This has arguably been the most anticipated album of 2017 and that cannot even begin to describe what waiting for this record has been like for Taylor Swift fans. 3 years after the release of 1989 and over a year since Taylor disappeared for a well deserved break, it is safe to say that we needed this album more than any she has released previously.
I am aware of the controversy surrounding this album. The stories she tells have been well speculated in the media, hence the newspaper-themed cover. My personal opinions of the scenarios will not be discussed simply to avoid drama in the comments. I stand with Taylor and that is all I have to say on the subject of media drama.
However, I wanted to write about my initial response to this record. I think it'll be fun for me to look back when I know the album better at what my favourite songs and lyrics were when I first heard it. I am not going to comment of every single track, just the ones that made the biggest impact on my experience and the ones I wanted most to listen to again.
I had planned to listen to Reputation for the first time on Friday evening because I had a full day of lectures on the release day. I wanted to sit down and really take the album in; however, when I woke up Friday morning I just didn't have the self control to wait all day before I heard it. So, I listened to album from start to finish while I got ready for the day and it was honestly such an exciting morning!
Ready For It was my favourite of the tracks made available before the release of the whole album. This is one of the many tracks which really conveys how ambitious she has been with the production and writing of Reputation. It's perfect for an opening track, it's as if she is introducing us to this new style and asking us, 'are you ready for it?'
I don't think we were but it works. It really works.
End Game isn't my favourite track of off the album but I was excited for it due to the collaboration with Ed Sheeran. I love how Taylor has experimented with Genre despite the limitation that have been put on her by her country roots. The rap line, "Bad Reputation,' pops up coherently through the track and features 2 other artists writing about the idea of reputation. I think this is Taylor's way of sticking up for herself and discussing first of all how everyone has a reputation and her's shouldn't be such a big deal.
One of my favourite tracks off of the album is Don't Blame Me. Both the lyrics and the melody of this song just caught me off guard. It's such a beautiful song and a wonderfully original way to express such a feeling of being so in love you cannot think straight. I am planning to cover this one soon so please check that out!
So It Goes & Dress both share a very specific theme. Sex. I am so proud of how Taylor manages to convey her maturity and growth as a musician by writing about sex as something natural and passionate and normal. People can sometimes be a little uncomfortable about women writing and talking about sex. Normalising female sexuality is a very important issue to me and Taylor does this beautifully. In Dress especially she manages to capture the excitement of falling in love. Her writing style has matured so much since 1989 and these tracks capture that iconically.
Despite having left country music, Taylor still uses the story-telling element in her songwriting and Getaway Car is one of my favourite examples of that. Again, this track shows her growth in maturity as she admits herself to have done wrong. The melody is so original and captivating. It's fast becoming one of my favourite tracks off of the record. I think this is one of her most honest songs yet in terms of being honest with both herself and the person this song addresses.
This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things was a song that I didn't think I would like when the track list was revealed. It's actually favourite song off of the record. While I think it's great that Taylor admits that, in the last few years, she has gotten things wrong, I love that here she sticks up for herself in such a mature way. The progression in the production of Taylor's music shines on this track as well as the quality of her writing. This song has some of my favourite lyrics. The child-like slogan as the title has been revealed to allude to how the people this song addresses were acting so childishly which I think is such a clever angle to take. People will have a lot to say about this song if it is ever released as a radio single (which I hope it is.) I hope people can focus on how lyrically and sonically genius it is as well though! Call It What You Want is such an innocently beautiful love song. It's been a few albums since Taylor has given us a ballad like this. I loved it when it was released before the album came out but I think I love it even more now I have heard how it fits among the whole album. It shows the growth in both how Taylor perceives relationships and how she views herself. Lyrically, it's a masterpiece and the production heightens that. Sometimes I feel that the track production of Taylor's songs can distract people from the quality of her lyrics; this song has been allowed to remain lyrically strong.
New Years Day as a closing track is perfect. The upbeat, quirky piano track brings together the main message of Reputation which is that Taylor doesn't care what's being said about her now that she knows the people who stick by her. She took the idea of the New Years tradition of kissing someone at midnight and used that to convey that it doesn't really matter what you should be doing or what people expect of you. What matters is who is there to clean up the mess with you afterwards. Despite sonically being a juxtaposition to the rest of the album, it fits beautifully. I think this is going to be one of my favourite songs of the whole album and one of my favourites to come out of Taylor's media backlash.
I am so proud of Taylor for producing this album and I am going to leave this post here so I can go back to enjoying listening to the album! Let me know what your favourite Reputation track is in the comments.
