Taylor, Taylor
Viraf Pocha
Hey! I grew up on Rock Music. Loud, brash, breaking every rule of polite society and rubbing truth
and honesty into the established order.
Me and so many of my generations loved it. It opened so many new ways of living and how we navigate
the world.
Some of us were lucky to ride along with the wave. The lucky ones were not consumed by the excesses
this new way of life offered.
The gap between the successful and the not so successful increased. (Note: I'm not saying
'failures')
Part of this new way of life widened the gap between the top and the very top. And that gap gets
wider every year.
Clapton, The Stones, Beatles, Floyd, Stewart, Elton, Gabriel, Genesis, Fleetwood, Bowie and all
gushed forth from one community. While they thumbed their noses at the world, two factors kept them
alive and relevant. Today, they are still ruling their world.
So many things helped them reached the rarefied strata they exist in today. Let's talk about the one
relevant feature, relevant to our Indian Entertainment Electronic Industry - Light & Sound
Equipment.
Incredible strides in entertainment electronics helped carry these 'Hero's' messages throughout the
world. These guys started in clubs with sound boxes and dim lighting. Today slim, barely there
speakers blast sound over stadiums and on some occasions cover areas over kilometres.
All this technology that helped us reach wider audiences actually made the world turn inward. The
world became selfish and mean to their brothers. Nations, communities, and families all seemed to be
in a state of war and dysfunction.
Corporate raiders who destroyed so much of what was built, hid behind the sanitised term - Creative
Destruction. Entire forests were decimated, rivers and entire seas dried up and changed course.
Man's plans seem to supersede even God's divine plan.
And just as we seem to wake up to this seemingly path to destruction - Taylor Swift arrives.
The entertainment world made lots of money, which means lawyers, managers, agents all providing a
service for a slice of the pie. Trouble is after all their services not too much was left over for
the musicians to actually write, compose and record things.
Failure was too much of risk to allow unfettered creativity. Creating music was no longer an
artistic pursuit. Creativity by committee to please the suits and the marketing machinery.
Formulas crept in. The successful formula followers made millions and were in demand by all the
stars.
In a world that demanded we 'SEE' our music, pretty ladies with physical assets became sought after.
Sounds were created that reflected a lifestyle that was aspired to. Sameness leads to staleness.
Even Paris Hilton released an album.
Into that landscape, Taylor Swift was born. A young lady that knew her mind. For the sake of this
piece lets fast forward to post-Covid times.
Our industry was perhaps worst affected. Total shut down. No work from home for us types.
Taylor kept doing what she loves - write stories in song. Straight from her heart. She wrote the
stories the old-fashioned way - simply to express what she felt or observed of the world.
Yes, she definitely took help to craft the songs. Shape them. Produce them to be listenable and
recognisable. But the core remained. The core that appealed to almost every young lady of her times.
Stuff girls go though. Secretly and in private agony in a man's world where everybody has to toughen
up.
Taylor is more of a story writer than a lyricist, which is not to diminish her song writing ability.
But her songs round out an entire experience. Very little is hinted at - she's out there. Clear.
Her experiences touched so many hearts all over the world with their universal themes of love, fear
of rejection, being rejected or rejecting and emerging out on top and owning it.
Boy! Does she do that in style.
And then she figured out (with her team) to stage them. Her shows were always long had great
production value. But the ERA's tour has raised it to another level.
Perhaps she has not invented any special technology that was premiered for the tour. But what her
team did do was take almost every cutting-edge technology that was out there and incorporated it
into one cohesive unit that has wowed the world.
This new show of her's is a lesson on everything to do with stage.
Her songs are strong enough to be sat and listened to quietly. But she chose to do it with a full
approach. Matching (and besting) anything Madonna, Beyonce, U2 have put out on stage. In my opinion
full on shows all.
The era's tour follows a timeline rather than a storyline and each era is captured for its energy
and attitude. Clearly shows a good artist transiting into a great one.
For more than three hours, she holds her audience in her thrall with great visuals, expression,
musicianship and showmanship. Taking the audience along from teenage to middle aged comfort.
A huge achievement and must be applauded. All of this you can gather if you follow here Insta feeds
and the ecstatic press. I've not seen one negative report. No jealousy, no angst, no rage, no
negativity.
And that's what I have meandered to - the point of this piece.
I was lucky to see her live. I have two teenage daughters so I'm a Swifty by proxy. Over the years
my ears picked up song after song. Subconsciously hummed along by a lyric or musical bridge I
retained. When I asked - Who? My daughters first defiantly, the cheekily and soon exasperatedly
grunted - Taylor.
And in the stadium, I saw that some look in thousands of eyes. I took my 14-year-old niece. It was
her first concert. Hooked her for life (I think).
You go to any concert; the vibe is the same. People living an alternate life. Leather, tattoos.
Rough, ready. A bit of bravado.
Taylor's was so different. There was a genuine aura of love and kindness in the air. In the queues
for food and toilets. I'd heard that Taylor insists on clean toilets for all the ladies. Sweet
smelling and full service. I actually saw that. For a stadium of 60,000 with at least 40,000 women
and we few men.
A calm energy as everybody excitedly shared friendship bracelets and decorated lyric sheets. Taylors
persona and her music really brought out the best in everyone.
She was gentle with her adoring crowd. I'm sure she's used to it, but she exuded a charm and a joy
by showing she was genuinely moved and touched by the reception her fans gave her. Her music was so
diverse and so, obviously different sections of the stadium reacted with varying enthusiasm to
different sections of the show. Even from the stage, she was quick to spot and react to different
sections of the crowd. Not the normal - 'Now the people on the left.'
I don't know how she did it, but she did. Her spotting people who need help has become legendary and
we saw that first hand. And quickly the stadium staff responded. I told the staff is paid to come in
a day earlier and are trained to manage this.
I know other bands are also doing this. The great Rolling Stones who had the Hells Angels get over
enthusiastic in the 1970's are doing it too. Though at 80, Jaggers unflagging energy on stage, it's
amazing that they did an entire tour with zero health issues. Will we see the Stones celebrating
their 70 years on stage? On their 75th year as a band, Jagger will be 93. His dad lived till 93, so
there is a chance.
Taylor Swift is 35. I hope the world adopts her spirit and her grace. We need her ability to strip
away ego and artifice and own their vulnerability and fear, knowing they are not unique. That every
one of us is flawed and sometimes fallen human and as the Beatles said, 'All we need is love.'
Taylors and her fans live it. That's a world I want to be a part of.
I saw our technology put to the best use possible to bring people together. We may be different, but
we all experience the same things.
Taylor wants us to share all our joys and sorrows. Bring out the best in each of us and get us
dancing together.