Oh absolutely, by any means necessary. Which is why I say it’s wonderful.
But it’s disheartening that a celeb endorsement can drive such engagement. Might be dating myself here but it always reminds me of “what does Ja Rule think!?!”
I’d argue this isn’t any celebrity though. Say what you will about Taylor and her music but she has successfully marketed herself as a wholesome role model for younger generations who has ran a nearly 20 year career scandal free. To them she represents more than celebrity fame. She’s a movement and if she says vote they will vote.
I’m less glad that there are kids whose participation in democracy seems to hinge on a singer. I know that this has always been the case to some extent it just feels increasingly so and kind of sad. Let’s not forget that trump’s main qualification to get into politics was his celebrity.
My grumpy old man take is our politics are getting dumber and dumber and people registering to vote because their favourite musician told them to, no matter how wholesome or good she is, seems a symptom of that.
For singers who are mostly political, sure, this kind of makes sense (think most of the famous 60s singers, most punk etc) but, to the best of my knowledge/limited listening, Swift’s music has seemed pretty non political, which makes it a bit weird to me. (That being said, also what makes it a bit more effective. Rage against the Machine telling folks to vote is preaching to the choir.)
Tl;dr: a good thing has happened, I’m just pining for a better yesteryear that may have never actually existed.
I’m just pining for a better yesteryear that may have never actually existed.
I mean, Neil Young and Joan Baez were encouraging people to vote back in the 60’s, so it’s been at least 60 years that popular music has been closely involved in youth culture’s voting habits
For singers who are mostly political, sure, this kind of makes sense (think most of the famous 60s singers, most punk etc) but, to the best of my knowledge/limited listening, Swift’s music has seemed pretty non political, which makes it a bit weird to me. (That being said, also what makes it a bit more effective. Rage against the Machine telling folks to vote is preaching to the choir.)
To me, there’s a difference between music that’s explicitly political effecting political behaviour and music that isn’t.
If, I dunno, BTS got hundreds of thousands of kids to register as Republican, I imagine/hope people would be concerned that that’s where kids are getting their political direction from.
Edit: I have no idea if BTS is actually political, I assume not. Most of the young music this old fuck listens to are political because that’s what I enjoy, so I’m not great at picking pop non political stuff. Sorry!
Taylor Swift definitely has some political songs like “The Man,” which is focused on the double standard faced by female celebrities, or “You Need to Calm Down,” which is explicitly pro-LGBTQ+, etc.
Ha, that’s pretty good! Thanks for the perspective.
I’ve voted in every election for which I’ve been eligible, so I wonder if some of my votes were just to keep the streak alive even if only subconsciously.
This is simultaneously wonderful and depressing.
If this is what it takes to get the 18-30 year olds to the polls in the right states, idgaf. Just win, baby!
Oh absolutely, by any means necessary. Which is why I say it’s wonderful.
But it’s disheartening that a celeb endorsement can drive such engagement. Might be dating myself here but it always reminds me of “what does Ja Rule think!?!”
I’d argue this isn’t any celebrity though. Say what you will about Taylor and her music but she has successfully marketed herself as a wholesome role model for younger generations who has ran a nearly 20 year career scandal free. To them she represents more than celebrity fame. She’s a movement and if she says vote they will vote.
I’m glad she’s a wholesome role model/movement.
I’m glad that she’s encouraging folks to vote.
I’m glad she’s encouraging folks to vote Dem.
I’m less glad that there are kids whose participation in democracy seems to hinge on a singer. I know that this has always been the case to some extent it just feels increasingly so and kind of sad. Let’s not forget that trump’s main qualification to get into politics was his celebrity.
My grumpy old man take is our politics are getting dumber and dumber and people registering to vote because their favourite musician told them to, no matter how wholesome or good she is, seems a symptom of that.
For singers who are mostly political, sure, this kind of makes sense (think most of the famous 60s singers, most punk etc) but, to the best of my knowledge/limited listening, Swift’s music has seemed pretty non political, which makes it a bit weird to me. (That being said, also what makes it a bit more effective. Rage against the Machine telling folks to vote is preaching to the choir.)
Tl;dr: a good thing has happened, I’m just pining for a better yesteryear that may have never actually existed.
I mean, Neil Young and Joan Baez were encouraging people to vote back in the 60’s, so it’s been at least 60 years that popular music has been closely involved in youth culture’s voting habits
Like I said:
To me, there’s a difference between music that’s explicitly political effecting political behaviour and music that isn’t.
If, I dunno, BTS got hundreds of thousands of kids to register as Republican, I imagine/hope people would be concerned that that’s where kids are getting their political direction from.
Edit: I have no idea if BTS is actually political, I assume not. Most of the young music this old fuck listens to are political because that’s what I enjoy, so I’m not great at picking pop non political stuff. Sorry!
Taylor Swift definitely has some political songs like “The Man,” which is focused on the double standard faced by female celebrities, or “You Need to Calm Down,” which is explicitly pro-LGBTQ+, etc.
Neat! Though, I think her political songs aren’t really what she’s known for? I could be completely wrong though!
Edit: I mean, especially when you think about the artists you first listed like Baez and Young.
Right there with ya. The fact that this is a thing in our society is just… I’ll take it, but yikes. Glad she didn’t endorse trump I guess.
how much of a shit did you give about the crusty old white people in government when you were 10-18 yrs old?
As a punk kid living in the world of Reagan, I cared a lot.
10-18? I dont think that’s the age group we are discussing here…
My first vote might have been because of free coffee at Starbucks for I Voted stickers. In other words, it can always be dumber ;p
Ha, that’s pretty good! Thanks for the perspective.
I’ve voted in every election for which I’ve been eligible, so I wonder if some of my votes were just to keep the streak alive even if only subconsciously.