Swift is still the champion of the brokenhearted. But this time her anthems are tinged with self-reproach for her lost love. At last, the pop star is taking responsibility for her tangled affairs.
In a combination of pop, rock and an (albeit small) dose of country, she admits that she shouldn’t keep falling for the bad boys. “I knew you were trouble when you walked in/ so shame on me,” Swift belts in her dubstep-esque “I Knew You Were Trouble.”
It’s also worth noting that her album runs at a lengthy 65 minutes. But because nearly every song is a different genre, I didn’t get too bored with the album. There are, however, a few songs that the 16-track compilation could do without (ahem, “Sad Beautiful Tragic”).
On a more positive note, I’m not upset that the former country musician has forgone her honky tonk routes. Perhaps that’s because we’ve seen her heading this way for a long time. Or because the mix of Kesha-style dance floor anthems, lightweight dubstep and U2-esque intros treats her somewhat well.
Despite the weak lyrics of many songs (“22”!), I still find myself belting them out on my way to school. The $9.99 I paid for the album was well worth it.
But I have a request: 96.3 KSCS and 99.5 The Wolf, please stop playing Swift songs on your stations. 106.1 Kiss FM, have at it. Also, I don’t understand why her album is still listed as country on iTunes.
I only hope that Swift doesn’t lose her unique artistic identity as she heads towards a rock/pop/dubstep hodgepodge of other singers’ styles.
-Hailey
