Taylor Swift

[bluefox4000]

I like Speak Now. My hot take: her songwriter doesn't really improve from Speak Now.
The production gets poppier, the accolades she receives become greater, the veneer of self-importance she carries about herself slathers on another thick layer with each release until we get to the almost insufferable moment we are at now. But as a songwriter and lyricist, she doesn't really get better.

Her pop years are so fucking hit and miss for me.

1989 is got some great stuff on it but most songs involve just 1 word word or phrase repeated for a hook over and over and over (Think Born in the USA.  the 2  albums are similar in that way)

Reputation.  This is where i thought she just careened into her own asshole.  I like certain things.  Getaway Care.  Delicate, King of my Heart, New Years Day, Dress.  Most of that's the 2nd half the first half of that record? Mostly awful.

Lover.  Her best pop album album.  and it may be unpopular but i will die on that hill.


I loved Folklore and Evermore.  she started getting back to the raw acoustic based stuff and i LOVE it.

Midnights..........sigh........back to her own ego and problems  and it sucks.  i hate it. some of her worst lyrics too.

god that album feels like falling back into bad habits.

I cannot stress what utter pap i think Midnights is.  And she keeps ADDING on to it!!!!, lol

My hot take.  She peaked Artistically (not commercially.....difference) with Red.  Everything else has been........good music but not a patch on Fearless-Red.  Folklore and Evermore being exceptional detours.

[KevShmev]

I made the observation to a friend a while back that most of my favorite bands/artists have that one album that I really like despite not having a single song I would put among my very favorites by the band. A View...by Dream Theater, Adam and Eve by Flower Kings, Ki by Devin Townsend, etc.  For Taylor and me, Midnights is that album, although this applies to the proper album only, as it seems like most of my favorites now were not on the main disc (The Great War, Would've Could've Should've, Hits Different).

My original thought was that Reputation was overproduced, but I have grown to really love most of that album.  What can I say, I manage to find myself listening to it quite often lately.  I still think parts were overcooked (King of My Heart was a good written song, but it feels like it was choked into submission by that damn vocoder vocal effect), but the songs are there.  Delicate, Don't Blame Me, Getaway Car and Call It What You Want are all among my favorite TS songs now, and even though the style is normally not my thing, I cannot help but love ...Ready for It?

Lover is a good album, with quite a few really good/great songs, but something just felt slightly off with it as a whole. It's like she was going for an eclectic vibe, similar to how Red had all kinds of variety stylistically, but it just doesn't land as well.  It could have been a great 12-track album, had some of the fat been cut off, starting with that atrocious track 1.

[HOF]

Speak Now is probably my least favorite of the TS albums I’ve heard, but I haven’t really heard much from before this one.

[KevShmev]

Long Live was added to the Speak Now set at both shows this week.  Will be interesting to see if it remains for the remainder of the tour.

Update...

Guitar is always first, piano second, except where indicated.

Glendale, AZ night 1: Mirrorball and Tim McGraw
Glendale, AZ night 1: This Is Me Trying and State of Grace
Las Vegas, NV night 1: Our Song and Snow on the Beach
Las Vegas, NV night 1: Cowboy Like Me (w/ special guest Marcus Mumford) and White Horse
Arlington, TX night 1: Sad Beautiful Tragic and Ours
Arlington, TX night 2: Death by a Thousand Cuts and Clean
Arlington, TX night 3: Jump Then Fall and The Lucky One
Tampa, FL night 1: Speak Now and Treacherous
Tampa, FL night 2: The Great War (w/ special guest Aaron Dessner) and You're On Your Own, Kid
Tampa, FL night 3: Mad Woman (piano - w/ special guest Aaron Dessner) and Mean (guitar)
Houston, TX night 1: Wonderland and You're Not Sorry
Houston, TX night 2: A Place in This World and Today Was a Fairytale
Houston, TX night 2: Begin Again and Cold As You
Atlanta, GA night 1: The Other Side of the Door and Coney Island
Atlanta, GA night 2: High Infidelity and Gorgeous
Atlanta, GA night 2: I Bet You Think About Me and How You Get the Girl
Nashville, TN night 1: Sparks Fly and Teardrops on My Guitar
Nashville, TN night 2: Out of the Woods and Fifteen
Nashville, TN night 3: Wouldve, Could've, Should've (w/ special guest Aaron Dessner) and Mine
Philadelphia, PA night 1: Gold Rush and Come Back...Be Here
Philadelphia, PA night 2: Forever & Always and This Love
Philadelphia, PA night 3: Hey Stephen and The Best Day
Foxborough, MA night 1: Should've Said No and Better Man
Foxborough, MA night 2: Question...? and Invisible
Foxborough, MA night 3: I Think He Knows and Red (both on guitar, since her piano malfunctioned due to rain from previous night)
East Rutherford, NJ night 1: Getaway Car (w/ special guest Jack Antonoff) and Maroon
East Rutherford, NJ night 2: Holy Ground and False God
East Rutherford, NJ night 3: Welcome to New York and Clean (the only repeat thus far)
Chicago, IL night 1: I Wish You Would and The Lakes
Chicago, IL night 2: You All Over Me (w/ special guest Maren Morris) and I Don't Wanna Live Forever
Chicago, IL night 3: Hits Different and The Moment I Knew
Detroit, MI night 1: Haunted and I Almost Do
Detroit, MI night 2: All You Had to Do Was Stay and Breathe
Pittsburgh, PA night 1: Mr. Perfectly Fine and The Last Time
Pittsburgh, PA night 2: Seven (piano w/ special guest Aaron Dessner) and The Story of Us (guitar)
Minneapolis, MN night 1: Paper Rings and If This Was a Movie
Minneapolis, MN night 2: Dear John and Daylight
Cincinnati, OH night 1: I'm Only Me When I'm with You and Evermore
Cincinnati, OH night 2: Ivy (w/ special guest Aaron Dessner), I Miss You, I'm Sorry (guitar also w/ special guest Gracie Abrams) and Call It What You Want (first show to get three songs in the surprise songs "eras" section)
Kansas City, MO night 1: Never Grow Up and When Emma Falls in Love
Kansas City, MO night 2: Last Kiss and Dorothea

[Zook]

So being exposed to Taylor Swift for years and getting the Chinese water torture treatment by my wife, I'll give my quick thoughts that most of you have already been subjected to.

Debut: my wife doesn't really play this one all that much anymore, but it's very country oriented which isn't my thing. That being said, it's inoffensive music that I can tolerate.

Fearless: my wife was playing this a lot a few months ago. Some songs I remember, most I don't.

Speak Now: pretty good. She was listening to the original a lot before TV was released, then listened to Lana Del Rey way too fucking much which made me miss TS. We live in BFE, so when she drives, she gets music choice. We're not in CHANGE IT! territory yet. So since I've gotten to listen to most of this album several times against my will, I've become a little familiar with it. With Taylor's Version, there is a lack of conviction in her voice, and on some songs she sounds straight up bored.

Red: another good album. Dare I say great. I'm tired of the singles, but they aren't cringe worthy or anything.

1989: almost a 10/10. Yeah, Shake it Off's bridge is a tad embarrassing, but the song that really brings this album down is Bad Blood. Fuck that song. I can't believe she thought that song was acceptable...

... Reputation: but then I heard this album. What the actual fuck? How do you go from some of the best pop music to shit smeared all over a gas station bathroom? I hate this album with all of my being.

Lover: while it's not as bad as Reputation, it's still pretty bad. A lot of cringe.

Folklore/Evermore : tolerable stuff. I can't remember at the moment if these albums have any ear bleeding cringe moments so that's good I guess. I'm quite sick of both overall though. If it's not my wife it's the radio at work.

Midnights: stereotypical Taylor Swift. Some songs are really annoying. Anti Hero isn't that great. At this point, in my opinion, she really is going through the motions. And stop swearing. It doesn't sound good. It definitely isn't affective at conveying an emotion. She just sounds like she just discovered these words, and is being edgy.

My wife would be really surprised that I know all TS albums in order. Unless I forgot one. I don't think I did though.

And so far, none of the re-recordings are better than the originals. Some things she did worse, like that fake laugh at the end of Stay Stay Stay. Pretty impressive that her band was able to play the songs again exactly how they were. Most bands that rerecord can never capture that original sound. Or they don't give a shit like the Goo Goo Dolls when they rerecorded Name.

[KevShmev]

Folklore/Evermore : tolerable stuff. I can't remember at the moment if these albums have any ear bleeding cringe moments so that's good I guess. I'm quite sick of both overall though. If it's not my wife it's the radio at work.

Out of curiosity, what songs from these albums do you still hear on the radio at work?  I ask, because the modern music station plays at mine pretty often, and Willow is the only song from those two albums that still gets played (and pretty often).  Could be just that particular station.  Thankfully, I have yet to hear the remix of Karma with that rapper that she did a few months back played on the radio at work.

[nobloodyname]

They might be two of her most lauded albums but my goodness, every tune sounds the same as the next to me.

So UK tickets go on sale next Monday. I guess I'll give it a go. But I think there might actually be a better chance of me winning the lottery.

[bluefox4000]

They might be two of her most lauded albums but my goodness, every tune sounds the same as the next to me.

So UK tickets go on sale next Monday. I guess I'll give it a go. But I think there might actually be a better chance of me winning the lottery.

i'm a huge fan of both but i can agree.

Actually most of her stuff sounds the same.  even her pop albums songs recycle melodies ALL the time.

but i don't see that as a huge problem...it's how she wtites.

[bluefox4000]

I agree about the swearing in Midnights BTW.  Sounds like a kid who just learned to swear.......stop it!!!!!

Did i mention i hate Midnights?

[KevShmev]

Whether they are solo writes or co-writes, it appears as if she writes most of her songs on just piano or guitar, meaning she gets it all finished (alone or has a co-writer help her finalize the arrangement or make a lyric more concise) with the lyrics, melodies and arrangement all ready to bring into the studio, where it is then produced for the records.  I suspect that is why her material translates so well across so many styles/genres and why it is easy for her to play them live by herself.

[Zook]

Just heard Mine TV. That one was pretty damn close. Had to ask which version it was.

Folklore/Evermore : tolerable stuff. I can't remember at the moment if these albums have any ear bleeding cringe moments so that's good I guess. I'm quite sick of both overall though. If it's not my wife it's the radio at work.

Out of curiosity, what songs from these albums do you still hear on the radio at work?  I ask, because the modern music station plays at mine pretty often, and Willow is the only song from those two albums that still gets played (and pretty often).  Could be just that particular station.  Thankfully, I have yet to hear the remix of Karma with that rapper that she did a few months back played on the radio at work.

Cardigan, the one with that dude with the deep voice,  and I think one more. I forgot what Willow sounds like so that one might get played. Then I hear Mine, Antihero, and there are some days it's like she paid the station to play her stuff every half hour.

Back to December TV is really good too. Maybe she got bored halfway through recording some of these.

[bluefox4000]

Just heard Mine TV. That one was pretty damn close. Had to ask which version it was.

Folklore/Evermore : tolerable stuff. I can't remember at the moment if these albums have any ear bleeding cringe moments so that's good I guess. I'm quite sick of both overall though. If it's not my wife it's the radio at work.

Speak Now TV has been my least fav re-Record.  and BTW.....i adore the original album.  But i've yet to finish the new version and it's been 3 days.  she sounds so bored.  and a lot of times it sounds like she's trying to mimic her younger self vocally.  Something she did not on Fearless or Red.

So i'm confused here but Speak now TV is by far my least fav Re-record. easily.



Out of curiosity, what songs from these albums do you still hear on the radio at work?  I ask, because the modern music station plays at mine pretty often, and Willow is the only song from those two albums that still gets played (and pretty often).  Could be just that particular station.  Thankfully, I have yet to hear the remix of Karma with that rapper that she did a few months back played on the radio at work.

Cardigan, the one with that dude with the deep voice,  and I think one more. I forgot what Willow sounds like so that one might get played. Then I hear Mine, Antihero, and there are some days it's like she paid the station to play her stuff every half hour.

Back to December TV is really good too. Maybe she got bored halfway through recording some of these.

[KevShmev]

Zook, I get why one might think she sounds bored, but I think it's a case of singing differently now than she did then.  I think I made this point before, but a lot of her early career singing would be like whack-a-mole for professional singing teachers to point out the flaws in her technique, but the combination of her emotion and her youthful exuberance made it work most of the time.  When singing that material now, she is no longer hitting certain words or phrases with the same flawed (and charming) delivery; she is singing it in a more proper way, and because it may sound less "shouty" for lack of a better term, it is naturally going to sound a bit subdued in relative terms, if that makes sense.  Plus, I notice she really put more emphasis on enunciating certain words more this time around.  I had forgotten that the word "terribly" was in the chorus of Haunted, but she enunciates it so clearly this time that it is impossible to miss.  And the "I think her ever present frown is a little troubling" line in Better Than Revenge is a lot different as well with regards to the word "troubling."  In the original, her youthful voice sang that word in an almost sassy way, but this time, it is a more matured delivery, and you can feel every syllable of the word.  Whether it is better or not is up to each listener, but I am just articulating some differences I have noticed thus far.

[Zook]

I'm just glad her voice (as far as I know) had matured by the time she recorded 1989, so hopefully it won't be too noticable.

My wife uses Tidal, so the rerecordings are the only versions on there. I have TS on my phone, but I rarely go for her music. I hear it so much already.

Will she be rerecording Reputation and Lover or are those on the new label? Cause if she does, I'm gonna have to hear that shit for a while again. My wife goes back to those albums periodically, but thankfully not as often as the others.

[KevShmev]

Lover was the first on the new label, so TV of Reputation is still coming.

Brace yourself now. 

[Zook]

[KevShmev]

Is that a Star Wars meme?  I don't like Star Wars, but it almost looks like something along those lines.

[MirrorMask]

Is that a Star Wars meme?  I don't like Star Wars, but it almost looks like something along those lines.

Indeed it is, in this picture Darth Vader (masked guy) received bad news and he's screaming "NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!".

[Stadler]

Is that a Star Wars meme?  I don't like Star Wars, but it almost looks like something along those lines.

Indeed it is, in this picture Darth Vader (masked guy) received bad news and he's screaming "NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!".

Note to self:  Text Kev to let him know that TAC hijacked his DTF account...

[KevShmev]

 

What can I say, I am not a fan of Star Wars at all.

[KevShmev]

Update...

Guitar is always first, piano second, except where indicated.

Glendale, AZ night 1: Mirrorball and Tim McGraw
Glendale, AZ night 1: This Is Me Trying and State of Grace
Las Vegas, NV night 1: Our Song and Snow on the Beach
Las Vegas, NV night 1: Cowboy Like Me (w/ special guest Marcus Mumford) and White Horse
Arlington, TX night 1: Sad Beautiful Tragic and Ours
Arlington, TX night 2: Death by a Thousand Cuts and Clean
Arlington, TX night 3: Jump Then Fall and The Lucky One
Tampa, FL night 1: Speak Now and Treacherous
Tampa, FL night 2: The Great War (w/ special guest Aaron Dessner) and You're On Your Own, Kid
Tampa, FL night 3: Mad Woman (piano - w/ special guest Aaron Dessner) and Mean (guitar)
Houston, TX night 1: Wonderland and You're Not Sorry
Houston, TX night 2: A Place in This World and Today Was a Fairytale
Houston, TX night 2: Begin Again and Cold As You
Atlanta, GA night 1: The Other Side of the Door and Coney Island
Atlanta, GA night 2: High Infidelity and Gorgeous
Atlanta, GA night 2: I Bet You Think About Me and How You Get the Girl
Nashville, TN night 1: Sparks Fly and Teardrops on My Guitar
Nashville, TN night 2: Out of the Woods and Fifteen
Nashville, TN night 3: Wouldve, Could've, Should've (w/ special guest Aaron Dessner) and Mine
Philadelphia, PA night 1: Gold Rush and Come Back...Be Here
Philadelphia, PA night 2: Forever & Always and This Love
Philadelphia, PA night 3: Hey Stephen and The Best Day
Foxborough, MA night 1: Should've Said No and Better Man
Foxborough, MA night 2: Question...? and Invisible
Foxborough, MA night 3: I Think He Knows and Red (both on guitar, since her piano malfunctioned due to rain from previous night)
East Rutherford, NJ night 1: Getaway Car (w/ special guest Jack Antonoff) and Maroon
East Rutherford, NJ night 2: Holy Ground and False God
East Rutherford, NJ night 3: Welcome to New York and Clean (the only repeat thus far)
Chicago, IL night 1: I Wish You Would and The Lakes
Chicago, IL night 2: You All Over Me (w/ special guest Maren Morris) and I Don't Wanna Live Forever
Chicago, IL night 3: Hits Different and The Moment I Knew
Detroit, MI night 1: Haunted and I Almost Do
Detroit, MI night 2: All You Had to Do Was Stay and Breathe
Pittsburgh, PA night 1: Mr. Perfectly Fine and The Last Time
Pittsburgh, PA night 2: Seven (piano w/ special guest Aaron Dessner) and The Story of Us (guitar)
Minneapolis, MN night 1: Paper Rings and If This Was a Movie
Minneapolis, MN night 2: Dear John and Daylight
Cincinnati, OH night 1: I'm Only Me When I'm with You and Evermore
Cincinnati, OH night 2: Ivy (w/ special guest Aaron Dessner), I Miss You, I'm Sorry (guitar also w/ special guest Gracie Abrams) and Call It What You Want (first show to get three songs in the surprise songs "eras" section)
Kansas City, MO night 1: Never Grow Up and When Emma Falls in Love
Kansas City, MO night 2: Last Kiss and Dorothea
Denver, CO night 1: Picture to Burn and Timeless
Denver, CO night 2: Starlight and Back to December

[Stadler]

By the way, listened to the 3 AM version of Midnights yesterday with my daughter:  Would've, Could've, Should've.  Holy mackerel. 

[nick_z]

By the way, listened to the 3 AM version of Midnights yesterday with my daughter:  Would've, Could've, Should've.  Holy mackerel.

Yep, the 3AM version is THE version, as far as I'm concerned. I get that the main batch was the main batch for a reason (concept and all), but the bonus tracks are really, really good. Would've..., but also The Great War, Bigger Than The Whole Sky are as good as anything on the album proper, imo

[KevShmev]

I actually made my own personal running order of Midnights for myself (15 songs), which kept 9 of the songs from the normal CD, 4 of the 3 am song, and then both Hits Different (which I put as track 1; Lavender Haze is one that got the axe) and You're Losing Me*.   I don't dislike anything that didn't make the cut, but they weren't as essential.

But yeah, Would've, Could've, Should've is a devastatingly good song.

*I am waiting for You're Losing Me to be released officially to where I can buy the HQ MP3, so for now, my YouTube to MP3 rip will have to do.  The bridge in that song is one of her best.

[nick_z]

I actually made my own personal running order of Midnights for myself (15 songs), which kept 9 of the songs from the normal CD, 4 of the 3 am song, and then both Hits Different (which I put as track 1; Lavender Haze is one that got the axe) and You're Losing Me*.   I don't dislike anything that didn't make the cut, but they weren't as essential.

But yeah, Would've, Could've, Should've is a devastatingly good song.

*I am waiting for You're Losing Me to be released officially to where I can buy the HQ MP3, so for now, my YouTube to MP3 rip will have to do.  The bridge in that song is one of her best.

Can you post it? 

(You axed Lavender Haze, huh? I do like that one a fair bit...)

[KevShmev]

Can you post it? 

(You axed Lavender Haze, huh? I do like that one a fair bit...)

I like Lavender Haze, but I don't have to have it.

My playlist running order is:

01 Hits Different
02 Maroon
03 Anti-Hero
04 Snow on the Beach
05 You're On Your Own, Kid
06 The Great War
07 Bigger Than the Whole Sky
08 Question...?
09 Vigilante Shit
10 Bejeweled
11 Labyrinth
12 Karma
13 Would've, Could've, Should've
14 Dear Reader
15 You're Losing Me

[nick_z]

This is nice...the only thing, for me, I would almost certainly have Lavender Haze in place of Vigilante Shit...

And I don't think I've heard You're Losing Me yet.

[KevShmev]

And I don't think I've heard You're Losing Me yet.

It's worth it just for the bridge (that begins around 3:18).  The simple chorus of "stop, you're losing me" seemed boring to me at first, but it grew on me. I just wish they hadn't used effects on her voice for it, rather layering it to make for naturally sounding harmonies, but Antonoff loves that damn vocoder effect.    It's not officially uploaded yet, but some have uploaded it to YT, so it's easy to find.

This is nice...the only thing, for me, I would almost certainly have Lavender Haze in place of Vigilante Shit...

I thought Vigilante Shit was boring as heck at first, but Taylor's delivery totally makes it worthwhile.

[nick_z]

And I don't think I've heard You're Losing Me yet.

It's worth it just for the bridge (that begins around 3:18).  The simple chorus of "stop, you're losing me" seemed boring to me at first, but it grew on me. I just wish they hadn't used effects on her voice for it, rather layering it to make for naturally sounding harmonies, but Antonoff loves that damn vocoder effect.    It's not officially uploaded yet, but some have uploaded it to YT, so it's easy to find.

Where was the song originally included? I guess there is another edition of Midnights somewhere? 

[MirrorMask]

This is nice...the only thing, for me, I would almost certainly have Lavender Haze in place of Vigilante Shit...

I thought Vigilante Shit was boring as heck at first, but Taylor's delivery totally makes it worthwhile.

We're long overdue a rock / metal cover or remix of that song and I'm surprised no one thought about it yet. People "metalized" way poppier songs off the album....

[KevShmev]

And I don't think I've heard You're Losing Me yet.

It's worth it just for the bridge (that begins around 3:18).  The simple chorus of "stop, you're losing me" seemed boring to me at first, but it grew on me. I just wish they hadn't used effects on her voice for it, rather layering it to make for naturally sounding harmonies, but Antonoff loves that damn vocoder effect.    It's not officially uploaded yet, but some have uploaded it to YT, so it's easy to find.

Where was the song originally included? I guess there is another edition of Midnights somewhere? 

It was released the weekend of the NJ concerts (I think), and it was a new edition that had a different track order and had You're Losing Me as the new song from the Midnights era included.  It was promoted as being just for those attending the concerts to buy that weekend, but like how Hits Different was Target-exclusive for six months, just give it time and this will be available officially to everyone.

[nick_z]

It was released the weekend of the NJ concerts (I think), and it was a new edition that had a different track order and had You're Losing Me as the new song from the Midnights era included.  It was promoted as being just for those attending the concerts to buy that weekend, but like how Hits Different was Target-exclusive for six months, just give it time and this will be available officially to everyone.

This must be the one:
https://www.discogs.com/release/27193104-Taylor-Swift-Midnights-The-Late-Night-Edition

[KevShmev]

It was released the weekend of the NJ concerts (I think), and it was a new edition that had a different track order and had You're Losing Me as the new song from the Midnights era included.  It was promoted as being just for those attending the concerts to buy that weekend, but like how Hits Different was Target-exclusive for six months, just give it time and this will be available officially to everyone.

This must be the one:
https://www.discogs.com/release/27193104-Taylor-Swift-Midnights-The-Late-Night-Edition

Yep, that's it. I know some were puzzled as to why two of the 3 am tracks were left off this version (Paris and Glitch), but I stopped trying to figure out her rhyme or reason for how she does these multiple editions.

[nick_z]

Interesting...

Also interesting that, going by TS store, the digital version of the 3am edition is more expensive than the til dawn edition, despite the latter having all songs on the former plus a few more...unless I'm missing something? (I probably am  )

[KevShmev]

Re-read my previous post.

Spoiler: the til dawn edition does not have Paris and Glitch, two of the 3 am tracks, that are on every other edition.