Taylor Swift clearly made her fans wait.
When Reputation came out in November 2017, fans had high expectations on the production, knowing the style of music Taylor creates has evolved immensely from late-night sobbing melodies to sonically cohesive arena hits. The first week physical album sales peaked at 1.22 million copies, making the 28-year-old the only artist in music history to have four consecutive albums sell more than one million copies in their respective opening week. Using only black-and-white album art, the production channels a darker and mature tone. Inspired by the online discrimination Taylor received for rumoured dishonesty in her feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, she wisely turned 'snakes' into a notable mascot in promoting the album. Even the lyrics of most the songs on the record spin around the use of symbolisms like witch-burning and narcissism in address of the feud. I find a different taste in the musics recorded. I compliment the fact that her tones make one dance in her paces, even though some are digitally-induced tunes to enhance the effect. I am just a fan of only a few song lyrics. I feel that there is a lack of her usual relevance in the words she wrote. The feeling of reading right out of her diary hardly exist in this record. The few better-written works of surely include Call It What You Want, in my opinion.
My St. John teammate, Ong KK, bought me my copy of Reptutation album.
It was to fulfill a promise he made back in 2015 where he would buy me a Taylor Swift album if our St. John team managed to conquer the international-level stage. We did. The win marked the first time in many years, for a junior team in school (English College Johor Bahru). Here's a picture I don't recall posting on any social media platform. It was a beautiful weekend with our stand-out performances in managing first-aid cases and presenting a showcase of foot drill. These could have been explained on my blogs years ago, but I missed the chances to document my life stories in writing. Perhaps, we'll throwback more later.
Here are my favourite songs on the record:
END GAME
This is one of the Pop songs I have been singing for the past six months. I knew it was going to be a single and really anticipated for the release of its music video. And you know what, it didn't fail my expectations at all. I like how there is a variety of sounds in the song-- a little bit of rap, a little bit of singing, a little bit of vulnerability, a little bit of pride. I hear the courage in living up to one's identity; I hear the hype of self-satisfaction one gets while dusting off the past to live in the moment; I hear the caution in replying to critics. This song shows a lot of maturity in the tone. Bringing in Future and Ed Sheeran also helps in its darker story-telling. I love this song.
DRESS
I love this song so much. It's so relatable at the bridge, singing 'my rebounds, my earthquakes, even in my worst lie, you saw truth in me'. Despite being musically and lyrically sexual, I like how the tune develops the tale of a desperate love. The kind which someone is able to wrap you up with concern and trust and you appreciatively want him or her in your life forevermore. This is one of the songs which I somewhat hope will not be released as a single, for it should be kept like a secret just between Taylor and her fans. As I am unable to find a complete original version on Youtube, please just look it up yourself for her performance on tour.
DANCING WITH OUR HANDS TIED
This is one Taylor Swift song which you hear her breathless calling in keeping you in her life, knowing that she cherishes so much of your presence ('picture of your face in an invisible locket'). This is a song which you see the hopes of continuing what is now gone the way it was before becoming a mess, and of ignoring the people around them (the media) who were causing chaos, leading to the downfall of their relationship.
Even if there might be just one slight chance of getting back with you to how we were, I would take the bet.
CALL IT WHAT YOU WANT
This is a lyrically beautiful work of art which portrays the positive changes in life where you found somebody who would love you for what you are. And even when the whole world labels you as a freak of massive datings and a lying machine. This person showers you with genuine trust and love. You feel like you have the best person to come home to. Everything out there works like a storm, but you are just safe with him. This reminds me of one of Taylor's quotes: 'Just because there is a hurricane going on outside, it doesn't mean that you have to open your windows to look at it.' Well, because you don't have to. You're safe here. With me.
Let me know what you think in the comment section below!
By,
Euan Thum.
When Reputation came out in November 2017, fans had high expectations on the production, knowing the style of music Taylor creates has evolved immensely from late-night sobbing melodies to sonically cohesive arena hits. The first week physical album sales peaked at 1.22 million copies, making the 28-year-old the only artist in music history to have four consecutive albums sell more than one million copies in their respective opening week. Using only black-and-white album art, the production channels a darker and mature tone. Inspired by the online discrimination Taylor received for rumoured dishonesty in her feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, she wisely turned 'snakes' into a notable mascot in promoting the album. Even the lyrics of most the songs on the record spin around the use of symbolisms like witch-burning and narcissism in address of the feud. I find a different taste in the musics recorded. I compliment the fact that her tones make one dance in her paces, even though some are digitally-induced tunes to enhance the effect. I am just a fan of only a few song lyrics. I feel that there is a lack of her usual relevance in the words she wrote. The feeling of reading right out of her diary hardly exist in this record. The few better-written works of surely include Call It What You Want, in my opinion.
My St. John teammate, Ong KK, bought me my copy of Reptutation album.
It was to fulfill a promise he made back in 2015 where he would buy me a Taylor Swift album if our St. John team managed to conquer the international-level stage. We did. The win marked the first time in many years, for a junior team in school (English College Johor Bahru). Here's a picture I don't recall posting on any social media platform. It was a beautiful weekend with our stand-out performances in managing first-aid cases and presenting a showcase of foot drill. These could have been explained on my blogs years ago, but I missed the chances to document my life stories in writing. Perhaps, we'll throwback more later.
Here are my favourite songs on the record:
END GAME
This is one of the Pop songs I have been singing for the past six months. I knew it was going to be a single and really anticipated for the release of its music video. And you know what, it didn't fail my expectations at all. I like how there is a variety of sounds in the song-- a little bit of rap, a little bit of singing, a little bit of vulnerability, a little bit of pride. I hear the courage in living up to one's identity; I hear the hype of self-satisfaction one gets while dusting off the past to live in the moment; I hear the caution in replying to critics. This song shows a lot of maturity in the tone. Bringing in Future and Ed Sheeran also helps in its darker story-telling. I love this song.
DRESS
I love this song so much. It's so relatable at the bridge, singing 'my rebounds, my earthquakes, even in my worst lie, you saw truth in me'. Despite being musically and lyrically sexual, I like how the tune develops the tale of a desperate love. The kind which someone is able to wrap you up with concern and trust and you appreciatively want him or her in your life forevermore. This is one of the songs which I somewhat hope will not be released as a single, for it should be kept like a secret just between Taylor and her fans. As I am unable to find a complete original version on Youtube, please just look it up yourself for her performance on tour.
DANCING WITH OUR HANDS TIED
This is one Taylor Swift song which you hear her breathless calling in keeping you in her life, knowing that she cherishes so much of your presence ('picture of your face in an invisible locket'). This is a song which you see the hopes of continuing what is now gone the way it was before becoming a mess, and of ignoring the people around them (the media) who were causing chaos, leading to the downfall of their relationship.
Even if there might be just one slight chance of getting back with you to how we were, I would take the bet.
CALL IT WHAT YOU WANT
This is a lyrically beautiful work of art which portrays the positive changes in life where you found somebody who would love you for what you are. And even when the whole world labels you as a freak of massive datings and a lying machine. This person showers you with genuine trust and love. You feel like you have the best person to come home to. Everything out there works like a storm, but you are just safe with him. This reminds me of one of Taylor's quotes: 'Just because there is a hurricane going on outside, it doesn't mean that you have to open your windows to look at it.' Well, because you don't have to. You're safe here. With me.
Let me know what you think in the comment section below!
By,
Euan Thum.
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