdi always bails me out. I tried Nabucco but words like 'Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone, you can be the prince, I can be the princess' kept creeping in. I had another 20 minutes left in my routine, so I was stuck. My iPod and Keane were calling me but I resisted. Instead, I gave in and sang in my head, ''And I said, Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone."

At the end of the workout, I get to my iPod and listen to Keane's Perfect Symmetry. Keane, de-Swift me swiftly, please. It didn't work.
I turn to Verdi. Nichts!

Now, I support the arts. And I most actively support music. For without music I wouldn't be who I am. But I am very, very specific about what I like. And country is not it. We're all entitled to having our favorites and Indie is what I choose. Indie is what I have chosen for years now. And this week has been a very good week for me. I got Franz Ferdinand's new album, Lily Allen's new stuff, and The Annie Lennox Collection. And it's not even Friday yet. So, what's this country business about?

And I know exactly what my annoyance consists of. Taylor Swift's little, puerile track is a distraction. Much like Lifehouse was a few years ago when their music kept me from more relevant artists like the Magnetic Fields or Morrissey. And this is supposed to be Verdi's time. This is Verdi's month. So, Taylor, I'm sure you have plenty of other fans out there. I am not hiring. I never was. My love is already spoken for. And it's good. It's very, very good.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's a catchy song, totally.
"The pool is sounding like a Bavarian disco? How about that!"
HAHAHA.
Leave it to you to find a way to name things... :)

This is not a post about country music is it?
I'm not sure it's actually about music at all....

Anonymous said...

Taylor Swift?!
You would mock me shamelessly if this were me.

Literary reviews of music are rocking my boat, B.R.

Anonymous said...

I'm not much of a country fan either, but Taylor Swift's "Fearless" album is actually really good. You may also like her songs: "Hey Stephen," "Breathe," and "White Horse." They are definitely worth checking out. Cheers!

Anonymous said...

I thought Smells Like Teen Spirit was a Kathleen Hanna joint.

Unknown said...

"I don't do country."
Ha!
I read this more as a commentary on fleeting interest you know have no permanence.
Am I off?

Unknown said...

Smells Like Teen Spirit was the scent Cobain's girlfriend at the time, Tobi Vail was wearing, right?
Word has it then Kathleen Hanna spray painted "Kurt smells like Teen Spirit" on his walls.

Anonymous said...

It's what apparently happens when I leave unsupervised. You allow country to tempt you.

Can't say I didn't die laughing, though. It's the image of the 'eh?' production that i'm thinking about.

Taylor Swift is not twangy, at least. And I find her gendered. I'm sure picking up on sth here, otherwise why do a post.

I agree with Jenny. You're SO not writing about country here.....

Anonymous said...

Mom, Dad: Today, I rocked to country.

I love how confessional you make it sound.
This cannot be JUST about Taylor.

Or maybe I'm letting the hype influence me here. :)

Thanks, brokennarcissist, for the Kathleen Hanna comment. I had forgotten hoe much I used to love Bikini Kill and Le Tigre.

Sra said...

Ha ha ha. Funny funny. It's ok to be open-minded about types of music that aren't really your genre, though. One of my best friends, who has 10 years on me and musically hails from the 80s-90s hard rock era, is always astonished when I rock out to something like Filter or Disturbed or something much harder than my usual stuff. I mainly listen to indie, folk, acoustic, etc., but I can appreciate other things. I pretty big on jazz. And I have a Tim McGraw album in my collection. Sometimes you just gotta get down with your twang thang, you know?

Also, I like American Idol, ok? ;)

B.R. said...

-Sure, the post was about other things, too. The main point, however, was that I did, de facto, rock to a country song.
And I listened to it today as well.
Yes, it's catchy. It's silly and 'silly' things bring with them a kind of levity that few other things manage to.
-I don't have any Taylor Swift in my iTunes. I have some Toby Keith but I also have a very good reason for it. I will check out Fearless as it is being checked out by millions. So, I need to, at least, check it out once.
-Right, Kathleen Hanna and Kurt Cobain were friends as she was friends with Cobain's gf at the time, Tobu Vail. It is indeed, Hanna who wrote 'Kurt smells like teen spirit.' I'm corroborating that.
-And yes. This is also, VERY MUCH, a comment on the impermanence of fleeting interests.
-I need to go back to Bikini Kill and Le Tigre as well. It's been a couple of years.
Twang Thangs are quite a text, aren't they. I agree. A true music lover has, by a few definitions, an open mind.

Anonymous said...

Its unfortunate that Kathleen's work under the name Julie Ruin is often overlooked.

B.R. said...

Kathleen Hanna is a solid artist. I wish she'd be producing more. The last time I saw a Le Tigre concert was a couple of years and I'd love to see her again. You are right, Julie Ruin did not get much exposure. Alas.