The Pro’s of Immaturity: Swift Attack

I refuse to remain afraid of saying it. I like Taylor Swift.

More than like, actually. I spent an entire weekend wandering around Berkeley while belting “You Belong With Me” at the top of my lungs. When I feel sad, one of my first responses is to hum “Love Story”—or, if no one’s nearby, to play the actual song from my computer.

My addiction has even gotten so terrible that my brother has learned some of the words to T-Swift’s singles, so he can sing along with me. And I was probably the only person in the universe not to be upset when “Fearless” won Album of the Year at the Grammy’s (or at least, the only person besides Taylor Swift herself).

But obsessed as I am, I have trouble confessing my T-Swift love to the world. Looking at my list of favorite musicians—The Beatles, The Shins, Pink Floyd— she doesn’t fit in. She’s light and fluffy and shamelessly overproduced and overplayed: In short, she is everything I hate about music.

I’ve tried multiple strategies to kick or at least conceal my addiction. One friend suggested renaming her “Sailor Twift” in my iTunes, and changing the genre to “Shanties,” so people wouldn’t know what I was really listening to.

It seemed like a good idea at first. Until, that is, I realized that no sailor would ever bemoan the absence of a “White Horse” on his ship. That is what I would call a failboat.

I’ve even attempted to phase her out of my musical palate by trying to develop a taste for Lady Gaga instead. Unfortunately, all that made me do was realize that a) I don’t really want to “Just Dance,” and b) I don’t know the rules to poker.

But the few times my friends have caught me listening to it, surprisingly, they’ve sung along. It’s like N’Sync or the Backstreet Boys—you’re not supposed to like them, but singing their music loudly with people you like is undeniably fun. At least if I have a guilty pleasure, it’s still one that I can share with others. If I’m not too embarrassed, I can even use it as a bonding experience.

So I guess I’ll just have to face it. I’m doomed to remain a no-longer-so-secret Taylor Swift addict for the rest of my life. Perfect.

I think, though, that loving Taylor Swift may not be such a bad thing. It’s easy to want to dislike something just because it feels trivial or silly or somehow trite. But if something genuinely makes you feel happy, then you shouldn’t feel ashamed of enjoying it.

And besides, I’d still say T-Swift is better than T-Pain. At least my obsession can’t be mimicked by an iPhone app.