It'd sound better if she work less makeup.
It'd sound better if she work less makeup.
"Sometimes a stick in the eye is a tool for enlightenment, but mostly not." Manfred Minsk
Pretty impressive production (and uh..."post" production)
I look forward to her moving past the "The Great American Barbie Ferrari" themes. Yes, there's some solid harmonic and melodic song craft goin' on there but, I'm not in the 3rd and 4th grade girl demographic thus I rely on my friend's daughters (whom I try to show how to analyze and play these songs) or yourself to let me know there's a new Taylor Swift song.
I'm not doggin ye' by any stretch. I'm a sucker for Miley on occasion. (and lord knows who or how many it took to write that and it's thematic tilt isn't swimmin in the boy/girl/crush paradigm)
I realize she is dang near The Beatles for a generation (I've seen it with mine own eyes and sung it with some of my favorite shorty set) and, is another milestone in my impending dottering decrepitude but on a musical and emotional level to me she is a gummy bear from the Ken Jo compared to say: crème brûlée from the Palm in New York of the following:
Thus, it's a shitty recording from a shitty handheld in a huge crowd with a sketchy mix. It's five not terribly blond skinny attractive people shoved together playing and singing with no electronic aids, other than the sketchy mix through the PA, that just rolls over me. That's what the best music does.
Taylor is an American Idoru "brand". I'm glad you enjoy her product(s) and the products she does and will endorse for your consumption.
Last edited by itchybro; 08-29-2010 at 10:20 PM. Reason: comma's DAMMIT!
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""Don't worry, I brought up the white wine with the fish"
Terry Southern, on being chastised by a society hostess for being sick after drinking
oh the polite condescension that goes for witty commentary.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_Swift
The girl is doing great and she's gonna do even better.
Products endorsed or not. Sooner or later they all sell out to that.
As you have exhibited your penchant for nubile female athletes, I expect you are the epicenter of her male demographic. Your previous sonic suggestions to the group imply that your musical aesthetic is as nuanced and complex as your avatar.Originally Posted by Deanna's Daydreamer
Last edited by itchybro; 08-29-2010 at 10:43 PM. Reason: more commas
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""Don't worry, I brought up the white wine with the fish"
Terry Southern, on being chastised by a society hostess for being sick after drinking
well, not quite. she's a singer-songwriter who hawked her demos door to door on music row and played at the bluebird and all that stuff. granted, that was when she was like 13 and 14 or something. but you can't fault a girl for thinking big. she's released all three of her albums on the same indie label, and has managed to sell a gazillion records anyway. i mean, she's about as close to a self-made artist as a pop superstar can be. but she is a pop superstar, which is what makes her different from someone like patty griffin (who i like). i like pop music, i like pop songs, and she makes very good pop songs. i like other kinds of music too, lots of other kinds, but a well-written, well-produced, three- or four-chord pop song with a big hook is a particular kind of pleasure. all the more so when it's done with some degree of intelligence and grace, which taylor swift's best songs have both of.
i mean, this, for example, is a very heart-on-sleeve song about her mother and her family, but it feels honest and direct, and there are some nice lyrical touches. (of course, it's from the perspective of an 18-year-old girl, which might make it hard for some people to relate to -- but that's what she was when she wrote it.)
Okay. As long as we are willing to concede that there is absolutely, positively nothing "country" about this, it's a damn fine pop song. The chorus is hooky and solid. There are a couple of lines here and there that are winners. And they wisely toned down the autotune and allow her voice to resonate in its own "pitchiness" instead of that godawful robotic/metallic sound. Good move, there.
“A great man shows his greatness by the way he treats little men.”
-- Thomas Carlyle
“I shat a dwarf.”
-- Number Nein
I know the story of how she started. I'll stick by my opinion of where she's "arrived". And it's just that.
How is she different from Patty Griffin, Carole King, Chrissie Hynde, Juliana Hatfield, Julie Miller, Lucinda Williams, Cindy Bullens, Tracy Chapman, Mae Axton or any other "girl with a guitar"?
Marketed different? How much does her age and looks weigh in on her popularity? Pop superstar? That's your construct. I'm only interested in the music. (thus my reference to milestones and impending dotage)
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""Don't worry, I brought up the white wine with the fish"
Terry Southern, on being chastised by a society hostess for being sick after drinking
i just think disparaging her music as "product," i mean, you could do that with anyone. animal collective is indie-hipster product. patty griffin is heartland-rootsy product. but the word implies a sort of cynical assembly-line approach that i don't think actually applies here. (it applies much better to what carole king, who you mention, used to turn out in the brill building. tho of course lots of that was great stuff, too. a good assembly line can make a fine product.)
i also can't get past the feeling that a lot of the knee-jerk anti-taylor sentiment i encounter is pretty much just a reaction to her being a.) young, b.) female, c.) blond, and d.) successful. none of which are in themselves actual artistic offenses. i'm not grading her on a curve, i think fearless really is a pretty great pop-rock record. it's not rumors, ok, not many things are as far as pop-rock records go. but it's good stuff, and not just kid stuff. there's plenty there for grown-ups to dig, if they can get over themselves for a minute.
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