Taylor Swift

When choosing the artist of the year for this month’s cover story, the editors here at the Rolling Stone kept in mind the definition of a true artist: a person whose work exhibits exceptional skill. This definition is definitely applicable to the young, beautiful, and talented Taylor Swift. Swift first came to mind because of her inspirational success as a young woman in the music industry. This particular performer has achieved many accolades including numerous awards from big-time companies such as CMT Music and Country Music Association. This track record is impressive no matter who you are, but what makes it even more remarkable is that Swift is a mere eighteen years old.
Taylor Swift performs mostly within the country genre, but she blends a pop type sound, creating a unique style. The grammatical structure of her songs, which includes what is considered to be southern slang, mostly follows that of the country genre; but Swift is by no means a conformist. She defies classifications and generalizations by writing universal songs that everyone can relate to. The performer weaves throughout her lyrics the message that love is a timeless aspect of life, as long as one exists so does the other. In her song Love Story Swift relates herself to Shakespeare’s Juliet, exemplifying how connected humanity is by love. When she sings “You were Romeo; you were throwing pebbles, and my daddy said stay away from Juliet and I was crying on the staircase, begging you, ‘Please don’t go,’” Taylor Swift creates a bond between herself and a girl from 1597, showing how time does not affect the results of love. She later alludes to Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter when she sings “I was a scarlet letter,” signifying the nature of their forbidden love. The young artist also employs a flashback within her song, a common method of literary experts. Swift sings “I close my eyes and the flashback starts,” and continues by depicting the event with detailed descriptions by the use of phrases such as “summer air” which indicate the setting. The diction within Love Story creates for the listener a vivid image of the scene being portrayed.
Taylor Swift’s distinctive musical style may be the product of a combination of the performers who surrounded her in her formative years as an artist. A listener can distinguish elements within Swift’s music from various influential musicians. As a little girl she loved Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton and she attributes her ability to “stretch boundaries” to the Dixie Chicks and Shania Twain. Swift’s Grandmother was also in the music business; however she performed opera at the professional level rather than country. Taylor Swift has not only been influenced by others, but she has also been a very inspirational figure herself. She has been a role model to the younger generation, encouraging fans to pursue their dreams by displaying her own success.
The captivating singer is a combination of a dangerous and optimistic artist in that she sings about both sides of love. Swift describes the situation she is in as a “mess” saying “Don’t be afraid; we’ll make it out of this mess,” and adds to the negative portrayal of love in her song with "This love is difficult," and “I got tired of waiting, wondering if you were ever comin’ around. My faith was fading.” However, Swift also sheds light on the more positive side of love by singing “You were everything to me,” and “I love you and that’s all really know.” The young performer has accomplished so much for her young years, proving that talent coupled with ambition is the key to success.

Hypnopedia: Listen to the Silence

It is against human nature to be completely silent all the time, but we take silence for granted. Much more is said in a moment of total silence than in a moment of chaos. Each of us are constantly on the move and we try to cram as much as we can into our schedules to maximize our efficiency. As a business directed society, it seems that we have forgotten that occasional silence yields more than a week's worth of talking does. It is in these moments that we are enlightened and that we can ultimately come to know ourselves.