"Saturday Night Live" nailed it this weekend with "Swiftamine," a fake commercial for medicine that adults take when discovering they like Taylor Swift induces vertigo. "I took my daughters to a Taylor Swift concert. I did not want to go," says a humbled dad (Kenan Thompson). "But as soon the concert started I was on the ground. My daughters said I was slurring my words, and those words were, 'Girl can write a song!'"
You know what? She can. Take a deep breath, ignore the lazy attitudes that automatically equate pop music with crap and actually listen to Swift's new album "1989." I know it's easy to casually dismiss an artist known for startled glee as perpetually, annoyingly cheerful--that is, when she's not emoting like a diary about her many high-profile relationships/breakups. But that perception of her just isn't accurate when it comes to the new record, comprising songs that deliver insightful, grown-up thoughts on relationships not found on albums by Katy Perry or Selena Gomez or anyone else to whom Swift's new pop persona will be unjustly compared. At times she's refusing to take back someone who walked away; other times she's wishing for the return. "So it's gonna be forever, or it's gonna go down in flames," she sings on "Blank Space," her sobering view of romance anything but a fantasy. There's hope on "1989" but also a mature desire for the wrong people, be it potential partners or judgmental strangers, to leave her alone. (Note: I do not condone the use of "sick beat" on the otherwise irresistible, empowering "Shake It Off.")
But wait. I'm not supposed to like Taylor Swift after recently raving about albums by Run the Jewels and Royal Blood that have little in common with the 24-year-old singer, who appears July 18 at Soldier Field. Or don't they? Well, RTJ doesn't, but several tracks by Royal Blood, the English rock duo that's the biggest thing overseas since Arctic Monkeys, touch on relationships (sample lyric: "I'm on a train going nowhere/I ran away to make you care") with less to say than Swift. I love the record. I'm just saying hard-hitting music shouldn't get a lyrical pass that poppier stuff doesn't.
Besides, what the "SNL" piece addresses is the misguided temptation to fall in line with majority opinion and the internal battle that occurs when you lie to yourself. Everyone gets that: Many movies/singers/books are unfashionable to like or dislike. L.A. Times film critic Kenneth Turan even said he wouldn't review "Boyhood," which he didn't like as much as nearly everyone else-I remain one of the lone dissenters on the film, which I'm fine with-because he didn't want to rain on its parade. What good is that? Your opinion is your opinion, and just because many people disagree doesn't make it wrong. As long as you can rebut arguments to the contrary (I don't see how anyone could claim "Blended" isn't racist and misogynistic, but try if you like), your point of view has merit.
EXTRA: WATCH JIMMY KIMMEL MENTION MATT PAIS''BOYHOOD' REVIEW TO WRITER/DIRECTOR RICHARD LINKLATER
In other words, don't worry about what you're "supposed" to think. Katy Perry has some fun songs. So does Death From Above 1979. So does Jay-Z. Embrace variety. Understand why you like what you like, and give yourself some credit. And don't be ashamed. To quote my wife: "I like Britney Spears, and she's the worst."
Watch Matt review the week's big new movies Fridays at 11:30 a.m. on NBC.
mpais@tribune.com
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