Taylor Swift '08: The Hype, Anticipation & Appreciation Begins Right Here

FWIW I was ambivalent about "Love Story" the first few times as well. It's an odd thing about pop like this in that, instead of realising that you didn't "get" the song, you just... stop caring about whatever it was that made you suspicious. Or it's like, "yeah, why did I think that was a bad thing again?!?"

This song has definitely grown on me. I liked it enough the first time, but I love it now. I think there are little vocal things she does that I pick up on during further listening. (Like, oh, listen to that trill there, that sounds great to my ears).

Yes. The vocals on this feel simultaneously complete unthought-through and immaculately judged, like the way she scrunches up with compressed excitement when she tremors, "he knelt to the GROUND and pulled out a RING..."

Also, and I can't believe that this is true, but I like the girlie-fantasy lyrical content. It's totally ridiculous and cliched and nonsense, but I feel simultaneously like it's a very true feeling for Swift to be expressing. Like, that this kind of archetypical romance speaks to her. And I really buy it. Which is, I guess, to say that I could see Taylor Swift doing a Ren Fair concept album in about 5 years.

there are little vocal things

i like "this love is difficult/but it's a-RE-eel". also the key change on the very last iteration of the chorus is totally shameless and totally effective.

but enough about "love story." the one i've been wearing out lately is "the way i loved you."

man she loves those crescendoes.

Man, if I wrote "Complicated" I'd be calling my lawyer right now. I'm sure that's been noted elsewhere.

Yesterday on the local top 40 station I heard the "Pop Mix" of "Love Story" (as part of a half-hour mix in which it was bookended by "Say It Right" and something by Ne-Yo). And I was wondering, those of you into this song, which mix are you more into, the mix getting heavy play on country radio, or the mix on pop radio? I think I like the country mix more, mostly because the beats on the pop mix are pretty lame. But I wonder how common this has been, to have both country and pop mixes of a song in heavy rotation on two different kinds of radio stations? Does Carrie Underwood get this treatment?

Spell completely broken for me by her inability to carry a tune live.

i have heard that, but not seen it. going to check out snl tonight for validation. (not that i actually care, tbh.)

She's been off tune-wise on the CMAs that I've seen, but I usually listen to her records so this is no big deal to me.

(not that i actually care, tbh.)

Fair point. And it doesn't detract from the recorded material. Just... breaks the spell, is all.

Actually, on the CMA performances I've seen, the places I've most noticed her losing the tune is when she gets emo, really into the song, voice-cracking, and I end up finding that endearing since the songs are pretty emo to begin with.

CMA isn't quite the same as live ;-)

true!

There's more to life than carrying a tune!

Anyway, I haven't seen the recent performances but I was surprised to see more than one person claiming she can't sing as if (1) this has any relevance to her recorded music and (2) I'm about to trust anyone telling me how good or bad Taylor Swift's voice might without hearing her awesome Live from SoHo EP from iTunes about a year ago. It's really good!

Uh oh.

Re: SNL. :/

yeah, they never clean shit up on "live" records

This is really, really, really bad. And I love Taylor Swift.

i've heard worse on snl. but yeah, she doesn't exactly bring the pipes.

There's more to life than carrying a tune!

I like the stuff she writes in spite of the dire covers. I mean, yeah, she has good taste but she brings nothing to the material and it's a painfully self-conscious exercise (Beyoncé! John Waite! DO YOU SEE?).

didn't watch SNL, and I think I'll stay away; I want to keep my illusions, that's what pop is all about.

"painfully self-conscious exercise" oooh but this is part of what I love about Taylor Swift, those meta song structures she writes, with the "looking back" parts and self-referential elements, these are, I gather, meant to hit you on the head and say, "look at me! isn't this clever!" Painfully self-conscious? I guess it depends on how much pleasure being in on the joke brings you. In true pop fashion that thrill is pretty disposable for me but fortunately the songs continue to hit me at other levels, nostalgia, hooks galore.

re: beyonce

!!!!!!!

i love this album a lot

she's going to write incredible songs for forever

it's remarkable that someone of her age has such touch with her songs, there is such a fine line between poignant and cliche with her subject matter and she basically never falls onto the latter side of the line - i can't even imagine how horrible so many 19 year olds would be at trying to write something as obvious as "love story"

^^^

I think the most remarkable example of this is "Mary's Song". It really should be cringeworthy and instead it's brilliant.

I never did mention how amazing she was live.

I've been going back periodically and nibbling at this, and I have to agree that she's a good songwriter. I think I like the first 3/4 or 2/3 of this album, but then it peters out for me toward the end. The musical style isn't really my kind of thing, and I'm not sure I can enjoy it in very large doses, but there's definitely something good about what she does with it. When I turn up and down the dial and hit one of her songs, it stands out as something exceptional, and I'm a little surprised to find myself staying and listening to it. Maybe the lyrics are more important to me here than they usually are in music and that compensates somewhat for my not being into the musical style so much.

I think she's a great, great songwriter but I NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER want to hear her sing again.

lol i clicked on this thread just now with the explicit hope of seeing perry hate on her vocals, was not disappointed

hahaha

Sorry to be a predictable caricature, particularly in a genre pretty much geared towards a style of vocal production that I'm already prejudiced against, but she's a poor-man's Carrie Underwood; all strangulated tone pushed out from the neck rather than supported from the core, mixed in with atrocious diction, all of which pulls her off pitch to a stunning degree and in a manner that really doesn't do her songs any justice.

it's ok to be predictable when you're right!

I think the most remarkable example of this is "Mary's Song". It really should be cringeworthy and instead it's brilliant.

OTM.

That said, for all of the soaring anthemic choruses and wordy story-telling, my surprise favourite on the new album is the quiet unassuming Hey Stephen. "All those other girls, yeah, they're beautiful, but would they write a song for you," followed by that spontaneous vibrant chuckle is her most winning moment for me.

I underrated Taylor Swift for a while - the middle stretch of the album seemed kind of limp, especially in comparison to Fearless which never loses momentum (Except maybe for You're Not Sorry). That said, "The Outside" "Stay Beautiful" and "A Place in This World" are actually quite charming.

"breathe" is my current obsession off of the album

the nbc special last night was like the greatest thing i've ever seen

I finally got this album, and somehow I'd managed to avoid hearing "You Belong With Me" until now; surely this is a massive single by now? Because good grief it's awesome. There are so many hooks, and she gets me in the details: for instance, the bit where she trills a little like Beyoncé ("I know you better than that"), or the way she talks the line "she's cheer captain" on the lead-in to the second chorus. Absolute gold.

lol i clicked on this thread just now with the explicit hope of seeing perry hate on her vocals, was not disappointed

Ummmm me too

OK. I am on board with Taylor Swift. She's great. Forever and Always is my favorite.

"Forever & Always" is a favourite of mine too. "Were you just kidding..." is a great bait 'n' switch moment.

yeah probably the best album made by a teenage girl in at least the last 20 years? any serious suggestions for something better?

i was going to say 30 but then kate bush would win.

I don't mean this at all in a negative way, but "Forever and Always" would fit well on a Death Cab For Cutie album. At least the verses; the chorus soars more than Death Cab would be able to pull off, I think.

I've only heard "Love Story", which is dreadful, leaden, hackneyed tat. I kind of want to like her though. She seems to be carrying the flame for sappy MOR, one of pop music's most eternally vital of genres.

Love Story is one of the worst songs on the record, with one of the more grating key changes you'll ever hear. The rest of the record is far, far better. She's really talented.

http://www.rap-up.com/2009/08/09/timbaland-wants-to-work-with-taylor-swift/

Timbaland has worked with everyone from Jay-Z to Madonna, but there’s one person he’s yet to check off his list.

The super-producer is eyeing a collaboration with Taylor Swift. “I think the main person I want to get is Taylor Swift,” he told RadarOnline.com. “I love her voice. I just think me and her can do something amazing.”

Timbo reached out to the country singer, but was unsuccessful in his attempt. “Her people said that she was busy. She wanted to do it, but you know, there’s all these people you gotta go through and her people said she was busy… but I’ll make it happen.”

Fans can expect a fusion of hip-hop and country if and when the unlikely pair come together. “It would have a country swing, but just a little bit of me. I know how to do that real good.”

Taylor is no stranger to hip-hop. She recently recorded a rap with T-Pain for the 2009 CMT Music Awards. Timbaland has also dabbled in country music, recording with Keith Urban.

remembering how good bubba sparxxx's deliverance was, also remembering kiley dean

ok, two o'clock in the morning watching Taylor Swift videos with my sister on youtube it all clicked and I'll tell you this much, seventeen year old girls are better at explaining this stuff than u guys

Don't fight it, feel it.

"You Belong With Me" is my jam of this year (or last year or whatever). With hooks like that, who needs explanation?

also has anyone on this thread even pointed out how she manages to wind up wearing evening wear in every video? because this is key imo.

she also brought to my attention the awesomeness that is "Our Song" which I had never heard before

Rockin' with Taylor Swift (TIME Magazine feature)...

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1985209,00.html

Taylor POX:

Jump Then Fall
You Belong With Me
Our Song
Fearless
Forever and Always
Hey Stephen
Tim McGraw
White Horse
Love Story
Should've Said No

I've grown to love "Today Was a Fairy Tale" through hearing it on the radio so much. It's just a great generic Taylor single. Gorgeously produced, her performance is perfectly judged and the sense of "oh noes she's talking about fairy tales AGAIN" fades a bit the more you listen - the fragile, climbing "time slows down... whenever you're around" pre-chorus and the ecstatic "can you feel the magic in the air - it must have been the way you kissed me!" bits are both awesome.

Yep, love that single. I think "generic" is the key word, though. It doesn't really do anything "new" with her sound/style, kinda runs with the fairy tale thing from "Love Story" and milks its success, but you're right -- the performance is great, and reliably makes my heart swell up each time I hear it.

Taylor Swift Has a Fishy Wish for Her New Home

Since moving into a decked-out Nashville apartment, Taylor Swift has made some significant changes to her home's original floor plan.

"There are rooms where there weren't rooms before, and I have a birdcage in my living room that is people-sized," the country musician, 20, told PEOPLE at Tuesday's BMI Pop Awards in Los Angeles. "Then there's a pond in the living room as well, and I want to get stingrays. I don't want people to think I'm crazy, but wouldn't that be cool?"

Stingrays (which are tropical marine life related to sharks) or no, such an eccentric pad requires an equally eccentric nickname.

"My friends and I have been calling it things like 'The Imaginarium,' because it has all of these crazy whimsical things in it," she says.

Will this fanciful state of mind carry over into her future song writing? So far, she's not saying, but does admit that the songwriting process for her new record, "has been amazing. I've been writing for the last two years. I keep making new lists, which is a good sign to me."

The trick, it appears, is in the editing: "I bump things off when I write something new that I like better," says Swift. "It's really all about honing it down."

she's smart

MINE! Out now, Speak Now released in the fall

'You were in college, working part-time, waiting tables
Left a small town; Never looked back
I was a flight risk with a fear of falling
Wondering why we bother with love if it never lasts.'

This is closer to something like "Mary's Song" than anything off of Fearless - not sure if it's a big step forward or anything, but it's damn good, and miles better than either of the soundtrack numbers she's given us in the interim.

Taylor Swift - Speak Now (Oct 2010) - hype, anticipation &c

Fuck, sorry. Apologies.

You're Not Sorry finally clicked with me. Don't know how I thought this was one of the weaker tracks on the album. Packs a punch, and has v. nice use of space.

Especially that last chorus modification with "there's nothing left to beg for".