Welcome to 1989! My Picks From Taylor's New Album
Hi! Thanks for dropping by fellow bloggers and beloved readers. If you are forever 22 like me, I'm sure you've heard that November marks the release of Taylor Swift's fifth studio album. So today I'm here to share my favorite songs off it and a whole lot of lines from each song. How does that sound? Ayt, let's do it! :)
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| "It's a new soundtrack I could dance to this beat." |
I have grown with her: Taylor Swift. She first burst into
the music scene around 2006 but I was not initially smitten. It was not love at
first sound. Her popular song then, Teardrops
on my Guitar, I deemed too sad and was something I could not relate to. Not
to say that her sound wasn’t good; maybe I wasn’t in love with Country music
just yet. I was in college and OPM (Original Pinoy/Filipino Music) was very
popular. I was all for rocking out with the likes of Bamboo, Sponge Cola
and Hale so I didn't pay much attention to foreign music. However,
she did register on my radar with those big blond curls and song narratives
which would eventually become her trademark.
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| "We were both young when I first saw you." |
The release of Love
Story from her second album “Fearless” was the turning point for me to becoming a fan and
from then there was no turning back. She was all for love and fairytale romance which seemed cool to me and her song writing was very refreshing. Even
if she sometimes got criticized for dating too much and singing about it, her
rise to fame has been a steady one. “Fearless” was followed by another hit
album “Speak Now” which spawned my favorites Sparks Fly, Mean and Ours. These songs are all Country and
this time I was clearly smitten.
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| 'Speak Now' or forever hold your peace. |
We noticed the change in her music with her last album “Red”
which still contained some Country-sounding songs but our girl was getting more
matured and the inclination was towards pop: State of Grace (a slow pop/rock which is a no-fail pick-me-upper
for me even in my bad days), Red, Trouble, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together and my anthem 22. Even with the change, her star
wasn’t dimming in any way. I even blogged about my rave for this album last
year with my article entitled: The Swift Addiction in Shades of Red.
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| The era of high-waist short shorts: RED |
And then she announced the big change: she’s releasing a
full-on pop album! Her new sound was evident with the release of Shake It Off – very cheerleaderly pep
squad kind of sound which is new and different for her. Her new album is called
“1989” and is said to be inspired by the kind of music that was popular during
her birth year which is well, the year 1989.
It was a risky move which definitely paid off because it sold 1.3 million
copies in the first week alone (US) – the biggest sales week since 2002*. Take
that – in the age of piracy and easy sharing she’s selling like hotcakes.
I finally got the chance to sit down and listen to all
tracks and indeed this is a different one. According to the November 7, 2014
issue of The Philippine Star, her musical influences for this album are Phil
Collins, Annie Lenox, Madonna and Fine Young Cannibals. The opening track is
entitled Welcome to New York and it’s
like her personal account about the Big Apple. Really, I was also a fan of the
TV series Gossip Girl which was set
in New York and I could literally just close my eyes and I can see Times Square
and the Met. As her fans know she has recently moved to NYC and it’s like the
perfect anthem for her: new place and new sound.
My other favourite tracks in the album are as follows, in no
particular order. Bolds indicate the
title of the songs. Bold italics are lyrics taken from the songs.
Blank
Space – As I publish this blog, this song’s music video is raking in
millions of views in YouTube. The video reminds me of a fusion between Lady
Gaga (in Paparazzi) and the poisoned
apple-wielding witch from Snow White: very funny and great visuals. Songwise, I
LOVE it! It’s a description of one of the many faces of love: young love and
everything that comes with that territory. Thrill of the unknown? Oh my
God! Look at that face. You look like my next mistake. Love’s a game, wanna
play? Excitement about
recklessness? Grab your passport and my hand. I can make the bad guys good for a
weekend. Will we take this seriously or not? So
it’s gonna be forever, or it’s gonna go down in flames. You can tell me when
it’s over if the high was worth the pain. But it takes two to tango. 'Coz
you know I love the players and you love the game. It may work or it may not. It’ll leave you breathless or with that
nasty scar. But some people
still take chances even if it can hurt. I've got a Blank Space baby and I’ll write
your name. But with fair warning she says: Boys only want love if its
torture, don’t say I didn't say I didn't warn you.
Wildest Dreams
– This song just haunts me, she’s almost just whispering and purring here.
I’m not quite sure what the song’s theme is but I’m guessing it’s one night
stand or a very short lived relationship. He’s so tall and handsome as hell, he’s so
bad but he does it so well. Like, this thing between us will be over soon
but I hope you’ll remember me even if it’s just in your wildest dreams. See me in hindsight tangled up with you all
night, burn it down. Someday when you leave me I bet these memories follow you
around. I did say haunting.
How You
Get the Girl – She says this is how it works on how you get the girl 1.
Say I want you for worse or for better. I would wait forever and ever. Broke
your heart I’ll put it back together. I would wait forever and ever. 2. Remind
her how it used to be. Of pictures in frames of kisses on cheeks. 3. Tell her
how you must have lost your mind when you left her all alone and never told her
why. She gives these tips through a very danceable pop song.
Style and I Know Places – Both of which are obviously about Harry Styles
of One Direction. You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye and I got that red
lip classic thing that you like. And when we go crashing down we come back
every time. We never go out of style. The second song sounds like it’s
for the paparazzi that hunt them. Baby, I know places we won’t be found and
they’ll be chasing the tails trying to track us down ‘coz I know places we can
hide.
New
Romantics – I just love her for saying The best people in life are free in
this song. Free as in freedom
and not as in free of charge. :) Or maybe it could mean your friends who are there for you and they come free. Could mean both ways.
So there you have it guys. All songs are basically on loop
in my playlist. As a fan, I accept the maturity in the sound and in the lyrics
of this album. After all, we can’t all be singing about ball gowns and
fairytales all the time. What remains though is how she connects to her
listeners and how she always makes me feel like “that’s exactly how I would
want to say it but couldn’t find the right words or rhyme.”
How about you? Have you listened to this album already? Any favorites? Share your thoughts.
XO,
Cassie, the Swiftie.
Disclaimer: All images used are property of Taylor Swift and Big Machine Records
*The Philippine Star - November 7, 2014 issue
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