Thursday, May 24, 2018

Taylor Swift



Anyone that knows me, knows that I'm not much of a pop music listener. But I found an exception and it has taken me about 6 weeks of almost non-stop listening to much of her released material to confirm what I suspected from the very start. The question is- Is Taylor Swift a great songwriter? My answer is a resounding YES! As a songwriter myself- I am constantly amazed at her ability to string phonetically pleasing words together while still maintaining lyrical integrity towards the concept of her tracks. She also has a unique ability to add flourishes and nuances to the lines she sings...which consistently takes her lyrical lines to the realm of the exceptional. Not only do these lines sound phonetically incredible for the most part, they also sometimes include incredibly insightful observations for someone so young. Her songs themselves or the music- they give just enough a vehicle for her outstanding vocals to take the front stage. It is no wonder that her biggest fans know the words to all her songs and sing along loudly! They are just simply beautifully constructed. At times, she even takes chances and adds a spoken word, drops a beat into LFO absorption territory and always has a knack for just what spice or additive to add or remove from her song structure progressions to keep the momentum going, or to completely take a song off the path you think it's going. Her strategy, from what I see is to sometimes go off the path just to give the listener a look at the "forest" of the song only to snap you back in perfect time to see her walking through that forest in whatever mood or imagery she wishes to apply. One of the criticisms against her is that the majority of her songs tend to dwell on romantic topics or interpersonal observations. I can see her breaking out of this pattern if she wishes...but why should she? Her ever-growing legions of fans love her just how she is. 

Artist: Taylor Swift 

Origin: Reading, Pennsylvania USA
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