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

"mean" is kind of bad :/

it definitely shouldn't have been released ahead of the album

(we didn't seem to cover "back to december" much though? that is incredible.)

I really like 'Mean'. Sorta in the 'Tell Me Why' vein, which I thought was an underrated album track. She has a carefree way with those kinds of jovial country melodies.

at this point I'm imposing a moratorium on pre-released tracks so I can get a proper 'album feel' when it finally comes out

Taylor did Mine on the Great British Songbook today: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00bprwq
Coldplay cover: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00bprvs

leaked.

ok i'm listening - the leak seems to be an international deluxe edition, what the shit is this version of "mine"?? "pop versions" ruin everything

Pop versions are true evil -- it doesn't even seem like plausible good business to make them less distinctive..??

But doesn't the deluxe edition also feature US versions of those singles as bonus tracks?

i presume the US version of the album wouldn't feature "US versions" as bonus tracks!

oh god "back to december" has been fucked up as well

oh man, didn't realize this is being released this Tuesday!

xp No, the deluxe european version... isn't that what you've got? All the proposed singles (three of them).

--
'Dear John' is on some next level.

yeah i presume the deluxe european edition is what's leaked? if the US version's leaked too do tell me so i can listen to that instead

Yeah, I've got one with the pop versions on 'disc 1' and the US versions on disc 2 along with some acoustic tracks and bonus tunes.

they've put handclaps on "speak now"

whyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Terrible buzzing synth in the "international" version of "Mine" inspires xenophobia in me forever, God bless the USA.

lol @ "no amount of vintage dresses gives you dignity"

i've just moved the original versions onto Disc 1, and removed the awful Euro mix versions. I hate how they think people outside the US are unable to listen to banjos are steel guitars.

*and.

wow @ dear john.

Yeah holy fuck.

"dear john" is amazing yeah

"never grow up" is...what is going on in that song o_0

the album's definitely a LOT denser than she's done before

You come out the other side of that song really exhausted and tore up but softly euphoric. It's a motherfucker.

xpost, I was talking about "Dear John"

Ann Powers on "Mean" -- and Taylor in general:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2010/10/taylor-swift-lessons-in-being-mean.html

Also "Mean" is fucking awesome in the context of the record. Do you still dislike it, lex?

yes that powers piece is really great

do people seriously think "mean" is about rock critics though? i mean really. she couldn't situate it more obviously in her pre-fame days. hey egomaniac critics, you're almost certainly not the only people to have told taylor swift she can't sing in her life.

and a second listen to "mean" didn't warm me up to it, it's just so gauche

Oh my god "Enchanted."

Hard not to read synth-pop into the keyboard work here but it sure kills me.

Yeah Mean is a pretty perfect fit in this context and sound-wise it breaks up a couple of heavier tunes really nicely. I think it's too successfully humorous to be gauche.

this album feels a lot less country than her previous work.

All right, this record's a little long. Which is fine, I'm just emotionally spent after every other song.

Love how effectively she uses breaks, pauses in 'Last Kiss'. Whatever your position, you can't say this is a Fearless retread, that she makes use of the same tricks.

so which of these songs are the terrible non-US ones? "mine" & what else?

back to december & the story of us.

so i guess they want to make them the singles.

'Dear John' is on some next level.

OFL, this is her best album.

I thought of the Corrs' great "Breathless" upon hearing the intro to "The Story of Us."

I agree that "Dear John" is a pretty great point of maturation, but the lyrics are incredibly cliché.

"Mean" is the standout for me after a couple listens--glad to hear her stick to her roots when she could have made a Kelly Clarkson album. Without a doubt, this is an excellent record, and maybe her best. Certainly not a disappointment.

"sparks fly" is a banger

firing this up now, kinda excited

mine still sucks
sparks fly is nice
Back to December is great!

wow back to december is really great

so, so in love with "enchanted".

swag me out

http://i54.tinypic.com/qyzsyc.jpg

fucker! How'd you get it?

ha, i don't actually have it :(

that's my record store employee friend's copy

Took me a while to notice the banjos in 'Story of Us'.

they think people outside the US are unable to listen to banjos

Bangos are not sexy.

record of the year! luv this 4eva!!

"Back to December" and "Dear John" are both jawdropping, perhaps her best attempts at ballads yet (the latter in particular being like a much much better version of "White Horse" - as a general rule she is so much better working in specifics rather than archetypes).

"Back to December" in particular though is just... A++ songwriting. Like (and it may be counter-productive to break it down) the shift between "I go back to December..." and "I'd go back to December" is so subtle and yet so important to the narrative arc of the song, and she's so good at picking up on things like that.