Taylor Swift - reputation (Album Review)

While better than initially expected, Taylor Swift releases the worst, and most "personal", album of her career.

Release date: 10 November 2017
Record label: Big Machine
Genre: Pop
Best songs: "New Year's Day", "Dancing With Our Hands Tied", "Getaway Car"
Worst songs: "Dress", "Gorgeous", "End Game" (ft. Future and Ed Sheeran), "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things", "King of My Heart", "So It Goes..."
Rating: 4/10

See, I love Taylor Swift. She's not only my all-time celebrity crush (I guess), but she's a really good musician, with a knack for good hooks, a good instrumentalist and songwriter, and has a lot of charisma and personality in her voice. But just because you have all that, it doesn't mean the album is going to be good. Now, I knew this was going to happen. She'd find someone, and she'd be all lovey-dovey about it. But is it actually good? Well...

I suppose we'll talk about the good songs first. We get the beautiful piano ballad "New Year's Day", about holding on to the good and bad memories, as they're both valuable. While the production is sparse, and her voice isn't the greatest (my main issue is it's a bit airy), but really I don't have too much issue with this track. It's kind of being appreciative of her past, and not letting that bring her down. The issues of the past can often help you improve and I think she's finally realized that. Another song I really like is "Getaway Car". It's pretty damn catchy, and the comparison to how being in a getaway car is similar to a certain relationship in the fact that "nothing good happens at the end". The references to Bonnie and Clyde actually work here, she knows it isn't going to work out between them, it's going to end badly. And is there perhaps some admittance to cheating on here? Now, this is speculation, don't attack, but labeling yourself a "traitor" and that you turned him in is pretty alarming, especially when you connect to other songs, indicating she was interested while she was still in a relationship. And really, "Look What You Made Me Do" fit nowhere on this record. Doesn't match the theme, and it's far more dark than really... anything. Now, Taylor often has this issue constantly on this record, and I'll get to it later, when she talks about Joe Alwyn, her boyfriend, and it really just misses the mark. Well, one where I feel it does actually work is "Dancing With Our Hands Tied". Granted, there is that line about a "sacred oasis", which is just really gross. That aside, while she kept dating guys, I remember her saying (can't remember when to be honest), that due to her celebrity status, she'd likely remain single. Which does make me sympathize, because she seems like an awesome person. Well, now, she seems to have found "the one", even though the odds may seem against them in this industry, as being in the spotlight seems to hurt a lot of couples. She was able to keep this under wraps for quite a while and she seems to love this guy more than ever.

And I say this because I wouldn't be surprised if Swifties go and call me jealous for not liking the sex songs on this album. And I guess that could be part of it. Blatant sexuality like the lyrics of "Dress" or "So It Goes..." just come off as really too try-hard. "I only bought this dress so you could it off", how much your hands are shaking from all this moaning, and the "scratches on your back". But she does look hot in black, so I appreciate the imagery I guess? But seriously, first off, I don't need to hear how much good fucking you're getting, and really, it sounds like it comes from a Disney star who just turned 18 and discovered she can be "sexy" now. I mean, come on. She's even making alcohol references a whole lot more now, and it comes off as lot more mature and lot less corny. A lot of this sexiness seems forced. And while "...So It Goes" is a bit catchy, the spareness of the instrumentation at points can show off just how bare-boned her vocals can be. Not much weight to them. And the airiness of "Dress"'s vocals do make sense with the message, but she sounds far sensual and sexy in her lower range, and it has this awkward rhythmic cadence. Look, "This Is Why We Can't Have Things" was fine for a bit, but it does sound like it could have come from '1989'. And the vocal quirks, especially that laugh, was cringey as fuck. Or some of the odd "Drama!" sounds to her voice. Same with "Gorgeous", which starts off with that irritating baby voice which annoys me every time I hear it. "I Did Something Bad" was alright, how she kinda acknowledges she liked being bad, but the "da da da" just... no.

On "End Game", Future is uninteresting in his typical mumble rap drawl that's very uninteresting. And it's just as very generic except for the parts that aren't great. Ed Sheeran's more melodic "rap" delivery may come off as better as than Future's, but he did it better on "Galway Girl" on his latest album. Plus, why get them on a song? I get Sheeran's your friend, but he's been boring for quite a bit for the most part, and Future's one of the worst hip-hop artists with a big following right now. And "King Of My Heart", while I like the sentiment, those robotic vocaloid-esque vocals are a huge turn-off for me. They're usually only good on an actual vocaloid song. And really, besides the references to exes and their expensive cars, there is nothing that puts this outside generic territory.

And really, that's my problem throughout a lot of this record. Her tracks towards Joe, all this lovey-dovey stuff, it just doesn't work for me, they're often pretty by-the-numbers. Usually when there's references like this, I can at least put myself in her shoes, and feel like it's believable for the most part. I couldn't do it often here. I can't believe I'm doing this, but... 4/10, and I think I'm being generous. The lyrical content is decent this time around (save some cringey as hell lines). If it gets a lot of listens for me, it'll be just for filler. But check out "New Year's Day", "Dancing With Our Hands Tied". and "Getaway Car". I can't recommend this. It's bad when you're trying to like songs because they're from Taylor Swift and not because they're good. She's completely manufactured, and seems to have become a product of her label, which is disappointing. There's not much for a normal person to grab onto here. And I'm astonished how this is her most well-received record (at least from the public given its debut sales), because as someone who is kinda toting the fan/not fan line at this point... this is very much trying my patience.

So yeah. This'll be controversial. If you heard it, let me know what you think. Respectfully disagree please, if you're going to disagree. But feel free to call me a faggot, and out of touch if you want, I guess.

Marilyn Manson dethrones Thomas Rhett with "KILL4ME" as men dominate the Top 5

The rock legend earns his first #1 on the chart with "KILL4ME", as it moves 2-1. Also, Chika Arimura and Little Big enters the Top 10.

As Marilyn Manson earns his first #1, he is the first metal/rock act to top the chart. He also moves in the Top 5 with another song, "We Know Where You Fucking Live", as it rises 9-4. While not posted, Manson boasts #1 and #3 on the Rock Songs chart. His new #1 dethrones five-week leader, "Marry Me" by Thomas Rhett, as it falls 1-2. Recently announced as 'Life Changes' third single however, it does have a chance to rebound. It also holds for a seventh week on the Country Songs chart. "hold on" by flor rises 5-3. And rounding out the Top 5 is MAX's "Lights Down Low", which rebounds 8-5, partly due to a stripped down version released. With Taylor Swift's exit (which will be told further down), the Top 5 is entirely composed of men.

Olivia Holt's "Generous" holds on to #6, with a loss in performance after the gain from the Top 20 last week, as does Poppy's "Software Upgrade", which falls 4-7. Our first new Top 10 entry comes from Japanese cosplayer/pornographic actress, Chika Arimura. "I Live My Life For You", picks up, going 14-8. Also, Russian group Little Big rises 32-9 with "Fucking Asshole". And rounding out the Top 10, is "I'm Poppy" by Poppy, which loses 7-10.

Below the Top 10, we get MAX's new single "Meteor", which debuts at #12. The Christmas song from Lindsey Stirling, "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" featuring Sabrina Carpenter, climbs 44-21. We also continue the losses for Taylor Swift, as her songs fall even faster than initially predicted. "Look What You Made Me Do" falls out of the Top 20, falling to #25. And "...Ready For It?" collapses almost falls out of the chart entirely, plummeting 3-49. Parent album 'reputation' tracks for next week though, so they might recover. Speaking of that album, 'reputation' tracks "Getaway Car" and "New Year's Day", debuts at #1 and #2 on the Bubbling Under chart, respectively.

Full chart: https://crownnote.com/charts/naos/my-top-50-22

Fearless by Taylor Swift - Album Review

The stellar country pop release from Taylor Swift released almost a decade ago, getting only my second 10/10 so far on this blog. 

Release date: 11 November 2008

Record label: Big Machine Records

Genre: Country pop

Best songs: "Fifteen", "You Belong With Me", "Love Story", "Forever and Always"

Worst songs: "The Best Day" (if I had to pick one)

Rating: 10/10

See, I was only 9 in 2008, so I really wasn’t too much into music, and what I grew up was Usher, TLC, 90s-2000s R&B, along with a bit of the classics like The Beatles. Taylor Swift was one of the mainstream acts, one of the first, that I got exposed to. Granted, I didn’t put it together, because again, I was 9. But I loved “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me” as a kid, such excellent songs. I didn’t know who they were from - I never kept track of artists. Skip to 2012-2013, and we had “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”. Arguably, her sellout anthem that everyone I knew hated, and to be honest, I hopped on the bandwagon. Not knowing that the teenage girl I used to love listening to turned into this. So, we get 2008’s ‘Fearless’. Her best-selling album so far, and getting pretty good reviews. Does it hold up past nostalgia?

Well, it definitely does. I always went back to listen to the two aforementioned singles. But, then I got into “Fifteen”, and it made me want to go back and look at the whole record. And it holds so well. You get the Romeo & Juliet referenced “Love Story”, the friendzone anthem of “You Belong With Me”. Sure, she did it with “Teardrops On My Guitar”, and while that song is good, it came off as a bit petty compared to this one. And the fact I can kind of sympathize with this song (not the having a crush on a jock part as referenced from the video), but feeling that you could be a better match for the one you love. Although, this is where my bit of a crush on Taylor comes in, because who the hell would friendzone Taylor Swift? Like, seriously? Personal feelings aside, it has a surprising bit of energy and a nice build-up behind the melody. Then you get the advice song that is “Fifteen” saying that you may not know who you’re supposed to be, that life hasn’t truly started even though you may think so. And that boy you may love may not be the right one, being told from her own high school experiences. And that’s where she definitely shines on this album. Her charisma, her relatability. This is why I don’t feel good about bashing those who have teenage fanbases, especially when they’re teenagers themselves. If she can emotionally connect with them, then that’s pretty good. The breakup anthem of “Forever And Always” abou Joe Jonas has some good energy and is more a question of why this went wrong. The nice ballad of “White Horse” doesn’t get boring, where she realizes that this boy won’t be sweeping her off her feet, he’s a different person than she thought. And hell, while I can’t relate to the love part, and certainly can the misconceptions about a person. It shows that she can move on pretty well, while other songs show a bit of difficulty at times, this pulls it off really well with a nice guitar melody.

If I had to pick a song I don’t like, it would be “The Best Day”. While it does do a nice sentiment, a song about her growing up, the composition is so basic and dull. It gets boring really easily. Something that doesn’t happen with songs like “Tell Me Why” or even the ballad “White Horse”.

But really, I had to be forced to nitpick at one song specifically, and there’s not really any overarching problem. I love this album, I guess I’m a bit biased as a fan of Taylor Swift and someone who’s also 18, like she was on this album. I didn’t think a musician barely considered an adult could impress me so much, but she showed strength in songwriting, that was at times sloppy, but honest. I had a ton of charm and personality, it had a nice country pop sound, the production was done pretty well. And while Swift doesn’t do much range wise, her charisma sure makes up for it. 10/10.

Taylor Swift - Artist Review

Artist grade: B-

Vocal grade: C-

Vocal range/type: Soprano, C3-A5 (Two octaves, five notes)

Best album(s): Fearless

Worst album(s): Red

Best song(s): "Love Story", "You Belong With Me", "Our Song", "Picture To Burn", "Style", "Back To December", "I Heart?"

Worst song(s): "Bad Blood" (ft. Kendrick Lamar), "I Knew You Were Trouble.", "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", "Shake It Off", "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" (with ZAYN)

Positives: Charming, charismatic voice with a lot of personality. Can portray emotion very well through vocals. Despite being a soprano, sports a very good lower range, and has a relatively low tessitura. Has songwriting talent, and writes often basic, but very good sounding compositions.

Negatives: Relatively poor range, has a tendency to be off-key during live performances. And again, despite being a soprano, her upper range is pretty poor, often having to rely on her head voice. As shown in her live performances, her breath support isn't great, as she often sounds tired after a song or two. No vibrato. Despite her songwriting talent, it could be argued her compositions and lyrics are very "safe", with her public presence and mainstream support, she can afford to take risks, and has the potential to do so... but doesn't. Her change to pop has been criticized, as her songwriting seems to have lost a bit of that authentic feel often portrayed in her work prior to the Red album.

Yeah, Taylor Swift. This review was finally put up. I can't give her higher than a B- for now. While she has a few positives, her negatives often outweigh that. Her charisma does help a lot, and the fact she's such a talented woman, to take the sellout switch to pop was disappointing, to say the least. Next, I will be looking to do an anime review, but next on the artist review chopping block is Drake Bell, so stay tuned.

Taylor Swift - 1989: Album Review

Taylor Swift goes even more so into pop, with a better performance, but still lukewarm.

Release date: 27 October 2014

Genre: Pop/Synthpop

Best songs: "Style", "How You Get The Girl", "I Wish You Would", "Clean"

Worst songs: "Welcome To New York", "Shake It Off"

Rating: 6/10.

Let me start out by saying, I was a huge fan of Taylor Swift. I loved “Tim McGraw”, “Our Song”, “Love Story”, “Dear John”, “Mean”, pretty much her entire discography. She always had a knack for good hooks, so I don’t see why she had to turn to pop. She was successful enough in her previous genre.

So, 1989. The album that sold over 1.2 million in the United States in its first week alone. The review is obviously going to be contentious, so just respect my opinion here. I tend to talk about the singles first, so “Shake It Off”. While not being outright terrible, it honestly was a disappointment. I heard that Taylor was going full pop, and I didn’t mind that, if she could do it well. Sure, it has a catchy melody and the hook, while repetitive, sticks in your head well, the production is basic, and the “white-girl rapping” is not all that great. Also, I don’t tend to like anti-hater anthems, because making the song just shows how much it affects you. We do get a good follow-up with “Blank Space”, nice production, good hook, and it shows a more “adult” tone. Problem being, it doesn’t seem like her. It doesn’t seem honest, and that is what I always loved about her. She didn’t have to make a cover-up, she was herself, at least that’s the impression I got. Third single “Style” is a pure gem. It tells about how both partners are realizing that they screwed up, and they both have problems, shows a great deal a maturity. The 80s style guitar carries a very nice melody. Now we get to the polarizing “Bad Blood”, which honestly, I didn’t hate the album version, carrying a much more darker tone, it’s an alright song. Now the Kendrick Lamar featured remix, now I could go on about how bad that one is, but it’s not part of this album, so no bitching there. Then we get “Wildest Dreams”, a low-key sex song that really isn’t to my taste, though it could be, knowing Taylor as a teenager, I just can’t see her being 24 like she is here. It’s a good version of say, Lana Del Rey. It isn’t bad, but again, not for me. After is “Out Of The Woods”, which I like, but not as a single. The echoing vocals and 80s production works fine enough. Finally, we get the final and seventh single, “New Romantics”. I actually like quite a bit, with the synth and just being a feel-good anthem with the line “the best people in life are free” (though it should be pointed out she likely does not even know what the “New Romantics” is).

Now we have to get to the album tracks and… “Welcome To New York”, the opening track. Overproduced, cheesy, and just for the most part, boring. I had fun with it at first, but now… it’s just filler. Then we get “All You Had To Do Was Stay”, and really, it’s a pretty good song, but I will say the high head voiced “Stay!” on the hook… I’m going to paraphrase Shane Dawson here and say it sounds like someone is shoving something big up her ass. “I Wish You Would” sounds great, saying that she knows the relationship wouldn’t work, and she wish it did. Though the “You always knew how to push my buttons” line is kinda goofy, whatever. “How You Get The Girl” is a nice acoustic track that could’ve fit on her other albums. I like the heartfelt, stripped-back sentiment of giving advice to a guy who wants a girl back. “Clean” is a gorgeous cut as well.

All in all, this album could have been great, but it’s barely good. She’s playing a persona it seems and doesn’t seem too honest most of the time. She's playing off other artists rather than being herself and what makes her unique. It’s a strong 6/10 and I’m recommending it, but really it’s a modest one, and she could do better.

Your own rating of 1989?