Taylor Swift's fifth album sounds like 30 years ago, and some critics are saying that the scarcity of contemporary references means "the times they are a-changin'" in popular music.
Of course, nobody will know that for sure until after the fact, and nobody yet seems to be guessing where we'd be headed.
In the recent past, white pop stars became stars by incorporating black music into their style. (Check Miley Cyrus, Justin Timberlake, Justin Bieber -- or even Katy Perry's current collaboration with Juicy J.)
Given that this album (titled "1989") is completely devoid of country elements, it might mean only that country music's million-selling anti-country misfit is positioning herself to become pop music's million-selling anti-pop misfit.
That point, at least, seems clear enough: In the video for the first single off the new album, for "Shake It Off," Swift deliberately botches every move in the hip-hop routine and is surrounded by people "not trying to be cool," as The New York Times put it.
Obvious interpretation: Hip-hop is no longer sacred.
If America is indeed saying bye-bye to hip-hop, which has been our dominant cultural barometer for decades, black leaders may have good reason for lamenting the current lack of interest in maintaining ethnic civil rights and voting rights.
And there's another piece that fits -- the fanatical opposition to immigration reform.
Brace yourself: Whitey may be back in control, and you may have heard it first from Taylor Swift.