perhaps the most reductive and disrespectful take i've seen about this album.
this album is many things- you could argue that it's "too long" or that it doesn't have "bangers"- while i disagree with these takes, you could definitely argue it.
however- to say that it's a "LANA DEL REY RIPOFF"- it's basically saying, tell me you haven't listened to the album without telling me you haven't listened.
at first glance- yeah, maybe the cover looks a bit lana del rey "esque", some of the titles/album name, ex: "But Daddy I Love Him", "Guilty As Sin"- but if you ACTUALLY take
the time to listen to it? You'll come to realize it's one of the most "Taylor Swift" albums she's ever made. She's not trying to make country hits like "Fearless", she's not making her
big pop moment like on "1989", she's not wearing the snake costume like on "Reputation". It's clear that she doesn't give a flaming fuck about how this is received- she could've released the best songs off the 31 song tracklist, and got all the acclaim, but no, she said fuck that and released a messy, and extremely bloated 31 song album. The clear purpose of this album is things she wanted to get off her chest, which kind of makes sense why the production could seem uninteresting at times- she wants you to listen to the lyrics.
Here are a few lyrics that imo are quintessential Taylor Swift:
- "I love you, it's ruining my life" - a thesis statement on a lot of her discography, if this lyric wasn't true she wouldn't have a career
- "And that's the closest I've gotten to my heart exploding" - it's not a perfect line, one could argue it's corny, but it's so Taylor. The lyrics on this song are so unhinged as well, she wasn't faking anything on this song.
- "I'm queen of sandcastles he destroys" - Would Lana write this? No. Some of these lyrics I can't explain how it relates to her- but this metaphor is just so Swiftian, very Blank
Space coded
- But Daddy I Love Him- the entire song. Sure,some of the lyrics are quite wordy but the theme is just so Taylor, it's literally a modern day "Love Story". Us against the world, this whole town hates us , etc.
- "You wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised me" - She is always saying shit like this- and I love her for it! It's so dramatic, over the top, and a bit untrue, but it's hilarious and I love her for it.
- "Always drunk on my own tears" - Well... it's true! And there are 11 albums of proof.
- "I''ll forget you but I'll never forgive" - That's my grudge holding queen! She doesn't get over things easy, I mean, she's still writing about Kim almost 10 years later! It might be petty, but I enjoy the vindictiveness at times.
I'll stop there but there's literally so much that I could bring up. This album is so autentically "Taylor Swift"', that it may be the reason why a lot of people hate it. Some enjoy it when she's pretending to be someone, but when she's being her unfiltered self- it can be a tough pill to swallow. The only way you could compare this to LDR is how she is just as authentic on her records. I've never listened to a Lana Del Rey record and heard a second of inauthenticity- she makes the music SHE wants to make, and she doesn't give a shit if it sounds boring to anyone besides her. Lana's personality shines through all of her music, and similarly I can feel Taylor's personality shining through this record.
anyway... I just wrote all that. Literally sanctimoniously performing soliloquies Fantano will never see- but I needed to get it off my chest bc I'm sick of people comparing the two of them.
the true masochism experience is having her be a hot mess for months then doing One absolutely good thing and running right back to her feet. why can't she be this good consistently 😭