In praise of Taylor Swift Memes
What are the most iconic Taylor Swift memes? How can I make Taylor Swift memes? And if I do happen to create the funniest, smartest, most girl-boss Taylor Swift meme ever, will Tay-Tay herself notice, and maybe invite me over to her house for a plate of chicken tenders?
It’s no surprise, is it, that Taylor Swift has risen to prominence as the undisputed queen of contemporary meme culture. Her unrivalled status – goddess of both pop music and a glamorous, sassy, 21st-century brand of feminism – was always going to guarantee her position at the apex of the modern pantheon.
Let’s look at some of Taylor’s most exquisite meme moments and try and draw some lessons out of them, because why not.
TAYLOR SWIFT FALLING ON A TREADMILL
Few memes are able to capture the essence of a star as elegantly as this brief clip. Yes, it’s the biggest popstar in the world spectacularly hitting the conveyor belt on the treadmill in what we can only assume is her big, fancy home gym.
Because as well as being beautiful, and smart, and talented, she’s also funny and capable of laughing at herself.
It’s from an Apple Music commercial, you may recall, and she’s listening to (of all things) Drake. ‘Distractingly Good’ is the ad tagline.
What’s even cooler, is not long before this – still in her mid 20s, mind – Tay Tay convinced Apple to change their policy on how they compensate musicians whose music is streamed on the app.
‘#AppleMusic will pay artist for streaming, even during customer’s free trial period,’ Apple Music’s Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue posted after Swift kicked up a fuss. ‘We hear you @taylorswift13 and indie artists. Love, Apple.’
TAYLOR SWIFT HOLDING UP A SIGN
It’s always risky, having a celebrity hold up a sign. Especially in the era we’re in, when it’s easy for anybody to turn that short clip into a hilarious gif meme and superimpose literally any message they can think of onto the sign.
So much is going on in this short GIF clip though. That subtle, challenging dip of the head. The cosy outfit, the exquisitely nerdy glasses. The sassy half smile. She’s behind a window, the message partly obscured by mullions.
Taylor Swift is a great actress, on top of her other many many accomplishments. Able to convey a whole universe of emotion in a charming yet economical gesture.
TAYLOR SWIFT AND ED SHEERAN
Her shrewd facility for schmoozing with artists across the spectrum of music not only refreshes her own – considerable! – songwriting prowess. It helps break her out of her natural silo of Nashville songwriting and get her work out to a much wider audience.
Ed Sheeran – now arguably one of the biggest popstars in the world in his own right – was not much more than an ascendent troubadour when the pair became close a decade ago.
Remember when he toured with her? And dressed as a clown? Hanging out with all those Victoria’s Secret Models? Confirming yet again that, really, we’re all living in his reality and most certainly not the other way around.
TAYLOR SWIFT HOLDING UP ANOTHER SIGN
Ed Sheeran actually said a bunch of lovely things about Taylor Swift, that are worth repeating in full.
‘I never thought that I could be that good friends with a musician that I met through music. All my school friends are like my close friends, and everyone else is kind of acquaintances.
‘And coming to America, I think there’s a lot of ego in the music industry and a lot of fake chauvinism, I guess. And I met her and she had exactly the same views as me on everything, and had been successful and has managed to maintain humility throughout it. So that’s what kind of first drew me towards her.
‘Just finding out that as a person, she’s got a wicked sense of humor, she’s very family-oriented, she works very hard. We just clicked. I don’t think we really go a day without speaking, which is cool.
It’s helping me through this whole mental process, to have somebody who’s already been through it.’
Hey, IS STEALING MEMES ILLEGAL?
While we’re here, does anybody know IS IT PRONOUNCED GIF OR JIF?