As a passionate Swiftie I have a field of thoughts on fire when it comes to Taylor Swift’s new album and where it positions her career, but I’ll try to condense it in fewer than a thousand words. The Life of a Showgirl is very bad, the worst album of Swift’s career according to Pitchfork and The Guardian. It’s a case study in what tragically happens when an artist becomes too big to fail. I see Swift reconciling her yin and yang in real time, stuck between being an authentic artist and a capitalist machine.
Swift's albums are like Rorschach tests and your perspective on each says more about you than the record itself. The artist herself claims she’s as proud of this album as she is of the Eras Tour. Does this mean she’s embarrassed by it? Because what we got sounds like the first thing that came to mind without editing, incongruous with the thesis of the project and little of note to contribute to her cinematic universe. If she had nothing to say then she shouldn't have said anything. Attempting to mimic the carefree Sabrina Carpenter attitude and going so far as to feature the artist on the title track doesn’t make your album the next Short ‘N Sweet.
I thought we were done with the “Me-he-he hoo-hoo-hoo” and “spelling is fun” lyrics, but apparently not because now we have “Eldest Daughter” — and forced into the Track 5 canon no less. Not even Taylor Swift knows what this song is about; it attempts to pull a “You Need To Calm Down” by tying several unrelated ideas together under a vague thematic umbrella, and the result is a hot mess. Opening a piano ballad with the words “trolling and memes” is already jarring, but the God-awful chorus borders on self-parody.
The whole project is inconsistent; by the end of the album the listener remains with the same question they had going in: what is the life of a showgirl? Half the tracks are disconnected from that narrative entirely. Look, she’s not Mariah Carey or Beyoncé; Swift has honed her vocal and stage performance skills to the minimum necessary to achieve the status she currently possesses. Unmatched songwriting prowess is the one big trick up her sleeve; without that she lacks substance.
Ever since she started saying this is her favorite album of hers I began to question everything about her artistry. She’s realized she doesn't need to put all the work in to crunch bigger and bigger chart numbers, and "whittling it all down" is her way of hiding that she only had a partial handful of content and felt the need to play it up as a complete product. She reheats her nachos by getting people to subconsciously associate this album with the greatness of the Eras Tour, similar to her album campaign for Midnights.
By the 12th album, it’s inevitable that the creative fire dims a little. But I believe this slump has two specific causes. First, she no longer has a humbling experience to fuel her. Her most beloved albums — Fearless, 1989 and folklore — were each born from an insurmountable desire to prove herself to critics and the public consciousness, following the pitfalls of the album that preceded it. I obviously don’t want her to experience a downfall just to make good art again, but it’s hard not to see how comfort can dull an artist’s sharpest edges. Second is her relationship with Travis Kelce. While he seems to be her healthiest relationship ever, he's currently a very bad muse; he doesn't challenge her intellectually. It’s not about her being too happy to generate good music, but you can’t go to your boss presenting lousy work and say it’s because you’ve been happy. Where’s the fiery tension to create another “22” or “Cruel Summer,” the introspection to create a “mirrorball?” It's as if Swift and Kelce have been diffusing intelligence quotients and now she’s all about designer brands and internet slang. I don’t want to have to lobotomize myself to listen to a Taylor Swift album.
The tail end of Showgirl consists of what many are calling "evil pop;" Think “Dance Monkey” by Tones And I, lyrically neutered but sonically infectious. This single redeemable quality was made more so by the producers Martin and Shellback than Taylor. These songs are to be heard by the general public at Stop ‘N Shop, not engaged listeners who want something of value. Some Swifties live in Tay-North-Korea and can't fathom criticism as anything other than a death threat against the artist. I don’t force my perspective on others, but it pains me when genuinely poor art is portrayed as misunderstood.
My eyes roll when defenders scream, "You guys just don't like seeing Taylor happy!" as if Speak Now isn't constantly adored by the "haters" as her best album to date. This thesis statement exclusively comes out of the mouths of Swifties who seem to be under 16 years of age and have never bothered listening to the roots of her discography. Sorry, but if you don’t even know the words to “Sparks Fly” then you have no business entering the conversation over what Swift is capable of when writing love stories. I actually find Swift’s new album to be the antithesis of Speak Now — while the latter sacrificed commercial appeal to deliver on pure artistic merit, Showgirl is only about commerciality. By the way, if you think a career-low track like “Wood” is cleverly written, might I suggest “I Can See You,” “Dress” and “Guilty as Sin?”
I want to hear other people’s thoughts. I personally believe the best avenue for her to improve may be to return to form on her 13th album like she did for folklore and evermore. I will always love Taylor Swift albums, but I’ll be more hesitant than ever before when a new one is on the way.
Marc Staiano is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at mcs382@cornell.edu.
