the possibly most extensive review of Reputation ever
because I'm not too good for this
tagging
thiefinrippedupjeans because she's wanted the whole thing for ages.
Most people here have heard me say 1989 was not Taylor's greatest album. I stand by this. As a matter of fact, I think Reputation is everything that 1989 could not be. Perhaps 1989 just was never a phase I had in my life, but Reputation hit me in a way Taylor has not hit me since I heard Speak Now. I do not think it is her pinnacle, but I think if she continues this road with pop music, she may have a pop music sort of pinnacle related to Speak Now. My bizarre theory began at 1989 being her new debut album, which is fitting. Her debut did not catch me deeply. It was not until Fearless I started to really take her seriously, as Fearless was more emotional. Reputation, similar to Fearless, is also very cohesive. So if my theory is as planned.
Her next pop debut will be a Speak Now-esque quality amazeball we can't believe she did it again kind of album.
BUT let us focus on what we actually have, not my weird theory that she's restarting the process with pop. Reputation has been called a lot of things, and from what I see it seems you either really love it or you really hate it. Kind of similar to how Taylor has become Reputation wise.
I feel like Reputation is a better rise from the ashes than I could have imagined. While many felt they lost Taylor, I feel I have finally connected to her again. 1989, I felt like the person I knew was gone. I now feel perhaps she's still here. It made me rip off my covers to show my inner swiftie heart existing again, like superman ripping his vest to show his superhero uniform. As a whole, I feel the album is a confessional, an emotional piece, and a revival. Taylor laid her good and her downright ugly to us in a way like never before. And you may not like to hear all of it, but you have to admire the sheer brave honesty of everything which exists in these lyrics. People suggesting the lyrics are lazy and not as thought-provoking, I feel missed the point and the central message. I don't think it was meant to be lyrically beautiful. I do not think it was meant to be pitch perfect on point hair dolled up. No, it was meant to be as dark and messy as the period she just went through. This album is a full painted picture of what its been like to be her through all this, and it was not beautiful, neither is Reputation. And I love it, with all its flaws, imperfections, and messy loose endings we may never comprehend.
So I will start my review actually, with what I find lesser. That begins with King of My Heart. Don't take me wrong, it is a cute love song and has good potential, but by all means is not my kind of melody. The way the pre-chorus is done annoys me. The bridge is broken up oddly in a way I cannot enjoy the few good lines within it. The songs somewhat simplistic lyrics do not make me look past the musical flaws as much as I could in a song musically flawed on, say, 1989 (looking at you, I Wish You Would). Is it terrible? No. Is it certainly my least favorite of Reputation? Yes. But I think it has an important central message in it she keeps referencing. She's been with guys with a lot of "stuff". She's been with people who love her "stuff". She wants someone who loves her for HER and not her fame, riches, or "stuff". That central theme makes it a worthier song than some others.
Dress is next for me. Boy, this had to grow on me. I felt using the line "I only bought this dress so you could take it off." actually ruins what could be a genuinely deeper song to me. When I get past this cliche dull line, I get to lines that actually are quite classy and honestly interesting how Taylor chose to eloquently describe the passionate nature of the instinct of sexual desire. I haven't really had this full experience in this fashion, so I cannot say I connect with the song, but I do not think it is a bad song. I just, as some Taylor songs lower on my listing, have a disconnect with it. Someone who has embraced feeling this I think would appreciate this song more than I can. But also discussing the messy nature of sometimes love isn't hair done nice in a ballroom. In the bathtub, both drunk, lipstick smeared. She's right, we know nothing at all about those showings, and we shouldn't act like we do. Heh.
While Gorgeous is one of the lesser songs on the list, I want to note I absolutely appreciate this song. So much. Compared to the rest of Reputation, I feel it falls in the back, but when it originally was released, I was in love with it. Why? It is the first Taylor song I heard in a long time that made me think of all those cutesy love songs she wrote in previous eras I was beginning to think she didn't write anymore. Yeah, it is cheesy. It is simple. But it is the most relatable lovey dovey thing on the album besides Call It What You Want. Actually, more relatable to people with a cutesy crush watching from afar. It is like a more mature version of high school girls discussing a crush they see walking down the hall way. "Honey life is just a classroom." I likened it to cutesy love songs like Stay Stay Stay or You Belong With Me. In essence, they would later fall in the back. They are what they are, cute adorable songs about being in love and having a crush. But, they are the loveable relatable songs that make Taylor that "girl next door."
Alright, now that the bottom three are out of the way (and really only one is a song I don't ever listen to), I can move to the other tracks. I will once more discuss ones I find more in the middle. I like them, not my top tier of tracks, saving the best for last, but I like them.
...Ready For It? sincerely had to grow on me. It was shocking. To say the least I WASN'T READY FOR IT. I WASN'T READY FOR TAYLOR ALMOST/BASICALLY RAPPING. I WASN'T PREPARED FOR ANY OF IT. Nonetheless, once I got past this, I appreciated the song way more. Yeah, it is a little school girlish. But dang it, if you found the best guy ever in your mind, you act like a school girl. One thing for sure, love always comes off either cheesy, immature, or vulnerable. That's how I see it at least. I love she is still willing to write those songs about boys. "Every lover I've known in comparison is a failure." That line just catches me. Honestly, this feels like the improved I Know Places for me. I did not enjoy the music to I Know Places but I ended up loving this. This is what that song could have been. In the long run I also kind of think of how people sing "so-and-so kissing in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G" and maybe I've making odd connections but the end of the verses just...feel that way to me? Like oh I'm getting that little lovey feeling again. Maybe I'm finding weird connections too. XD
End Game, I think the inclusion of so many guests on it took away from what it could be. I also feel like the best lines of the song don't mix with the actual song itself, but that gets into how messy yet beautiful this album is. This song is a literal hot mess, and it freaking WORKED. It is an actual JAM, it is extremely earworm quality WITH Taylor-beautiful quality diary lyrics but IT IS ALL OVER THE PLACE. Oh hey, JUST LIKE HER REPUTATION! Her reputation in this time is a HOT MESS like this song. All over the place, she's gotta include things discussing with her lover that seems out of place out of mind to most of us, but for her its a thing she's gotta explain. You tell me every line actually fits together when you hear that chorus? Aw heck no, but IT WORKED. Taylor made being a disjointed mess work! WOOP!
I Did Something Bad, man I admit when I originally heard this it fell to the bottom. The song was odd, the song felt weird, I felt confused. What did you do that was so bad, yet so good? Did you basically admit you are a player? If you take this song too literally at face value you may hate Taylor Allison Swift as a person when you are done, but this is why you need to sincerely hear the whole thing and take in the big picture for this album. "I never trust a narcissist, but they love me." "I never trust a playboy, but they love me." Taylor has grown up and is smart enough to see what these people are, their true colors. She knows from having been naive and taken around the block a time or two how they work, and she knows how to beat them at their own game. She owes them nothing. She takes no sh*t. The bad thing she did? Giving them a taste of their own medicine. And it is bad, but no one can say getting even doesn't feel good and make you want it over and over. But I also think there is a brutal honesty to the bridge, that really brings it together. "They're burning all the witches even if you aren't one..." Taylor really wasn't the bad one here, but she will be perceived as such because her reputation and how they are well loved. 'So light me, go ahead and light me up." That's almost like a big middle finger, saying go ahead. Rip me up, I don't care. It doesn't hurt me anymore. I also feel these follows a theme in the album of losing that enchanted girl. Taylor was a young girl starstruck by love, but this suggest she had lost her belief in true love. It seemed like a calculated game where you have to be prepared to see the real colors and make a move to protect yourself. Sad state, but the blunt honesty of the track is brave. Admirable even, considering how wrong people can take it. I grew to greatly appreciate, even somewhat love, this track.
Delicate is a track that has gone up and down on my list. Probably the most honest middle song, this comes off as a mix of the maturity existing on Reputation and the cutesy love songs existing. The discussion of how fame and reputations affect how people perceive her relationship wise continues in this track, as she seems to realize this person does not expect to gain from her. Her reputation is in the toilet, she's basically in hiding, and this guy is all about her. Dang, he must actually like...ME...not the fame, money, prestige, but ME. GENUINELY ME. And don't we all want someone to love us for who we are period? She seems hesitant to move on it, she is also cautious of his feelings. Obvious they are taking it slow, but she wants to make it clear, she actually likes him. It is a beautiful track but one I think you have to be in the mood to hear.
So It Goes... is honestly a little forgettable at this point. I like it but it doesn't stand out to me as much as the other tracks do. I think it was done musically amazingly well. I think the chorus is absolutely awesome. The bridge falls flat for the build up of the song. You make this passionate love song and close it with a subpar bridge. Kind of lowers its level. Bridges are really important, it is like adding that last BOOM to make you wanna come back and buy that feeling again. This missed that with the chorus, BUT, gotta appreciate the rest of the song. I genuinely like the song, it just falls down to I don't always listen to it because I am listening to the ones who sold me the feeling better. "I'm not a bad girl but, I do bad things with you." I feel like this caught my eye on a romantic note moreso than Dress did on the sexier side, maybe this is my own side. XD I appreciate the song discussing too being "caught up in the moment." That is how so many deep romantic situations arise, you're having a moment and it climaxes. It is Taylor still at her finest through most of it but DAG.NAB.IT. USE. THAT. BRIDGE.
If you liked 1989, Getaway Car is the absolute closest thing you're gonna get. I would've said if you liked Red, How You Get the Girl is the closest thing you're going to get. I feel Taylor always has this one song on the new album that sonically sounds like the previous album to sort of say "this is over but never gone." Which I sincerely appreciate. All those albums were a piece of her, a bit of life, and the fact she sort of always has that "ode' song is awesome to me. Especially how she usually makes it blend and fit SO WELL into the new album, though I admit HYGTG stood out like a sore thumb but I still appreciate she put it there. Now the actual song, it is not...musically perfect by any means. Some of it falls flat. Other bits are freaking AWESOME. Some of it is sang sharp and like it was sheer emotion. While it isn't my favorite, if I chose a song to represent the EMOTION of Reputation, I would choose this track. I think it captures what Reputation is perfectly. It is messy, sheer emotions with sharp jagged edges and whirlwind romances and rising above. This song, like End Game, is a little all over the place but again it worked.
This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things... When I saw this as a track on the tracklist, I was wondering how in the world she would make this sort of overused cliche statement into something desirable. I think the chorus is meh still, probably because it is a cliche overused statement, but I cannot deny the Taylor excellence on this song otherwise. In the esque of Picture to Burn or Should've Said No, Taylor writes a big ole' FU to Kimye in the best way possible. She makes her side of the ordeal known and makes it where Innocent may not be the anthem it was. She then instead of completely letting it get to her, thanks the people in her life who stood by her even when someone tried to ruin her. Because it is in the dark you discover who your real friends are. I have felt that in my own life. Maybe why I resonate with this so much. Again the messy, at the end of the bridge. I love the brutal honesty. He is not getting roses from her ever again!
Alright...I told you all I save my absolute favorites for last, and I did!
Look What You Made Me Do, most people hate it. I love it. I love everything about it. I felt it was a great lead single to prepare us for a darker edge. It musically captures her anger and frustration. The video captures her awareness of her image. She did get the final say in the crap thrown at her, and I think the album also owned some of it too. The sadder part is relating to that bridge...She doesn't trust anyone anymore. They don't trust her because the rumors. She is going to be the actress in your bad dreams, because you f***ed her over. It is brutally ugly beautiful. I do feel she could've said the old Taylor is dead with a bit more wrath though compared to the rest of the song. But perhaps she said it more lightly, because it was sarcastic.
New Year's Day made me think of Enchanted. That seems an odd combo, but it is like the less young starstruck version of Enchanted. Its like the real life fairytale version. Hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you. Please don't be in love with someone else, please don't have somebody waiting on you. I absolutely love this track. I appreciate her putting it at the end, because I feel it leads into what is to come. The importance of this track, as to above, all this happened. All this somewhat changed me. But I am moving forward, a new dawn, a new year, a love who really loves me. A love I will stand by the way he stood by me. It is absolutely beautiful. It deserves to be ranked one of the best. I love how simple the music is as well. It all feels so stripped down, and it really makes it raw and beautiful.
Don't Blame Me, dang. You know what, I am gonna say it. THIS is by no means the best Taylor song ever written. But you know, this is where singing it with passion and arrangement can make an okay song a GREAT SONG. Making it sound like a choir singing that chorus just makes it so wedding like, so dark edgy committal, so my theme song I want to play at my wedding because I am a wannabe dark chick. There is honesty in this song, how she saying she played with older guys and moreless lost her belief in love so it was all a game but this guy just REJUVENATED HER. SHE BELIEVES AGAIN. SHE WANTS TO WEAR HIM LIKE A DANG SWEATER. I AM SO DOWN WITH IT. PLAY THIS SONG ALL DAY. I DID FOR DAYS. I STILL DO. It's like a wedding vow itself, all the things she'd lose to keep him, all the things she'd do. I will marry this song. dang it.
Dancing With Our Hands Tied seems almost middle for most and that makes me really really sad. I love this one as well. I did a verse by verse sorta break down for a friend to connect all the dots. I visualize this aesthetic moody color coordinated makeup perfection MV for it. That is how down I am with this song. To be honest it is probably my favorite on Reputation. This by all means captures what I felt Taylor could do with pop music. The arrangement, perfect. Building up to the dramatic climax, the loss, what she wishes she would've done instead. All the woes of memory lane. The speed of the relationship, being pushed too hard, the anxiety. GOSH IT GETS ME. You can feel it, the music is like a rush, it makes the feeling flow through you so literally. Her voice is settled with the music, the lyrics, thought-provoking. It is abstract, it allows your own story to fit. It is Taylor excellence. It is one of the best songs she has ever done, in my humblest opinion.
Call It What You Want is one of the best Taylor love songs to exist and I will fight whoever fights me on it. I mean I've fought about everyone who suggested Reputation is bad too but that's besides the point. How she is so honest, suggesting yea all this stuff happened. It hurt. They took swings. I messed up too. Everything's broken.
But I did one thing right.
All these innocent beautiful things they do together, the trust, the starry eyes sparking up my darkest night. I'M CHILLING WRITING THIS. She conveys this so well, as a matter of fact, this is everything You Are In Love should have been to me. I appreciated the lyrics of it, but this isn't telling some story from afar. This is her story, SHE IS IN LOVE. I don't need her to tell me she is trying to put it into words, SHE JUST DID. That is love if I ever saw and if someone isn't making me feel this I am not giving them my heart anymore because she dang well proved my expectations can be this high because someone out there is waiting to give me that. It isn't perfect, we're human, but love stands tall. Oh my god if you don't appreciate this song at least I am just gonna take my ball and go home. XD
Alright, I covered literally every Reputation track, the whole of the message, and the beauty of this album. Is it perfect? No. Do I think it is still amazing? Yes. Should you buy it? Yes. This is strongly messy and emotional, all over the place, like her recent years have been. I appreciate her allowing us to see the darker side of her usual light. And I cannot wait to see what comes next as well. Reputation revived my love of Taylor Allison Swift.
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