The Grammys do Stan Culture

Someone in the Recording Academy is a sneaky squirrel who is also media savvy, because they decided to unleash this video of a one minute conversation between Taylor Swift and Harry Styles shortly after the Grammys aired. This video haunts me. Absolutely nothing happens. They are friendly for a short, polite conservation and THAT’S IT. Nothing happens, there’s nothing to say between them. There's nothing revealed that fans did not already conjecture; they are exes on acquaintance-level terms, harboring no major signs of resentment. But why am I still fascinated with the blandest celebrity video on the internet? Because it is Taylor Swift and Harry Styles, and they individually mean something (2 me) and so any overlap is low-key exhilarating. But it is truly wild that the Recording Academy found this footage and immediately shoved it to upload to their Youtube channel. No other artists' random backstage interactions are worthy of limp content that churns out millions of views like this. It looks like a scene from the Bachelor shot by a lazy cameraman. It’s basically B-roll footage! It’s an Access Hollywood Youtube video. But I really do have thoughts on the not-moment moment that I must excise from my brain for my own sanity.

Every single day when I don’t have my music pre-selected before I get in my car, my bluetooth connects to my iTunes library to play “Two Ghosts,” by Harry Styles. Realistically, iTunes should start alphabetically, and most people’s embarrassing iTunes howl is Ed Sheeran’s “A Team,” but apparently my car is a huge Haylor stan. The opening lyrics, “Same lips red, same eyes blue/ same white shirt, couple more tattoos,” is an ear-worm. Styles responded to a “journalist’s” question about the lyrics to “Two Ghosts,” saying that they are “self-explanatory,” and he is right, because there is no question that he is referring to Taylor Swift. It is an obvious reflection on the Taylor/ Harry relationship in hindsight, assuming they had a moment of reconnection in 2016 or previous after they had been broken up for a few years. The song asserts that “they’re not who they used to be,” that they have outgrown each other, hinting at a loss of electricity between them that is now replaced by some awkwardness. The country overture of the songs is so lovely as an homage to Taylor’s roots; it is a tender version of Taylor’s devastating (to John Mayer) Mayer-like guitar chord progression mimicked in “Dear John.” The tone of this essay is basically a fan compilation of this Grammy’s moment with “Two Ghosts,” overlaid onto the clip, how embarrassing . Well, the thing is that the sentiment expressed in Harry’s 2017 song is relevant because this 2021 concise interaction proves the authenticity of Style’s reading of the post-relationship. (Maybe he is an emotionally intelligent prince?) That they are friendly, but not really friends per se. But because of the launch of his solo (and superior to ID, sorry) career, they will interact in professional settings. They’re co-workers that used to date! It’s okay, though, they work for different branches in the same company of The Music Industry (which Taylor Swift is the CEO of, but like let’s not mix metaphors). So this backstage convo with Aaron Dessner is evidence of a mutual, removed affection.

Harry seems to have initiated the conservation as it seems like Taylor was seated by the room’s exit. What even is this room? Is it outside, are those bushes behind him? Is this the same outdoor setup that the awards are presented in? Is this some winners only area because Harry is wearing his third look that he is photographed with his trophy in? Are they waiting to get their trophy pictures? I literally cannot make sense of this clip, because it has been tailored to be presented to us as Substantial without having substance. The Recording Academy editors nail this delicate balance. It’s a celebrity tell-all book that is very fun to read, but tells us nothing. It would have been rude for him not to talk to her on his way out, and Mr. Treat People with Kindness does not aim to be rude. Yes, these are acts of maturity, but it is also standard practice considering they broke up like 8 years ago. I love the drama of him approaching her and immediately speaking very quickly and her eagerness to stand to listen to him. We do still see signs of amity between them with their speedy gesticulating and his hearty, old man laugh and clap. They’re bending towards each other to hear each better like birds trying to drink from a puddle. They’re actively turning toward each and trying to readjust to bring Aaron into the conservation. (Body language signs are all positive!) She launches into a fast-talking explanation. I think the speed in addressing each other is the most momentous thing to observe in that this is the first public meeting between these two (for us) since they actually dated. It seems to signal an obvious willingness to converse, yet the brevity of the conversation too, seems to make it obvious that they don’t talk that much. (Or do they? I’m confused.)

Now, onto the real reason that this video is an apparition that continuously floats above my eyelids. We. Don’t. Know. What. They’re. Saying. I’ve watched this absurd video like a dozen times to try to extract the words that Harry is saying, because he is the only mouth we can see. There are numerous unfortunate obstructions to what they are saying: Harry pulling his mask up and down throughout the chat, Taylor’s mask hanging off her ear covers her mouth from the camera’s angle, the blaring music, the dim lighting, and Taylor’s head covers Aaron, so we have NO clue how what Aaron is saying to both of them. Mostly, they both look kinda idiotic with Harry’s mask over his mouth but not his nose while wearing a black feather boa, and Taylor’s 3D mask worn as an earring. They look foolish. Yet we are giddy watching this trash clip, because we are foolish too. Taylor is tossing her hands like salad into the air to resemble a chaotic or fast nature of whatever subject she is talking about. To the best of my knowledge, he pulls off his mask in excitement to say something along the lines of, “Now, it’s done. That’s it,” or “That’s just how it worked out. That’s all,” to which she is nodding saying “ I know, I know,” as he breaks their eye contact to glance at the conversation that his manager and Jack Antonoff are having. My best guesses are they’re talking about The Grammys, and what it was like to perform, the quickness of The Moment. It also logically has to be something that Aaron could relate to because we see him talk. Or my petty-Taylor brain activates and she brings up that he put out Fine Line on her birthday in 2019, making some joke that Harry gives a polite laugh to. (I know that Taylor listened to Fine Line, and her favorite is probably “Cherry,” come on. That song even has several Swiftian music moves. Harry definitely tuned into folklore and wishes he wrote “august.”) Oh, how the world would be different if we got this video from the angle of Taylor’s mouth in view and everything would be much more clear! Instead, we have a partial mask-wearing mumbler. In my heart of hearts, I know he is just literally congratulating her on the win and vice versa. Boring. But with each watch, the video transforms to a completely different conversation, one time it is happy, and the other is strained. I think both are true, this interaction was a short-lived adrenaline rush, much like their relationship. I will let my optimism slip into this satire for a moment to reveal that I did detect a sparkle that caught in the light of each of their eyes that showed pleasure in viewing or being in the other’s presence again.

Harry has always been complimentary of Taylor, crediting her talent and calling the songs about him as “flattering” in proving that your experiences with someone else are remembered. Taylor is generally excitable at award shows, but when Harry won his Grammy, Taylor’s slow bobble-head nodding seemed to say, “he’s pretty good, he’s pretty good. “ (A subtle rendition of the “She’s Good,” street fight scene in the finale of Mrs. Maisel in which Mrs. Maisel’s ex husband is emotionally decimated by the fact that she is a talented comic. I try to relate this scene to so many inept comparisons, such as this. That show is only this one scene to me at this point. We don’t need a season 4, thank you.) In 2015, Taylor said that the relationship was “fragile at times,” and gave her a lot of anxiety ( i.e.“Out of the Woods") during the relationship, but never characterized Harry himself in an overtly poor manner. We’re all very excited to see if the 1989 vault songs construct any new narratives of their relationship, but I’m betting that Taylor and Harry probably did not discuss a collaboration or past history of vehicular manslaughter at the Grammys. I know, I hate realism too. That hug reserved for Jack Antonoff ( Love, Simon soundtrack anyone?) is curious in pointing out that Taylor and Harry themselves didn’t hug (that we know of). The fact that Taylor blows kisses to Harry’s manager raises questions as well. More and more mysteries. And there’s clearly a Grammy’s employee in a face shield behind them; maybe that’s who we need to track down. Apparently, Taylor really does know places they won’t be found because we cannot access a true word of what these divas are saying. To my knowledge, Harry says, “Well it was nice to see you, congrats on the album,” and then again walking away, “Great seeing ya,” matching shining eye contact with Taylor again, and I think I believe him. Taylor’s dutiful re-attaching of her mask and return to her seat with a look of satisfaction for an earned social moment is the curtain call of the 60-second drama.

Again, this ridiculous video has stalled my mental capacity for days. All of my productive thoughts are just stuck in the queue of my brain as I put this video on repeat, over and over, disrupting all other thinking. I’m mad that I can’t Nancy Drew this to unlock the secret to this conversation. I thought, oh well, some insane stan will decode this for us and deliver a transcript of their best guess of what they’re saying. When this notion did not arrive in a timely manner, I began to tremble at the thought that I would have to be the insane person. I am terrible at Rubik’s cubes because I don’t care, but the Rubik's cube of this disorienting conservation is simply not solvable, and I hate that I really have cared enough to think about this for the past few days. Because there is no reason that it matters! Not in any real way. Also, this is a moment that absolutely does not belong to us, so we will count our blessings for the breadcrumbs we were fed. This has been embarrassing stan culture hour. Thanks for joining, and well, I guess it really was great to see them.