Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Speak Now ~ Taylor Swift


So. Taylor Swift.
 It seems like everyone loves her... or hates her. 
I love a lot of her music and I appreciate that there is at least one super-popular female celebrity role model that does not act like a stripper. I definitely don't think she's all that wise in her personal life,
but she does seem to have standards.
Almost all of her lyrics are super clean, and I love her voice. There is a steady theme--teenage romance, obviously, which can get old, and just get your focus somewhere it doesn't need to be.
 So I don't listen to her a lot. 

Her third album Speak Now was released at the end of October, after a long, long wait. 
I bought it the day it came out and listened to it continuously for days. 
I think it's definitely her best album so far. 
She keeps getting better musically, and her songs are getting more mature.

(if you don't want to read my thoughts on each song, just skip to the end and tell me what you think!)

mine
I was actually sick of this song before the album came out... I like it, but I don't think it's amazing.
My favorite part is: 
"Do you remember all the city lights on the water? 
You saw me start to believe for the first time..."

sparks fly
Not my favorite, either. The instrumentals are slightly obnoxious and some of the lyrics are strange

back to december
I love, love, love this song. It has a unique story, and the lyrics are beautiful. She said herself that this is the first song where she is apologizing. 
"So this is me swallowing my pride
Standing in front of you saying I'm sorry for that night
And I go back to December all the time.
It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missing you
Wishing I realized what I had when you were mine
I go back to December, turn around and change my own mind
I go back to December all the time."

speak now
I didn't like this at first, but it grew on me. I think it's silly how at the end, he reconsiders and leaves the girl at the altar and runs away with the girl singing. Like that would happen.
"And you say
Let's run away now
I'll meet you when I'm out of my tux at the back door
Baby I didn't say my vows, so glad you were around
When they said speak now."

dear john
Beautiful, sad song about her relationship with John Mayer
"And I'll look back and regret
How I ignored when they said
Run as fast as you can."
Sheesh. Even I knew that she shouldn't have gotten involved with that creep.

mean
Lots of attitude. Pretty forgettable song, and I thought it was just a tad immature.

the story of us
I love the lyrics.
"And I'm standing alone
In a crowded room
And we're not speaking...
...And the story of us 
Look like a lot like a tragedy now."

never grow up
Bittersweet. So relatable. I feel like this every time I'm with my nieces.
"Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, 
Don't you ever grow up
It could stay this simple
I won't let nobody hurt you
Won't let no one break your heart
No one will desert you
Just try to never grow up
Never grow up."

enchanted
I feel like I should love this song, but I just don't. Some of the lyrics don't really work for me. I like how it's about meeting someone and know that your relationship could go somewhere... but then it doesn't really.
"This night is sparkling, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew...
I was enchanted to meet you."

better than revenge
It's bitter, angry, vengeful, and has some rather questionable lyrics. It gets stuck in my head like crazy.

innocent
A song forgiving Kanye West... she manages to make it work for other people, too. It does get pretty specific which I don't think was quite necessary.
"Wasn't it easier in your lunchbox days?
Always a bigger bed to crawl into
Wasn't it beautiful when you believed in everything?
And everybody believed in you?"

haunted
One of my favorites. The music is eerie and matches the lyrics perfectly. I listen to it over and over.
"Com one, come on, don't leave me like this
I thought I had you figured out
Something's gone terribly wrong, 
You're all I wanted."

last kiss
My other favorite. I love the music, and it is a tear-jerker. 
"I do remember 
The swing in your step
The life of the party, you're showing off again
And I roll my eyes and then you pull me in
I'm not much for dancing 
But for you I did."

long live
One of the few happy songs, but it has a bittersweet uncertainty at the end, too. 
It includes one of my favorite lines of all time. I am so going to say this to someone some day.
"I had the time of my life
Fighting dragons with you."

So, are you a Taylor Swift fan? 
What did you think of her new album? Do you have a favorite song?

29 comments:

  1. I used to be all about her, she had (still does)that beautiful hair, and me and my friend used to watch her music video's and either say "how does she get those curls?" or talk about the incredible dresses she wears. I still like her though, her songs are good and she still seems pretty grounded.

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  2. I must say that I AM a fan of Taylor Swift. I have her Album and my favorite song would have to be back to december or dear John!

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  3. I'm not a huge fan, but I don't mind her at all. I actually like "back to december" it's really emotional!

    This post interests me in looking into her other music, I will definitely check it out! The photos are amazing too :)

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  4. I've always been a fan of Taylor, but for whatever reason, I wasn't overly excited for this album to come out...I'm glad you did the individual song reviews though, because I'm definitely going to check a few of them out now!

    -Lauren :)

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  5. eh, she is ok. all her songs are starting to sound the same now. and your right, way too many songs about romance. gets old. but other than that, i really like some of her songs.

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  6. Hmm.. I'm not crazy about her, but I do like some of her songs. Like you said, there are too many songs about romance. I don't have any of her CD's, and probably will never get any, but occasionally I'll look up some of her songs to listen to. She's ok, but I'd much rather listen to Britt Nicole, or Addison Road, or someone like that. =D

    Abby

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  7. I got her album for Christmas, and my favorite song is the one called "Never Grow Up". When I first herd that song I felt like I was going to cry. It's such a touching song.

    ~Hannah Rebekah

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  8. I know (and like) one of her songs and don't know if I've ever heard any others. I stopped listening to the radio years ago as it annoyed me to bits. I'll give it a listen - you just never know what I'm going to like. :) And she was in a relationship with John Mayer? Whaaaaa. Why? Who hasn't been with that guy? Guh.

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  9. I lurve Taylor Swift. And Fearless is a fantastic album. I didn't like it at first, but it has grown on me. =D My favorite song would have to be Back To December. Its beautiful.

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  10. I've been a fan of Taylor's since 2006. We're about the same age so I feel like I grew up a lot with her and she always says the things that I wish I could say. I loved this album but Fearless will always be my favorite!

    Loved this post :)

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  11. I don't really like her. I never have. She's always just seemed sort of immature and I think, while some of her songs are catchy, she has very much overdone the teen angsty romance thing. I suppose she's a better role model than most celebrities, but I'm just not a fan. :)

    ~Kristin

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  12. Hi Polka Dot! I noticed that you followed me on my blog! Thanks SO much! I have been having tons of trouble with my url so I had to start over..:(
    Please, if you wouldn't mind, re-follow me on this url: http://daniellespaperheart.blogspot.com/
    Thanks!
    -Danielle

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  13. A couple years ago I listened to the radio all the time, and I listened to country. Welllll, I started feeling bad about listening to Taylor, becuz I felt that she wasn't the kind of person I should be listening to, and I WAS getting very very annoyed w/ all her love songs, which seem to be all she sings/writes about.
    So ya, to be honest I can't stand her, but I do like her voice. :) ttul

    Love,
    Manda <3

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  14. My favorite is "Back to December". She is lovely, but my suggestion is to change up the curly hair!

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  15. I do like some of her songs, like 'The Best Day', 'Love Story', and 'Enchanted'.......but I do think she should kinda broaden her lyric-making horizons a bit. Just a thought. ;)

    ~Lily

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  16. Love her! I wrote a review on this album... a couple months ago, I think, for my school paper.
    Fabulous CD!

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  17. I am a reluctant Taylor Swift fan. In general I don't like popular music but Taylor's voice is amazing and her tunes are SO catchy! I hadn't checked out this new album but now I've listened to all the tracks on this album and like a few of them. Never Grow Up is such a sweet song! The song Mean just makes me wonder is she was abused as a child, these lyrics mixed with the ones from Speak Now just make me wonder if her home life was hard (I'll have to look into that). Dear John is also a sad song but I like it pretty well.
    Something I really enjoyed was watching Taylor at a concert at the Ed Sullivan Theater, she had such a pretty and fairly modest dress on and her voice was so strong (see videos of Back To December, Mine and Speak Now at: http://www.youtube.com/user/TaylorSwiftVEVO).
    This was a fun post to read!

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  18. I am a big fan of Taylor Swift. I love her music and like you said she isn't becoming bad like alot of other stars.

    Kelsey

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  19. I agree that better then revenge has some questionable lyrics
    Especially if younger kids listen to it.

    But my favorite song from the album is sparks fly
    "Cause sparks fly whenever you smile" it gets stuck in my head a lot:)

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  20. I think she's actually not that bad! And considering the fact that she writes her own music is pretty kick-a talented if you ask me.

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  21. I'm still sometime undecided on her. I only like some of her songs. I wouldn't be able to buy a CD of hers just because I would skip the majority of them. But the songs that really stood out to me on this record was "Last Kiss," "Enchanted," "Long Live," and "Back to December."

    I didn't bother to listen to "Mean" or "Better Than Revenge." :) "Speak Now" was just silly. I didn't like it at all. Didn't care much for "Dear John" either. I thought it was waaaaaay too slow. But I like the lyrics. ;)

    -Ara

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  22. I am a big Taylor Swift fan. I love her and her music. She is such a sweet girl and I like that she has more standards than a lot of the artists these days. I really like how her songs mean something. I really like how she writes her own lyrics and that they are personal to her. I think that "Speak Now" is definitely her best album yet. She is definitely getting tons better. I like pretty much all the songs on this album. It's hard for me to pick a favorite. I think that "Speak Now" is my least favorite though...

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  23. i love her hair, but i think she wasn't as, erm, true to herself on this album. her debut album is absolutely amazing. i love every single song and she just seems so real, and i can totally relate with real.

    favorite song? long live.

    <3,
    anna :)

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  24. I really like Taylor Swift, but I have to admit, this new album has dropped my esteem of her a little bit...

    I don't mind that her songs are all about boys - I mean, I feel sorta bad for her, but it's not a stumbling block for me at all. Most of the time I make the lyrics fit friendship problems I have (so many times when I best friend and I aren't talking "I'm dying to know if it's killing [her] like it's killing me").

    As for Mean, I can easily forgive her for that one. She was teased in school a lot and if I'd been through what she was through I'm not sure I could resist going "yeah! Well look at me now! :-P" any better than she could. But Better than Revenge was just mean - and beneath her. If her boy friend left her for another girl then he isn't worth it. And if another girl went after him while they were dating and stole him then why give her the time of day? I was really disappointed in that song.

    I think Mine is her best song ever. I fell in love with it as soon as I heard it. I can relate to it on a very personal level.

    I still really need to write up my own review of this album... Thanks for reminding me and and thanks for sharing this! :D

    ~ Katie
    http://www.beautifully-pure.com

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  25. well i love this cd. i really like taylor swift too. i have the target special edition on my itunes & i listen too it a lot.! my favorites are: if this was a movie, superman, last kiss & enchanted. i deleted better then revenge. i didn't want to listen to it, so i just got rid of it. :]
    i like that you do reviews on movies & cds. keep it up! it's very interesting to read what other people think.
    leah

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  26. I love this CD so much!! I got it the other day. :) Taylor is an iffy character, she's been way to the top and way down too. I think she's a better role model than most hollywood females. My favorite songs were "Haunted" "Better than Revenge" "Back To December" and "Never Grow up". I definitely like the fact that this is a more mature and personal album, I was starting to wonder when she'd write some more mature songs and I was thrilled to see that she did with this album! :) She's got a pretty good outlook and reputation so far. I love it!

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  27. my 'sis' gave me the deluxe edition for Valentine's day!! :) YAY!! So I've been listening to it...

    'Mine' is such a cute song :) But I do know what you mean about getting kinda tired of it before getting the CD, so...but yeah...I still love it :) I always seem to start singing it when I'm by water :D haha

    'Sparks Fly' is DEFINITELY one of my favorites!!!!!!!!!! <3 <3 <3 Gaa!! I BLAST it all the time!!

    Okay, 'Back To December' is one that I *don't* like :( Sniff!! So....

    HAHA You said EXACTLY what I thought about Speak Now ;)

    Yes, Dear John is sad :(

    I thought 'mean' was a bit immature too, but it kinda grew on me :) I love the chorus! :D

    mmm...don't really like 'the story of us' :P

    Never Grow Up is SOO SWEET!!! <3 love, love, love...

    AW!!!!! Enchanted she wrote about her relationship with Adam Young!! <3 I LOVE singing that at dances!! ;) hehe

    I don't like 'better than revenge'....

    'innocent' wasn't too good either...

    ooh!!! 'haunted' was pretty good!

    'last kiss' is too sad for me...

    'long live' is so good!!!!!

    girl, you missed the other three songs :P ;)

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  28. looove hunted and speak now and mean...

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  29. O.K., so I realize posting something on this post is several months late, but it was a link at the bottom of your latest blog, and I just couldn't resist since I posted and am writing another review on two of Taylor's songs...

    "Mine" - LOVE, LOVE the song; it is immature, yes, but SO sweet.

    "Sparks Fly" - it's o.k., the beat is really catchy.

    "Back to December" - beautiful song, so well-written.

    "Speak Now" - cute song.

    "Dear John" - not very fond of this one, but it is mainly because of the context or "inspiration" behind it. The lyrics are sobering.

    "Mean" - a true country-infused tune. Quite sassy... and maybe just a little bit fun. =)

    "The Story of Us" - not my favorite, but I like it.

    "Enchanted" - LOVE this one. So personal and the fact it was written about Adam of OWl City is a fun fact. And, he recorded a "reply" this past Valentine's Day... aww...

    "Better than Revege" - cool beats, but not-so-great lyrics

    "Haunted" - even though I've heard it dozens of times, I've not really "listened" to this one.

    "Last Kiss" - sweet tune.

    "Long Live" - fun tribute to Taylor's band.

    In my opinion, Taylor's talent is more in song-writing than vocals, but she does sound awesome on a few of "Speak Now's" cuts.

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