![semisonic closing time cover semisonic closing time cover](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/thatguywiththeglasses/images/2/29/Closing_Time_by_krin.jpg)
But recent releases by Aimee Mann (61) and Tori Amos (58) stand as exceptions to the rule. Which doesn't mean there isn't plenty of room for other women at or near the top, judged by standards of creativity, commercial appeal, or both.Īs I noted in a column over the summer, rock performers typically peak early and then go into artistic decline by the time they hit their 40s. Where she goes from here is anyone's guess, but we have every reason to think the still only 31-year-old songwriter will be an incredibly formidable presence on the music scene for a long time to come. Their 34 songs, most of them collaborations with The National's Aaron Dessner or producer Jack Antonoff, deployed restrained, atmospheric indie-rock arrangements in support of Swift's lyrical explorations of character, love, and personal conflict. The result was the two most mature and artistically accomplished records of her career: Folklore and Evermore, released just five months apart. That inspired Swift to turn inward as a songwriter. Then came the pandemic and scuttled plans for a concert tour. Her 2019 album, Lover, was a glossy record packed with insanely catchy technicolor pop songs.
![semisonic closing time cover semisonic closing time cover](https://kbimages1-a.akamaihd.net/fb84b075-f5bf-4489-83df-106fffd855dd/166/300/False/semisonic-closing-time-drum-sheet-music.jpg)
(Since 2019, she's been embroiled in a dispute over ownership of the original masters of her first six albums.) Two of these have been released so far - Fearless and Red - and they have each included six previously unreleased ("from the vault") tracks, bringing the total number of "new" songs Swift has put out over the past 28 months to 65.īut she's not just surpassing the competition in terms of quantity. Swift is also deep into the process of re-recording much of her back catalogue in order to dilute the value of the original records. How astonishing? In the 16 months between August 2019 and December 2020, she released three complete albums of new material containing a total of 53 songs. Swift wrote or co-wrote all the songs on her debut album, released in 2006, when she was just 16 years old, and she's been gaining confidence and proficiency ever since, with her popularity, artistry, and productivity reaching astonishing levels over the past two-and-a-half years. Standing behind this judgment, first and foremost, is the looming presence of Taylor Swift, a songwriting force of nature. It's long past time we recognize the achievement. But they haven't just matched their male peers they've actually leaped ahead of them to take over the top ranks of pop songwriting in terms of quality, quantity, and longevity. Just as women have made enormous strides in closing the gap with men in nearly every field from which they were formerly excluded, so they've also caught up when it comes to songwriting. The list is so long it almost seems foolish to attempt typing it out: John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Marvin Gaye, Leonard Cohen, David Bowie, Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Jackson Browne, Neil Young, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Tom Petty, Michael Jackson, Elvis Costello, Prince - and on and on.īut this is no longer the case. But they were hugely outnumbered by the boys. Within a few years of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones bursting on the scene, Joni Mitchell and Carole King had made an important and lasting mark.
![semisonic closing time cover semisonic closing time cover](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/13j4RqesI8I/maxresdefault.jpg)
The pattern of male dominance continued well into the rock 'n' roll era as well. This includes everything from classical music to various forms of musical theater, rhythm and blues, jazz, the American " standards," and folk music. As with many other forms of human endeavor, men have dominated musical composition in the Western world.