November 23, 2008

If you're a 15 year old girl, you'll love this.


I think I was in grade 8 when Britney Spears' "Hit Me Baby One More Time" video was at the top of the charts on MuchMusic. Yowza. What a girl!! That grey skirt and white blouse with form-fitting school sweater... Thank you Mickey Mouse Club for giving a kid a chance. But outside of the naughtiness of the schoolgirl uniform, this music didn't really have much to offer to adolescent boys that were not unlike myself.
Years later (circa 2002) a Canadian Punk Rocker rose out of nowhere. Avril Lavigne was taking Canada - and the WORLD - by storm. It was hard even for us cool kids to dislike her first release "sk8er boi" when it hit the airwaves. The song had a lot to offer (a pretty dancer who likes a punk but was too proud to bring herself down to his level) and the girl that sang it had attitude. But then she got rich & famous & married fellow pop-punkster Mr. Sum 41. Next thing you know it, she exchanges her attitude and grit for blond hair extensions and a clothing line.
Other music that is commonly loved by 15 year old girls might include cd releases by Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton. I grew out of my 15 year old girl stage by the time they got real popular, so I wouldn't really even know where to begin to comment, aside from that I am pretty sure that popstars that do porn aren't really the best role models for other 15 year old girls. I don't think that digitalizing a person's voice to death in order to make sure it is in key is really the same thing as being an amazing singer.
However there is one exception where a young female country vocalist is really doing a damn' fine job. This girl does it all. She writes her own songs, plays acoustic guitar solos, has the (second) cutest smile on this side of the earth and the curliest long blond hair I have ever seen. What talents, hey?! Taylor Swift likely sells more records to pre-teen girls than any other demographic out there (including 24 year old men), and is keeping some self-respect while doing it. She's the writer of the songs that speak so passionately to matters of the heart. Songs that I wish that I could be writing about, but with gender roles exchanged. I think Brad Paisley is the guy that has stepped up more than most others in that respect, so Thanks Brad. I think there are probably more 24 year old men that like Brad Paisley songs a little bit more than they like Taylor Swift songs; but what these guys fail to appreciate is hearing the beauty in the simplicity of her songs. The simple strumming banjo and that ohhhh soooo soft, sweet voice. Yeeeeaaaahh - I have a big crush on Taylor Swift. And she's not under the age of 18 anymore, so I don't even feel that guilty saying so.


"Take me back when our world was one block wide
I dared you to kiss me and ran when you tried
Just two kids,  you and I"

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