Since the release of 1989 end October, I have been dying to listen to the entire album because her 3 pre-released songs (Shake It Off, Out of the Woods and Welcome to New York) were so good! Everyday, I will practically check Spotify to see if her album is on it....until last week, when Taylor Swift announced she removed her entire catalogue from Spotify. Surprisingly, instead of feeling bummed I couldn't get free music, immediately I knew I JUST HAD TO get my hands on her album. There was no excuses now. That's the power Taylor Swift has on me...and probably the half the world's population. So after getting her album and listening to it twice in a night, I was right. Her entire album was pop perfection, with every song transitioning to the next seamlessly. I call it a musically cohesive album because you just want to listen to the next song and the next and it didn't disappoint all the way until the last track (Clean), an Imogen Heap infused song (you can't go wrong with Imogen Heap!).
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| The album comes with a set of 13 Taylor Swift polaroids with hand-written lyrics. |
Having said that, I do have my favourites from the album, which was tough to choose from. These five songs really hit me in a spot where I could really relate to. I love the level of specificity she displays in her lyrics. As brilliantly quoted by Buzzfeed, "Because the best place to find the universal is in specificity."
This song was written by her as a joke on the image that the media portrays her as. It is such a brilliantly written song about a "crazy" ex-girlfriend that many thinks of her of. Well, aren't we all a little crazy when it comes to love? I fell in love with this song the minute I heard it. And this was before the video came out. I love it even more after watching the clever music video which comes with an interactive app that fans can download. On the app, you can be part of the music video and look for 41 trinkets around the mansion. Kinda like a treasure hunt. This is sheer marketing brilliance to pioneer such innovation. Fans are happy, she makes money. Win-win. Anyway, most memorable lyrics from this lyrical genius includes "Look at that face, you look like my next mistake", "I can make the bad guys good for a weekend" and "cause darling I'm a nightmare dressed like a daydream":)
Another one of my favourites is this song called Style, which is allegedly about Harry Styles. I mean, its even in the title, is that obvious enough? and lyrics like "you got that long hair, slicked back, white t-shirt" which is uh, Harry's signature look (case in point below).
I also love how she is more open on this album about her relationship and even her own mistakes "I said I've been there too a few times". One memorable lyric from this song is this... "takes me home, lights are off, he's taking off his coat". Saucy!
Out of the Woods was one of the pre-released song from the album and when I heard it, I got so excited because it sounds TOTALLY different from anything she's ever done. Also, allegedly about Harry Styles. "Your necklace hanging from my neck"?, Harry always have his cross necklace around his neck (refer to earlier picture above). I have this theory, that out of the woods here could really mean "out of the closet". Harry has been associated with gay rumours for the longest time now and here's a conspiracy theory...could that be the real cause of their breakup?
Anyway, Harry Styles or not, her music is hers and I think people should cut her some slack. Artists write songs about their lives all the time, and that's what makes their music relatable. Nobody talks shit about Ed Sheeran or Bruno Mars when they write songs about their exes. So why when a female artist does it, she gets so much negativity from it?
Most memorable lyric: "You took a polaroid of us, then discovered, the rest of the world is in black and white, but we were in screaming colour".
Now this is one interesting song which is allegedly about Katy Perry, her "frenemy". Ironically, the sound of this song does has some Katy Perry influences. It also have this "gangsta" vibe to it with a whole lotsa dubstep I totally love.
Most memorable lyrics: "Band-aids don't fix bullet holes" and "if you love like this, blood runs cold..."
Last but not least, is this haunting song called Wildest Dreams. Once again, its NOTHING like what she's done before and actually sounds like a Lana Del Ray song, which well, is pretty much dark and brooding. This is one of the slower songs on her album and is a fresh change from her usual chirpy sounds. The song from how I see it is about being in a love that has no future... most memorable lyrics "say you'll remember me, standing in a nice dress, staring at the sunset" , "his hands are in my hair, his clothes are in my room" (saucy again!), "you'll see me in hindsight, tangled up with you all night, burning it down".....
Would love to hear your thoughts on 1989!
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