Best Taylor Swift - 1989 single

Mugatu

Mugatu

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For better or for worse, Taylor Swift has rode a crest of unironic celebrity guest appearances, catchy pop tunes and vile white privilege to become the world's biggest popstar. (circa 2015, but I suppose 2016 would be fucking Lukas Graham or something so let's talk about last year instead)

Which is your favourite of the 1989 (Taylor Swift™ No copyright infringement intended. Property of TAS LLC Management 2014©) singles?

00 Shake It Off
00 Blank Space
00 Style
00 Bad Blood
00 Wildest Dreams
00 Out of the Woods
00 New Romantics
 
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03 Shake It Off - still SO annoying
10 Blank Space
10 Style
08 Bad Blood
09 Wildest Dreams
10 Out of the Woods
08 New Romantics

What an incredible run, and even though I can't listen to Shake It Off I recognise it as iconic
 
06 Shake It Off ("Sounds like a career-destroying single" - Mystic VoR in 2014)
08 Blank Space
07 Style
03 Bad Blood (Video aside I still find this absolutely piss weak)
07 Wildest Dreams
08 Out of the Woods
07 New Romantics
 
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What a run.

08 Shake It Off
09 Blank Space
10 Style
05 Bad Blood
10 Wildest Dreams
10 Out of the Woods
08 New Romantics
 
08 Shake It Off - it was the right thing for her at the point and the embarrassing speaky bit just works. It's fun.
10 Blank Space - it was between this and OOTW for me. It's endured for me in spite of every 18-23 year old grindr twink quoting it in their profile (I only did it before it was a single so it's ok)
10 Style - Thumpingly powerful. It's the desperation behind the cool visage (Just take me ooooout). Reminds me of Treacherous.
07 Bad Blood - it is good. I hate the video.
09 Wildest Dreams - epic video, great song.
11 Out of the Woods - the best.
09 New Romantics - glad she actually did something with it.
 
07 Shake It Off
10 Blank Space
08 Style
07 Bad Blood
07 Wildest Dreams
11 Out of the Woods
10 New Romantics

I forget Out of the Woods was a single, shouldn't have left it so late :(
 
08 Shake It Off
07 Blank Space
10 Style
-1 Bad Blood - just utterly appalling
06 Wildest Dreams
11 Out of the Woods
10 New Romantics

CRJ should have this bitch's success.
 
08 Shake It Off
08 Blank Space - cover versions of this have really made me appreciate what a good song it is
11 Style
03 Bad Blood - flat and really dull.
?? Wildest Dreams
09 Out of the Woods
?? New Romantics
 
New Romantics NO QUESTION about it.

11 New Romantics
10.5 Style
10 Blank Space
08 Bad Blood
07 Out Of The Woods
07 Wildest Dreams
04 Shake it off
 
monsta said:
CRJ should have this bitch's success.
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A CRJ take on New Romantics would slay me to no end

I love that video Mugatu posted at the top. I quote sometimes :bruised: shame not a lot of people GET IT.

WHADDAYA THINK OF THAT L.A.????????? *poses*
 
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I'm imagining an alternate universe where tens of internet gays would be lamenting why Carly Rae Jepsen gets all the attention over poor ignored Taylor Swift
 
Pipo said:
I love that video Mugatu posted at the top. I quote sometimes :bruised: shame not a lot of people GET IT.

WHADDAYA THINK OF THAT L.A.????????? *poses*
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Oh me too, it might be the very best thing to come out of this era

The bit with the endless list of actresses is my favourite
 
I much prefer Taylor to CRJ. Sorry.

09 Shake It Off
09 Blank Space
09 Style
06 Bad Blood
10 Wildest Dreams
11 Out of the Woods
08 New Romantics
 
Surprised some people aren't familiar with "Wildest Dreams." It's essentially Taylor's attempt at being Lana Del Rey and REALLY QUITE GOOD.
 
08 Shake It Off
07 Blank Space
10 Style
04 Bad Blood
07 Wildest Dreams
09 Out of the Woods
07 New Romantics

It's been quite an interesting slew of singles. 'Shake It Off' seemed like a bit of a 'jump the shark' moment (although I did like it), but the singles that followed it for the most part weren't necessarily the "obvious" tracks - certainly not in the way that 'I Knew You Were Trouble' and '22' were after 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together'.

I wouldn't have picked 'Style' or 'Wildest Dreams' as particularly great options for singles (although I love the former) and 'Out Of The Woods' didn't really gain anything from being released (save for the "nice to watch once" video), so I almost wish she'd released less singles but made a bit more of them. I think the album itself has produced some great songs, but it hasn't really generated a particularly memorable run of singles.
 
Slave said:
I think the album itself has produced some great songs, but it hasn't really generated a particularly memorable run of singles.
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Gosh, I couldn't disagree more. I think it's a completely iconic for-the-ages run of singles.
 
RobotBoy said:
Gosh, I couldn't disagree more. I think it's a completely iconic for-the-ages run of singles.
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Maybe it's because I don't really listen to the radio much (although when I am near one, I invariably seem to hear 'Wildest Dreams') but I feel like the three big singles from 'Red' permeated popular culture much more than anything bar 'Shake It Off' (and to an extent 'Bad Blood') has.
 
01 Shake It Off - Possibly the lamest attempt a major popstar has ever had at being street. Twerking was utterly overexposed but I think she may have done the macarena on its grave and turned it into the new BLING when it comes to suburban mums getting urban. I hope Geri references it in her lead single.
08 Blank Space
09 Style
06 Bad Blood
09 Wildest Dreams
07 Out of the Woods
08 New Romantics

Trying to pin down a popstar's iconic moment is difficult and I've ran out of money to pay for my OU Thinkpieces course to judge it too well.

Blank Space is a rocking track and has a nice shred of self-awareness to it, though possibly in an "ooh, aren't I awful?!" way instead of an "oh shit, I am actually quite awful" type of thing. But it was nice to see her deconstruct her image a bit, I'm glad she's embraced the smug, Barbie and Ken power couple thing with Calvin Harris.
 
Mugatu said:
01 Shake It Off - Possibly the lamest attempt a major popstar has ever had at being street. Twerking was utterly overexposed but I think she may have done the macarena on its grave and turned it into the new BLING when it comes to suburban mums getting urban. I hope Geri references it in her lead single. .
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Wasn't the whole idea behind the song/ video that she is really uncool and not street? Hence the pastiche clips of her doing bad attempts at various dance styles because she has no dancing ability..
 
I think she's fucking SHIT and only like BAD BLOOD.

Not even scared.
 
graves said:
Wasn't the whole idea behind the song/ video that she is really uncool and not street? Hence the pastiche clips of her doing bad attempts at various dance styles because she has no dancing ability..
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I sort of see that, but I think a lot of her self-derisory humour is definitely in the way Mu describes - she plays up to being really uncool rather than actually knowing she's uncool.

Although in reality, does anyone really consider her to be "uncool"? Her sales figures would suggest the opposite...
 
graves said:
Wasn't the whole idea behind the song/ video that she is really uncool and not street? Hence the pastiche clips of her doing bad attempts at various dance styles because she has no dancing ability..
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I wasn't sure how many layers of irony she was working on (this happens frequently) but lyrically, it's difficult to tell the difference, especially when she's trying to (unironically?) rap over possibly the least sick beat recorded in the history of humanity. Goes either way, I guess.
 
03 Shake It Off
10 Blank Space
11 Style
03 Bad Blood
07 Wildest Dreams
10 Out of the Woods
10 New Romantics

She is SO hit and miss for me. I like her more when she isn't trying to be so "fun," like Shake It Off or We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.
 
It was easy for popstars to try and have a go at doing hip-hop culture and call it irony to cover up a lack of creativity. I had the same problems with that Lily Allen song. It wasn't anything that hadn't been said before (by genuine female rap artists, as well) and calling it satire doesn't automatically make it clever.
 
God I'd forgotten that Lily Allen song ever happened

What a cunt!
 
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-1 Shake It Off - unlistenable SHIT
08 Blank Space
05 Style
03 Bad Blood
10 Wildest Dreams
11 Out of the Woods
09 New Romantics
 
I've come to a place of acceptance that hating on Taylor Swift just makes me sound like old man funky.

It's not like she's really FOR ME anyway.
 
Out of the Woods and Style, both should've been bigger hits than they were. :(

08 Shake It Off
07 Blank Space
10 Style
08 Bad Blood - easily the best video of the 1989 generation, it really elevated the song.
08 Wildest Dreams
10 Out of the Woods
08 New Romantics
 
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VoR said:
It's not like she's really FOR ME anyway.
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Aside from the fact that she's successful, I'd have thought she was right up your street!

I find HER quite annoying whenever I hear her speaking, but 1989 is such a behemoth pop triumph, and she comes from a background of pretty white girl bland pop, which is pretty much your favourite genre!
 
RobotBoy said:
Aside from the fact that she's successful, I'd have thought she was right up your street!

I find HER quite annoying whenever I hear her speaking, but 1989 is such a behemoth pop triumph, and she comes from a background of pretty white girl bland pop, which is pretty much your favourite genre!
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I mean she's primarily aimed at 15 year old girls and gays, just as the Spice Girls and Louise were back when I was that age. I'm happy to get on board when a current pop star does appeal to me but I've come to accept that it's getting a lot more hit and miss for me as I get older because music just isn't going to sound like it did in 1997 any more, and nor should it.

I get the appeal of what she does, but even her best moments don't make me excited about pop music the way, say, Lush Life by Zara Larsson or Chandelier by Sia - to name two recent-ish pop smashes that I genuinely adored - did. There's something about her I just can't warm to. It's not her, it's me.
 
to be fair 1989 was a triumph pretty much thanks to MAX MARTIN. I wonder how much she really did contribute to it? I assume part of it was already done/completed by Martin since he must own vaults full of generic beats/melodies/choruses (Same case for Dr. Luke). Taylor has proven herself to be able to compose/produce music on her own, albeit not as succesful as 1989 obviously.

What did it for me was Adele working with Martin on Send My Love, it could easily be a song by Taylor which begs the same question, how much of it did Adele really write?
 
Pipo said:
to be fair 1989 was a triumph pretty much thanks to MAX MARTIN. I wonder how much she really did contribute to it? I assume part of it was already done/completed by Martin since he must own vaults full of generic beats/melodies/choruses (Same case for Dr. Luke). Taylor has proven herself to be able to compose/produce music on her own, albeit not as succesful as 1989 obviously.

What did it for me was Adele working with Martin on Send My Love, it could easily be a song by Taylor which begs the same question, how much of it did Adele really write?
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Well, yes. 1989 is definitely Max Martin & Shellback's triumph. But pop music has always been this way. It's not a problem for me, at all.
 
She reminds me of Beyoncé, in that she's very successful, very clinical and very smug. Her recent songs are entertaining on a quite superficial level. There's something offputting about her new pop persona, like the self-referential celebrity status and girl squad are things she read in a how-to guide then the music comes afterwards.
 
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VoR said:
Send My Love sounds nothing like a Taylor Swift song to me. :confused:
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from an interview with her
"Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" (originally titled "We Ain't Kids No More") is a song recorded by Adele, taken from her third studio album, 25. The song was written by Adele with Max Martin and Shellback, and produced by the latter two.
In an interview with i-D, Adele revealed that the collaboration with Martin and Shellback sparked from a conversation with Ryan Tedder, after hearing Taylor Swift's "I Knew You Were Trouble" on the radio and remarking that she loved the song. Tedder told her that Max Martin had produced the track. Soon after, Tedder sent Adele a YouTube clip of Martin's work, as she had never heard of him before, and she expressed interest in working with him.

“I was like, ‘Who did this?’ I knew it was Taylor, and I’ve always loved her, but this is a totally other side – like, ‘I want to know who brought that out in her.’ And he said (Swedish music producer) Max Martin. “I was unaware that I knew who Max Martin was. I Googled him, and I was like, ‘He’s literally written every massive soundtrack of my life’,” Adele said. -
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08 Shake It Off
11 Blank Space
10 Style
06 Bad Blood
07 Wildest Dreams
10 Out of the Woods
08 New Romantics

The Blank Space chorus is the holy grail of 1989 IMO
 
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Why the fuck wasn't 'All You Had To Do Was Stay' a single? The FOOLS :evil:
 
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