#Gen z vibe full#

That sort of amplifies the whiteness of Taylor a lot. There's only a handful of artists of color who have broken through and in that scene. And the country music scene is historically just geared towards white audiences. She was on a country label for so long she only had people behind her who were from the country music scene. Spanos: I think it's hard because she does come from country music. Tiny Desk Taylor Swift: Tiny Desk Concert And again, as a fan, how do you navigate it when she does things like that? But then she's romanticizing colonial-era Africa. Like the way she would make brunettes the villains, in the 'White Horse' video, or 'You Belong with Me.' In the 'Wildest Dreams' video, she finally makes the brunette the hero. Because she puts herself in her work, her privilege, her experiences and her biases show in her approach.

Luse: I want to go back to Taylor's positioning as a white woman. They didn't have that heartbreak of losing Kanye because Kanye's been the way he is today for the entirety of their development. Spanos: That was a huge turning point in pop music. Luse: Where she did that whole medley and she had 'feminist' like emblazoned out on the stage behind her. Beyoncé doing the VMA performance, I think, was the biggest turning point. They did not realize that artists did not publicly claim feminism in pop music for a long time.

Luse: Yeah, I was going to say, how much did you have to explain about the era that produced Taylor Swift so they could see her in proper context? And that's because she's a songwriting nerd. Interview Highlightsīrittany Spanos: It's one thing to release albums that still get critical acclaim and still keep your fans happy, that keep you creatively happy. These excerpts have been edited for length and clarity.

#Gen z vibe full#

You can listen to the full episode – which also features scenes from this year's Bravocon and an interview with Los Espookys creator Julio Torres – at the top of the page, or on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. They talk about the artist's evolution and how she's navigated the music industry through the years.

What is it about her and her music that's so enduring? Host Brittany Luse sat sat down with an avid Swiftie and Rolling Stone writer, Brittany Spanos, who teaches a college course on Swift. For all her longevity, it seems that Swift is as big as ever. After more than 15 years as a name in the music industry, Swift has dropped her 10th studio album, Midnights. If you're a Taylor Swift fan, this was a pretty big week. Terry Wyatt/Getty Images Amy Sussman/Getty Images Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images Pablo Arellano Spataro/HBO Photo Illustration by Kaz Fantone