Day 98: What Makes an Album?

You have a favorite Taylor Swift album, even if you don't know it. Many people don't think that much about the distinction between her six studio albums, but in my nearly 100 days of experience understanding how each albums functions is vital framework for Taylor's entire career. The next two days will be dedicated entirely to summarizing Taylor Swift's albums. What makes each one unique, various musical styles, and of course which ones I think are the best in various ways. Today will be mostly to summarize how each album functions, while tomorrow will be more evaluative.

It only took a week or two for me to become very familiar with the differences between Taylor's style between albums. However, I think I made the same mistake that most do when looking at her music, and that was focusing on genre. It's easy to say that Taylor transitioned from country to pop to whatever the hell she's doing now, but that is glosses over so many important details. Her first two albums, Taylor Swift and Fearless are both widely considered to be "country", but still have distinct musical elements that makes telling their songs apart very easy if you know how.

On top of the sound, there is also the issue of theme. Most Taylor Swift albums have a central theme; a guiding compass that points each song in vaguely the same direction. This is a hugely important factor in characterizing what each album tries to accomplish. With that out of the way, let's begin!

Taylor Swift

Theme:        Isolation
Tone:           Generally optimistic
Music:         Acoustic guitar, banjo, low volume male background accompaniment

Taylor Swift released her first, self-titled, album way back in 2006. Best known for it's hit singles including Teardrops on My Guitar, Picture To Burn, Tim McGraw, Our Song, and Should've Said No, this album really shaped Taylor's early image as well as setting the groundwork for her entire career. You may be somewhat confused at me saying the theme is "isolation", after all doesn't that conflict with an optimistic tone? Well they sometimes do get in each other's way, especially in songs like The Outside, but they aren't inherently contradictory. In fact, almost every song has something to say about what it's like to be on your own, or at least feeling that way. There are a few exceptions, like Mary's Song and Our Song, but there's a surprising amount of cohesion for such an early album.
If you're wondering why you never noticed, well that's one of Taylor Swift's biggest problems. My guess is that there wasn't explicit intent behind the theme of this album, but the songs that featured this theme ended up being the strongest. After all, Taylor was a teenager when she wrote this album and that can be a very isolating time, so it makes sense that songs drawing from these feelings would be the best written.


Fearless

Theme:  Following what your heart tells you
Tone:     Resolute, headstrong
Music:   Strings and percussion, higher vocals

Whereas Taylor Swift mostly presented problems as an album, Fearless has come around giving out solutions left and right two years later. You probably remembers hits like Love Story and You Belong With Me, but there are a lot of great songs here. You may think that the theme is obvious: being fearless. In my view, this is only half the story. Sure that's a perfect descriptor for songs like Hey Stephen and Fearless (no kidding), but it doesn't paint the whole picture for less positive songs like The Way I Loves You and You're Not Sorry. The one element nearly every song has in common is that Taylor follows what her heart tells her. Some songs paint that as an advantage, like Love Story where love overcomes all, but others show that following your heart without looking for warning sign can lead to ruination, like Forever & Always. I list the tone as headstrong because every interaction is framed by Taylor with complete confidence. After all, the song isn't called "I Belong With You", Taylor knows what's up.


Speak Now

Theme: Facing your demons so you can get to your angels
Tone:  Retrospective, dramatic
Music: Electric guitar

2010's Speak Now is one of Taylor Swift's best albums, but it's also one of the hardest to label. There isn't nearly as much of a theme to this album as most others. The one I have above pretty much works, but it also would basically work for any of her albums if you don't pay too much attention. Instead of being strong through consistency in theme, Speak Now goes for a strong, distinct tone. I wish I had the musical proficiency to fully describe this album's "sound" with more detail than just saying "electric guitar", because there really is so much more to it. In reality, this album has a very distinct combination of vocals, electric guitar, and acoustic guitar that you never really see in other Taylor Swift songs. This led to an album full of very big sounding songs, brimming with drama. The narratives that Taylor paints have their stakes raised twofold by the music alone, and it makes for an amazing album.


Red

Theme: Looking forward and back on relationships with red flags
Tone: Sad, Beautiful, Tragic
Music: Breathy vocals, acoustic guitar for days

2012 gave us Red, one of Taylor's most popular albums. Many claim that Red is her best written album, which I'm not completely on board with. It's certainly her most written album, but the tragic, poetic tone doesn't always work out in her favor. Regardless, there's no denying that the consistency in both tone and theme is remarkable. And remark on it I will! Some songs, like All Too Well, really benefit from being surrounded by other songs that can be seen as additional context, while others, like Sad Beautiful Tragic fall flat at get swept underwater by the tides of the more impactful songs. Anyways, I know it's somewhat of a copout to use acoustic guitar as a musical style, so I'll go one step further. Many of these songs use their guitars in the exact same way. Just listen to the first three seconds of Red, Treacherous, All Too Well, 22, I Almost Do, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, Holy Ground, Everything Has Changed, and Begin Again. Need I say any more?


1989

Theme: Keeping the love alive amidst a hurricane
Tone: Confident
Music: Echoes, heavy clapping beats

In the same vein as Speak Now, 2014's 1989 is somewhat difficult to characterize. One of it's biggest strengths is it's range, but this does lead to a less cohesive theme, especially compared to albums like Red and Reputation. Sure, if you look at just a few songs you can find something that fits pretty well but it's difficult to find one line that can describe ten songs or more. The theme I wrote above ended up being just vague enough to describe nearly the whole album. That said, the individual songs typically have very strong themes, they just don't always connect well. It's like the inverse of Red, where songs sacrifice themselves to the whole. Each song on 1989 does what it takes to stand out from the pack, but the whole never feels too bloated. One way that I like thinking of this albums is the same fraught relationship was split into a few possible outcomes, and each of these songs inform us of the status of the relationship in a given timeline. It's a pretty stupid theory but it makes me happy and isn't that what matters?


Reputation

Theme: How to simultaneously be on top of the world while you hit rock bottom
Tone: Cynical, Intoxicated
Music: Synth, vocal focused

In terms of construction, this album is actually pretty similar to Red. They both have very strong, well defined themes that nearly every song comments on. Each album is also relatively homogeneous, with each being commonly criticized for sounding the same across every song. This is certainly a fair criticism, but in my opinion the songs on Reputation have more nuanced takes on the theme they contribute to, as well as having more complex and interesting music. It's definitely not for everyone, but there is a lot going on here to love if you take the time to warm up to it. And boy did I give this album time (and every other album for that matter).



So which album is best? Well again, there are multiple answers depending on what you value. There are a hundred ways to evaluate quality, and none of them are without bias. For instance, Here's a quick plot I made showing my opinion on the strength of theme and nuance each album has on two axes.

This plot would make you think that Speak Now is a bad album when it, in fact, really isn't. It just so happens that it doesn't shine in these regards, but it still has tons to offer. Keep that in mind for what I have to say tomorrow!

See you tomorrow,
-C

Day 97: The Tippity Top

Yes, we're finally here! Today is the final day of my song ranking list that I've been working on for the last three days. Here are days one, two, and three if you didn't catch them before. There are only thirteen more songs to talk about and they're all fantastic, so let's jump into it!

13. Long Live - Speak Now (2010)
A great song in so many ways. The pacing is excellent and the writing is very well crafted. I made a whole pose about how it's vague in just the right ways, and for me that's what put it over the edge into the category of the best songs. One other finale song is ranked higher than this one, but I still believe that Long Live does the best job of filling that role period. The royalty imagery constantly evoked gives this song an unmistakable personality, as does the unique subject of celebrating the escapades of a musical group. Overall, fantastic and unique love song. In my post I pasted a Spongebob gif that this song reminded me of. It fits so well that I'm going to reuse it here. Seriously, listen to Long Live's chorus while watching the gif, it's hilarious.

12. Sparks Fly - Speak Now (2010)
With among the best writing of all of Taylor Swift's songs combined with top notch dramatic music, Sparks Fly really is a piece of work. The writing is straight out of Red, both in terms of quality and theme, but the electric guitars and more sappy tone betray that it truly is a Speak Now classic. You really feel like you have a front row seats to these sparks, and it makes the song a joy to listen to. The rhythm is so easy to fall into, and I do every time.

11. Wildest Dreams - 1989 (2014)
Every ounce of Wildest Dreams works in unison to build up it's tragic, nostalgic tone. People sometimes ask me what improvements could have been made to the songs on Red since I so often criticize their homogeneity, and I always point to this song as an example of how to do something unique. It's basically Sad Beautiful Tragic but about a thousand times better. The writing is borderline poetic, and on top of all this is has a fantastic music video.

10. Dress - Reputation (2017)
This song is one of my personal favorites, but I don't think I'm overrating it here. It has possibly the best cadence of any of Taylor's songs, most notably during the bridge. It ebbs and flows with emotion, and brings you along for the ride, building the tension at the perfect times by expertly coordinating the music and lyrics.

9. Everything Has Changed - Red (2012)
If you read my review of The Last Time, you'll remember that I said a quality of a good collaboration is that it's able to build on the artists strengths without cutting out what makes them unique. Everything Has Changed is the bar that I was comparing it to, which may have been why I was so harsh. I endlessly praised this song in the post I made about it, but to summarize: there is a perfect level of ambiguity in the lyrics, and the rising intensity of the music will inevitably drag you into the emotion. It also has an adorable music video.

8. All Too Well - Red (2012)
I already know some people will be mad that this song isn't number one, but I think I defended why it wouldn't be pretty well in a post I made about the song. But I'm not here to talk about why this song isn't the best: I'm here to say why it beats out so many fantastic songs! Only one or two other songs have writing on the same level as All Too Well; it very well may be Taylor's best written song. The imagery she uses to describe how she feels is so powerful; it's no wonder that anyone who listens to this song a lot gets completely dragged in. It really is an amazing song!

7. Mine - Speak Now (2010)
The strongest traditional narrative song that Taylor Swift has every written. It has a clear, relatable, real conflict that poses a threat to her relationship. What makes Mine unique is that this conflict is internal, rather than being external pressure applied by other people in her life. The fact that it pulls this off so seamlessly is incredible to me. There's a reason it was chosen to be the lead single and the lead track for Speak Now, it's incredibly strong thematically and is no slouch musically either. The only place it slacks is it's music video, but I'm not really considering that for this ranking.

6. Getaway Car - Reputation (2017)
If you think this song is too high then you clearly aren't listening hard enough. Every single second of this song is laced together like a tightly knit fabric. From the perspective of a narrative there is so much going on in this song, yet it has a highly catchy chorus that is easy to absorb on the surface. I talked extensively about all the possible meanings in this song and still didn't come to a concrete solution. If you don't feel it on your bones when the she says "It hit you like a shotgun shot to the heart" then you clearly don't have one. A heart, that is. I have no clue whether you have a shotgun.

5. Clean - 1989 (2014)
This was literally the first song I write about for this blog. It immediately caught my eye (ear???) as en excellent song and it has no doubt held up. From the beat to the synth to Taylor lyrics to the way she says them; every part of this song is working in harmony towards to build a strong unison of tone and theme. What's more, this complex combination can be summed up in one word. Can you guess which one it is?

4. Enchanted - Speak Now (2010)
Remember all that praise I just gave to Clean? Okay, now imagine I said the exact same things about this song. They both accumulate a well defined theme and tone in the title, but there are some important differences. Despite how classically "Taylor Swift" this song sounds, it actually has among the most unique vocals of all of her songs, which certainly helps it to stand out from it's peers. I've praised this song in multiple posts, but it does so many little things right, my favorite of which was highlighted in this post about when it's okay to not rhyme.

3. Don't Blame Me - Reputation (2017)
I can already tell there are more than a few eyebrows raised at this one already, so let me explain. This song wasn't a single and it can fly under the radar easily, I don't really ever see people talking about it. But even if you think that third is too high, I strongly believe that this song is completely incredible. It's the perfect embodiment of what Reputation does well. The writing takes a typical Taylor Swift plotline and twists it beyond recognition, making you question everything you think you know about what love should be. You can read more in this post, but since then my opinion of this song has clearly improved a lot. Reputation as an album has a pretty clear goal, and Don't Blame Me pulls it off the best, and that's a pretty high bar.

2. Blank Space - 1989 (2014)
I wasn't sure if Blank Space would hold up over a longer period of time, but it sure showed me. The overall sound design is the best of any Taylor Swift song, as are the use of literary tools like metaphor and simile. In the post where I discussed it (actually there were two), I extensively praised the music video. Since then I've realized that the music video was only able to achieve this level of synergy because song laid such a strong foundation to build on.

1. Mean - Speak Now (2010)
That's right, my number one song is Mean. I'm not going to go into too much depth about why it is since I very recently made an entire post about it, There are a lot of songs that sound this good, but none work on quite as many levels as Mean. There are many ways you can interpret to it, and they're all very valuable. This is what really makes mean the best Taylor Swift song: each person who listens will take it in a slightly different way, and it' exactly the one they need. Mean meets you on your ground without giving up it's message; a feat that I don't think any other Taylor Swift song quite reaches. It's a lofty goal and it completely nails it, which is why for me it's number one.

Bonus Content:
There is only one song from other sources (movies, deluxe albums, etc) that is on the level of these song: Ronan. I spent a whole post praising this song so I don't really have anything else to say.

Well, that's all for today! There are only three posts left, so I hope you're ready for the grand finale! Or maybe you're not ready to move on from me claiming that Don't Blame Me is the third best Taylor Swift song and feel compelled to leave several well thought out comments proving me wrong. Either way, you'll be seeing more of me soon.

See you tomorrow,
-C

Day 96: Big Hitters

This post is the third of four where I rank all of the songs from Taylor Swift's six studio albums. Here are parts one and two if you haven't read them yet, go catch up before this post if you feel so inclined. We are well past mediocrity at this point: today's songs fit into the category I refer to as "Great". They all have incredible strengths, and only a couple less significant weaknesses holding them back. I thoroughly enjoy every one of these songs. There are a lot of hit singles that I'm sure you're familiar with, so let's jump in!

30. The Lucky One - Red (2012)
Just an excellent storytelling song in every way. The writing is top notch and the premise is among the most unique of any Taylor Swift song. It can take a couple listens before you really figure out what it's about and it can be a little less interesting in the interim which is why it isn't higher, but this song is still pretty darn great.

29. Our Song - Taylor Swift (2006)
I pretty much just discussed this song in a standalone post. I stand by what I said there; this song really brims with charm. The pacing and writing are great, and it has one of the most catchy choruses of any song in Taylor's repertoire.

28. Love Story - Fearless (2008)
Does using Romeo and Juliet as a bar for romance make you basic? Yes, if you do it wrong. But, as I discovered a while ago, Taylor certainly doesn't make this mistake. This song uses the allusion to it's strength, setting up an expectation of failure. It's like I Knew You Were Trouble, but more subtle.

27. End Game - Reputation (2017)
I genuinely feel that this song deserves a spot high. There's a chance that the unparalleled dearth of hip-hop I've been experiencing has made my expectations too low, but I don't think that's the case. If you're going by sound alone, this song actually flows really well. Again, if you go in expecting rap from Taylor you'll be disappointed, so just don't do that and you'll be fine.

26. New Year's Day - Reputation (2017)
A strong song in just every way. There's a real theme that is backed by the sound, and acts as a fantastic finale to a fantastic album. It shows, but never tells. It even tells you not to read the last page, and shows you why. Nice.

25. Dancing With Our Hands Tied - Reputation (2017)
This song is always strong, but when it really gets going it can pull you in so hard. I have a crackpot theory that this is secretly the perfectly ultimate Taylor Swift song, and can be performed seamlessly in any genre she chooses. It's a true look at what a "Taylor Swift" song looks like. I'm aware I'm only saying that because of the acoustic performance during her concert opened my eyes to the possibilities of what this song could sound like, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong. If anything it just means that Taylor and I agree on something.

24. Shake It Off - 1989 (2014)
What a freaking classic. The combination of horns and percussion are the perfect musical choice. It's like Taylor's band turned into a marching band and Taylor is the head cheerleader for herself, and by extension the audience. It also has one of my favorite music videos. Wow, it even has something to do with the words coming out of Taylor's mouth! Incredible!

23. Teardrops On My Guitar - Taylor Swift (2006)
I'm sad to see this song so low on the list. I wish I could put it at number one, but unfortunately I honestly think there are twenty two songs that outperform it. It doesn't do anything too advanced, but it's an unbelievable honest look at an unrequited romance. Taylor gets this raw plenty of times later in her career, but hardly ever manages to surpass what this song accomplishes in that regard.

22. Dear John - Speak Now (2010)
Speaking of raw emotion, wow. I initially had this song much higher on the list, but a combination of it's length lack of a thematic thread hold it back from being the best of the best. When it comes to sound, it's absolutely fantastic. I don't think many people would argue with me for saying that's it's more or less a slightly inferior version of All Too Well. The lack of nuance both helps and hurts it, but probably ends up taking more than it gives.

21. The Story Of Us - Speak Now (2010)
Can you tell that this song is from Speak Now? If the electric guitars weren't enough, then the high tempo beats should've tipped you off. I love how the music is arranged so that the tension builds and releases in perfect unison with the emotion behind the lyrics. If you want to see what a Taylor Swift song can do when all the elements work together, this is it, and it only goes up from here. Also, the music video cracks me up every time.

20. 22 - Red (2012)
This song is similar to Shake It Off in many notable ways, but is a little more successful in my opinion. It too gives the advice to ignore the haters, but also tells you how to do it. It's an anthem of being young and stupid, for all the reasons, both right and wrong.

19. Gorgeous - Reputation (2017)
I did a whole post about the genius in this song. It was initially about both this song and 22, but I ended up having so much to say about Gorgeous that I had to ditch the spare. It has a clear goal and uses every aspect of the song to successfully forward progress in the name of that goal. If that's not great songwriting then I don't know what is. It's fine if you don't like this style of music, but I feel it would be unfair to ignore all the ways that Gorgeous succeeds as a song holistically.

18. Tim McGraw - Taylor Swift (2006)
My intuition is telling me that some people may disagree with the ranking of this song, but I think it is 100% deserved. This was Taylor's first studio song ever released, and for good reason. The writing is actually fantastic, and paints a relationship with detail that I wish we got more of, even today. It's so engrossed in the country style that even it's title is... well you know. Overall this song is success on every front, and I'm sure that the first time her producers heard it in the studio they knew Taylor was going to be something big.

17. Delicate - Reputation (2017)
I have a soft spot for songs like Clean, Gorgeous, and Delicate, where their titles describe the song both in terms of theme and tone. Delicate is all about a relationship in a wonderful, yet precarious place. To get this message across as effectively as possible, the song literally sounds delicate. I don't even know what that means, but I can't imagine anyone would disagree.

16. I Knew You Were Trouble - Red (2012)
Can a song be memed half to death and still be good? Well, if you can get through the screaming goats, yes! I love how this song is able to make tangible the feeling of blaming yourself for someone else's actions. Rationalizing someone else's shitty behavior by blaming yourself is human nature, and this song does it while oozing style. It' also one of the only good high energy songs on Red, which I appreciate more than you know.

I still love memes though, don't get me wrong

15. You Belong With Me - Fearless (2008)
It's basic, but that's what makes it so good! I also can't help but thinking that's how it ought to be when Taylor tells us everything she loves about this dood. Everyone wants to feel special and this song can do it, no matter which side of the plea you imagine yourself on. You Belong With Me has the strongest use of the common musical elements from it's album, while also having one of the greatest music videos of all time.

14. This Love - 1989 (2014)
It never ceases to amaze me just how far Taylor is able to push past her boundaries in her music. Long prior to 1989's release we had heard songs similar to This Love in both tone and theme, but usually not both. It took her a while to synthesize these elements the way we see here, but man it was worth the wait. I can't get enough of the mantric way the lyrics are recited, you can feel the complex combination of emotion Taylor is feeling here, and it's so hard to describe. I really could go on and on, and I have, but rarely do we hear a song where the tone is peaceful or content.

That's all for her main studio albums, here are the songs from other sources (movies, deluxe albums, etc) that I think fit into this tier of quality, in no particular order as always.

Great:
Wonderland
Sweeter Than Fiction
Jump Then Fall

These songs are all fantastic, but tomorrow you will see the 13 songs that I feel are true masterpieces. I could listen to them on repeat for hours (and I have). I hope you're as excited as I am! Let me know what you thought about today's list, I would be happy to ignore you!

See you tomorrow,
-C

Day 95: Middle Of The Pack

Howdy everyone! We're back for another day of ranking all of Taylor Swift's studio album songs. You can find the first day here, that should catch you up if you missed a day. I went though all the rules for which songs I'm including there, so I won't bother explaining it again. We have over thirty songs to get through today, so let's just jump in! These are the categories that I affectionately refer to as "good" and "very good" in my mathematical models. We will, of course, start with the "good" songs. These are the middle of the pack: They rarely do anything extraordinary, but also don't give you a reason to hate them. Here we go!

61. Never Grow Up - Speak Now (2010)
It may lack subtlety but I think that Never Grow Up makes up for it with an abundance of sincerity. There's also some interesting projection of insecurity onto future generations going on here, which is pretty odd considering Taylor Swift couldn't drink legally when it was released.

60. Cold As You - Taylor Swift (2006)
Here we get a display of some of the best writing that Taylor did this early in her career. Unfortunately the relatively generic sound and mediocre (by Taylor' standards) vocals stop it from being a great song.

59. Breathe - Fearless (2008)
If this song managed to land the tone a little closer to it's theme of hardship and post-breakup confusion, I think it could have been something very special. Instead, we get a decent song with a great idea behind it. I enjoy it a lot though! The repetition in the chorus matches the mantra-like status of Taylor's thought like process.

58. Last Kiss - Speak Now (2010)
When I try to listen in a vacuum I fins myself really enjoying this song. That said, I can't help but compare it to similar songs from Red like All To Well, which serve a similar function but much better. This placement could be low, but this is where it sits and we have to deal with it.

57. The Best Day - Fearless (2008)
Even though it's first moments make it sound like a Jimmy Buffet song, I still like The Best Day. I did a post about it recently, and I just can't ignore how sweet and unique this track is. It still has one of my favorite music videos for any Taylor Swift song, and that is not a low bar.

*deadpan* "Spiders."

56. Treacherous - Red (2012)
You may wonder how a song with such a strong start can be this low, but I have a good reason. Treacherous has a very average length at four minutes, but it's slow pace means it has to be a lot more dense with information delivery to not get old, or have such a profound idea that the audiences mind can do the heavy lifting. Unfortunately it doesn't quite fit either of these descriptions, so I have a hard time putting it above any of the remaining songs. I will say that it works very well as an early song on the album; it does a great job revealing the theme while making you want more.

55. White Horse - Fearless (2008)
Points for being a fantastic country adjacent song! A more modern listen of this song could completely neglect genre in an analysis, which really shows early development of a musical style that would persist for the rest of Taylor's career, through to the present. I see this as an exceedingly competent execution of a pretty average Taylor Swift song, so it earns a very average spot overall.

54. So It Goes... - Reputation (2017)
The opening lines of this song can't help but make me think of this gif. But yeah, overall I see this song as a worse version of Don't Blame Me, which I think is a great song. However, it does a great job of building tension and has a very well developed theme. There's a lot to get from multiple listens in this song.

53. The Last Time - Red (2012)
It's different from all of Taylor's other songs, but it completely saps away everything that distinguishes Taylor as an artist. A great collaboration will accentuate both artists strengths, which is why I have this song as low as it is. But it still beat out a lot of good songs, mostly because of an overall strong vocal performance from both Taylor and... oh shoot I forgot his name. Garth?

Damn, so close!

52. Call It What You Want - Reputation (2017)
The writing and vocals in this song are pretty weak in my opinion, but I really like the music and sound effects. I don't mean that it's good in a vacuum, I just think that it plays extremely well to an otherwise average song. It also gets a lot stronger towards the end. This is true for a lot of Taylor Swift songs, making me think that it's pretty difficult to begin a song that isn't going to be high energy. But hey, what do I know.

51. How You Get The Girl - 1989 (2014)
For a narrative song, this is pretty average. It's miles ahead of Speak Now, but miles behind You Belong With Me. It's a very average song put together pretty well, with some pretty nifty musical tricks going on, and very good matching to the beat. It is also a great example of how Taylor writes a lot of her songs.

50. I Did Something Bad - Reputation (2017)
A great song with a pretty weak chorus. That's pretty weird from Taylor; it's usually the other way around if anything. The weaker hook is something that's more common from Reputation though, which is the reason you don't see as many of those songs on the radio, save a select couple.

49. Back To December - Speak Now (2010)
I've mentioned before how this song is notable because of how rarely Taylor apologizes. It also adds a lot of nuance to her feelings. That said, I can't think of anything about this song that really stands out. I do really like the music video, which is similar to Style's video, but a little better. Very Forever & Always with that indoors snow.

48. I Wish You Would - 1989 (2014)
Groovy! Despite being a few songs early, I see this song as roughly "dead center" in terms of quality. It's constructed well, has good vocals, good music, good themes, and average synthesis.

47. Better Than Revenge - Speak Now (2010)
I can admit that this song is about 20 spots too high, but I can't help how much I love it. It's actually a good performance vocally, well written, and has a theme that actually utilizes Speak Now's rock leanings in an appropriate way. It's both dumb and dumb genius. It's been been my guilty pleasure Taylor Swift song for the last three months, and I hope it is for many more. Here's the post for this song if you want to read more of what I have to say.

46. Should've Said No - Taylor Swift (2006)
Powerful, great utilization of the country music genre. Bad start, but unlike some other songs in this tier it doesn't take two minutes to reach the good parts. Once that chorus hits, it's a freaking jam.


That is the last of the "good" songs, now let's move on to the "very good" songs. All of these songs have some pretty serious strengths, but are either not exceptional enough to move up any more, or have one or two glaring weaknesses. A playlist from here up is rock solid though, you can take my word on that one.


45. State of Grace - Red (2012)
Some May see this as criminally low, but I see State of Grace as an excellent totem of it's album as a whole. The theme is very strong, it's very well written, but the music and tone are just too uniform for a top tier storytelling experience. But make no mistake: this song is quite good! It's decently long, but never really feels like it's dragging, which I very much appreciate.

44. All You Had To Do Was Stay - 1989 (2014)
This may sound dumb, but I really enjoy the way this song sounds, aside from the high pitched "stay". If it's your jam that's fine, it's just really not my thing. Overall though, the design of this song is fantastic, even though it feels a little repetitive at times.

43. King Of My Heart - Reputation (2017)
Getting a big sounding song right is difficult for Taylor, and this song hits the mark well. I personally wish it had gone bigger, but maybe that's just me. Between it's excellent pacing and writing, this song adds a strong notch to it's album's belt.

42. Fearless - Fearless (2008)
A genuinely good song, and a fantastic start to the album that shares it's name. I even came at this song, questioning it's choice of title and spoiler: I lost. 

41. Holy Ground - Red (2012)
Excellent writing, and the music even matches the themes it goes for! I'm a little meh on the vocals, but they don't drag it down or anything. It's fast paced, and as fun as you could reasonably expect. Nothing exceptionally special, but darling it was good.

40. Begin Again - Red (2012)
A narrative song done right, and I've said it before. There's more to this song than the story it goes for: it's actually trying to assure the audience that no breakup is too large to get over, even if it feels that way for a long time. I'm just glad to see an example of direct lyrics that have more meaning behind them; that's something you don't see that often, even in Red's best songs.

39. Hey Stephen - Fearless (2008)
I can't get over how this song overflows with charm. It thinks it's just so cute and it really isn't wrong. The music drags a teeny bit, but there are enough flourishes added in to keep it from being a significant problem. I could give you fifty reasons why this song is worth listening to, but instead I'll just point you to this post of mine.

38. Style - 1989 (2014)
If I'm not mistaken, this is the lowest that one of Taylor's big hits appears on this list. I love it's sleek style, something I elaborated on here. I do think it ends up falling a little flat thematically, and we're starting to get high enough on this list to make that a problem.

37. Look What You Made Me Do - Reputation (2017)
Yes, here it is. I'm not sure anyone will agree with this placement, but hear me out. Like I said in the post about this song, I love most of this song. I can't stand the chorus, but I eventually decided that one huge weakness could only drag it down so far. Plus the lyric video is so dandy!

36. Starlight - Red (2012)
Oh my, what a marvelous tune! It's like Holy Ground, but instead of an actual theme it just sounds way better. It doesn't drag for a second and has great writing despite it's strange origin story.

35. The Way I Loved You - Fearless (2008)
I don't know if this track deserves the praise I give it, but I just can't help it! I am totally in love with the general design, especially the strategic way that the sound transitions to something completely chaotic. I have a crazy theory that this could have been an even better song if it was put on Speak Now, but unfortunately I don't have time for that now. Also, this was the song that warmed me up to Fearless as an album, so I will always remember it fondly for that.

34. ...Ready For It - Reputation (2017)
I think the music video might've turned a lot of people off to this song, but it's really pretty good! There are some shifts in tone that you don't see much and are somewhat unwarranted, but it still manages to be a completely cohesive song! If you think of it as rapping then you;ll be disappointed, so don't do that, for your own good.

33. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together - Red (2012)
Never furrget the furries. This song is a complete jam, but has little value outside of it's undeniable catchiness. But don't underestimate the power of the catchy single! Taylor really flexes her hook writing skills here; I don't know anyone who wouldn't sing along to this song.

32. I Know Places - 1989 (2014)
Look, a song from Reputation time traveled to the year 2014! Haha but seriously this song is "ahead" of it's time. Other than it maybe being about pirates, I don't really have a ton to say here other than this song is slightly above average in every regard. There are some very neat bass notes in the background, pay attention to those and you'll have a good time.

31. Picture To Burn - Taylor Swift (2006)
Hell yeah! Who in their right minds wouldn't like this song? Unfortunately it's pretty short and doesn't have a real thesis so I can't justify putting it any higher, but from here on out every song is more than good: They're grrrrreat!

Oh, screw you Tony! But that does indeed put an end to the "very good" songs, so here are the honorable mentions from non-album sources (movies, deluxe albums, etc).

Good:
Today Was a Fairytale
Eyes Open
The Other Side of the Door
Superman
If This Was a Movie
Girl at Home
New Romantics (yes, really)

Very Good:
I'd Lie
I Heart ?
Safe and Sound
Ours
Crazier
Come Back...Be Here

I'm sure no one will complain about any of that. Anyways, I'm sure you're all as tired as I am after all that, so let's end it here and pick up again tomorrow.

See you tomorrow,
-C

Day 94: The Dregs of the Crop

Literal months of listening to Taylor Swift have culminated to create this final list. I will attempt to rank all of of Taylor Swift's studio album songs from worst to best. This kind of project can never be completely accurate. While I firmly believe that some songs have concrete reasons that make them superior to others, I don't want to shit on songs that people like, and that's not just me being nice. If a song makes you happy, then it's obviously doing something right; who am I to say that's invalid? I don't think any of Taylor's songs are incompetent, literally all of them do something well. That said, this list has to begin somewhere. Before we begin, here's my rough criteria:

• Sound: The vocals, music, and general design of a song must be acceptable on their own. Whether they work together is a different question.
• Theme: Songs are music stronger when they're actually saying something.
• Cohesion: And here we are! Good songs have all the elements working together to make a whole greater than the sum of their parts.

With that out of the way, let's get into the list! Quick reminder that I'm counting songs from the main albums, which means no deluxe songs, except for Taylor Swift (the album). Why? Because that's the only one that's on Google Play. Don't @ me.

The first group of songs are in the "songs I dislike" category. For the entirety of this list I prioritized the categories over specific placings, so if you think a song should be two spots higher I don't really care. I do, however, feel a lot more confident in the general placement of this list, so if you think a song should be thirty spots higher we might be able to have a real discussion.

85. A Perfectly Good Heart - Taylor Swift (2006)

I know I said that this was a perfectly good song, but someone had to be last! This song fails for me because it does absolutely nothing to make a name for itself. Other songs are worst in certain ways, but none are so forgettable in as many ways as this song.

84. Welcome To New York - 1989 (2014)

I made a whole post about why this song annoys the crap out of me. I have a hard time being impartial about this song because I absolutely love hating it so maybe this low of a spot is unwarranted but hey, I don't make the rules here. Oh wait, yes I do. 

83. Invisible - Taylor Swift (2006)
I can't tell if I placed this song so low because it's a worse version of You Belong With Me, or if it's actually bad. Either way it bores me to death; I'm already sick of talking about it.

82. Bad Blood - 1989 (2014)
Is anyone really surprised? Sure, some parts are catchy but I just can't find anything about this song that I truly enjoy. It endlessly gets on my nerves and every time the chorus plays I get a little more sad. If you want a more in-depth exploration of why I don't like this song, read this post.

81. Speak Now - Speak Now (2010)
I love hating this song so much. I knew I hated it from the very first listen, and was even the subject of my fourth post ever. There are so many things about it that I don't like, but I still find myself singing along when the chorus rolls around. Does this mean it is secretly good? Haha no, this song is hot garbage and I love it.

80. A Place In This World - Taylor Swift (2006)
This song is great if your goal is to be bored. Maybe I'm being too harsh but I can't find a single aspect of this song that makes me happy. Oh well, they can't all be winners.

79. Stay Stay Stay - Red (2012)
Of all the songs on Red with a poorly assembled tone, Stay Stay Stay takes the strange cake. I've gone into this in more depth before, but for now I will just say that I have no clue what Taylor was trying to achieve with this song. Maybe she was trying to be funny, and if so then I think I'll just stick with her SNL sketches.

78. Red - Red (2012)
I know I'm going to get some shit for this one but I stand by it. It sounds pretty good most of the time but everything else is just a complete mess, something I went into great detail about in an earlier post. I know a lot of people love this song and I can respect that, I'm just saying I think this song is poorly put together and I have real reasons why.

77. The Outside - Taylor Swift (2006)
This song gets points for having a unique premise, but the song does nothing to further the idea of isolation. The sound is too happy! It actually takes a few listens to actually figure out what Taylor is trying to say here. It isn't effective storytelling.

That marks the end of the songs I dislike, now onto the songs I don't like! Most of the songs don't do anything awful; they just don't do anything notable other than sounding decent. This next category has a lot of overlap with the posts where I discuss songs I neglected in the past so you'll excuse me if I sound a little jaded at times.

76. Innocent - Speak Now (2010)
This song being about Kanye doesn't make up for how boring it is. If anything, it makes it harder for the average person to relate their experiences to it.

75. This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things - Reputation (2017)
The live performance for this song was neat, but it falls a little flat in the studio. The music is just a little too boring in the non-chorus areas, and it lacks tact in delivering it's message.

74. Tell Me Why - Fearless (2008)
It's a little too busy and a little too basic. Need I say anything else? No.

73. I'm Only Me When I'm With You - Taylor Swift (2006)
It sounds like every other song on Taylor Swift without any of the emotion behind it. It lifts itself from the bottom of the trash pile with a decently catchy chorus and somewhat unique premise.

72. Forever & Always - Fearless (2008)
This is what happens when a decent premise and chorus don't get the attention they need. The rest of the song feels slapped together without sufficient care. It makes me sad since certain areas are pretty strong, it's just dragged down by the lackluster sections.

71. You're Not Sorry - Fearless (2008)
This song is very Fearless, and as such is pretty boring in my eyes. I like how big it sounds, I just don't think it's doing anything exceptional, except appear in CSI.

yup.

70. Tied Together With A Smile - Taylor Swift (2006)
It gives good advice to young girls which is nice, but it's possible to do that with much, much more tact. It might have been a little higher if it offer more than just sympathy. I'm not saying that you need a solution to be a good song, but it certainly helps give a song a much meatier core.

69. Change - Fearless (2008)
This song may be a little low on this list, I can't really decide. When I'm feeling it I think it should be like two categories higher, and when I'm not I think it should be exactly where it is now. My theory is that it's a decent song compared to most of Fearless and is really successful at being a finale song, but doesn't hold up as much in a vacuum.

68. Sad Beautiful Tragic - Red (2012)
The writing is good in this song but I think the slow vibes last just a little too long. I will give i credit for having a tone that matches it's writing though! Nice to see that from Red.

67. Stay Beautiful - Taylor Swift (2006)
All the remaining songs are more or less good, they just have one or two things working against them that I can't get out of my head. Stay Beautiful fits this bill perfectly: it is a fine song for the most part. Rather than a single moment being what taints the song, Stay Beautiful suffers from a lack of stakes. This is pretty subjective and hard for me to explain so I'm just going to move on.

66. I Almost Do - Red (2012)
I like the idea of this song, and it totally hold up the rest of it. It's a little too slow, and never manages to build emotion in a way I find completely interesting. It's good for memes though.

65. Mary's Song(Oh My My My) - Taylor Swift (2006)
I have said before that I like this song, and I stand by that. But even though I enjoy it, I can see that there are plenty of problems with it. It mentions potential issues in a relationship, but still at the end of the day it has a very rose-tinted view of romance. This lack of nuance makes it difficult to say anything really interesting.

64. Out Of The Woods - 1989 (2014)
I love the construction of this song. it sounds good, but has a less than interesting portrayal of a troubled relationship that Taylor has tackled in many more interesting ways. It's among the worst version of this song, one that exists all over the Taylor Swift canon.

63. Haunted - Speak Now (2010)
I like the intense sound this song goes for, but I don't really think it sticks. It's too bad, because I feel like this "sound" had a lot of promise. Unfortunately, it's among the worst of what Speak Now had to offer as an album.

62. Fifteen - Fearless (2008)
I know I'm going to get a lot of hate for putting Fifteen so low, but I can't help it! I've just seen storytelling from Taylor that's way better than this, so I feel like this song really misses the mark. It may be that I've never been a teenage girl, but hey who knows. If you want to read more about it, read this.

That's all the main songs for today! Below is a list of Taylor's songs from other sources (movies, deluxe albums, etc), and which category this fit into. I'm not counting covers anywhere. The list is in no particular order.

Dislike:
Christmases When You Were Mine

Don't Like:
Beautiful Eyes
Christmas Must Be Something More
Untouchable
Come In With The Rain
Superstar
The Moment I Knew
You Are In Love

Tomorrow will be the songs I think are good, but not great. Stay tuned!

See you tomorrow,
-C

Day 93: Third Base

Is everyone here? Okay good, we can begin. So today is the third and final installment of "songs that didn't get their own post". The previous two days were devoted to two of Taylor Swift's albums each, and today's will cover the final two: 2010's Speak Now and 2012's Red. These albums were the peak of Taylor Swift's popularity; at this point her ubiquity was the main criticism against her. Let's jump in!

Speak Now
Back To December:
Taylor Swift doesn't apologize much, so this song is no small deal. I can't decide if I like the vocals in this song; sometimes they flow really well and occasionally not so much. It's like how bumpy and wavy mean basically the same thing but have very different connotations. When it comes to pacing and general writing I think this song is definitely a success, it gives us enough to empathize with Taylor's feelings. I would have given it a post for itself but it happened to be on an album with pretty fierce competition.

Innocent:
I thought this song was about how to navigate a mid life crisis as a woman, but it turns out it's about Kanye West. If you are familiar with this song and didn't know that, it may seem very strange to you, I know it certainly was that way for me.

I almost made it the whole 100 days without bringing this up

Haunted:

This song is just three spooky five me. I can't really wrap my head around it, mostly because of how confusing the tone ends up being. I know that electric guitars are this album's thing, but I think they went a little overboard here. It sounds angry when really it's pleading, which makes trying to relate to it a little more difficult than it should be since the lyrics are decently strong. The deluxe album includes an acoustic version of this song which I like a lot more, probably because piano serves the tone better than the guitars.

Last Kiss:

I'm so glad that Long Live ended up being the final song of the album instead of this song. This song is fine in every single way, but is outshined in each of those ways by at least one song on the album. I appreciate the way it talks about the past relationship; it actually manages to make us feel like we're there on the ground crying with Taylor.

Red

Treacherous:

A classic overrated Red song. The idea is good but the lyrics are too direct most of the time, although I will say that a lot of the lines are very good. What I don't like about this song is how it sounds like every other song on the album. It does absolutely nothing to distinguish it from it's peers. I will admit it's performed well, I just think it's poorly constructed.

I Knew You Were Trouble:

"How did this song not get it's own post" part one of two. Yeah, I don't really know. Red had a lot of music to talk about, and I did mention it in posts where I talked more about the album as a whole. I think it's good though! It is a fantastic thesis for the album, has interesting vocals, and stays very exciting the whole time. I had a hard time writing a post about this I Knew You Were Trouble without mentioning goat memes, so I eventually had had to give up.

22:

About a week ago I made a post about Gorgeous, a popular song from Taylor's newest album. That post was originally about both 22 and Gorgeous, but I ended up having a lot more to say about Gorgeous so I eventually cut out 22 completely. I think that they are constructed very similarly, so if you want to hear more about how that works then go read that post! Overall, I really like this song.

The Last Time:

Taylor's vocals are both different and good in this song, other than that the featured artist is it's only notable characteristic. It's more boring than anything else, but not offensively so. Even though Taylor's sound is unique, she doesn't do many of the things that make her stand out as an artist, which is probably the cause of the uneventful sound.

Holy Ground:

Another song where the tone doesn't do much to advance the song. It's upbeat, but still sounds faded compared to the singles on the album. I'm also not sure what the message is here. You know, just more classic Red problems.

Sad Beautiful Tragic:

It's like The Last Time, but even more boring! What else even is there to say? Answer: nothing.

The Lucky One:

Now this song I can stand! It tells an interesting story in an interesting way and has a clear message, all backed by lyrics that flow perfectly with the music. See, that's how you write a decent song! If the whole album was as good as this song then maybe it would live up to the hype.

Bonus Content:

The Speak Now deluxe album has a few original songs: most notably Ours, one of two bonus tracks to ever be released as a single, the other being New Romantics. Ours is a good song, much better than the other two bonus songs. There are also some acoustic versions of other songs on the album, they're all pretty solid.

Red's bonus songs are in the same state: Come Back...Be Here is decent despite it's weird title, and the other two songs are both pretty bad in comparison. These albums are nice because they have a lot of bonus content, I wish we got a more from Reputation. I think I'll live though, after all we got fifteen songs on the album. Anyways, the song ranking starts tomorrow so I hope you're ready!

See you tomorrow,

-C

Day 92: Second Base

Today is the second post of three where I discuss all of Taylor Swift's music that I didn't get to in previous posts. Yesterday I discussed the songs from Reputation and Taylor Swift that I missed; today will be Fearless and 1989. There's a lot of content today so let's jump right in!

Fearless
White Horse:
Wow, this song didn't get a post? Yeah, I'm just as surprised as you. This song was a single after all! It's a pretty good, slow breakup song that I think really shows how much Taylor's music has improved from her last album. There are a lot of solid lines here, but it doesn't quite garner the emotional investment needed to push it into the realm of legendary songs. Still good though! I also have to mention that Katy Perry has a song called Dark Horse which I like to think of as the opposite of White Horse, despite their huge differences in both time and theme.

Breathe:
This song bores me a little. It falls into the same trap as a lot of songs from Fearless where it feels sad without a ton of merit, but that doesn't take away from the good parts of this song. In some ways I see this as the perfect symbol of Fearless as an album. Between the orchestral music, the slow, sad pace, and Taylor's deep-ish voice, it really checks every box. It's a little repetitive for my personal taste but it doesn't go overboard so who cares.

Tell Me Why:
Another song with a slightly confused tone that doesn't flow that well with the underlying theme. It's good and has solid writing; I just don't really feel it, you know? What I do love is when the music pauses when Taylor says "Tell Me Why". That's cool, as is some of the musical riffs in the background that I wish were more abundant.

You're Not Sorry:
Taylor Swift appeared in an episode of CSI and there was a hilarious remix of this song in part of that episode. Ever since then I have been completely unable to take it seriously in any other context. Guys, she becomes a meth dealer then dies. If that isn't the peak of comedy, I don't know what is.

Forever and Always:
Man, this song is so overwritten, is it from Red or something? Nah, I kid, I actually don't hate this song. It's strange; sometimes it sounds like the intro to a Disney Channel TV show, other times it sounds like a freaking Bon Jovi song. That's what I called a "confounded tone", or a "shitty sound" for the layman.

Change:
This song has grown on me. The start is a little rough but it certainly picks up in the middle. Does it sound like a worse version of Long Live? Yes. Does that make me like it any less? Also yes.

1989:
Out of the Woods:
It's just a tiny bit too dramatic in my opinion, but this song is, like totally fine. It does it's job well enough. It actually seems a little like an amalgam of other songs on the album, most notably Style and This Love. That's cool I guess.

All You Had To Do Was Stay:
A more modern take on a song that Taylor has written about a thousand times. It's superior to most similar songs, except You're Not Sorry, because of CSI. But anyways I like this song because it's pretty concise, which really makes up for how repetitive it gets in some sections.

I Wish You Would:
One of the weaker songs on the album imo. The music is just completely sick, it's almost like it was developed beforehand and the song was written for it. But that's just a wild guess; I have no real evidence to support that conjecture.

Deluxe Content:
Fearless included a whopping five bonus tracks. Wow, that's a lot! I'll be discussing them in slightly more depth another day, but for now I will just say that Jump Then Fall is the best one and it is a good song. It even fits with the theme of the album. What is this, Red? ...Have we been here before?

1989 has a couple good bonus tracks, and also New Romantics. I really like Wonderland though! Taylor also includes a few voice memos for the creation of songs on the album; those are a blast to listen to. They reveal the stunning fact that I Wish You Would's music was developed before any of the lyrics! Shocking! Anyways, that's all for today. Let me know how dumb I am for not liking New Romantics in the comments section!

See you tomorrow,
-C

Day 91: First Base

Today marks the beginning of the end for this blog. I'm done dedicating posts to specific songs; all that's left is wrapping up my months of research in the remaining ten days. To start, I will be trying to give a few words to every song on a studio album that I didn't get a chance to talk about. I tried to cover as much as possible but I'm sorry, it just wasn't possible! I hit nearly every major Taylor Swift song at some point but I still missed 31 songs that I will be discussing over the next three days, in addition to a dozen or so from deluxe albums.

Have we been here before?

Before I can really begin I need to address a question I've received a couple times. Taylor Swift's debut album, Taylor Swift, exists in several versions. The version I treat as default isn't actually the first release, it's the 2008 reissue. This means I treat four songs as normal releases when really they're bonus tracks. Why would I do this? It's simply because that's how the album appears on Google Play. No one listens to physical copies anymore so this version may as well be the original. If you don't like it then I implore you to create your own Taylor Swift blog where the rules can be whatever you want.

There are six Taylor Swift studio albums, so I'll be talking about two albums per day. Today I will go over her aforementioned self-titled album as well as her most recent album from 2017, Reputation. That gives us 11 songs to review, so let's get started.

Taylor Swift

Picture To Burn:

If I'm guilty of a crime (other than this blog as a whole), it would have to be never mentioning this song before now. Picture To Burn is a freaking jam that fits perfectly within both Taylor's style and the country genre as a whole. It also played no small role in shaping early public perception of Taylor. The idea that the men in her life are disposable songwriting tools just might've started here. The worst part of this song is how short it is; at less than three minutes it's Taylor's shortest track ever, and that's a bummer.

Cold As You: 

This song is very proto-Fearless. You can see a lot of elements, both musical and thematic, present in both this song and it's successor, White Horse. I stand by my assertion that Taylor has improved as a songwriter over time, but Cold As You proves that she has been a skilled lyricist the whole time.

The Outside:

This is the first of the songs on this album that sounds like intro music for a show on the Disney Channel. Yup. This slightly artificial sound plagues many of the songs on her first album which is one of the main reasons I think it doesn't hold up very well as a whole. It's not bad or anything; there's just some very odd dissonance between the tone and theme.

Tied Together With A Smile:

Welcome back to another episode of "Fearless but worse"! Today's song is, yet again, perfectly average. Listening in a vacuum makes you wonder what could be better, then you listen to her next albums and realize that it's a lot. The writing is a little blunt, the topic a little cliche. Again, it's not an affront to humanity, it just doesn't excite me at all. That may just be because I have never been insecure in my life though. 

Stay Beautiful:

Is this a breakup song? There's actually a surprising amount of disagreement over this question; I think the answer is "no", because that's what my heart tells me. But it doesn't really matter, either way this song has a lot of strong imagery and a very catchy, swingy, tone. My only complaint is that it gets a little dry by the end. It's not awful, after all it's only four minutes long, but I still find myself yearning for the next track three minutes in.

Should've Said No:

How good was this song's appearance in Taylor's reputation stadium tour? In the same vein as Picture To Burn, this song has a lot of power and significantly contributed to early perceptions of Taylor in her career. I would say that it's weaker than Picture To Burn, I think it's a little odd around the edges; there's a reason Taylor only sang the chorus on tour. Overall still a great song!

I'm Only Me When I'm With You:

Haha this one sounds even more like a Disney Channel intro than The Outside, but only just init's chorus. It's like a much less gentle version of Love Story, but with no real plot. It's a sweet idea for a song but definitely falls flat for me. Taylor's vocals are a little sub-par, and this is brought out by te strange guitar chops during the start of the chorus. It doesn't really flow that well and says nothing new.

Invisible:

This song is what would happen if Teardrops on My Guitar and You Belong With Me had a strange child. The main reason that this song fails is that it doesn't actually get us invested in Taylor's potential relationship because she never talks about herself. Taylor's only argument for herself is that she can recognize how great the guy really is. There's no tact, and is done way better in almost every Fearless song.

reputation

...Ready For It?:

Other than it's ridiculous music video I hardly have anything to say about this song. Taylor's "rapping" is a little lackluster but I don't think it's completely awful. The chorus has some legitimately good moments, but it never really shines as a song overall. It does get better towards the end where the energy really ramps up, but it takes a little while to get there. 

I Did Something Bad:

I don't like this song. The words "good" and "bad" are just too basic for a songwriter of Taylor's level; I think she could've done something a little more interesting with this song; the main body is actually pretty dang good. It's a lot like Look What You Made Me Do in that regard, but with higher lows and lower highs. It's a much more average song on average.

Call It What You Want:

I forget this song exists most days. It works well thematically, the music is interesting enough, and Taylor's vocals are well maintained, I just can't get myself to care about it. I'm really not sure why, but I guess that's life.

Deluxe Content:

Reputation doesn't have any bonus content, and I already mentioned how Taylor Swift's bonus songs were included in my earlier list. I have even already discussed both of Taylor Swift's Extended Plays in previous posts, so there's only one more song to talk about: I'd Lie. This song is relatively unknown, but I think it's pretty good. It's very bubbly which we don't see much of, but it fits Taylor's country style very well. At the end of the day it's pretty basic so I really don't have anything else to say about it. Tomorrow will be Fearless and 1989 so stay tuned!

See you tomorrow,

-C

Day 90: I'm Too Sexy For My Reputation

To be totally honest, I have been absolutely dreading this day. Taylor Swift has a lot of divisive music but none can compare to Look What You Made Me Do. Depending on who you ask, this song is either an unadulterated masterpiece, or a complete dumpster fire. My opinion on this song is perhaps the most controversial of all: I think this song is okay. I feel the need a qualify a little, since this song is "okay" in a very unusual way.

Saying this song is average is like saying the average human has one breast and one testicle. It's technically true, but in a very counter intuitive way. In the same fashion, I think Look What You Made Me Do alternates between being great and awful which makes it, on average, totally normal.

I'm just going to say it: I hate the chorus to this song. I find it musically uninteresting and lyrically lazy. "Look what you made me do" is a good line, but it can't hold up a song on it's own. I will admit that it's good at getting stuck in your head, but not for the right reasons. Taylor's best hooks are so catchy because of the melodic way they present relatable ideas. Pure repetition might make for a good earworm, but critically it doesn't set a song up for success. The only redeeming part of the chorus is that it has nearly the exact same cadence as I'm Too Sexy by Right Said Fred. If you weren't already aware of this similarity then I'm sorry because it's impossible to unhear.

I haven't been able to find an actual statement on how this came to be, but my guess is that it was a complete coincidence and they only realized it after the production was nearing it's end. To avoid legal action they actually have the three main members of Right Said Fred listed as songwriters, something they weren't even aware of until the song was released.

So what can make up for what is arguably Taylor's worst chorus? Well, it would take a lot, and surprisingly the rest of the song delivers. It has an incredibly strong intro and does a great job of building tension. It starts small and quiet, and when the bridge rolls around it really brings the energy up and promises a more exciting chorus than what we get. Like I said, I think the chorus fails to deliver, but that doesn't make these good sections of the song worse by themselves.

When it comes to sound design, I think this song is top notch. It has a very unique style that it goes all in for, and I think that it really works with Taylor's performance for almost all of the song. I do feel that this style somewhat put Taylor in the corner when trying to write the chorus because it would have been very strange for this song to have a high energy chorus. So I'm not really sure what I wanted, but this wasn't it.

But what about the song's subject matter? Again, some people love it and some hate it. My gut tells me that it's pretty dumb to hate this song just because of it's petty subject, but I will reiterate that a song written out of spite will have a harder time delivering a message that's compelling over many listens.

So is this the worst song Taylor has ever written? Yes, but also no. It's complicated! As a whole, this song is on the weaker half of Reputation, but does having extreme highs and lows make a song better or worse than the sum of it's parts? There's no way I can answer that today, but I will be trying to address it a little in the remaining days of this project. Until then, have a good one!

See you tomorrow,
-C

Day 89: After School Special

Taylor Swift has a large audience, and it's no secret that a very large portion of her listeners are pretty young. I don't have statistics so maybe this is unwise to assume, but I would wager that most of her fans started following her before they were adults. I think it's unfair to say that artists with young audiences necessarily have a responsibility to be a role model, especially when they are young themselves, but it certainly seems like that was one of Taylor's goals, at least some of the time. So what is the best way to instill good values to the youths without seeming preachy? I think the best answer to this question is Taylor Swift's hit single from 2010, Mean.

You may think I'm being banana bonkers here. This song is just Taylor complaining about rudeness, right? Haha, of course not you idiot! That's a highly reductive view of what Taylor is trying to say here, so let's look at the whole picture.

"You, with your words like knives
And swords and weapons that you use against me
You, have knocked me off my feet again,
Got me feeling like a nothing"

Everyone has felt this was at some point in their life. Feelings of inadequacy are more common than HPV diagnoses on college campuses, and they both can be caused by not properly protecting yourself from assholes. 

It's for your own good

Anyways, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, Mean. So what is a proper, realistic, response to feeling inadequate? Your Jesus loving gut may say "take the high road", which is good! I would agree, and I think the version of Taylor in this song would as well. Thing is, that's still a pretty vague statement. Let's see is she can help fill in the details.

"But all you are is mean
All you are is mean and a liar and pathetic
And alone in life and mean, and mean, and mean, and mean"

PSA: it's okay to be angry. Dwelling on the people who wronged you may not be healthy, but that doesn't mean that anger is always the wrong response. Recognizing that you have been unfairly hurt is an important step in moving on, which is why Taylor calls her emotional assailant "mean" so many times. Trying to justify the wrongdoings of others can only ever result in blaming yourself which will end up doing more harm than good. That's not to say anger is the only step, so what comes next?

"Someday I'll be living in a big old city
And all you're ever gonna be is mean
Someday I'll be big enough so you can't hit me
And all you're ever gonna be is mean
Why you gotta be so mean?"

Thar's right, it's pretty much just two steps! Don't blame yourself, then move on! Sure, it's an oversimplification, but that is good advice! So now try to take that message in the abstract and think about the best way to communicate it to a bunch of young people. Is it a cheesy after school anti-bullying special? I'm not saying those don't have their place, but I think that this is where a good role model can make all the difference. If you see your idol in the same situation as you, then you will be much more likely to emulate their behavior when a similar situation presents itself to you. If your immediate goal is to push these values then you risk coming off as fake.

That's really what makes Mean such a powerful song. You can feel that Taylor has insecurities and is feeling very hurt. Her response even seems somewhat petty, mocking a hypothetical future version of the one who made her feel this way.

"And I can see you years from now in a bar
Talking over a football game
With that same big loud opinion
But nobody's listening, washed up and ranting
About the same old bitter things
Drunk and grumbling on about how I can't sing
But all you are is mean"

This song never comes off as preaching a solution because the lyrics seem like a realistic visceral response from Taylor. She manages to find a source of strength not from external support, but her own ambitions. That's not to say that external help is a bad thing; getting assistance can make all the difference. It's all a part of the process though: Feel the pain, recognize it's not your fault, find a source of strength, move on. Being able to successfully go through this process, assisted or not, is a great goal, and this song gives a fantastic view of how that can be possible.

And now that we're done talking about the message we can finally discuss the other mechanics of the song. This is one of Taylor's all-time greats because it has such a strong thesis with such smooth delivery over a great track and vocal performance. Let's break it down.

The music in this song is among my favorites. The country style was a great choice for this song; after all fighting for the little guy is as country of a theme as it gets. The twangy string instruments are the perfect choice here; they bring a fun, exciting beat while also carrying the occasionally blues riff that plays perfectly in sync with Taylor's emotional ups and downs. The musical attention to detail is incredible, you can't go four seconds without finding something interesting. 

The lyrics in this song are also incredibly constructed. The songs begins with a flurry of lines all balanced around a single word: "you". This same construction is brought up again after the first chorus, but with some twists to keep it interesting.

"You, with your words like knives
And swords and weapons that you use against me
You, have knocked me off my feet again,
Got me feeling like a nothing
You, with your voice like nails
On a chalk board, calling me out when I'm wounded
You, picking on the weaker man"

"You, with your switching sides
And your wildfire lies and your humiliation
You have pointed out my flaws again
As if I don't already see them
I walk with my head down,
Try to block you out 'cause I never impress you
I just want to feel okay again"

Something really incredible happens here if you pay close enough attention. Taylor recognized over and over again that she has huge insecurities in these lines, but never blames these actions on herself. She sees her flaws but doesn't let that justify the treatment toward her. What's really incredible ins't this message which I've already discussed in depth. No, what really blows me away is how natural this line of reasoning seems while listening. Of course Taylor shouldn't internalize the insults; it's just the other person being mean. And that's what this song really means.

See you tomorrow,

-C