Taylor Swift Goes to a Darker Place: Discuss
Specifically, the lyrics of “Look What You Made Me Do” — which announces its melodrama with a dark, fantasy-film string swell
and plinking piano keys before turning harsh and electronic — make barely veiled reference to Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, who became Ms. Swift’s most confrontational rivals last year in a drawn-out scrap over the lyrics to Mr. West’s song “Famous.” (Katy Perry, another longtime adversary, may emerge from this one unscathed.)
“I’m sorry, but the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now,” Taylor Swift announces near the end of her
new single, “Look What You Made Me Do,” which was released across streaming services on Thursday night.
Near the end, she announces that the old Taylor is dead — that’s true in several ways, most notably in the way
she leans in to the drama she once tried to dodge: “I don’t like your tilted stage,” she hisses at Mr. West.
(There are other indications that Mr. West remains near the front of Ms. Swift’s mind: some of her new merchandise
uses a font that’s similar to the one Mr. West popularized on his “The Life of Pablo” T-shirts.
Her new single is ongoing litigation — a broadside against Kanye West
and Kim Kardashian, a retort to their campaign against her in the wake of the fallout following the release of Mr. West’s “Famous,” which Mr. West took as a joke and Ms.
But her most treasured persona — Taylor the avenger — remains alive and more unforgiving than ever on “Look What You Made Me Do.”
Ms. Swift’s songs have been settling scores — and showing her fans
that wronged women can speak up — ever since her music had country trappings and her (ex-)boyfriends weren’t necessarily famous.
