Taylor Swift: You can aspire to buying concert tickets

Clearly, the 'one where you make some vague empowering statement' is now as firmly entrenched in the set of solo hairstyle female singers as the 'slow ballady one' is vital to any mainstream metal album.

Taylor Swift has just churned out one, called Mean, and MTV explains the video:

Now, Swift is dressed in a little white '20s-style dress and is being tied to the tracks by an old-timey villain. [...] But Swift and the others are hardly the only victims in the clip. Viewers are back in modern time, where a girl, wearing a fast-food uniform, is being made fun of by her peers.

Another girl is being teased in school and can't sit with "the cool girls" at lunch and is forced to eat in the school bathroom. All the while, Swift is plucking away at her banjo. Her words are empowering the young people affected by their bullies.

Obviously, there's a happy ending for all:

The boy reading the fashion magazine is now a famous fashion designer. The fast food worker saved up for college and is a big-time executive. The other girl? Well, she's in the audience watching Swift perform, cheering her on just liked Swift's song cheered her on.

I'm sorry... what was that? I can just about take the hackneyed slagged-to-riches outcomes for the other two, but is Taylor really claiming that it's a success over bullies to... what? Be able to use Ticketmaster successfully?

"Hey, girlfriend, things are bad for you now, but hold on in there, and you might be able to give me some money. Who knows, you could even be strong enough, deep down inside, to visit the merchandise stand and buy a tour baseball cap?"