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Comment by redundantly | Hacker News Reader

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When a mediocre artist has a following so much larger than an artist you deem exceptional, you’re going to see mediocrity all the time. See Kardashians. You getting upset about it is something you can control. People talking about something you do not like is not.

Circle of concern is an important concept that I don't see mentioned enough. It shows up everywhere though, from the AA serenity prayer to stoicism, to mental models, etc.

Glad to see it being mentioned, it's a powerful tool.

Taylor Swift is amazing, I love how much she gets under some people's skin. Some people need to get comfortable being uncomfortable.

She’s mentioned in the comments because she’s mentioned in the article, and she’s mentioned in the article because she was the #1 most streamed artist this year.

I've got my own opinions, as a musician, about Swift and her music, and in point of fact we are probably on the same page (despite me being that middle aged white guy that you stereotyped as liking her).

But man, does this take feel... whiney.

Journalists are desperate for a shared culture again, and are latching onto anything that resembles the mass media culture pre-internet.

She's the #1 most streamed artist on Spotify (100m+ monthly listeners).

It's obvious to mention her in an article about Spotify streams.

Since when has "deserves" ever been part of the equation?

Yeah. I forgot this.

I also forgot how much she's liked in the middle aged, white male demographic, so I'm not likely to get much sympathy here on HN.

The infantilization of adults in the West continue to rise. Child like obsession with teen idols, Disney, Legos, Funko Pops, Marvel movies, video games, etc. Consumerism is rampant. The number of engineers I work with in their 30s who fit this stereotype is truly bizarre. When we hang out at an offsite, I feel like I'm spending time with my teenage cousins.

The best thing about Taylor Swift is how she managed to fuck over the PE firm that bought the rights to her music[1][2]. This is a more effective "fuck you" to the money side of the industry than many more lyrically principled groups have managed to achieve. Her music is... ok. It's the pop music industry, so I'm not sure what you're expecting here. But it's nice to see a pop star with a spine and some business sense.

[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/17/taylor-swifts-masters-sold-b...

[2] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/taylor-swift-says-she-s...

how is mediocre determined? is it local or global?

She's going to save Democracy though!

Hating popular things doesn't make you an interesting person.

I’m sick of seeing Taylor Swift referenced as anything more than a mediocre preteen icon, but we all have to deal with things we don’t like.

Obviously, her appeal is wider now than mere "preteen". For example, Taylor Swift has also become, inter alia, an LGBT icon, and that has been the context of most Mastodon mentions of her I have seen. Since HN and Mastodon have similar demographics, it isn't surprising if she gets mentioned occassionally in these parts.

shall we ask this reply person to explain to someone from the 1980s who listen to Joan Jet and Lita Ford what part of his or her explain response makes any clear logic at any time of day...

HA! Must be hard knowing you'll never accomplish anything even remotely close to that mediocrity in your miserable life.

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