And yet her underdog image somehow persisted a little longer, especially after Pitchfork, the defining voice of turn-of-the-century musical hipsterdom, decided to review a full-album cover of “ 1989” by Ryan Adams and not the far more successful original. The year after that, Swift released “1989,” her luxe version of an indie-pop record, selling more than 10 million copies worldwide. The year after “Red” was released, a new generation of indie stars emerged - Haim, Lorde, the 1975 - that was aesthetically much closer to Swift’s pop than anything in the rock underground. What nobody knew, back in 2012, was that the “cool indie record” archetype was about to be tossed in the dustbin of the early 21st century. Subtly and quite effectively, Swift managed to position herself as the underdog in this battle - no matter how many platinum records and Grammys she had accumulated by her early 20s. (See, for instance, 2017’s “Reputation,” Taylor Swift’s concept album about Taylor Swift discourse.) That very quotable lyric from “Red” was, perhaps, a nod to an argument that was raging at the time, one about the supposedly outsize cultural capital afforded to hip, obscure guitar bands versus mass-appeal pop stars. Her big swing is her fourth album, “Red,” and the first single is a snarky electro-folk tune called “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” In the song, Swift calls out an ex by mocking his musical pretensions: “And you would hide away and find your peace of mind/With some indie record that’s much cooler than mine.”Īlmost a decade later, this particular line might cause mild confusion among the younger generation: First of all, what’s an indie record? And why would Swift suggest anything was cooler than she is? More than any other pop star in her cohort, Swift has always paid close attention to the conversation about her. Once upon a time, a few mistakes ago: It’s 2012, and Taylor Swift is a country-music superstar trying to cross over into mainstream pop.

Once upon a time not long ago remix