Taylor Swift: '1989' Album Review

OMG, I just DIED! #RIPme! Tay Tay has a new album out! If you're not sure what's going on - or if you think I've just regressed from quite a serious 23-year-old lady to a squealing 13-year-old girl -, check this out and then come back.

Yes, it's sure, country-pop's sugar-sweet little Taylor dropped her much-anticipated album '1989' this week. No, I did not converge at a friend's house that very night for a listening party, because I am an adult, and that would be weird...

I must admit, my hopes were not high. After my strong feelings of dislike for most of 2012's 'Red' - which I took as a personal insult, after being completely obsessed with 'Speak Now' - and my outright hatred for 'Shake It Off', I had begun to sink into that deep depression of human beings who disregard the girl as just another awful pop star. A bit of a joke. Did I mention awful? Well, I was about to be proven wrong.

THE ALBUM IS A MASTERPIECE. (Yes, caps are needed)

It is, indeed, a pure pop album, without a hint of the country style that had defined her early career, but somehow it's edgy, with barely discernible hints of indie-rock (largely, I'm sure, due to her work with fun.'s Jack Antonoff). While most of the album is filled with highly-listenable tracks, I do have a few favourites:

1) 'Wildest Dreams': This turns me into a complete fangirl. I can just imagine crying on the floor if I ever had to see this song live. I'm dead. DEAD. It's tinged with poignance and sadness, but still comes back down to Taylor's favourite themes of girls in pretty dresses, crying after boys and begging them to remember her. It's probably even set at Tay's favourite time of day: 2am.

2) 'Blank Space': Taylor Swift ripping off Taylor Swift - can it get any better? "Got a long list of ex-lovers, they'll tell you I'm insane..." It's also dead catchy.

3) 'Out of the Woods' - Nope, I am never going to be out of the woods. An obvious stab at Harry Styles, it shows off Taylor's slightly darker side - one can almost imagine her singing "Remember when you hit the brakes too soon, 20 stitches in the hospital room" with a sadistic little smile on her face. And with an electronic chorus that is bound to stick in anyone's head for weeks, it's a favourite among many.

All in all, I think Taylor has done great. She remains my guilty pleasure, so far removed from any of my other favourites, that some people think I'm joking when I say I love her. But really, who cares? Haters gonna hate.

Taylor Swift - Out of the Woods

It's my lunch break, and I've just gobbled down last night's Chinese takeaway leftovers in 3.4 minutes flat so that I would still have time to write this post.
So let's cut to the chase...

Taylor Swift has a new song out.
Why would anyone care?  You might ask. Good question. After feeling strong dislike towards most of Taylor's 'Red' album, and downright hatred for 'Shake It Off', why the hell am I still listening to the girl? Argh, old habits die hard, I guess. Back in 2009, I was completely obsessed with the 'Fearless' album, and even more so with 'Speak Now' the following year. I didn't care how people wrinkled their noses and frowned when I told them that she was my guilty pleasure - completely on the other side of the spectrum to the rest of my favourites: The Killers, Springsteen, Coldplay. I guess that my inherent sarcasm and cynicism makes some forget that deep down I am still a young female human being who wants to float down staircases in sparkly dresses, whilst singing 'Sparks Fly', dammit!

Anyway. Taylor's new song 'Out of the Woods' is absolutely nothing like her early country music ('Tim McGraw', 'Tied Together With A Smile', 'Our Song'), but it's also a slight departure from the pop atrocity that is 'Shake It Off'. Perhaps she's found herself. Perhaps her cat had a good, long sit-down with her and explained that twerking is just not okay. Whatever happened, she's come out with this song  that's got a bit more of an electro-pop-rock feel to it.

Here are a few things I learned from the new song:

- Taylor is obsessed with the month of December. At least the snow mobile crash wasn't at 2am.

- She's got a little bit of a dark side - just listen to the way she sings about the hospital trip. Mwahahaha.

- She's still experimenting with different styles of music...

- ... but she's stuck with her tried and tested my-relationship-failed lyrics.

- She's still got it. Hell yes, she does.

Guilty Pleasures: We All Have Them!

Admit it; we all have guilty pleasures when it comes to music. Whether you’re the cheerleader, dance music-obsessed girl with a secret stash of MCR albums, or the hardcore metal dude with a closet love for Mika, everyone has some dirty little music secrets that we’d rather people not know about. Now, I’m usually a rock/alternative child, but oh well, at risk of throwing myself to the sharks, I’m going to reveal my top 5 musical guilty pleasures.

5) ABBA- I’m sure I’m not alone in this one. Yes, I know all the words to “Fernando”, and yes, I’ve been known to sing it in my head when someone mentions the name in general conversation. Yes, I’ve danced around my room to “Dancing Queen”, and yes, I’ve attracted some odd stares when singing along to “Mama Mia” in public. So what?

4) American Country- I don’t just mean normal country, I mean Alan Jackson, Carlene Carter and who knows who else singing songs along the lines of “Hillbilly Rock, Hillbilly Roll” and “Dancin’ With Elvis”. I happen to have an entire album full of these gems, and I’m yet to meet someone who doesn’t think they’re catchy, at the very least. All together now “Up on the mountain, way outta town, it’s Saturday night and the folks gather round…”

3) Katy Perry- Most people adore Katy, but most people aren’t me. ‘The One That Got Away’, for example, is the very type of song that would usually result in me pretending to gag before turning the radio off. However, it happens to be one of my very favourite songs. You can psycho-analyse me all you want at this point, but in reality it’s simply because it’s an adorable song. I love Katy, the end.

2) Taylor Swift- Shock, horror! This sweet-as-sugar little country-pop darling is one of my favourite artists at the moment. I don’t care that she only sings about heartbreak and men, she’s a decent girl and a breath of fresh air in a music industry filled with rappers and popstars singing about taking each other’s clothes off. Every once in a while, I enjoy a break from the serious music that I usually listen to and Taylor’s cute lyrics provide exactly that.

1) Westlife- I know, I know, its boyband pop at its cheesiest, but I can’t deny My Love for Westlife. Whether I want to cry my eyes out over how much I miss my childhood, cheer myself up when I’m sad, or simply kill time on a road trip, Westlife are my go-to guys. Their songs are ingrained in my head from years upon years of singing along, and I struggle to find a childhood memory without a Westlife song attached to it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to listen to the Coast To Coast album and think about the good old days…

Do you have any guilty pleasures when it comes to music?