Swift, Sinead and Nats

Illustration/Uday Mohite

It was a quiet morning… till a "besoora" female voice came through the cracks in my wall - Natasha, my 19-year-old neighbour, was karaoke-ing:

"I have this thing where I get older just never wiser

Midnights become my afternoons

When my depression works the graveyard shift."

(Nice, I thought, the millennial ‘dark side' being addressed).

"All of the people I've ghosted stand there in the room

I should not be left to my own devices

They come with prices and vices

I end up in crisis."

(Hmm, this is getting a bit too rhymy perhaps).

"One day I'll watch as you're leaving,

Cause you got tired of my scheming."

(Ugh, this is deteriorating into a soppy love song).

"It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me."

(Oh no… that last line… no, no… noooo).

Then, Natasha stormed into my abode, repeating that last narcissistic line.

"It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me… Dude Rahul… I'm a true Swiftie, she really reads my mind, she really gets me," Nats announced.

"Didn't think you were into ‘girlie' music, Nats."

"Taylor Swift is not just ‘girlie' music, got it, Rahul bruh, she's an icon of today," Nats thundered.

It was my turn for a series of eye rolls.

"Uhm… agree to disagree… she may not be an annoying female Justin Bieber, but this inward looking obsession… it's too Barbie for me, not
enough gravitas."

"Bruh, which rock have you been hiding under? She maybe inward looking, but she's struck a serious chord in our gen; she knows exactly how to talk to us teenagers; you do know she has inspired psychology courses in universities in the US?"

"So, what has Dr Sigmund Swift taught you?"

"Don't be ‘sarci' man… ‘true beauty begins from within'."

I was on the floor laughing, Nats wasn't pleased.

"Man, her Eras tours, they're insane dude… so successful, she's raised the GDP of America, they're calling it Swiftonimics!"

"Ah, Natasha, I'm always sceptical of musicians who are smart business people… musicians should be organically successful. I'm good with that… financial savvyiness… hmmmm, merchandise hmmmm."

"Dude, you come from the generation of old timers who believes great artistes should suffer from abject poverty! To be legendary you need to
be penniless."

"Well, that's simplistic; there's a part of me that believes that profundity needs to stem from pain… great song-writing is spawned from suffering, could be depression, could be domestic abuse, could be homelessness, could he alienation, could be social sadness. Grunge, the Blues… all came out from pain!"

"And you don't think

Taylor has suffered?"

"It's navel gazing depression at best."

Nats paused.

"I know why you're being snarky dude, Sinead O'Connor just died! You're comparing my Swift to your Sinead!"

"Good observation, Nats… Protest singer vs pop singer.

Has Taylor Swift stood for anything, has she stood up to anyone, has she taken a real stand? She is a symbol for you Gen Xers, but will she be added to the annals of great songwriters over the ages, or just for kids of your age."

"Oh, come on old man… do you need to be political to be a pop artiste?"

"Sinead stood up to the Church. She took on the Pope… risked her career, challenged the system, that's serious shit dude."

‘Bruh… so, you're saying ‘if I don't rave and rant against paedophilia I'm a lowly pop star. Why can't she just make great, great identifiable music?"

"I'm saying, Taylor Swift has the world at her feet, at her fingertips, like no other 21st century artiste. She can bring about massive change, global warming, girl power, what an asshole Trump is, stand against Russia. BOOM, she can influence you guys to widen your heads."

"Not everyone is Sinead, or Sting or Springsteen."

"Taylor Swift is a phenomenon, but she is a symbol more than a songwriter, I ask is she merely an instant success on Insta?"

"She is a product of her times!"

"But seriously, in 20 years from now, will she take her place alongside The Beatles and Elvis Presley?

"Yes, Rahul Bruh, she will."

"Success and skill are two different things."

We agreed to disagree.

Rahul daCunha is an adman, theatre director/playwright, photographer and traveller. Reach him at rahul.dacunha@mid-day.com