The way we digest new music needs to be fixed.
Within less than 24 hours of Taylor Swift’s release of "The Tortured Poets Department" and her surprise anthology, the internet was flooded with an inescapable number of reviews. In the New York Times, Lindsay Zoladz said Swift’s 11th LP is "sprawling and often self-indulgent” and "full of detailed, referential lyrics that her fans will delight in decoding.” But as a long-time admirer of Swift, I have to ask: Where’s the "delight” in staying up until dawn to finish listening to an album as if it’s a college paper we’re cramming to complete by the morning?
And it’s not only the professionals causing the shift. Review culture goes far beyond opinions from music critics now. In the age of half-baked hot takes on online forums, anyone with a smartphone can word-vomit their thoughts into the ether. Many hope they get picked up by the algorithm. To avoid spoilers, fans (or just curious listeners) either have to shun media entirely or digest new music immediately — which is like inhaling a whole cheeseburger in one bite. There’s no chance to savor it. No time to even taste it. And quite frankly, it’s exhausting.