Ever notice how a majority of songs played on the radio have to do with love?...Or what people think is "love." It ranges from:
"There's this girl/boy I like, but he/she doesn't know I exist" to
"He/She is with someone else, but he/she should be with me" to
"I'm so in love with the person I'm with and can't live without him/her" to
"I used to love you, but now I hate you, but I still love you" to
"I'm totally over you, but I'm writing a song about you."
Take Taylor Swift, for instance. She always sings about the guy she can't have because he's with another girl. Well, hunny, obviously he's not going to leave her for you if he talks about how "he's so in love." And if he does, then what makes you think he won't do the same to you??
Have some respect for yourself. Show some independence. Find someone that actually wants you, not a sloppy second.
In her song Love Story, one of the verses reads
"Romeo save me, then try to tell me how to feel"
Umm...don't be so dependent on men, particularly ones that don't even realize you basically drool when they're in the room. And don't EVER let a man tell you what to do or how to feel! Think for yourself.
Another one of her songs that is very popular on the radio now You Belong With Me contains the lyrics
"Dreamin' about the day
When you wake up and find
What you're looking for has been here the whole time"
Really, if he hasn't seen it yet, why are you still bothering?? Don't waste your time. Why don't YOU wake up and move on to bigger and better things?
Lastly, there's a verse in Teardrops on My Guitar that bugs the crap out of me:
"I'll bet she's beautiful
That girl he talks about
And she's got everything
That I have to live without"
WHY ARE YOU COMPARING??!!
#1 I think Taylor Swift is very pretty. She has gorgeous hair and beautiful eyes. She shouldn't be concerned about her attractiveness.
#2 Why does she assume she will only be loved for her looks?
#3 If he doesn't see what a great person you are, then it's his loss. Forget him. He's not worth it and you deserve better!
Life should not revolve around a guy I really hate when straight female artists write songs and sing about how their world would be nothing without that guy and they can't live without him. Ugh, gag me. There's more to life, and I'm sure you can find something to live for.
being a feminist and a songwriter has made me think about feminism in music a lot.
ReplyDeletei totally agree that music needs to move on from generic boy/girl gender roles, but its hard to comment on art being "unfeminist".
music is a place where emotion and experience find their release, and emotion and experience aren't usually politically correct. not to say that taylor swift usually writes her own songs or anything, but i usually appreciate the level of emotions in her songs (and i kind of like the one where she destroys her cheating boyfriends pickup).
in a world where women value beauty its not suprising that she would be jealous of a woman's beauty. its disenheartening to hear a talented and powerful woman "waiting" for a man, but we all do things we aren't proud of and i wouldn't want to stop her from singing about something that women often go through, which could help them relate and deal with the issue, and also realize if its so silly that a star could do this, its silly for them too.
love is rarely politically correct and art is ultimately personal. music is a great way to deal with and get past feelings that you aren't proud of.
... but please don't get me started on katy perry! singing about love and jealousy is one thing, but the straight misogyny in some pop music is just disgusting.
I apologize, the lyrics from Love Story are actually "Romeo save me, THEY try to tell me how to feel".
ReplyDeleteEven though my comment no longer applies to this verse, I still believe you should think for yourself for all other situations.