Why I DON'T Hate Taylor Swift

I know it may sound like a silly thing to read, especially to those who have never gone up against the Music Biz Beast and thus have never been defeated by it, but I feel it's an important statement to declare. Why?

Because of this: Many of Taylor's predecessors, as in super-successful-teenage-pop-stars, like Brittany or Christina, have been pretty much loathed by the music community in the past (Note: I do not harbor animosity for either of them now, I'm sure you'll be relieved to know). Reason being,
a) They weren't nearly as good as we saw ourselves to be, as their only real talent, we determined, was their ability to be pretty, sexy and mindless.
b) They didn't create their material. We saw them as puppets in the hands of some money hungry music machine. They were Sell-Outs. We were pure!
c) They made it and we didn't. Plain-old jealousy can be a highly motivating emotion, I've found

But Taylor seems to be of a new breed. She writes her own lyrics, plays an instrument and uses it to create the music in her songs and manages her own career. And she isn't selling herself on being sexy. Of course, despite the way I may come across in this post, I don't actually know her so she could be total slut-bag. But she seems like a sweet, smart girl who doesn't need to lean on sex appeal to get noticed. And that's really cool! She doesn't seem to be just a pawn being played by the Music Biz Beast, but rather, she is her own Beast. But in a good way.

And I totally respect that. It's still true that she made it and I didn't. It's also correct that she's a super-successful-teenage (well, she just turned 20, right? Still, close enough)-pop-star. But she's made her own way. And her songs may be simple but they are sweet and they feel good to listen to. And you can't argue with that.

And that's why I don't hate Taylor Swift. In fact, I kinda like her. A lot.