First Impressions #4/Album Review #3- Taylor Swift's Reputation

Hi, I'm Stellar in Neverland. For the first part of this post, I would like to state that I've gotten rid of the "Updates" part I traditionally began every post with. From now on, I'm only going to do updates if I feel the need to. About half the time, I didn't even have any updates, haha. Anyways, welcome to First Impressions! This is where I listen to an album or random collection of songs I've mostly never heard for the first time, give my opinion on each, and rate it on a scale from 1 to 10. A 1/10 is a song that I truly despise and never want to hear again, a 10/10 is one of my all-time favorite songs, and everything else in between depends. The higher the score, the more I like the song. If it's an album, I will list my favorite and least favorite songs and give my score for the album as a whole at the end. Today I'm reviewing what is probably the most successful and popular album of 2017: Reputation by Taylor Swift.

Just in case any rabid Swifties find this and get mad at me for "hating" on the album, this DOES NOT represent my views on the album yet. This is a reference to the line in "Look What You Made Me Do". You know which one.

Last week, I did a list of my top 10 favorite celebrities, in which I mentioned that my opinions on Demi Lovato (the fourth person I talked about) had been really inconsistent over the years. I bring this up because my opinions on Taylor Swift have been even more inconsistent. Let's break 'em down, going by how I felt about her during each era of her career. 

2006-2007 (Her first, self-titled era): I actually listened to country music a lot when I was young, which is funny because now I can't stand that genre. We had Time Warner Cable and they had an option that allowed you to watch country music videos from CMT or GAC. I would watch those videos with my dad for hours when I was four or five, and I remember watching the videos for "Teardrops On My Guitar" and "Our Song" and really liking both of them. I didn't know much about Taylor Swift but I liked those songs.

2008-2009 (Fearless era): I was in second grade when Taylor first started getting REALLY popular. "Love Story" and "You Belong With Me" were huge hits that nearly every girl in my grade knew the words to and would sing at recess. I didn't really listen to much music at this point, but I sort of jumped on the bandwagon and claimed to be a big fan. I knew a little bit about her, and I thought she was a great singer and it was cool that she wrote her own music.

2010-2011 (Speak Now era): This era started when I was in third grade, and I had made a new friend whom I was really close to. This friend had a huge crush on Taylor Lautner, who had dated Taylor Swift a little earlier. My friend started hating Swift for breaking up with Lautner (I don't particularly like referring to people just by their last names but they have the same first name so I gotta do what I gotta do), and I went along with it because I sort of thought my friend could do no wrong. I liked "Back To December" and "Mean", though. 
2012-2013 (Red era): Pretty similar to the Fearless era in terms of my opinions of her. I claimed to be a big fan but I didn't actually know that many of her songs. She wrote a few songs for The Hunger Games that I liked. Apparently that was enough for me to consider her my favorite singer?
2014 (Beginning of the 1989 era): I still liked Taylor but I thought she was starting to get overexposed. "Shake It Off" was so overplayed back then, and it still is.
2015-maybe up until May 2016 (1989 era): I was really into her at this point in my life. I thought she was so cool and relatable, and I loved her music. This was where my stanning of Taylor Swift reached its peak. I think part of it was because some of my friends were big fans and I wanted to go along, but I did like her for her.
May 2016-Present (Taylor's "break" and the Reputation era): My opinions take a complete 180. As the 1989 era dies, my enthusiasm dies with it. I start thinking that her entire persona is annoying, staged, and fake, all of which are opinions I still hold. Then at some point in July, the world learns that Taylor Swift is a liar. Basically, Kanye West uses some...choice words...towards Taylor in his song "Famous", which Taylor didn't approve of. Then Kanye's wife, Kim Kardashian, posts VIDEO FOOTAGE on her Snapchat of Taylor giving Kanye permission to use the lyrics, and yet Taylor still claimed he didn't ask her permission. I felt offended that someone I previously looked up to and admired would lie like that, and I didn't know if I would be able to ever call myself a fan again. Then, a year later, Taylor comes back with "Look What You Made Me Do", all but confirming my dislike of her. But that's for later in this post. 

So after all that context, let's now talk about the album:

Oh, and by the way, I really don't like this album artwork. I mean, I get what it's supposed to represent (how she keeps making headlines), but I just think the way she's posed with her head held up makes her look awkward. I found some fanmade album covers that are way better, and it's honestly kind of sad that amateur remakes are better than the real thing. At least it's not the worst album cover I saw this year.

1. "...Ready for It?"
The first song on the album was the second released from the album, and honestly, I don't care for it. It's trying to be two things at once, and it's not a cohesive song. In the verses, Taylor pretty much raps over a trap beat akin to previous single "Bad Blood" from 1989, but the chorus sounds innocent and reminiscent of 1989 single "Wildest Dreams". The two parts are decent on their own, but they fit really awkwardly together. Plus, the way Taylor accents some of the words in the verses ("HE CAN BE MY jailer, Burton to this Taylor" is the prime example) is obnoxious. The only part of this I wholeheartedly like is the part where she goes "Baby, let the games begin, let the games begin, let the games begin, ah ah". It's such a simple melody but it's really catchy. The song overall just feels like it's trying too hard to be edgy, so I don't really care for it. 5/10
2. "End Game" ft. Ed Sheeran and Future
I saw this song listed on the tracklist and I was confused. I get Taylor collabing with Ed since they've done it before on "Everything Has Changed", and I sort of get her collabing with Future since she's experimented with rap on Kendrick Lamar's "Bad Blood" remix. But both of them on the same song? Her thought process for this one was probably "Hmm...Ed Sheeran's really big this year! And Future's really big this year! Let's just get 'em all together and dominate the world!", but she had no concern for the actual quality of the song. Future's part is generic, Ed feels out of place, and Taylor's rap verse is cringeworthy. Who told her it was okay to rap? The parts of this song I did like were the "big reputation, big reputation" chant (similar to the "let the games begin" in the previous song, it's simple but earwormy), the beat, and the line "I swear I don't love the drama, it loves me". Otherwise, you can skip it. 5.5/10
3. "I Did Something Bad"
We have more trap-inspired music this time, and of the three songs so far, this is definitely my favorite. This one shows Taylor being actually self-aware and admitting that she's done bad things. The beat is hypnotic and the chorus is explosive and incredibly catchy. Taylor sounds confident and unexpectedly powerful, and her performance really fits the IDGAF nature of the song. This is the first time in Taylor's career that she's actually been able to pull off an edgy, dark vibe. She even curses for the first time probably ever, in the line, "If a man talks s**t, then I owe him nothing, I don't regret it one bit 'cuz he had it coming." That's probably my favorite lyric in the song, just a really great diss. I also love the "ra-da-da-da-da DEATH TRAP" part after the chorus, which Genius says is actually Taylor's voice pitched down. I have no idea why it's there but it's great. This entire song surprised me in a really good way, since I expected it to be lame based off of the title and my bias against Taylor, but I like this a lot. She'd better make it a single. 9/10
4. "Don't Blame Me"
I'm don't know how to feel about this one. First things first, this song sounds fan-freaking-tastic. The chorus is a weird blend of gospel and trap, and despite that sounding like it wouldn't work at all, it does. The beat, the harmonized chorus-esque vocals, this just sounds HUGE. Taylor's vocals are actually really impressive and gritty, which I didn't expect from her at all. The melodies are also really catchy and unique throughout. So why don't I love this song? Well, it all comes down to the lyrics. It's not that the lines themselves are bad. It's just that the entire concept of comparing love to drugs is just so overwrought and cliche. We get it, songwriters. Love is addictive. Drugs are addictive. It's not as unique and meaningful as you think it is, so please stop using this metaphor. 7/10
5. "Delicate"
This one's okay, not much else to it. This song makes use of the vocoder effect, which can be used in interesting ways, but I'm not sure why it's here. She said it was used to make the song feel more emotional, but it misses the mark for me. It's just distracting. What I do like is the lyrics of this song. This one's about how Taylor wants a love interest to love her for who she is, because she knows what the public thinks of her. My favorite lyric is "We can't make any promises now...but you can make me a drink", which is just really funny to me. I also like the slight tropical vibe to this song, which is completely new territory for Taylor. Her vocals are also tender and (excuse the pun) delicate, yet somewhat seductive. It's pretty, but it's not super memorable. 6.5/10
6. "Look What You Made Me Do"
And here we have the lead single of the album, and honestly...I cannot stand this song. It is just so, so bad. So bad that my mom had to text me during work to tell me about how bad it is. I feel like this song wasn't written because Taylor wanted to make a good, functional song. It was probably written solely to cause controversy and piss people off, which is sad.The lyrics prove that no matter what people say, she's still playing the victim in all of her feuds. Hell, even just the title, proves that she's still playing the victim, because if she wasn't, it wouldn't be called "Look What You Made Me Do"! The beat is boring for the most part but it has random, annoying, and confusing noises thrown in throughout the song. The chorus steals from the '90s-whatever-the-opposite-of-a-classic-is "I'm Too Sexy", which is...who exactly asked for this? And that's not even the most WTF part of the song! That honor belongs to the part in the second verse where she starts rapping and is extremely obnoxious.  Then of course we have the part where she proclaims the old Taylor as dead in a move that reeks of "trying-way-too-hard". The only salvageable part of this is the music video, which is...honestly one of the best I've ever seen. It's a little self-absorbed, but it's visually stunning and the self-deprecation at the end is actually pretty funny. Shame it had such a horrendous song to go with it. I don't give 1/10's very often, only to songs that deserve it. And to me, this one does. 1/10
7. "So It Goes..."
As soon as I saw the title of this song, my immediate next thought was "he can't keep his wild eyes on the road". I've probably mentioned this before, but "Style" is by far my favorite Taylor Swift song, and I don't think she'll ever top it. These two songs share a fraction of a lyric, but they don't share much else because this song is nowhere as good as "Style". This one just feels like album filler. The lyrics are generic and the production is good, but nothing I couldn't get from any other song on here. Taylor also sounds pretty okay, so I'll commend her on that. The big problem with this song is that it isn't memorable at all. It goes in one ear and out the other, and I immediately forgot how it went after listening to it for the first time. You can probably skip it. 5.5/10
8. "Gorgeous"
This was the third song she released from the album. My opinions on this one are actually pretty similar to my opinions of "Don't Blame Me", although that song is significantly better. What I mean by that is that it sounds really good but the lyrics hold it back. The lyrics of this one are the epitome of Taylor's "forced-adorkable" persona. It's about infatuation, but it's clear she's trying too hard to be relatable and charming. The main line in the chorus, "You're so gorgeous I can't say anything to your face, CUZ LOOK AT YOUR FACE" is lazy songwriting and makes her sound like a vapid teenage Tumblr girl. Then of course, we have "Guess I'll just stumble on home to my cats...alone", which is pandering way too hard to her audience. The things I will praise this song on are the production and melodies. It's catchy, albeit a little forgettable, and the beat is really good. However, the lyrics knock it down a few points for me. 5/10
9. "Getaway Car"
I was excited for this one since before listening to this album, I had heard all about how good this song apparently is. There is a freaking Buzzfeed article about just how good this song is. And yeah, they're right. This is just some really solid synthpop. A bunch of fans believe this song is about Taylor leaving Calvin Harris for Tom Hiddleston, and honestly I don't care about that. What I do care about is about how good this song just sounds. It's reminiscent of many 1989 songs, especially "Style". The melodies are some of the best on the album and the production is outstanding. And there's a key change! It's subtle, but I noticed it, and it definitely adds to the song. Plus, I'm just a sucker for key changes. However, the very best part of the song is the outro. She repeats "I was ridin' in a getaway car, I was cryin' in a getaway car, I was dyin' in a getaway car, said goodbye in a getaway car" and the repetition is used wonderfully. Please give this song the single-and-video treatment, Taylor. I still think you're a snake but I'll be damned if this song isn't magical. 9/10
10. "King Of My Heart"
This one's okay, but it feels a little filler-y. It's the most girly and bubblegum-sounding on the album thus far, but it tries to mix it with a trap sound. I don't really like the contrast and I'd rather it just be a straight-up bubblegum song. The vocoders and dubstep-esque sounds in the post-chorus are weird and I don't really care for them. The lyrics are also pretty uninteresting. I do like the chorus, but that's the only really catchy and memorable melody here. I really don't have much to say about this one. 6/10
11. "Dancing With Our Hands Tied"
I was most excited for this one since the title really intrigued me. I didn't know exactly what this song would be like, but I expected it would be one of the better songs. It's up there with "I Did Something Bad" and "Getaway Car" as one of my favorites on the album. The production throughout the entire song, especially in the chorus, is fantastic. In the chorus it sounds atmospheric, danceable, and really cool. The lyrics are also really good. "I'm a mess, but I'm the mess that you wanted" is a fantastic lyric, saying so much with so little. I'm a sucker for songs that have semi-depressing lyrics but happy-sounding music. Finally, we have Taylor's vocal performance, which is probably the best of her career. She's still not a great vocalist by any means, but she belts some some pretty high notes in the final chorus that actually sound pretty decent. I'll give her props for trying something different with her vocals. Overall, this song is like the lovechild of 1989 and Reputation (as weird as that sounds) and it's definitely one of my favorites thus far. 8.5/10
12. "Dress"
This one has made some headlines for being arguably the sexiest song Taylor's ever done. Many people thought she was singing about Ed Sheeran due to the line "There's an indentation in the shape of you", but Ed confirmed that's false since it mentions the guy having a buzz cut, which he has never had. I don't get why she used that line if it's NOT about Ed Sheeran, but you do you, Taylor. This is a pretty sexy song, not really in the lyrics but more in the way she sings it. She uses a cooing falsetto for most of it, as well as doing some moaning before the chorus. My favorite lyric in this song is "And if I get burned, at least we were electrified". The beat is probably the weakest thing about it, but it does set a good tone for the whole thing. This one does a good job of showing her sensual side, but not in a trashy way. 7.5/10
13. "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things"
The title of this one made me laugh when I first saw it since I say it a lot in casual conversation, usually as a joke. This song is supposedly written about the Kanye beef, and it handles it in a really light-hearted way. Between the light pianos and sort of chant-singing in the chorus, it weirdly reminds me of "It's A Hard-Knock Life" from Annie. It's almost annoying in a way, and I feel like it would be annoying she made it a single and it got overplayed. The bridge in this song was actually pretty funny. I loved her big cackle at the end of it. This one's not my favorite, but it's catchy and it's nice to not see her take herself seriously. 6/10
14. "Call It What You Want"
"Call It What You Want" was the fourth and final song released before Reputation came out, but this is actually my first time hearing it. The lyrics to this one are really cute. It's about how she's found real love and even though the media's going to label them, she doesn't care because she knows it's love. Even though I don't care for Taylor, it's kind of nice seeing her be happy after having so many failed love affairs. The melody in the chorus is also beautiful and the way Taylor sings it is just so sweet. This is just a lovely-sounding song and it makes me hopeful that I'll find a love like this. Awww... 8.5/10
15. "New Year's Day"
This one ends the album in a really unexpected way. The rest of the album is loud, upbeat, and catchy, but this one isn't. All it has for instrumentation is piano, acoustic guitar, and some faint strings. Because I tend to prefer more fun-sounding songs, I probably won't listen to this one very much, but it is beautiful. The lyrics to this one are probably the best on the album. My favorites are "Hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you" and "Please don't ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize everywhere". I also like the message of this song. It's not about who you hang with at the parties, it's about who stays with you to clean up the mess at the end. It's such a true statement and it's a good closer to the album. 8/10

I didn't write this on December 13th, but it's the day it's getting posted. I'm bringing this up because it's Taylor's birthday, to which I say: Happy birthday Taylor, your album wasn't nearly as much of a trainwreck as I expected. For the most part, it's just an average-quality album. There are a lot of mediocre songs on here, a few songs I don't like, and some really good songs. 

Best Songs: My favorite is either "I Did Something Bad" or "Getaway Car", with "Dancing With Our Hands Tied" and "Call It What You Want" in third and fourth place, respectively.
Worst Songs: The only one I really hate is "Look What You Made Me Do", although I'm not huge on "...Ready for It?" or "Gorgeous". 

I added up my scores and I got a 6.5/10 for the album overall, which is really accurate to how I feel. It's not the best album I've ever heard, and I don't know if I'd say it's entirely worthy of the hype, but it's better than I expected. It's better than whatever Katy Perry did this year by a large margin. I'm sorry this post was so long. It's mostly because of the intro, which I did not expect to be that lengthy. For next week's post, I'm doing a Christmas special. It's another First Impressions, but it won't be nearly as long as this one...or as positive, for that matter. You'll have to see what it is next week. I'm Stellar in Neverland, and I'll see you next week. Peace!

Stellar

P.S. Almost immediately after I listened to this album, I listened to a few Kanye West songs. Does that make me a bad person?