All is not well with the American taste in music if Americans think Taylor Swift is a sophisticated artist, according to Mark Hemingway, journalist for The Federalist and Real Clear Investigations.

In a talk titled “Taylor Swift and American Cultural Decline,” Hemingway argued Tuesday night that Swift’s music is not high-level art like Americans and critics have claimed, but a corporate product that appeals to the base emotions of her teenage girl audience.

“The over-the-top celebration of Swift’s success has volumes to say about the stagnation of population,” Hemingway said. “At some point we have to recognize that even if you embrace the winds and pop music, the distance between middlebrow entertainment and the lowest common denominator is enormous.”

The Dow Journalism Program sponsored Hemingway’s talk.

“I think she’s worth paying attention to because something about Swift resonates at the frequency of America, but I’m genuinely not sure her popularity is a testament to her talent,” Hemingway said.

Sophomore Erin Friedenfeld said she thought Hemingway’s criticism of Taylor Swift was balanced.

“I think he was very fair in his argument,” Friedenfeld said. “His overall point was less about how Taylor Swift is public enemy number one, and more about how we need to be more aware about what we’re consuming.”

Hemingway based his talk on an article he wrote for The Federalist in 2023, which he decided to write because he was tired of the constant acclaim for what he sees as poor-quality music.

“Someone who truly deeply cares about the state of music has to stand athwart Taylor Swift yelling ‘What is this crap?’, and it might as well be an intellectually dyspeptic Gen X guy with nothing to lose,” Hemingway said.

Hemingway made sure to acknowledge the Swifties in the room, saying Taylor Swift is excellent at creating appealing music and connecting with her fanbase.

“If you come into this room prepared to defend the sacred honor of America’s sweetheart, please know that the only direct personal criticism here is a high level critique of Swift’s skills as a songwriter and I hardly think it’s irrational that she’s very popular,” Hemingway said. “I’m perfectly willing to acknowledge that she’s good at what she does.”

But according to Hemingway, what she does includes making billions of dollars, not writing songs worthy of critical acclaim. Hemingway said her song topics and lyrics are defined by self-obsession rather than introspection.

“She has almost wholly pioneered a new genre of what an acquaintance of mine calls the ‘bellyaching about a boyfriend’ song,” Hemingway said.

Hemingway said many of her lyrics are terrible and quoted lines from her song “Anti-Hero” which say: “Did you hear my covert narcissism I disguise as altruism / Like some kind of congressman?”

Hemingway said the lyrics that demonstrate poetic skill often only deal with one theme: breakups. He cited a lyric from “All Too Well,” which says, “And you call me up again just to break me like a promise / So casually cruel in the name of being honest.”  

“And you know what, that’s a pretty good lyric,” Hemingway said. “But in context, ‘All Too Well’ is just another breakup song.”

Hemingway said her music composition is as superficial as her lyrics.

“She’s not just going to the well that runs dry lyrically, she’s also essentially writing the same song over and over,” Hemingway said. “She has about 200 songs in her catalog and 40 of them use roughly the same chord progression.”

According to Hemingway, the popularity of Taylor Swift reflects a decline in the musical tastes of American culture.

“Swift is very, very good at serving audiences that have been conditioned to accept less in terms of musical and lyrical sophistication,” Hemingway said.

Freshman Julia Rentmeester said she agrees with Hemingway that Swift’s songs are morally questionable, but disagrees with his analysis of her songwriting talent.

“I’ve already been critical, heard songs, and realized this is not good music,” Rentmeester said. “These are not good values to be promoting. But on the whole, I think it was a little unfair of him to say that she is a very poor songwriter because I would disagree.” 

Friedenfeld said Taylor Swift’s skills are in her ability to communicate emotions through lyrics.

“Hemingway captured how she appeals to the base emotions and very individualistic values in society,” Friedenfeld said. “However, Taylor Swift captures the complexities of the intangible and a lot of the complexities that exist in some more basic things. She is able to dissect exactly what it feels like.” 

Friedenfeld said it is important to balance songs that uplift listeners to higher values and songs that only feel good to listen to.

“There are some Taylor Swift songs that I really like, so it is important to be consciously choosing what you are consuming and not identifying with everything,” Friedenfeld said.

Hemingway said lower music standards will harm our ability to understand ourselves and others. Listening to Swift’s music because it feels good is acceptable, he said, as long as listeners are aware of its message.

“There are things that aren’t inherently good works of art, but for whatever reason, they speak to me, and I think one of the things that you get out of this is even if you are a Swift fan you should be thinking deeply about what you are taking in culturally and the effect that has,” Hemingway said.