feeling shame as an older Livie
Basically the title. Posted about this in the main sub, but it got deleted. I love GSIL and Olivia a lot, but I have no one to talk about it with IRL, even with people who like her other records.I was hoping she would finally have her big moment with the general public, artists, and critics, all at once. Her VMA snub is not the best omen, and frankly, why schedule a tour in the middle of awards season for an album you expect to get awards?
I'm older (26F) and also an artist, and Olivia used to be someone a lot of people around me, my friends, family, peers, and colleagues, enjoyed listening to and following. But when I talk about GSIL - definitely my favorite album of hers narratively, with a new sense of sonic cohesion - I haven't met another person with a similar opinion. Other artists usually pay attention to new and young artists' work, but I am consistently met with people who don't like this album, or even stopped partway through because they lost interest or were confused. Artists and critics whose taste I respect and care about, who listen to music as part of their job, mostly shrug at me when I ask. Like "I listened, but meh."
It's very isolating actually. I'm trying to deal with the consistent dislike of GSIL among other people around me, but I'm not really able to talk about it in the main subs, and in real life, I can't talk about *liking* it at all when it's a top five record of 2026 for me. I'm sick of feeling shame for liking a record my friends will outright ask me to turn off, and then feeling shame for the fandom backlash and censorship when I talk about not everyone liking it.
So, what gives?