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

When I haven't listened to this album for a day or two I catch myself thinking it's not what it could be, but then when I actually listen to it I'm thrilled, joyful, singing along. I may come to conclude that the lyrics here, on the whole, won't enthrall me like nearly every single line on 'Fearless', but the songs are just too damn good to really feel any sort of disappointment.

Speaking of Story of Us, another Taylor trope, going from the abstract to the physical in one line:"you held your pride like you should have held me". As in Our Song (on hand on the wheel, other on her heart), I'd Lie ("He looks around the room, innocently overlooks the truth") and others...

and on "last kiss": i feel you forget me like i used to feel you breathe

(total heartbreak of a line)

This is a really excellent album; can't add much to what's been said on this thread, & I feel so tardy in hearing it but I guess it's only been out a couple of weeks? The first five songs are really stellar: I love the rough theme of protection, of putting up walls; these are surely comments on stardom but don't require being a star. I'm less enchanted by the middle third of the album but like with Fearless's second half it'll grow on me after the 100 listens it'll be getting. I'm delighted at how huge this album sounds: phalanxes of Taylors fleetly pulling off contemporary country's Mac fix; she's singing the hell out of these songs.

It's so good!!!! RT @matsoR: I just bought Taylor Swift's new album. I'll let you know what I think. about 3 hours ago via Echofon Retweeted by 4 people

bestycoastyy
BEST COAST

@matsoR = Rostam from Vampire Weekend

has TaySwift gone viral [via buzzbands]?

lol

please please please taylor no weezer collab

weasler

I'm not willing to listen enough to be able to express this more specifically, but there's not much for here musically. Yes, maybe some of these songs will grow on me with more exposure, but I'm not going to turn that into some sort of assignment.

do report back

Thanks for your interest.

We'll wait all night if we must.

http://www.movimento.biz/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/ShiningFrozenJack.jpg

http://www.bestweekever.tv/2010-11-16/the-taylor-swift-being-surprised-megamix/

haaa <3

i mean she just WOW what REALLY? me? ME?

ol girl straightened her hair for the AMAs, i didn't even recognize her

thought it was hillary duff O_O

yeah i was watching in a laundromat. i heard the announcer say 'taylor swift' and then some machines turned on and i couldn't hear the music anymore. i looked up a minute later and i didn't think it was her, thought "o shit that's a huge fuckup"

and she was wearing all black, dark eyeshadow -- in fact it looks like a form fitting suit of some sort? very un-taylor but i really dig it

btw thxgiving special on thursday night!!

i won't be able to see it tho u_u

ol girl straightened her hair for the AMAs

like on the "back to december" cover?

http://cdn.buzznet.com/media-cdn/jj1/headlines/2010/10/taylor-swift-back-to-december.jpg

yeah, but it was pulled back, so it looked much better -- she looks a bit too much like sandra lee on that cover for my tastes

WTF, she looks like a cross between Alicia Silverstone (in Clueless days) and Dolores O'Riordan there.

much better here -- altho i gotta say that interpolating "apologize" is about as NAGL as she could ever get in my book

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WmssboWDMw

comparing her to dolores o'riordan, even just visually, might be the worst thing i have seen anyone write about taylor, even the feminists :o

actually interpolating "apologize" falls behind dating taylor lautner, and just in front of falling for the dude from owl city

just keep your recorded music away from ryan tedder and we'll be aight

comparing her to dolores o'riordan, even just visually, might be the worst thing i have seen anyone write about taylor, even the feminists :o

fair point, never tell her I said that.

Ouch at the flatness in that youtube. Don't get why she does this on the big events, both times I've seen her live she was totally on pitch.

Really over the new definition of "mash-ups" as a thing in 2010.

both times I've seen her live she was totally on pitch

tim f otm ^^

i've only seen her once but she was v much on pitch all night

i dont think shes actually playing that piano

guitar dude has some zany hair tbh

i think she was playing the piano, it was very stiff and rudimentary piano-playing. but points for the effort.

and i think you guys who have seen her in concert have probably benefited from live autotuning. which i guess is harder to do for tv? i don't know.

maybe she lip-synchs more in her stage show, or has better support singers bolstering her voice?

maybe she was nervous.

robots don't get nervous, tho

yeah i was kidding about not actually playing the piano

that's a hot look there.

the flatness is odd cos i've seen her once and she was on pitch. this and the grammys (i think it was) it's as though her voice is mixed far too loud. and in part it feels like the songs are at the wrong pitch for her voice. but they are her songs so she must be happy with the sound.

would an in-ear mic help?

ok, she's already wearing a mic

you'd think if live autotuning was a thing that could happen, they'd do it at the big award shows where the whole sceptical world is watching her, not nec in front of her adoring fans at her own shows

If anything, a direct mix delivered straight to your speakers is a lot more sensitive to bad pitch than going to a show. That is, I'd think it'd be easier to notice anything wrong on the awards show broadcast than at the actual awards show.

^^^

This doesn't concern the live performances, hope that's ok.

I've fallen hard for the new album, unsurprisingly. The song's that's earwormed itself the most is the title track. Her enunciation on it is so strange, like she's speaking in tongues, particularly on the chorus. I think this song could be a huge hit; the big ballads on the first half are stellar, and I'm sure they'll do really well, but "Speak Now" is a potential summer song, and I can see this album pumping out singles that long (go with "Back To December" after "Mine", next month obviously). Also: "Mean" is really terrific! It could have legs on the country chart, but more to the point it's so confident in its defensiveness that it's persuasive. "Long Live" gives me chills: I'm a big fan of love songs that aren't romantic love songs and this is exactly one of those.

woof that AMA perf is BaaaaaaaD

!!!!

http://gofugyourself.celebuzz.com/assets_c/2010/11/Taylor%20Swift%20AMA%20press%20room%20107056876-thumb-420x625.jpg

she looks a bit like the girl out of the raveonettes :/

she looks unrecognizable

RIP Ratface

She looks like John Mayer's girlfriend.