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The Girl complained about her music theory class and teacher.
TG: He made us analyze old stuff from the ’80s, and even the Beatles!
Me: OK …
TG: I mean, who knows Beatles songs?
Me: You don’t?
TG: Nobody does!
Me: Wow. That’s …different.
TG: What do you mean? The Beatles were over before you were in high school.
Me: They were, but their songs were the songs everyone knew. You know how in jazz, they have those songs they call standards? That’s what Beatles songs were for us. They weren’t current by then, but they were a common language. If you played “Hey, Jude,” everyone knew to stick around for the “na na na nas.” Any new band could practice on Beatles songs.
TG: I asked him if we could analyze Taylor Swift songs instead.
Me: That’s a good idea. She writes in a classic pop structure.
TG: Exactly! Verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus. And she writes great bridges. The bridge to “Out of the Woods” goes so hard …
Me: Did he know her songs?
TG: No! Can you believe that?
Me: Seems like a music teacher should keep up with music to some level.
TG: Yeah. How do you work in a high school and completely avoid current music?
Me: Good question. You’d think you’d pick some up just by osmosis.
TG: She was timed right.
Me: What do you mean?
TG: She wrote dramatic teenage girl songs just before awareness of internalized misogyny became a thing. If those songs came out a few years later, no. “Love Story” wouldn’t have worked by 2014.
Me: Is 2014 when awareness of internalized misogyny became a thing?
TG: Yeah!
So, there we have it. Let the record show that awareness of internalized misogyny started in 2014. The Girl has spoken.
