22
Taylor Swift
2012

I mean, where do we even start?  Where *do* you start with the most popular and biggest musical artist on the planet?  I suppose we can start there.  Having a daughter who has, for lack of a better term, idolized T Swizzle has certainly attuned me to her music more than the average suburban dad. I always respected her talent, thought she clearly was a bona fide musician who writes her own songs, a master marketer, and just an absolute boss when it comes to business. I knew the hits but wouldn’t have necessarily classified myself as a fan. 

That changed in 2020. There was no better album, in my opinion, in the dark days of the pandemic than folklore. It captured, perfectly, the mood of the time. And my whole perception of Taylor Swift started to change. She wasn’t just catering to tween/teen girls — she was pop music for the masses (though she really knows how to identify to women and girls). And to be fair, she had been a serious musician for some time and I was just late getting to the party. 

And then my view really changed in attending the Eras tour concert in July. I’ve been to a lot of shows; Friday's concert seeing Ray LaMontagne in San Francisco will be my 61st concert. This was not simply a concert, friends; this was an experience. I’ll just come out and say it:  I have a hard time thinking of any single musician or band since The Beatles who has been this hot, this big. Who’s been bigger?  Michael Jackson?  Elvis?  Madonna?  I think when all is said and done, Taylor will have them all beat, by awards, by gross sales, by popularity, by whatever metric you want. Like, 20 years from now she may even have the top song on The Jason 100.  I equate it to seeing Michael Jordan in his prime or what Beatlemania must have been like:  we are witnessing a cultural phenomenon. 

I find it humorous when someone says they don’t really like Taylor Swift; why kick against the pricks?  I mean, maybe you don’t like her personally; her love life is probably the only misstep she ever makes (Travis Kelce, seriously?  🤮). But the songs are so good. If you don’t like Taylor Swift’s music, you’re just a contrarian or your music taste is….well, it’s sus, as the kids say (or said, I can’t keep up).

So that brings us to this song. I gave very serious consideration to “betty,” which was one of the tracks on the deluxe album version of folklore. It’s excellent, one of my favorites for sure. But I had to go with “22,” which just exudes fun. It perfectly encapsulates being young — “Yeah, we’re happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time / It’s miserable and magical, oh yeah” (of course, I was married at 22 so I can’t say from personal experience that it applies to all 22 year olds!). It may just be the perfect pop song. 

I think I could’ve ranked this higher, but I didn’t want to have recency bias take over.  If you were hoping she’d be higher, take comfort that this is a very high ranking on a list of all-time greats. And if you think she shouldn’t have been anywhere near the top 60, just get with the program already and remember:  this is Taylor Swift’s world; we’re all just living in it.

Other Songs Considered:
betty, Cruel Summer, Mean, We Are Never Getting Back Together, Love Story