New York Is Taylor Swift Country September 14
Truth be told, I have never really been a country music fan. As a New Yorker, I grew up on Rock and Roll, had a preference for more urban sounds and thus almost developed passionate distate and prejudice towards country music. In my teen years, I even had the opportunity to work as a vendor in concessions for Harry M. Stevens, Inc. at Madison Square Garden. Up close and personal while roaming the garden selling t-shirts and souvenirs at Rangers, Knicks games and Rock Concerts, I saw The Who, Queen, ELO, Styx, the Police, Bill Joel, Bruce Springsteen perform live and never once attended a country music concert.
This past year, by invitation from the Times Square Alliance, I was once again invited to cover New Years Eve in Times Square, which ironically has become one of my favorite experiences in my hometown despite the challenge of taking photos outside for several hours on what is often a brutally cold evening in the dead of winter. Taylor Swift’s performance in Times Square on New Years Eve this past year, however, literally transformed and warmed up my night. Prior to that night, I had no idea who she was. By now those of you who watched the MTV Video Music Awards saw a disturbingly impolite scenario unfold before your eyes as outsoken rap artist Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video at MTV’s “2009 Video Music Awards,” declaring that Beyonce’s music video should have won the moon-man award. Aside from how rude was Kanye West, what was most disturbing to me as a New Yorker was that he dissed someone on a stage at Radio City Music Hall in the middle of my hometown, who basically changed my entire outlook towards country music. Taylor Swift is a truly soulful and humble young artist with the voice of an angel who does not deserve to be disrespected by anyone, especially on the night she is honored with a music award that truly reflects the choice of the people. Her performance was literally the best part of New Years Eve. And so it goes without saying that, if this superbly talented young lady can have an impact on me, then all of New York loves Taylor Swift: The Country Singer.
Epilogue: Interestingly enough, after I wrote this blog, U.S. Olympic Silver Medalist in Fencing, Tim Moorehouse suggested in his blog that the incident could have been all staged by MTV. See: Was Kanye West and Taylor Swift’s VMA incident Staged?, which leads to my next question, if the media will rig a music awards show in this fashion should we really be looking at everything that we see in the mainstream media with a more curious or suspect eye? You know my answer already, my alter ego would say certainly yes.