In a comparison that would probably upset fans of both of these artists, the Venn diagram intersect consisting perhaps of only me, it came to me the other night that there are a few things that Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift have in common, besides their obvious success.

Firstly, I think they both tapped in, early in their careers in particular, to perspectives that hadn't previously been represented in music: teenage girls and teenage boys. 

Sure, lots of songs appeal to young girls, but they aren't usually written from their point of view like Taylor Swift has, albeit from a heteronormative idealized view, with Love Story and You Belong with Me being the most obvious examples (and happen to be great songs and videos, BTW.) 

And well, I don't think I need to list all the Bruce songs that are written from the young male POV and most noteworthy, not in terms of girls but about their hardscrabble, working class lives. There have been so few songwriters over the years that have even tried to write from that perspective, but Bruce did it often and he did it brilliantly.

Secondly, I also think they, more than any other artists I'm aware of, have had a great connection with their fans, Taylor even more than Bruce. He shows it in the length and quality of his legendary live performances. But no one has the connection Tay-tay does and it's been a big reason for her overall success.

Oh, and it doesn't hurt that they both are unparalleled musical storytellers.