Over the last several years, I’ve gone from “Who the heck is this Taylor Swift person everyone is talking about?” (yeah, I’m old) to “Those songs are catchy, I get it now.” They’re not in regular rotation on my headphones, but that’s OK, I don’t begrudge anyone their enjoyment.
What I’m especially enjoying, though, is seeing Fox News melt down over Taylor Swift’s political views. They’re getting all testerical and insisting that she needs to shut up, she shouldn’t be allowed to have opinions on anything other than music. Of course, you’re only allowed to talk about political candidates if you’re endorsing the Fox News perspective, as Jack Posobiec does here.
Desperately reaching for some Republican “influencers” in entertainment, he coughs up Kid Rock, Ted Nugent, and…Jon Voight? Does he sing?
They don’t get it. Taylor Swift is a symptom, not a cause. Young artists are not going to be attracted to conservative causes, because Republicans are the death of art. Young educated people are not drawn to conservative causes, because Republicans are the death of learning. Young activists for a multitude of causes, like environmentalism or anti-racism or sexual freedom, are not interested in conservative causes because Republicans are death of all.
But I still believe in free speech. You go ahead, Jack Posobiec, and organize your “battleground state concert tour” featuring Kid Rock, Nugent, and Voight. I always approve of the Republicans throwing their campaign money down ratholes. And I’m sure there’s someone who likes Nugent’s and Rock’s music somewhere.
“Desperately reaching for some Republican “influencers” in entertainment, he coughs up Kid Rock, Ted Nugent, and…Jon Voight?”
I’m surprised he never mentioned the other mega-star Trump supporters, such as Kevin Sorbo and Scott Baio. Of course, the Mango Mussolini himself also claimed that he was more popular than Britney Spears, had more loyal fans, and should’ve been Time’s ‘Person of the Year’ instead of Britney. Your 2024 Republican presidential nominee, folks!
“Britney Spears”? I meant Taylor Swift. I blame a severe lack of sleep.
No doubt that concert tour would be cheaper than Taylor’s, but considerably less value for the dollar.
I hear Trump plays a mean accordion. All the kids these day are into Polka, aren’t they?
Sure, Taylor Swift is so frickin’ huge that the Federal Reserve has taken to calling out the economic impact of her tours in their national-level reporting, but we’ve got… Err… Kid Rock! And, uh… [checks notes] Ted Nudget? [Sotto voice] He’s still alive? Wow, who knew?
I don’t even know who the fuck Jon Voight is.
Oh, I remember Jon Voight now!
He’s still alive? Wow, who knew?
Maybe the Nuge can get Damn Yankees back together and people can hear “High Enough” and think, “Oh, yeah, I vaguely remember that from the days just pre-Nirvana.”
Recently Poopy Pants Ted Nugent has been bemoaning the fact Taylor Swift has been elected to the Rock Music Hall Of Fame and he has not. Ignoring the fact Taylor Swift has been the most successful pop and rock musician in recent years. Eat yer heart out Nugent! Nugent has sold 40 million albums, decent but that has been over decades since Nugent started recording in 1976. And him being a dreadful person.
I’m not impressed.
All I recognize as someone I once heard is Ted Nugent.
And he is a creepy pedophile, gun nut, and racist.
I also don’t think his music is all that good.
Go for it, GOP.
We all know your claim to be the party of family values is an obvious lie these days.
The GOP rarely even claims that any more.
Okay, that’s it, I’m just going to start referring to Conservatives as “Anti-Life”, since they seem to be against all the things that make life actually worth living. Honestly, they’re the least imaginative, least creative, least free thinking people in the US.
I recall Laura Ingraham having written a book called Shut Up & Sing around 20 years ago which may have touched on the Dixie Chicks so this is far from a new thing.
Taylor Swift has been around for a while. It was 2009 when that VMA incident with Kanye went down. Damn.
Kid Rock will always have Bawitdaba and Nugent was ok in Amboy Dukes:
More my speed than Swift. Sorry. Maybe they should just shut up and sing.
Not really into Swift’s music, but glad she annoys conservatives. Her boyfriend annoyed bench-sitting dingbat Aaron Rodgers by promoting vaccines. I don’t like the Chiefs. But Kelce seems ok by me.
The new Posh-Becks juggernaut has emerged. Conservatives should fear them.
Dunc @5
I haven’t seen Midnight Cowboy but have been told there’s an iconic scene with Dustin Hoffman:
Also Deliverance has an iconic scene I won’t be posting.
He is the father of Angelina Jolie.
I remember in 2002 when the local fair got Nugent as a performer.
The result was so bad that, despite being in a very conservative area where most people agree with Nugent’s politics, the fair board had to issue an apology after Nugent spent most of the performance just standing on stage screaming obscenities as kids walked by the bandshell.
I wonder if they’ll bring up the fact that Ted Nugent immediately began to neglect his personal hygiene when he got his draft notice. This included not bathing, poor nutrition, and crapping in his pants before the induction physical. He actually bragged about this in an interview.
He’s always been a mediocre musician and a horrible person.
Well, the last time the GOP got heavily into entertainment nonsense, they made a name for themselves of promoting Lawrence Welk over Elvis Presley. Worked out well for the bubble machine companies, if not their popularity with the massively growing number of young voters.
The backswing was tune out, turn on and drop out and we ended up getting Tricky Dick as POTUS.
I couldn’t name a single Taylor Swift song, and I’ve only watched a bit of video of her stage show. She’s not my style. But I love the fact that she’s causing these bozos to fall all over themselves to condemn her because of her point of view. They should just shut up…and please don’t sing.
I think Elvis was pro-Republican but I am pretty sure he is dead.
I never showed much interest in music.
I grew up very young hearing about The Monkees, Louis Armstrong and Tom Jones. Then came more ‘contemporary’ music: Deep Purple, Simon and Garfunkel, Moody Blues. I hear a lot of positive things about The Wham… BTW Paul Simon made a fun video with Chevy Chase a few years ago. Is Taylor Swift a member of The Housemartins*?
*I am joking. Naturally I know she made a solo career when Bananarama split up.
I guess it is no coincidence that the new generation deepfake videos are targeted against Swift. Being a woman, succesful and progressive is just too much for some to handle.
I’m sure that together, a trio of Rock (53), Nugent (75), and Voight (85) can match Taylor Swift (34) for cultural relevance, and keep the younger generations on their side…
I’m really hoping that Taylor Swift tells her fans “please don’t vote for Trump” just before the election. I’d be very curious if she has enough influence to affect the course of an election, rather than just attendance at football games.
The funny thing about the MAGAt backlash against Swift and Kansas City is that now the MAGAts will have to root for San Francisco. Imagine that.
(Cross posted at Mano’s blog.)
Took three shots to name famous conservative musicians and he came up with A.) A washed-up actor who is decidedly NOT a musician and B.) Two washed up pop-stars who have in the past proudly announced their affinity for statutory rape.
Amazing.
There’s nothing like dragging out entertainers in their 50s, 70s and 80s to capture the youth market.
Hey, Jack P – Pat Boone is still rockin’!
Isn’t Gene Simmons pretty conservative?
Bruce Dickinson supported Brexit yet at some point encouraged COVID vaccines because the disease might shrivel your wiener. Still love Iron Maiden. Billy Corgan is a bit of a dick though I still love Smashing Pumpkins. Was ok with the Smiths. Morrissey not so much now.
They should get Grimes, as she’s proud of white culture. She’s not a Nazi! She’s just proud of white culture.
This Taylor Swift video shows her dedication to DEI and also causes massive MAGA puddles, from their tears and melting.
If conservatives now can’t handle Taylor Swift one (actually me) wonders what would happen if they listened to some old school Public Enemy or Consolidated. I’m not super into Green Day musically and they have gotten a bit political, though not quite like Consolidated. Not knocking Green Day. Everyone has their preferences.
I recall a day when NWA and Ice-T freaked middle America the fuck out. Taylor Swift at her most radical is nowhere near that intensity (I assume out of my own ignorance of her). Maybe she’s a radical. That would be cool. But perhaps she has an effective soft touch that scares people more. Go get ‘em Swiftees!
Weird they stuck around after 30 years but I doubt Taylor Swift is challenging the status quo quite like this:
I don’t think she’s quite doing the Pussy Riot stuff either. To each their own.
Don’t forget Rage Against the Machine.
They never seem to go out of style for long.
That’s one way to reach the youths, a concert tour by their Boomer & Gen X parents’ and grandparents’ eighth or ninth favourite artists.
@Hemidactylus #12:
She disowned him.
There was a band called Black Rock Coalition, if the Repubs think Swift is too woke they should try listen to that…
This stuff is waaay more hardcore.
Body Count – Born Dead
.https://youtube.com/watch?v=eRnn0Spbqv4
See, they need to do what their second favorite thing, or is it third.. hmm, lies, guns, then religion? Yep, third favorite thing does and steal other people’s love songs to make ones that praise MAGA and conservatism. I look forward to when they make this realization and even more of them land in multi-million dollar lawsuits, along side Trump, for even more defamation, IP theft, tax evasion, and what ever else they commit in the process, while simultaneously managing to make good songs into utter crap ones. lol
Yes, older folks like me do not understand Swift’s appeal, but young women and girls do, just ask them. I did.
Taylor Swift’s music: I’m pleased you enjoy it, but not my thing. Swiftly terrifying the Rethugs into a panicked stampede over a cliff: priceless.
If only she sounded more like Bad Religion. Now there’s a band with a few decades of anti-conservative bonafides. And a lead singer with a Phd in evolutionary biology. I’ve just learned, in fact, that his dissertation was apparently titled “Evolution and Religion: Questioning the Beliefs of the World’s Eminent Evolutionists”, which I didn’t know before.
Hemidactylus:
Um. The reason they wank on about her is clearly that she is ubiquitously featured in the media and because she doesn’t endorse them, not because of her music. Whatever that is.
(checks Wikipedia) Genres: Pop country folk rock alternative. Yeah, not that, all acceptable to them.
Perhaps one of these years, I may try to listen to one of her songs… but no rush.
Recordings aren’t time-sensitive, after all, and I have no incentive.
Anyway, seems evident to me that if she weren’t such a famous and rich person that is prominently on the news, it wouldn’t be a thing. And let’s face it, the Republican party is now all about the culture wars.
Oh, right, I haven’t listened to (or even know who they are) “Public Enemy or Consolidated”, of course.
They don’t even have the incentive of being in the news cycle.
They should go all In and run a Conservative Comics tour too. You’d get your superstars like Dennis Miller, and.. those others.
Oh, almost forgot..
The thing that makes the Swift freak-out even more delicious is that, before she publicly backed Biden in 2020, Swift was actually super popular with the far-right.
US NeoNAZIs were holding her up as their Arian princess.. because she was blond, pretty, and made a point to Not publicly share her politics.. so they were free to fantasize.
@christoph :
Nugent claimed he avoide dthe draft for Vietnam by, among other things. deliberately pissingand shitting his pants and abandoning all personal hygiene and taking drugs before the physical. But after baosting about it -and incdidentally claiming he’d have been great inthemilitary if gf he’d chosen to be – he then denied tha tand claimed he made it up – but he duid fail the physical. Its not clear and listed a s ünproven”by Snopes here (Scroll down for Nugent & the disgusting details.) :
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-artful-dodger/
@31. Hemidactylus : “If conservatives now can’t handle Taylor Swift one (actually me) wonders what would happen if they listened to some old school Public Enemy or Consolidated.”
Or InSurge’s Political Prisoners song among most of their others plus Things of Stone & Wood wiith their (Do nazis grow like..) Wildflowers both of which finished high on the list of triple J’s Hottest 100 songs circa the mid-1990’s..
Then, of course, there was Midnight Oil :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_Oil
A band which I loved – then and still now really – even after lead singer Peter Garrett’s disappointing political career. They did things like this impromptu concert outside the NYC Exxon office and sang so powerfully about indigenous rights, against uranium (& asbestos) mining and corporate power, US bases, the republic and so much more.
Plus we have people like Redgum lead singer John Schumann who nearly defeated the Howard era Foreign Minister Alexander Downer in a safe LNP seat and of course John Williamson who sang the iconic environmentalist anthem Rip Rip Woodchip to name just a few.