Taylor Swift: America's Cultural Colossus

[Walter Sobchak]

Were it not for some middle-aged men here and on Facebook that are obsessed with such things, I would have had no idea Ms. Swift dropped another album. Swift has dropped off both my 12- and 14-yo girl's radars. Sad!

Anecdotally, the kids are out of school today and have been assigned some jobs around the yard to do. When my wife discovered that not much progress has been made, I was assigned to collect their phones to remove the distraction and (in theory) get them back on task. When I requested my 14-yo's phone she bemoaned that she was only using it to listen to music. I took a look at the device to see if she really was just using it for music (she was) and discovered she was listening to the Beatles Abbey Road album. I let her keep the phone. I still have some influence on her, thank God. #winning

Driving in the car today, 14-yo daughter in the passenger seat... after about 10 minutes of silence:

[me] hey.... hey [pokes daughter's leg]... hey!
[14yo] what?! [pokes me back]
[me] What are you listening to?
[14yo] Van Halen's album 1984.
[me somewhat shocked] Really? Let me see. [checks] Dang. That came out when I was your age.
[14yo returns to staring out the window listening to Van Halen]
[me] hey... [pokes daughter's leg again]
[14yo] WHAT?!
[me] Did you like Taylor Swift's new album?
[14yo] She released a new album? I thought it was just a single.
[me shrugging] Maybe I heard wrong.
[14yo returns to staring out the window]

[Uncle Ted]

Driving in the car today, 14-yo daughter in the passenger seat... after about 10 minutes of silence:

[me] hey.... hey [pokes daughter's leg]... hey!
[14yo] what?! [pokes me back]
[me] What are you listening to?
[14yo] Van Halen's album 1984.
[me somewhat shocked] Really? Let me see. [checks] Dang. That came out when I was your age.
[14yo returns to staring out the window listening to Van Halen]
[me] hey... [pokes daughter's leg again]
[14yo] WHAT?!
[me] Did you like Taylor Swift's new album?
[14yo] She released a new album? I thought it was just a single.
[me shrugging] Maybe I heard wrong.
[14yo returns to staring out the window]

:rockon1:

The first Van Halen concert I went to was their 1984 tour.

[BigPiney]

Driving in the car today, 14-yo daughter in the passenger seat... after about 10 minutes of silence:

[me] hey.... hey [pokes daughter's leg]... hey!
[14yo] what?! [pokes me back]
[me] What are you listening to?
[14yo] Van Halen's album 1984.
[me somewhat shocked] Really? Let me see. [checks] Dang. That came out when I was your age.
[14yo returns to staring out the window listening to Van Halen]
[me] hey... [pokes daughter's leg again]
[14yo] WHAT?!
[me] Did you like Taylor Swift's new album?
[14yo] She released a new album? I thought it was just a single.
[me shrugging] Maybe I heard wrong.
[14yo returns to staring out the window]

That is kind of like my 15 year old daughter. I walked by her room the other night and she was listening to AC/DC's Who made who?

[Jeff Lebowski]

Driving in the car today, 14-yo daughter in the passenger seat... after about 10 minutes of silence:

[me] hey.... hey [pokes daughter's leg]... hey!
[14yo] what?! [pokes me back]
[me] What are you listening to?
[14yo] Van Halen's album 1984.
[me somewhat shocked] Really? Let me see. [checks] Dang. That came out when I was your age.
[14yo returns to staring out the window listening to Van Halen]
[me] hey... [pokes daughter's leg again]
[14yo] WHAT?!
[me] Did you like Taylor Swift's new album?
[14yo] She released a new album? I thought it was just a single.
[me shrugging] Maybe I heard wrong.
[14yo returns to staring out the window]

That's a great story.

My kids were all well trained in classic rock. When any song came on, they could almost always name the band. When a Van Halen song came on they could not only name the band, but after listening a bit they could state whether the vocals were David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar.

[Walter Sobchak]

That's a great story.

My kids were all well trained in classic rock. When any song came on, they could almost always name the band. When a Van Halen song came on they could not only name the band, but after listening a bit they could state whether the vocals were David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar.

I do a similar thing with the kids. There are bands that I hope that they can recognize even if they have never heard the song before: Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, The Who, Queen, Journey, U2, and probably a few others I can't think of right now. The older two are pretty good at the name the classic rock band game; the youngest one doesn't give a shit.

However, I insist that my kids (all born in the Seattle area) be able to recognize any Seattle(-area) band... from the more well-known stuff like Hendrix, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters, Macklemore to the relatively obscure like Death Cab for Cutie, Modest Mouse, and Fleet Foxes. Same goes for bands with LDS members: Imagine Dragons, The Killers, et al. If a song by a band from the Seattle(-area) or with an LDS member comes on the radio, you CANNOT change the channel / skip the song until it is over. (Yes, this requires we all suffer through Pearl Jam's "Last Kiss".)

[Applejack]

I do a similar thing with the kids. There are bands that I hope that they can recognize even if they have never heard the song before: Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, The Who, Queen, Journey, U2, and probably a few others I can't think of right now. The older two are pretty good at the name the classic rock band game; the youngest one doesn't give a shit.

However, I insist that my kids (all born in the Seattle area) be able to recognize any Seattle(-area) band... from the more well-known stuff like Hendrix, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters, Macklemore to the relatively obscure like Death Cab for Cutie, Modest Mouse, and Fleet Foxes. Same goes for bands with LDS members: Imagine Dragons, The Killers, et al. If a song by a band from the Seattle(-area) or with an LDS member comes on the radio, you CANNOT change the channel / skip the song until it is over. (Yes, this requires we all suffer through Pearl Jam's "Last Kiss".)

Seems a little harsh.

[Bo Diddley]

Do you have a Google search for your name saved? Mine comes up in this article from the NY Post.

Taylor Swift’s terrifying stalker history: from deadly love letters to break-ins

NY Post.jpg

[MartyFunkhouser]

Can we all just accept now that Levin was right that Taylor Swift is America's Collusus?

[Northwestcoug]

Can we all just accept now that Levin was right that Taylor Swift is America's Collusus?

I’m not sure about that, but her new album slaps.

[Northwestcoug]

Any Nevadans going to the T Swift concert tonight or tomorrow? Hoping for a banger tonight.

[Copelius]

My son is down there with a bunch of friends. He's going tonight.

[Northwestcoug]

My son is down there with a bunch of friends. He's going tonight.

Hope he liked it. It was pretty epic, clocking in at over 3 hours.

[LiveCoug]

My wife really wanted to go see Taylor Swift but the prices were too outrageous. So, she puts "taylor swift tickets" on her vision board.

The next day a friend texts her and asks if she wants to go to the Taylor Swift show in Dallas. Free ticket. Fully stocked suite. With a free stay at a nice hotel.

Her vision board is strong. Very strong.

[Northwestcoug]

My wife really wanted to go see Taylor Swift but the prices were too outrageous. So, she puts "taylor swift tickets" on her vision board.

The next day a friend texts her and asks if she wants to go to the Taylor Swift show in Dallas. Free ticket. Fully stocked suite. With a free stay at a nice hotel.

Her vision board is strong. Very strong.

Whoa. It’s an Eras miracle!

[BigFatMeanie]

I’m certain I’m “out of touch” but what is a vision board?