Last Monday, I rolled out of bed and stumbled through my morning routine. As per usual, I yearned with every fiber of my being to be curled back up in bed. This is the time of day my recurring daydream of eating myself into a food coma and hibernating occurs most frequently. But not this day.
Five minutes later, I froze, toothbrush in hand. Perked up, even. "ALICE!" I screamed to my sister in the next room. "Today is the day! Red just came out!" She told me to go away. My mother yelled up the stairs to be quieter. Oops.
Red is Taylor Swift's latest album. I've been a devoted fan since her "Teardrops on my Guitar" days. Taylor just got it, and I thought she understood so well what it was like to be the shy and quiet one in middle school. That song spoke for preteen girls everywhere. Fast forward to 2012, and she's on her fourth best-selling album, has turned 22, and sometimes it seems like she's dated every single guy in Hollywood.
I was looking forward to Red almost as much as I am sleeping in next weekend (which is really saying something). I had to wait a couple of hours before the first songs were uploaded to Youtube, but I avidly listened to all of them as soon as I could get to them. And I was devastated to realize that all I had to say when I got through the album was ehh.
There aren't really any other words to describe it. Some of the songs have a lot of potential, but it's as if Swift stopped before she got there, allowing it all to degenerate into bubbly, girly, poppy music. Granted, Swift's songs are almost always about girly things, but I wish some of the songs weren't so trivial. The innocent he-broke-my-heart-and-now-I'm-singing-about-it theme is getting strange. The high-school relationship songs made sense when she was, you know, in high school, and it was even ok for a few years afterwards, but now, at 22, she's well into adulthood. I get that she has to keep her songs kid-friendly, but does she really have to be so juvenile about it?
Take, for example, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." I want to bang my head on the steering wheel every time it comes on the radio. She uses more "likes" in 2 minutes than anyone should ever have to hear! I have similar feelings for most of the other songs.
There are a couple of songs that I do like on Red. My favorite song on the album is "The Lucky One," which is not about a boy, but instead about a girl who has to deal with overnight fame and being lost in the bright lights of Hollywood. I also liked her collaboration with Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody on "The Last Time."
No one is expecting Taylor Swift to start tackling life's biggest issues in her songs. Her songs have always been fluffy feel-better music for bad days, but I can't help but wish Red had just a tad more substance.
First of all, I really like the title of this post. It's really funny and I get it after reading the whole post. I agree with you, Taylor Swift has changed her image a lot in the past year, but her music has just become more poppy instead of staying to her country roots. It's a bit embarrassing for me to admit, but songs like "Mine," "Our Song," and "Picture to Burn" have gotten me through some tough times. When I first heard "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" I didn't realize it was Taylor Swift until about halfway through the song.
ReplyDeleteI like how you can be critical of Swift even though she's one of your favorite artists. Great post!
I think her music was better in her first albums. The acoustic sound she had in a lot of her songs has now been lost in favor of the pop sound that is oh-so popular with the most marketable demographic. Lots of teenage girls adore that sound. I do wish she would get away from the highschool drama songs too, because they aren't working for her. But, it's not an easy transition to make from being a teenage wonder with only teenager songs to being a grown woman and having to sing more mature music. We shall see what happens I guess.
ReplyDeleteTaylor Swift used to be my hero back when I was... well a preteen. But, I agree, she has disappointed lately. "We are Never, Ever, Ever, how many Ever's are really necessary, Getting Back Together" is a tad overplayed on the radio, and I can't help but wonder if that song is a petty way to get back at some ex-boyfriend (numerous as they are). But it's always fun to blast that song, jump around in the car seat, and sing at the top of my lungs. :)
ReplyDelete--Julia
The second I read the title of this post I had an inkling as to what I thought it would be about...and I was right! I feel like I am in the same boat as you (I love "Teardrops on my Guitar" too!). Now, though, Taylor Swift's songs are straight up horrible. The first time I heard the never getting back together song, I wanted to shoot myself. I especially find the commentary throughout the song really annoying like when she say "And then he called me and he was like I still love you. And I was like this is just exhausting you know?" (or something along those lines). She sounds like a complete idiot. What ever happened to the sweet, down-to-earth role model that Taylor Swift once was? Now she's just obnoxious...
ReplyDeleteGrace Anastasio
Maritza Mestre once wrote on the Gargoyle that Taylor Swift appeals to the teenage girl demographic because "Swift tells a story and lets you feel like you’re a part of it." I can understand how this is widely appealing and a healthy part of a balanced diet. The only thing I object to is "emotion-sharing" being compared to and clogging up avenues for "actual music." (I detest love songs featuring a guy singing, backed by nothing but basic chords on an acoustic guitar for the same reason.) Your post shows a glimpse of clarity how once the relatability is lost, Swift loses her shine.
ReplyDeleteNote: My definition of "actual music" does not extend to most other stuff played on the same radio stations as Taylor Swift, so she is in good company. I'm just going to drop the subject at that.
I have been thinking of deconstructing Taylor Swift's music further in a blog post but I have a hard time justifying it to myself to not be excessively critical where criticism may or may not be warranted.
Yes, I have to admit, I was a total Taylor Swift fangirl, where there was a time when I knew all the words to all of her songs by heart. That was when I wasn't as obsessed with K-Pop. I liked everything up until Spark Now, where I just got really tired of all of her songs being about boys and relationships. Taylor Swift will be part of my memory of my preteen days, but I am getting so sick of her these days, not to bash on her or anything...
ReplyDeleteDitto on "recurring daydream of eating myself into a food coma." Couldn't have put it better myself.