Pitchfork: “Taylor’s new song is really, really bad”

[Kimmo 76,591]

“In her latest decree as pop’s current Glenda the Good Witch, Taylor Swift has told an unnamed group of online haters to “calm down.” If that seems like an unhelpful appeal in the midst of everything ****ed up about social media, it is. But since she took off her Reputation villain costume, Swift is all about spreading self-love, touting the joys of spelling and showering in rainbow sludge. In the Lover album era, she would release an anti-bullying ally anthem so positive it’s almost unnerving. At its core, “You Need to Calm Down” is well-intentioned. Like, yes, of course it’s good to take the high road, kill them with kindness, and other clichés that moms like to tell tweens. But Swift aggressively avoids anything more nuanced, adopting internet speak to fight internet haters. “You’re taking shots at me like it’s Patrón,” she says with all the flair of someone who just listened to a rap song for the first time. In an effort to “brush off the haters” and display resilience, she doesn’t reveal any of the uncertainty and vulnerability that previously lay at the heart of her songwriting. Instead, the words are penned with the energy of a nail-painting emoji and delivered with a plastic smile.

 

Swift dedicates the second half of the song to prove her allyship to the gay community, which again, deserves some props. But her way of showing alliance is confounding: “Why be mad, when you can be GLAAD,” she sings, upping the LGBTQ-centering media organization, but also parroting a literal Tupperware slogan. And when she says “shade never made anyone less gay,” she adopts slang with queer black origins in an attempt to create a mic-drop moment, but ends up sounding like another corporation proving they’re “down for the cause” during Pride Month. All of this, coupled with a hook that’s mostly vowels, makes for a song that’s somehow bewildering and underwhelming at the same time. “You Need to Calm Down” is like one of those fancy unicorn cupcakes, an impossibly cute confection designed to distract you from the fact that it’s a mediocre dessert. I cannot think of something I would rather buy into less”

[Thomas P 18,376]

They’re wrong again, it’s fine 

[LordEnigma 11,313]

I mean, true.

I'm glad she's finally starting to expand her horizons with themes and situations to talk about... But it's just cringe. Her songs are full of cliche after cliche.

[Ryusei 59,929]

the picture   

well they're entitled to their wrong opinion. to say it in her lyrics @author

"You just need to take several seats and then try to restore the peace
And control your urges to scream about all the people you hate"

[Bio 23,538]

It’s not worse than Me! tho

[S0436 10,215]

It’s not really really really bad, just quite bad.  Thumbs down.

[Gracious Gaga 17,163]

It is very bad.  Her music has gotten extremely cringey.

[Gohan 15,120]

They say I did something BAD, then why my label thinks it's so good?

[Dilwyn 4,090]

i liked it

[insight 2,425]

pandering to 12 year olds and gays ...guess that shtick has run its course

[Economy 43,989]

I like it. And I liked Me as well

 

Why all this hate for Taylor lately? Is it her ARTPOP era or something?

[NCgaga 4,137]

1 minute ago, Economy said:

I like it. And I liked Me as well

 

Why all this hate for Taylor lately? Is it her ARTPOP era or something?

Mob mentality. It’s cool to hate on her. 

[Miracle 14,068]

1 minute ago, Economy said:

I like it. And I liked Me as well

 

Why all this hate for Taylor lately? Is it her ARTPOP era or something?

Applause and Do What U Want actually got great reviews though. 

On topic: ME! is horrendous but I enjoy YNTCM

[insight 2,425]

1 minute ago, Economy said:

 

Why all this hate for Taylor lately? 

because puberty ended

[Zedd 5,021]

"ME!" is better than "You Need To Calm Down"

Next to meeeeeeeh! Hoooohooooooo

 

Oh wait, that's not Taylor, I thought it's the same song