I have never knowingly heard a song by Kanye West, Taylor Swift, or Rihanna.
I say knowingly because there’s a large category of songs that I’ve heard at some point, on the radio at the mall or in waiting rooms or in some other quasi-public space that tends to have current hits playing, which I “know” because I’ve heard them several times, but I haven’t the faintest idea who actually sings them. Occasionally I’ll acquire this knowledge somehow, and with great sadness reflect that another vestige of my pop-cultural ignorance has been stolen from me. Thus it was when I learned that I actually knew songs by Justin Bieber, Drake, and Miley Cyrus, by virrtue of having somebody play them somewhere and then having somebody else destroy my innocence with knowledge.
No opinion on Rihanna (I’ve probably heard her but never intentionally) but Swift and West both have some excellent music that can be recommended even after we’re done being busy signalling how we’re too sophisticated to enjoy pop music.
EDIT: Like, this one is so astoundingly self-indulgent you almost have to love it.
