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lovesongbracket · 2 years

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Reminder: Vote based on the song, not the artist or specific recording! The tracks referenced are the original artist, aside from a few rare cases where a cover is the most widely known.

Lyrics, videos, info, and notable covers under the cut. (Spotify playlist available in pinned post)

Love Story

Written By: Taylor Swift

Artist: Taylor Swift

Released: 2008 (re-recorded 2021)

Alternate version included: 1989 World Tour pop version, 2015

Taylor was inspired to write “Love Story” when she was going through a difficult situation with a boy she liked, whom she wasn’t “officially” dating. She chose to portray the story of Romeo and Juliet in the song, because she felt like she could relate. The lyrics talk about disapproval against the relationship, and her desire to go somewhere far away with him, and escape the people who look down on them. “Love Story” peaked at #1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, and at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, just weeks after its release. The song’s music video was described as timeless, by Swift. The video won the CMT Music Awards for “Video of the Year,” as well as “Female Video of the Year.” In February 2021, “Love Story” became the first official re-release from Taylor’s back catalog following contractual disputes with Scooter Braun. It marked the beginning of a new chapter in her career as she sought autonomy and freedom from what she perceived as a manipulative business relationship.

[Verse 1] We were both young when I first saw you I close my eyes and the flashback starts I'm standing there On a balcony in summer air See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns See you make your way through the crowd And say, "Hello" Little did I know [Pre-Chorus] That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet" And I was crying on the staircase Begging you, "Please don't go," and I said [Chorus] Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone I'll be waiting, all there's left to do is run You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes" [Verse 2] So I sneak out to the garden to see you We keep quiet 'cause we're dead if they knew So close your eyes Escape this town for a little while, oh, oh [Pre-Chorus] 'Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet" But you were everything to me I was begging you, "Please don't go," and I said [Chorus] Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone I'll be waiting, all there's left to do is run You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes" Romeo, save me, they're trying to tell me how to feel This love is difficult, but it's real Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes" [Post-Chorus] Oh, oh [Bridge] And I got tired of waiting Wondering if you were ever coming around My faith in you was fading When I met you on the outskirts of town [Chorus] And I said, "Romeo, save me, I've been feeling so alone I keep waiting for you, but you never come Is this in my head? I don't know what to think" He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring, and said "Marry me, Juliet, you'll never have to be alone I love you and that's all I really know I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress It's a love story, baby, just say, 'Yes'" [Outro] Oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh 'Cause we were both young when I first saw you

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I Was Born to Love You

Written By: Freddie Mercury

Artist: Freddie Mercury

Released: 1985

Cover included: Queen, 1995

“I Was Born to Love You” is a 1985 song by Freddie Mercury, and was released as a single and on the Mr. Bad Guy album. After Mercury’s death, Queen re-worked this song for their album Made in Heaven in 1995, by having the other members play their instrumental parts over the original track transforming the song from a disco song to a rock song. The Queen version from the Made in Heaven album also includes samples of Mercury’s ad-lib vocals taken from “A Kind of Magic” and from “Living On My Own”.

[Chorus Intro] An amazing feeling coming through I was born to love you With every single beat of my heart Yes, I was born to take care of you Every single day of my life [Verse 1] You are the one for me, I am the man for you You were made for me, you're my ecstasy If I was given every opportunity I'd kill for your love, hey So take a chance with me, let me romance with you I'm caught in a dream, and my dream's come true (It's) so hard to believe this is happening to me An amazing feeling coming through [Chorus] I was born to love you With every single beat of my heart, yeah I was born to take care of you, huh Every single day of my life [Verse 2] I wanna love you, I love every little thing about you I wanna love you, love you, love you (Born) to love you, (born) to love you, yes (born) I was born to love you (Born) to love you, (born) to love you every single day of my life I was born to take care of you every single day of my life [Instrumental Break] [Bridge] My life! Hey hey! Every single day of my life [Chorus] I was born to love you With every single beat of my heart Yeah, I was born to take care of you, honey Every single day of my life

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#taylor swift #love story #freddie mercury #queen #love of my life #polls #poll tournament #poll bracket #tournament #bracket #lovesongbracket #round2

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tillidontneedfantasy · 2 years

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A Track-by-Track Breakdown of Taylor Swift’s 10th Studio Album: ‘Midnights’

You would expect by the time a pop star has spent over 15 years in the spotlight that they would run out of steam. But on her 10th studio album, Midnights, Taylor Swift is as energized as ever. Even more impressive, the debut numbers are the biggest of her career yet, landing on a whopping 1.578 million, 1.1 million of those in pure album sales alone. These first week numbers are even larger than that of 1989, which is a huge feat.

Many pieces factor into success like what we’re seeing in this case. One is Swift’s exceptional marketing skills. Her dedicated fans will come out in droves to purchase her art, and the mysterious buzz that centered around the album intrigued the public to tune in. The star’s highly acclaimed releases of folklore (2021’s album of the year) and evermore (a 2022 album of the year nominee) during the pandemic certainly brought in a ton of new fans who perhaps overlooked her sharp lyricism before. But Taylor wants you to know that despite her magical stay in the forest and woodlands, she is in fact still bejeweled, and ready to remind everyone how much her shine still shimmers as a pop titan.

Presented as a loose concept album, Midnights centers on 13 sleepless nights throughout Taylor’s life (plus 7 songs on the “3am edition” that also fit the theme). Surely as she has been re-recording her albums as Taylor’s Versions, old feelings and memories have come to the surface that she is revisiting from a new perspective. Midnights still showcases Swift’s unmatched lyrical ability while taking us on a Jack Antonoff led synth journey.

1. Lavender Haze “All they keep asking me is if I’m gonna be your bride,” Swift laments on the opening track “Lavender Haze.” Which is funny because she spent 2019’s Lover with a bridge of wedding vows and a song about marrying her boyfriend of 6 years now, actor Joe Alwyn, with paper rings. But it is also an astute observation on how the world sees women, as she rejects “the 1950s shit they want from me.” She doesn’t want to follow anyone else’s wishes or timelines, or answer anyone’s questions, she just wants to stay staring at the ceiling with her partner, immersed in the lavender haze (a saying she caught from an episode of Mad Men). She knows that’s where she’s safest, because she’s “damned if I do give a damn what people say.” As an opening track, it delivers sonically and melodically, even in its smaller moments (the little “yeah oh yeah”s in the pre chorus are addictive), it’s a grand number. Best lyric: “I’m damned if I do give a damn what people say.”

2. Maroon The title track of Swift’s project Red is placed at track two. So it’s no surprise that Swift placed a song with red shade as its title in the same spot. “Maroon” details all the little scarlet moments throughout the ups and downs of a relationship, some examples including wine, hickeys, the sky, and rust. The first verse shows the relationship at its peak, “laughing with my feet in your lap, like you were my closest friend,” and the second verse juxtaposes it with its breakdown, “sobbing with your head in your hands, ain’t that the way shit always ends?” The final chorus on the track holds some of Taylor’s most interesting (and sensual) vocal delivery to date, her lower register extremely impressive and underrated. Best lyric: “The rust that grew between telephones.”

3. Anti-Hero Do you remember in 2012 when everyone and their father would make jokes that Taylor Swift should write a song called “Maybe I’m The Problem” as a response to her breakup songs? Well, ten years later, she gave them something very close to what they asked. “It’s me. Hi. I’m the problem, it’s me,” she sings in the chorus of the lead single “Anti-Hero” (though not released prior to the album), which Swift claims to be one of her favorite songs she’s ever written. On folklore and evermore, Taylor sang about mental health struggles without explicitly saying that she was the subject of those songs. However, here, it is clearly autobiographical without question. As a fan, to hear her so blatantly say “my depression” in a song was both jarring and relatable. The track lays out her intrusive thoughts about herself, her maladaptive behaviors, ignoring people or pushing loved ones away instead of letting them in. While she sings “I’ll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror,” the song shows how much her music is safe haven for her to sneak a glance at her reflection. Best lyric: “Did you hear my covert narcissism I disguise as altruism, like some kind of congressman?”

4. Snow On The Beach (ft. Lana Del Rey) The dreamy “Snow On The Beach” is a romantic love ballad in which Swift is mesmerized by the fact that the person she wants actually wants her back. She can’t quite believe their love, and she’s afraid if she speaks of it, she’ll find out it was an illusion all along. Throughout Swift’s music, and especially in this song, she uses light to describe her partner, singing “I’ve never seen someone lit from within, blurring out my periphery.” While Lana Del Rey, someone Swift hails as one of her musical idols, mostly singing background vocals might seem like an odd choice, just like seeing snow on the beach, it’s “weird, but fucking beautiful.” Best lyric: “Flying in a dream, stars by the pocketful.”

5. You’re On Your Own, Kid “You’re On Your Own, Kid” is a journey through Swift’s life and career thus far. The song starts by detailing an unrequited love, which leads her to writing songs in her room and playing them in the parking lot, eventually running away and pursuing her dream of becoming a star. And although her dreams aren’t rare, her success surely is. But even at the height of her success, no longer sitting by herself at the lunch table at junior high, she still found herself alone. “I hosted parties and starved my body, like I’d be saved by a perfect kiss / The jokes weren’t funny, I took the money, my friends from home don’t know what to say.” She was degraded by the public and degraded herself. And just as things got better, her life’s work that she put her blood, sweat, and tears into was sold out from under her. But the Taylor’s Versions have been able to give her some solace, “Everything you lose is a step you take.” She ends the song on a hopeful note, reminding herself that she doesn’t have to be afraid; she’s always been on her own and she’s always made it through, and she always will. And the listener can resonate too. We’re all truly on our own at the end of the day, but we’ve gotten this far; we can keep going. Best lyric: “I hosted parties and starved my body, like I’d be saved by a perfect kiss.”

6. Midnight Rain On “Midnight Rain,” Taylor highlights the differences between the life she could’ve had and the life she pursued. “He wanted it comfortable, I wanted that pain / he wanted a bride, I was making my own name,” she (and a distorted voice) sings in the chorus. That life of a small-town girl is far away now, and not one she ever truly wanted, but one she sometimes sneaks a peak at through postcards and time portals and wonders what it might be like. Similar to “Lavender Haze,” this track establishes Swift’s aversion to societal standards, and her embracement of constantly changing and evolving, as evident through her music and career to date. It’s a real catchy ear worm, and after a few listens you really learn to love that voice distortion. Best lyric: “He wanted it comfortable, I wanted that pain.”

7. Question…? While Taylor leaves many hints as to what or who some of her songs might be about, “Question…?” Has one of her most obvious clues to date, as the song starts with a sampling of her song “Out of the Woods” from 1989, a song famously known to be about her relationship with Harry Styles. Not only is there the sample, but also lyrical parallels. “The rest of the world was black and white / but we were in screaming color,” she sings on “Out of the Woods.” On “Question…?” She says, “I don’t remember who I was before you painted all my nights a color I’ve searched for since.” One could assume while going back and rerecording 1989, she may have reflected on the relationship, with questions popping up. While it seems as if Swift knows the answers to these questions already, she still wants to ask them and get the confirmation and closure she’s searching for, a very relatable feeling. Just like in life, though, she doesn’t get any explicit answers in the song, but maybe she doesn’t need them anymore, anyway. Best lyric: “Does it feel like everything’s just like second best after that meteor strike?”

8. Vigilante Shit When listing the things that kept Taylor up at night, serving as inspiration for this album, one thing she cites is plotting revenge. In the revenge fantasy “Vigilante Shit,” Swift tips off the FBI about her enemy (presumably Sc**ter Br**n) and his “white collar crimes,” and assists his ex-wife in winning their divorce. “I don’t start shit, but I can tell you how it ends,” she croons. Which, historically, is true. Swift has rarely been the instigator of a feud or fight, but when she’s targeted, she comes back on top every time. After all, karma is her boyfriend. Best lyric: “Ladies always rise above, ladies know what people want / someone sweet, and kind, and fun / the lady simply had enough.”

9. Bejeweled “Bejeweled” is an exciting and fun pop song about letting go of the people and things that drag you down and allowing yourself to shimmer again. We can surmise that “Bejeweled” represents a night during a dead-end relationship where she finally prioritized herself again and learned she can still shine on her own right. In a radio interview, Swift said that “Bejeweled” mirrored her re-entrance into the pop landscape after her folk escapades, and that she had to pump herself back up into believing that she could still do it. The track itself proves that Swift stills rules without competition. Best lyric: “And when I meet the band, they ask, ‘Do you have a man?’ I could still say, ‘I don’t remember.’”

10. Labyrinth One of the few ballads on the standard edition, “Labyrinth” tracks Taylor’s thought process as she realizes she’s falling in love again, despite all of her fears after being burned in the past. She laments her pain and acknowledges her worries. The progression from “uh oh,” to “oh no,” to “oh,” before the line “I’m falling in love,” shows her trepidation turned to acceptance, due to the length’s this person would go to just to make her smile. While there are some synth sounds that seem slightly out of place, overall it is a song anyone who is learning to open up their hearts after being hurt can relate to. Best lyric: “Break up, break free, break through, break down.”

11. Karma “Ask me why so many fade, but I’m still here,” she sings on “Karma.” The answer? One could be her incredible talent and hard work ethic. But an additional answer is because her and karma vibe like that. In this catchy pop hit, Taylor reaps the rewards of staying true to who she is while karma takes down her enemies who never keep their side of the street clean. She knows karma is on her side, and she can relax trusting that it’ll do its thing. And so far, it has served her well. In the most Taylor Swift™ fashion of all time, she compares karma to a cat purring in her lap because it loves her. And it is! It does! Best lyric: “Karma’s a relaxing thought / aren’t you envious that for you it’s not?”

12. Sweet Nothing Co-penned by William Bowery aka Joe Alwyn, “Sweet Nothing” is a love song from Swift to Alwyn. She discusses all the negative things going on around her and the way people push and shove to get a piece of her, while her partner is just in the kitchen humming, asking nothing of her, just loving her as she is. We get a brief peak into their dynamic in the truly sweet lyric, “On the way home, I wrote a poem / you say, ‘what a mind,’ this happens all the time.” To be loved for your mind rather than your status is a gift for someone like Swift. I’m sure the poems are lovely. Best lyric: “Outside, they’re push and shoving, you’re in the kitchen humming / all that you ever wanted from me was sweet nothing.”

13. Mastermind A word that has been weaponized against Taylor over the years is “calculated.” On “Mastermind,” the standard edition’s closing track, she owns the claim, singing, “I’m only cryptic and Machiavellian cuz I care.” “Mastermind” is Taylor’s confession to her partner that she masterminded their entire relationship from the first night he saw her. She confides in him in one of her most personal lyrics yet, singing, “No one wanted to play with me as a little kid / so I've been scheming like a criminal ever since / to make them love me and make it seem effortless.” She thought no one could love her unless she tricked them into it. But upon her confession, his smile proves her wrong, because he knew the entire time that she thought she was masterminding their relationship, but in reality he went along with it because he wanted her too, schemes and all. She finally found her effortless love. Best lyric: “No one wanted to play with me as a little kid / so I've been scheming like a criminal ever since / to make them love me and make it seem effortless.”

3am Tracks

14. The Great War On the first 3am track, Taylor teams back up with her other folklore & evermore collaborator, Aaron Dessner of The National. “The Great War” seems to be about a fight in a relationship, and Swift’s difficulty bouncing back from it. She lays out her lack of trust from past relationships and how that has interfered with reconciliation efforts, as she sings, “And maybe it’s the past that’s talking, screaming from a crypt / telling me to punish you for things you never did.” But despite some of these maladaptive behaviors, her partner still reached for her hand, trying to make things right. And they did it, they survived, and that survival brought back her faith. Best lyric: “You drew up some good faith treaties / I drew curtains closed, drank my poison all alone.”

15. Bigger Than The Whole Sky “Bigger Than The Whole Sky” is a song about loss. Although the loss of exactly what is unclear, the grief is palpable. She searches for what might have caused such a tragedy, wondering if she was at fault. There are so many questions in grief to which we never receive answers. This song has resonated with many fans online, relating it to their own personal experiences of miscarriages, deaths, and pet losses. Best lyric: “Every single thing I touch becomes sick with sadness.”

16. Paris In this fun pop song, Taylor compares the view of her partner to that of the city of Paris. She’s so in love that she might stop breathing, that she doesn't care about her friends’ gossip or what’s on the news. She’s transported into a world of romance where nothing else matters, where alleyways appear and cheap wine tastes like champagne. It’s the excitement of completely falling into someone as the rest of the world fades away. Best lyric: “I wanna brainwash you into loving me forever.”

17. High Infidelity “High Infidelity” is an intriguing track, produced by Aaron Dessner, about the end of an unhappy relationship. We can presume that she is referring to her ex, the DJ known as Calvin Harris, her previous long-term boyfriend before meeting her current partner, with lyrics like “put on your records and regret me” and “put on your headphones and burn my city.” In the song, Swift is implying that there was some type of infidelity, whether physical or emotional only is not quite clear, but either way she admits, “I bent the truth too far tonight,” and asks, “do I really have to tell you how he brought me back to life?” But she didn’t think it would matter much to him, and is surprised by his sense of betrayal and hurt, but not particularly remorseful. Best lyric: “You know there’s many different ways that you can kill the one you love / the slowest way is never loving them enough.”

18. Glitch Another Antonoff produced track written alongside Sam Dew and Mark Anthony Spears, “Glitch,” is one of the sexier tracks on the album. The concept is that Taylor can’t quite fathom how this love of hers has worked out for 2,190 days (that’s 6 years, if you didn’t know) and counting when all she’s been used to is situation-ships and dudes who give nothing. So if it’s lasted this long, it’s gotta be a glitch in the system, right? Best lyric: “And I’m not even sorry / nights are so starry, blood moonlit.”

19. Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve While “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” is arguably one of the best tracks on all of Midnights, everything Swift does is for a reason. When you listen to the song, it becomes quite evident why she put it at track 19. “And I damn sure never would’ve danced with the devil at 19,” she sings. As an avid fan, you immediately hear the echoing of the best song on her third album Speak Now, “Dear John,” which has the lyric, “don’t you think 19’s too young to be played by your dark twisted games when I loved you so?” And it becomes clear what she’s discussing: the power dynamic in her relationship when she was 19 with John Mayer, who was 32 at the time (Swift’s current age). One could assume rerecording Speak Now (which Swift has highly hinted at being the next rerelease) brought up some old feelings. “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve,” is a powerful track filled with intense regret. She describes him as a “promising grown man,” putting a spin on the monicker often given in defense of younger men who abuse women. She likens the relationship to religion: “you’re a crisis of my faith,” “all I used to do was pray,” “gone along with the righteous.” This was a man that she idolized, and the fall from his pedestal crushed her in irreparable ways. “Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first,” she pleads with a heart wrenching ache in her voice. It’s hard to listen to this song without feeling pain for her, especially as she ups the octave for the outro, making the regret feel more urgent, more palpable. Best lyric: “God rest my soul, I miss who I used to be / the tomb won’t close, stained-glass windows in my mind / I regret you all the time.”

20. Dear Reader The 3am edition closing track is “Dear Reader,” a letter to her listeners. She gives advice about avoiding traps, starting over, keeping secrets, and aiming for the devil. But she also gives the caveat, “Never take advice from someone who’s falling apart,” supposedly referring to herself. But the best advice comes from those who have fallen, who have experience, who feel a range of emotions quite like Swift does. That’s why she is so popular; because people can relate to her words and they keep them close to their hearts. “You should find another guiding light,” she suggests. But this sign can’t stop me because I can’t read! Best lyric: “You don’t have to answer just cuz they asked you.”

Target Deluxe Edition

Hits Different The Target Deluxe Edition exclusive song “Hits Different” marks the return of Swift, Dessner, and Antonoff all together. The song feels very vintage Swift, almost like it could’ve been a recent “From The Vault” track. “Hits Different” is about a breakup that is much harder to get over than any other she’s experienced. She hears their song everywhere, she stops receiving invitations because she can’t stop slurring his name when she’s out with friends, she cries over a hat. She’s so far gone in this breakup that she thinks people are coming to take her away. Anyone who has experienced a tough breakup could probably find a lyric in this song to which they can relate. But even without being able to relate, it’s a fun, funny, enjoyable track served as a nice treat for loyal fans who actually go out and buy CDs these days. Best lyric: “I pictured you with other girls, in love / then threw up on the street.”

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In conclusion, 16 years into her career, you best believe Taylor Swift is definitely still bejeweled, and on Midnights she shimmers more than she ever has, even when touching on long-gone relationships and peering into old wounds, being more vulnerable than she has on projects past. Each album and era seems like her peak, yet she continues to outdo herself in multiple ways. With more Taylor’s Versions on the horizon, hopefully Swift will continue to gain inspiration in various ways as a result of revisiting her old work. But if she doesn’t, we know she’s always got some tricks up her sleeve.

DISCLAIMER - REVIEWER’S BIAS: Taylor Swift is the mother I never had, she is the sister everybody would want, she is the friend that everybody deserves. I don’t know a better person.

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linskywords · 2 years

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Taylor Swift Meets Hockey RPF: A 2022 Advent Calendar

Hello friends. I’m so excited to announce the advent calendar you never knew you wanted: the countdown of the 25 ficciest Taylor Swift songs, specifically as they apply to hockey RPF!

We’ve long been aware here in the fic community that Ms. Swift’s lyrics provide excellent titles. But just how ficcy are her songs, really? I’ve set out to answer that question via an extremely scientific* ranking project that combines three things I love dearly: hockey RPF, Taylor Swift songs, and making ranked lists of things.

*It was not even a little bit scientific

If you share any of these interests, you may be asking the following questions:

Q. I’m so excited! But what does this advent calendar actually consist of?

A. What a good question. Every day I’ll do a write-up of one of the songs, starting with the least ficcy of the 25 on 12/1 and getting ficcier each day up until Christmas, when the ficciness will reach its peak and we’ll explode with the joy of repressed men pining for each other.

Q. Are you actually going to write a story for each song?

A. Hahaha no. But I am going to pick a pairing that I think fits the song the best and say a little about how their story would go, and if I get intrigued enough by any of it I might write the story eventually.

Q. You’re going to let us know which song lyrics you’d use to title the story, though, right?

A. Of course.

Q. How can I keep track of these posts?

A. This post will act as a master post as soon as I’ve started the countdown.

Q. How about a playlist so we can listen along?

A. I got you right here! It’s empty now, and I’ll add songs as soon as they’re revealed.

Q. But wait! There’s so much variety in fanfiction, even just within hockey RPF. What does “ficciest” actually mean?

A. The ficciness of each song has been determined via the extremely objective method of me thinking about it really, really hard. I’m not aiming for all of fandom here; my frame of reference is men’s hockey RPF, specifically slash, specifically the kinds of stories I most enjoy reading/writing.

Q. Isn’t that kind of arbitrary?

A. Shhhhhh.

Q. Okay but that means pining is going to be front and center, right?

A. Absolutely it does.

Q. So…you actually went through all of Taylor Swift’s discography for this?

A. Let’s just say my Spotify Wrapped is a little extreme this year.

Q. Aside from screwing your Spotify stats all to hell, did you come across any trends in the ficciness of her music that you’d like to share with us?

A. I’m so glad you asked! As part of determining the top 25, I rated every Taylor Swift song in her 10 studio albums (Taylor’s Version where available) on a scale of 0-10 for applicability to hockey RPF. Her albums ranked as follows:

Reputation (2017): 4.79 average ficciness rating

Lover (2019): 4.39

Taylor Swift (2006): 4

Speak Now (2010): 3.88

Red (2012): 3.55

Folklore (2020): 3.41

Fearless (2008): 3.4

Midnights (2022): 3.3

Evermore (2020): 3

1989 (2014): 2.77

Honestly I was pretty surprised by how this shook out. I expected ficciness to be at its peak in her first few albums, but nope. It was reasonably high at the start, and it did decline as she transitioned from country to pop with 1989, but then it shot up to new heights in Reputation and Lover. These are, not coincidentally, the two albums she wrote during and just after the start of her relationship with her current partner. This makes sense to me: the pining of the early albums is all well and good, but there are also a lot of songs about breakups, which did not do well in the ficciness ratings. After Lover, things went a little more as expected: the ficciness leveled off again, and her three most recent albums all ended up in the bottom half. Here's a fancy graph of the results:

That said, averages don’t tell you everything. Her first album is less ficcy than Lover on average but does far better in the top 25. Folklore is above Fearless by average rating, but it only has one song in the top 25 versus Fearless’s four. In fact, there were three albums that had only one song make it in, and 1989, least ficcy of them all, managed to squeak in twice. So “average ficciness” and “number of extremely ficcy songs” turned out to be very different stats.

Q. That's fun. Do you have any more charts?

A. I sure do! Here's one I made of how many songs came in at each rating from 1-10:

Basically, there were a lot of songs that weren't ficcy even a little bit, declining in number towards the mediocrely ficcy at 5. Then the count started going up again with songs that had enough ficcy content to be considered but maybe didn't quite hit the nail on the head. There were only a few songs that were real bullseyes.

When it came to narrowing things down, everything 7 and above got further consideration. About half the 7s made it, and almost all the 8s (there were a few I left out for various reasons). All the 9s and 10s got in.

Q. You’ve infected my brain with this, and now I’m curious how you’d rate this one song of hers I’m thinking about.

A. Shoot me an ask! If it isn’t in the top 25 I’ll answer with the ficciness rating I gave it and why.

Q. Thank you, this was exactly the extremely niche advent calendar I was hoping for this year.

A. Universal appeal, that’s my goal!

Day One: Speak Now Day Two: Blank Space Day Three: Sparks Fly Day Four: Girl at Home Day Five: Come Back...Be Here Day Six: 22 Day Seven: Breathe Day Eight: Willow Day Nine: Cruel Summer Day Ten: Long Live Day Eleven: I Know Places Day Twelve: I Think He Knows Day Thirteen: Snow On The Beach Day Fourteen: Peace Day Fifteen: Call It What You Want Day Sixteen: Fearless Day Seventeen: Untouchable Day Eighteen: I'm Only Me When I'm With You Day Nineteen: Invisible Day Twenty: Gorgeous Day Twenty-One: Dress Day Twenty-Two: Treacherous Day Twenty-Three: Teardrops On My Guitar Day Twenty-Four: I'd Lie Day Twenty-Five: You Belong With Me

#honestly i have no idea why i did this but i got SO INTO IT #please feast on the fruits of my weirdness #advent 2022 #ficciest taylor #masterpost #hockey rpf #taylor swift #thanks chartgo.com for those charts

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taylorswiftdebut · 1 year

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i’ve really never thought of the arrangement of tour before but seeing it live it’s so interesting because while the order seems random it’s not in the slightest like it starts with a visual of taylor’s shadow leaving all the rooms in the lover house then as she’s entering it poises her in front of a mirror in the “lover” room and her reflection LEAVES and taylor soon follows the visual into the mirror which is interesting because the mirror figure is wearing a yellow dress and the opening song depicts a sense of coming home BUT THEN the lover era set ends with asking “who could stay?” AS SPARKS FLY ACROSS THE STAGE setting the first spark against the lover house and transition into fearless (yellow dress, first album re recorded owned after lover was first album owned) and she talks about going back to high school and plays songs that objectively evoke that feeling (she could’ve picked any song from fearless to be there with the two other hits but she chose fearless and i get it!) AND THEN the stage transitions to tis the damn season (also i noticed how there was a thematic of summer > fall > winter > spring throughout the eras which was also neat and depicted so well i can go into it later) a song about coming back to your hometown, almost like traveling back to high school…. and i think a lot about the lyric “it always leads to you” in regards to the road not taken and i think all songs chosen from evermore falls into that alignment (also the visual of the tree branches of a champange problems showcasing another metaphor for fork in the road) marjorie: choosing a life of fame, willow: choosing the guy and you live happily after ever, champange problems: the choices of marjorie and champange problems from the guy’s perspective, and tolerate it: choosing the guy and it ruining your life and then i think this is where she burns the lover house to then go into reputation our bestie the story of rebirth and reclamation (spring) starting with ready for it where there is never a moment where the stadium is not illuminated in bright blinding lights then going to delicate where it is dark for nearly the entire song only briefly pulsing when she cracks a part of the visual then jumping at the end of the bridge completely shattering the glass as light floods the stadium then to go to dbm saying i don’t have to hide this isn’t my fault and then going and reclaiming her past in lwymmd when all the glass boxes open and the one following reputation taylor also shatters freeing speak now/ enchanted and starts over the summer theme with flowers falling around and saying they’re enchanted to meet the freed version in a way, because you see the box motif from reputation continue throughout the rest of the show starting with red and the way you hear the old songs playing from inside the chest before finally starting 22 a song about being happy and free (which i also found the red era arrangement neat cause she ends it with ‘it’s supposed to be fun turning 21’) to slowly morphing and changing that mindset as the fall turns to winter and then the folklore prelude where she starts with 1989 to say this is how i’ll be remembered but the truth is i hit my peak at seven and that’s how i hope to be remembered and then don’t even get me started on folklore being the song between each love triangle song and it in the order of timeline relevance especially adding the bridge of illicit affairs to the end of august which just, and saying i’m letting you go in my tears ricochet to then reflect similar to the 1 only with the bitterness of the story we now know with cardigan. and here’s where i start to forget but the house being quiet as winter comes and goes and we’re back to who people expect us to be in 1989 starting with style and ending with bad blood (wildest dreams would’ve made slightly more sense but i think it stays within the prelude of 1989->younger days aka what she considers the debut section) only to then dive into the water washing off her past until she realizes she can’t and accepts it into her life

and just so more just in midnights alone but ending the show with saying she’s a mastermind and also karma effects us in mysterious ways lines the show up so well and the way all the singles and eras are arranged genuinely tell such a beautiful story that’s very cohesive and visually pleasing if you look for it

#or have mental illness like me #eris: text

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taylorthrift · 1 year

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Karma Music Video Thoughts

So I mentioned some of this before, but I wanted to do a better deep dive of some of the things I see in the video, specifically the different outfits. My thought is thus: In addition to being about her eras living and dying, it's also a celestial mythology analog. I took a very literal approach to the eras, matching them in order with the way the planets are aligned-which leads to some strange parings but also some really brilliant ones. WARNING: Lots to read ahead.

Justice/The Sun/Debut

Cultist/Mercury/Fearless though the Rep vibe is strong obviously.

Dorothy/Earth/Speak Now is a retort to critics, which may be the three fiendish figures on the other side of the book.

Hourglass twins/Mars and its twin moons/Red (THE RED PLANET) And 22 with the twin time taylors

Housewife on cat/Luna/1989 (People have already noted the Blank Space visual similarities)

Stairs outfit with Ice Spice/Jupiter. Jupiter is the roman equivalent of Zeus, and the scene represents Taylor taking 'her friends to the summit' which is the peak of Olympus home of the gods. we get the cute 'moon to saturn' reference, which also ties the preceding and following scenes together. Juptier is also the KING of the gods, and this ascension scene definitely looks like two queens to me/Rep This doesn't feel like a rep moment, but i'm following through on the pattern. If someone knows more than me please correct me.

lightbulb into 5 lightbulbs/Saturn/Lover (The light here is golden which matches song ideas presented on Lover.)

Te Fiti or more probably Gaia/Uranus is the Greek titan of the sky, married to Gaia. Ice spice plays Uranus in this scene, pairing with Taylor as Gaia/Folklore

Charon/Pluto --This is almost too perfect, because Pluto is the roman version of Hades, and Charon is of course the one who ferries the souls of the dead/Evermore is a pretty somber album, so this matches the mood i feel.

Casual/No analog because we've left the album dream/Midnights something something midnight, something something 2blue8black

Ice spice outfits:

Venus/Venus literally doing the birth of Aphrodite here, explaining the absence of Venus from the planetary lineup.

Jupiter outfit with Taylor

Uranus

Crossing the underworld with Taylor

Sadly i don't know enough about the early albums to fill in my missing blanks. The alignment of Taylor outfits 10 to the # of studio albums being the same feels significant, but maybe the order i assumed isn't right. Please send asks or reblog with your questions in the tags. I'd love to discuss this more.

#pretentious katie #taylor tag #taylor swift #swifties #karma #ice spice #deep dive

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crowdvscritic · 2 years

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round up // OCTOBER 22

My shortest Round Up yet? My shortest Round Up yet! I spent most of October celebrating fall by rewatching Gilmore Girls and celebrating Spooky SZN by rewatching Halloween favorites and all of Stranger Things (which inspired me to compile a list of every inspiration for and reference on the series in a list on Letterboxd). But a few new movies, SNL skits, and songs caught my attention this month. Here they in the order I experienced them:

October Crowd-Pleasers

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1. SNL is back!

With a new logo and opening credits to boot. These skits made me laugh most in the last month:

“ManningCast Cold Open” (4801 with Miles Teller)

“Please Don't Destroy - Tommy” (4802 with Brendan Gleeson)

“Weekend Update: Marcello Hernández on the MLB Playoffs” (4802)

“Joker Wedding” (4804 with Jack Harlow)

“Weekend Update: Drunk Uncle on Why He Hates Halloween” (4804)

“David Pumpkins Returns” (4804)

“Kanye Skechers Commercial” (4804)

2. Ticket to Paradise (2022)

Without underselling the effort needed to make an easy, breezy, beautifully simple film like this appear effortless, Ticket to Paradise had a lower threshold for success: With George Clooney and Julia Roberts above the title, It really just needs to not mess that up. Paradise may not be as clever as a Howard Hawks romp, but it’s just as feel-good as his classics and just as worthy of Roberts’s canon as her Garry Marshall collabs. Read my full review for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7/10

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3. Midnights by Taylor Swift (2022)

In the most predictable news of 2022, Taylor Swift made another great album! I enjoyed the characters and stories on reputation, folklore, and evermore, but the return to confessional songwriting feels like finding homeostasis after the sonic experiments of her previous four albums and two re-relesases. Even though this album leans into a minimalist electronic vibe-y pop like Lana Del Rey, Lorde, The 1975, and Bleachers, many of the songs feel like throwbacks to Fearless, Speak Now, and Red. (Makes me wonder if she held on to these songs for years.) “Sweet Nothing” sounds like curling up with a blanket next to a fire, “Question…?” makes me feel 19 again, and “Anti-Hero” reminds me of Stephen King’s advice to use stronger nouns and verbs instead of adverbs. (Please don’t @ me with your feedback on my opportunities for development here.) With plenty of jams and sharp lyrics, Midnights has a cohesive sound like 1989 with the poetry I wish 1989 had.

4. Black Adam (2022)

Saying Black Adam is one of DC’s better superhero movies isn’t saying much. Like Wonder Woman 1984, Black Adam is a fun watch in the moment but fares less well upon further reflection. It’s trying to be two movies, and only one of them is working, though fortunately, it’s the one I paid to see. Read my full review at ZekeFilm. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 6/10

October Critic Picks

1. Amsterdam (2022)

At times this feels like a loose collection of episodes, and in some scenes I wasn’t sure if the slack-laden thread would hold it all together. But I don’t trust every film’s architect like I do David O. Russell. Grounding it all together is a reckless hope we can make beautiful things out of a grotesque world. I’ve had my share of cynicism in the last few years, and I’m happy to welcome back movies as sumptuous and sentimental as this one. Read my full review at ZekeFilm. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 9/10

2. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

I tried 12 new movies for Spooky SZN this year, but this alien maybe-invasion classic is the only one in this Round Up. If you love the Spielberg wonder face, Close Encounters may be the peak example. Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, François Truffaut, and more keep looking awestruck at the sky when U.F.O. after U.F.O. appears and they feel compelled to follow the lights. (Spoiler alert!) There’s a darker reading of this film that interprets Dreyfuss’s obsession as a preference to be abducted by aliens instead of spending time with his family, but I’m choosing to focus on his desire to uncover the unknown. (End spoiler alert.) Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 9/10

3. Sofia Coppola on Instagram

Another one of my queens has entered my feed! She has been sharing inspiration and behind-the-scenes shots of her new biopic about Priscilla Presley, plus a playlist she curated for getting the set ready for the day. I feel smarter and cooler and every time she posts.

4. Un Homme et une Femme (1966)

Widowed single parents meet when their children attend boarding school together. She works in the movies, he drives a racecar. This French New Wave film shows them opening back up to love through montage, and it just might be a montage of you falling in love with this story, too. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 10/10

Also this October…

On SO IT’S A SHOW? ep. 130, Kyla and I watched a George Clooney double feature in honor of Ticket to Paradise. First up is the 2002 sci-fi drama Solaris, in which Clooney is investigating some weird behavior in outer space, and then it’s the 2005 journalism docudrama Good Night, and Good Luck., in which Clooney is investigating some un-American behavior in the newsroom. What is the story of Solaris? Which famous journalist is Paris comparing herself to? What did audiences and critics think of these movies? And did the Oscar buzz get to George Clooney?

At ZekeFilm, we all checked out movies from the 1980s that we’d missed until now. For me, it meant writing almost 800 words with 8 reasons and 60+ examples of why the ‘80s were totally, tubular-ly awesome for the movies.

#Round Up #SNL #Saturday Night Live #Amsterdam #Ticket to Paradise #Black Adam #Sofia Coppola #Taylor Swift #Midnights #Midnights Taylor Swift #Close Encounters of the Third Kind #Un Homme et une Femme #A Man and a Woman

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hoochy-coo · 2 years

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OK honest album review after full day of lying to myself and Swiftie moots on Twitter

First of all, it's mature but repetitive. Like the sound on a lot of them are too similar for my taste. Again, maybe it's a personal opinion thing but I'm not a big fan of the excessive synth pop(strangely enough though, Style is one of my favorite songs from her)

Secondly, it's underwhelming that's all. Anyone else released it, it would be a solid A- like you said, but from Taylor "never has a bad album" swift, this one seems like one hat would be overhyped among the GP and critics because of the matured tone(which is I think exactly what she wanted so good for her) but overall it's just forgettable compared to the rest and again, doesn't have the Swift X factor.

You might say she set the standards too high for herself on Folklore and Evermore with the lyrics and on 1989 and Red with the production and this one just feels half baked with neither of her best qualities shining through on it.

It's also filled with hits and misses, has it's valleys and peaks you might say. Unpopular opinion but she hit the mark with the single choice this time because Anti hero is the perfect blend of the most catchy and well written song in the album and the sexy baby reference is actually going to be well received by the GP, methinks.

But some of them are, Im sorry to say this, but actual snooze-fests and what's ironic about that is the fact that the Folkmore albums were actually the indie ones but their songs were FAR more exciting than some ones on here, maybe because her penmanship was so spectacular on those.

Also wasted opportunities...like I get it, Taylor is THE consistent pop girly of the decade and we can't forget that and give her shit for not keeping the Folkmore indie vibes on this album...but but BUT, here's the thing, these songs are not even catchy enough to make up for the medicore-for-her-level lyrics like we had till Lover...Even ME! is more redeemable than some songs on here but this is an unexpected album from her so people will give her props for the experimentation and not acknowledge the rest.

Like Question, Maroon and Mastermind are great lyrically and I think they'd be far more popular if the melody was better. Anti hero is the only memorable one followed by You're on your own, kid.

The things is, even TS's #1 hater can't deny that she has potential for a perfect skipless album, I think where she fumbled here was trying to seem edgy and have a sharper sound to the things where it DOESN'T fit and sounds awkward and unsatisfying, but like she said herself on one song, she's just to soft for all of it...it doesn't suit Taylor Swift simply.

She should stop trying extra hard to appeal to gp or radio and stick with her storytelling format of songwriting, it's her at her best. Ofc if she's trying new stuff that's good for her but she should be careful not to lose her charm by overcompensating to certain bits of her audience which I'm afraid she might.

Good aspects are definitely the lyrics on particular songs and should've could've would've (or in whatever order it was, I forgot sorry) and basically the reminiscing songs are my personal favorites. Karma is too immature but it's fun, and some others are a bit too incoherent which doesn't let her main ability, which is immaculate songwriting shine through imo. Even 1989, her most mainstream pop album was thematically better and something just made it work, maybe the drastically different topics on the songs but held together perfectly in a way that it makes sense.

Overall, the rerecordings are on the way and I'm sure she'll provide great content soon.

This is a fair review and I agree with most of your points, except ME! Cause I hate that song with a passion

I’m really curious about the vault tracks for Rep

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thedemostop · 4 months

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Top Female Singers: Iconic Voices & Musical Legends

Women have made major contributions to the evolution of music. From the first jazz and blues diva to the modern pop and rock aristocracy, these women have made a lasting impact on the music business. Their powerful voices have echoed down the years, breaking down barriers and setting new standards. In this book, we will examine the lives, careers, and timeless songs of a few well-known and recognizable well-known famous female singers who have made a significant impact on the music industry.

Famous female singers

Both onstage and off, women have made significant contributions to the music industry. Prominent female vocalists in pop, rock, jazz, blues, and other musical genres have left a lasting impression. In addition, they have had success as instrumentalists, conductors, songwriters, and composers. Pop musicians like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, for instance, have had a big impact on the genre.

Most famous female singers

Madonna

Birth date and place: Madonna Louise Ciccone, known simply as Madonna, was born on August 16, 1958, in Bay City, Michigan.

Hit songs: Her debut single was “Everybody,” released on October 6, 1982. Some of her most popular songs include “Like a Virgin,” “La Isla Bonita,” “Like a Prayer,” “Vogue,” “Take a Bow,” “Frozen,” “Music,” “Hung Up,” and “4 Minutes.”

Highest-selling record: The highest-selling album by Madonna is “The Immaculate Collection”, which sold over 30,000,000 copies.

Awards: Among the famous female singers, Madonna has won seven Grammy Awards out of 28 nominations. She has also won two Golden Globe Awards. In total, she has won 430 awards and received 817 nominations.

Life journey: Madonna was born in Bay City, Michigan, and lost her mother when she was a little child. She moved to New York City in the late 1970s to pursue a career in dance. She performed with several rock bands before landing a record contract with Sire Records. Her follow-up album "Like a Virgin" made her a superstar, peaking the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks and solidifying her status as the Pop Queen of the 20th century. Madonna has continuously reinvented herself over the course of her four decades-long career, pushing the boundaries of fashion, music, and entertainment.

Céline Dion

Birth date and place: Céline Dion was born on March 30, 1968, in Charlemagne, Quebec, Canada.

Hit songs: Her debut song was “Ce n’était qu’un rêve,” which she wrote at the age of 12 with the help of her mother and her brother Jacques. Some of her most popular songs include “The Power of Love,” “Because You Loved Me,” “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now,””I’m Your Angel,” “That’s the Way It Is,” “I’m Alive,” and her signature song “My Heart Will Go On.”

Highest-selling record: The highest-selling album by Céline Dion is “Falling into You,” which sold over 32,000,000 copies.

Awards: Céline Dion has won 5 Grammy Awards, 12 World Music Awards, 7 Billboard Music Awards, 6 American Music Awards, 20 Juno Awards, and 50 Felix Awards.

Life journey: Céline Dion was the youngest of fourteen children when she was born in Charlemagne, Quebec. She began singing with her family when she was five years old. She was discovered by renowned producer René Angélil when she was twelve years old, and he gave her a major break in 1981 with the release of the album "La Voix du bon Dieu." Her victory in the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest propelled her to fame. Her debut English-language album, "Unison," came out in 1990, and she went on to become a popular pop singer, primarily in North America and a few other English-speaking countries.

Taylor Swift

Birth date and place: Taylor Alison Swift was born on December 13, 1989, in West Reading, Pennsylvania.

Hit songs: Her debut song was “Tim McGraw”. Taylor Swift has numerous hit songs. Some of them include “Love Story,” “You Belong with Me,” “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “Shake It Off,” “Blank Space,” “Bad Blood,” “Look What You Made Me Do,” “Cruel Summer,” “Cardigan,” “Willow,” “Anti-Hero,” “All Too Well,” and “Is It Over Now?”.

Highest-selling record: Her highest-selling record is the album “1989”, which sold over 14,748,116 copies.

Awards: Taylor Swift has received numerous awards throughout her career. These include 12 Grammy Awards (with three for Album of the Year), 1 Primetime Emmy Award, 40 American Music Awards (including Artist of the Decade – 2010s), 23 MTV Video Music Awards, and 40 Billboard Music Awards.

Life journey: Taylor Swift is among the most well-known and successful female vocalists of the modern era. She was interested in music from an early age. When she was nine years old, she started acting and vocal classes in New York City. Later on, she developed a taste for country music, finding inspiration in performers like Shania Twain and Faith Hill. At the age of twelve, she began writing songs and taking up the guitar. At fourteen, she left Pennsylvania and moved to Nashville, where she played her demo CD for anyone who would listen. Her persistence paid off, as "Tim McGraw" debuted at the age of sixteen. Taylor credits her success to her steadfast desire to follow through despite her fair share of scandals.

Shakira

Birth date and place: Shakira was born on February 2, 1977, in Barranquilla, Colombia.

Hit songs: Shakira has numerous hit songs. Her debut song was “Magia”. Some of her other popular songs include “Whenever, Wherever, ” “Hips Don’t Lie,” “La Tortura,” “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” and “Can’t Remember to Forget You.”

Highest-selling record: This famous female singer’s highest-selling record is the album “Laundry Service,” which sold over 13 million copies worldwide.

Awards: Shakira has won numerous awards, including 3 Grammy Awards and 14 Latin Grammy Awards, making her the most-awarded Latin artist ever.

Life journey: Shakira is the stage name of Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll. Shakira started belly dance at an early age. Her father is from Lebanon, while her mother is from Colombia. She had started creating songs and participating in talent events by the time she was ten years old. In 1990, she got help from a local theater producer to set up an audition with a representative of Sony Corp. She then agreed to a record deal.

Conclusion

These well-known female vocalists have made a lasting impression on the music industry as compelling entertainers and powerful vocals.

Along the process, they have inspired numerous aspiring musicians across genres, decades, and countries. Their voices will reverberate for years to come because of their skill, passion, and commitment, which have left their names inscribed into the annals of music history.

#famous female singers #famous women singers #famous singers female

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popmusicu · 5 months

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Beyonce vs Taylor Swift

There has been a debate of who has had more impact on today’s music World. In the first class, i noticed that there isnt a lot of taylor swift fans, and people also started to criticize her, and a lot of people were beyonce fans. Personally i like beyonce more but i dont get why people always criticize Taylor. I´ve always thought about this debate, these 2 artist have totally different types of music, but that doesnt mean that one is better than the other. But like I said at the beggining there is more of an argument for each artist about who has been more influential. Let’s start with Beyonce, she started her career when she was in her teen years (17,18) with the group destiny’s Child. This group absolutely blew up in the 90’s and sold over 60 million records world wide. Then when the group split up, Beyonce started her solo career with the debut album “Dangerously in Love”, which received a lot of positive reviews, her other albums include: “B'Day”, “I am Sasha Fierce”,“4”,“Beyonce”, “Lemonade”,“Renaissance”, and the last one “Cowboy Carter”, personally my favorite is Lemonade. She has the record for most grammies ever with 32 (although she has never won album of the year), and her career continues to grow. As for Taylor Swift, she has been in the mainstream for about 15 years. She started with “Taylor Swift” a country album, then rose to fame with “Fearless”, her peak album in my opinion is “1989” as well as my favorite, then she followed “1989” with “reputation”, and her first album after scooter Brown “Lover”. You can tell Taylor is a big pop artist just for the fact that she re-released, “Fearless”, “Speak Now”, “Red”, “1989”, all in Taylor Version. Her most impressive accolades include: 200 million records sold world wide, most streamed artist ever on spotify, and the highest grossing tour of all time with “The eras tour”. Both Beyonce and Taylor are the biggest artist of the century, but the question is who has been more influential. For me personally, Beyonce has had more influence of the music world, because she has been there longer and has incredible achievements, but in a few years I think Taylor will pass her as more influential.

Cristobal Escobar 1

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lovesongbracket · 2 years

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Reminder: Vote based on the song, not the artist or specific recording! The tracks referenced are the original artist, aside from a few rare cases where a cover is the most widely known.

Lyrics, videos, info, and notable covers under the cut. (Spotify playlist available in pinned post)

I See the Light

Written By: Glenn Slater & Alan Menken

Artist: Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi for Tangled

Released: 2010

“I See the Light” is a romantic duet in Tangled between Rapunzel and Eugene. It is sung when Rapunzel is finally achieving her lifelong dream to see the floating lanterns. The song was nominated for best song at the 83rd academy awards but lost to “We Belong Together” from Toy Story 3. “I See The Light” was originally called “You Are My Forever,” and was a reprise of a song Mother Gothel sung to Rapunzel, before being removed. After “You Are My Forever” was removed, the song was still different from what it was in the finished film. It was an anthem-like song at first but Alan Menken decided it should be more gentle.

[RAPUNZEL] All those days watching from the windows All those years outside looking in All that time never even knowing Just how blind I've been Now I'm here blinking in the starlight Now I'm here suddenly I see Standing here it's all so clear I'm where I'm meant to be And at last I see the light And it's like the fog has lifted And at last I see the light And it's like the sky is new And it's warm and real and bright And the world has somehow shifted All at once everything looks different Now that I see you [FLYNN] All those days chasing down a daydream All those years living in a blur All that time never truly seeing Things, the way they were Now she's here shining in the starlight Now she's here suddenly I know If she's here it's crystal clear I'm where I'm meant to go [FLYNN & RAPUNZEL] And at last I see the light [FLYNN] And it's like the fog has lifted [FLYNN & RAPUNZEL] And at last I see the light [RAPUNZEL] And it's like the sky is new [FLYNN & RAPUNZEL] And it's warm and real and bright And the world has somehow shifted All at once everything is different Now that I see you Now that I see you

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Love Story

Written By: Taylor Swift

Artist: Taylor Swift

Released: 2008 (re-recorded 2021)

Alternate version included: 1989 World Tour pop version, 2015

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#i see the light #tangled #mandy moore #zachary levi #love story #taylor swift #polls #poll tournament #poll bracket #tournament #bracket #lovesongbracket #round3

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weaversweek · 1 year

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Fear of Music: the incredibly long list

Below the fold, all the songs I'm considering as best of the 21st century so far.

The project is #FearOfMu21c (pronounced: fear of music), a follow-up to last autumn's #Uncool50. It's devised and run by Arron, @[email protected].

Between 1 October and 19 November, I present the 50 best singles (in my personal and highly subjective opinion) released between 2000 and now.

A few notes:

Whether it's a new rule, or I missed it last time, a single in the performer's home market is eligible. That allows an awful lot of European hits and more than a bit of CanCon. Good.

Arron uses the long 21st century, anything first released as a single on or after 1 January 2000. Album tracks released in 1999 and as a single in 2000 are eligible. Singles first released in late 1999 are not eligible - Santana's "Smooth" (released October 99, peak April 00) is the major casualty.

Remixes of 20th century tracks are not eligible; re-recordings are. If the performer has gone into the studio again, it's eligible. Nick Kamen's "I promised myself 2004" falls foul of this rule.

50 songs in 24 years is a high bar, and I don't think any one performer has more than a couple of brilliant moments; Arron limits us to five per performer. Performers get roughly one longlist entry per ten years of activity starting in 1995. One Direction gets one entry, Adele's considered for two, Pink is entitled to three.

Eurovision Song Contest is effectively a double album every year, with Junior Eurovision adding a third disc to the box set. Respecting the spirit of Arron's rule, I'll limit songs made famous by the contests to a maximum of five places on the final list. I've put no limit on other songs by (J|S)ESC performers, or those from broadcaster finals.

Songs from #Uncool50 are automatically considered for the longlist, and you may reasonably assume they'll be in the final 50. Two were replaced - after my host gave feedback "Let me blow ya mind" was replaced by a different song from Texas 2001; and "Wildest dreams" is replaced by "Blank space" in a blatant attempt to consolidate the "1989"-era Taylor Swift vote.

No space for pervs, racists, and horrors: songs performed or written by R Kelly, Lostprophets, Kayne West, Dizzee Rascal, Chris Brown, Xavier Naidoo, Cee-Lo Green, and Hedley were not considered. Had they been better members of society, at least four of those acts would have made the very long list.

Knowing the likely voters, the majority of songs other people vote for are performed in English, Poplish, or some close approximation thereof. Songs in foreign languages are going to have to be excellent to make the top 50. At some point, I'll present a month's worth of songs in Any Other Language.

WTAF is a single in the 21st century? I've used these rules of thumb:

2000-2004 - released as a CD or vinyl single anywhere in the world. 2005-2014 - promoted as a standalone download to radio in the performer's home territory; or a chart single on a major chart. 2015-2023 - promoted with a video or to radio in a major market; or a chart single on a major streaming chart.

(My biases: major markets are Europe or anglophone. I don't have enough exposure to Asian music.)

In the lists, songs are noted like this:

11 - likely to get a bonus - one of four ELF POINTS or the singular DOUZE POINT! for the best song of the decade. (And you can assume it'll be somewhere in the 50) % - featured on #Uncool50 ~ - replacement for #Uncool50 track £ - mentioned in dispatches during my #Uncool50 writeup € - not anglophone

Stars and Elves are at the top of the annual list; the rest are presented roughly as I remembered them. Years are approximate, and I've not (yet) checked to confirm that each track meets the criteria for a single.

2000 %My star - Brainstorm %Reach - S Club 7 17 again - Eurythmics Never be the same again - Melanie C ft Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes Goodnight moon - Shivaree I hope you dance - LeeAnn Womack & the Sons of the Desert Gotta tell you - Samantha Mumba Tonight and the rest of my life - Nina Gordon €Fuoco nel fuoco - Eros Ramazotti

2001 ~Drops of jupiter - Train Invalid litter dept - At the Drive In Over the rainbow - Eva Cassidy Where I wanna be - Shade Sheist - r&rap Superman (it's not easy) - Five for Fighting Turn off the light - Nelly Furtado Fallin' - Alicia Keys It takes a fool to remain sane - The Ark Sailing off the edge of the world - Straw Resurrection - PPK Virus of the mind - Heather Nova

2002 11%*The middle - Jimmy Eat World £Freak like me - Sugababes Home and dry - Pet Shop Boys Addicted to bass - Puretones (blatantly ripped off by Girls Aloud) Skater boy - Avril Lavigne Envy - Ash Breathe your name - Sixpence None the Richer All the things she said - Tatu With or without you - Scala & Kolacny Brothers (.be) A sorta fairytale - Tori Amos

2003 Year 3000 - Busted Bring me to life - Evanescence You're the storm - Cardigans Hip teens don't wear blue jeans - The Frank Popp Ensemble Girls keep secrets in the strangest ways - Ephemera Twisted little star - Bertine Zetlitz Lady Stardust - Lisa Miskovsky Hey ya - Outkast €Outlandish - Guantanamo Defying gravity - Wicked OCR

2004 %Take me out - Franz Ferdinand %Chewing gum - Annie Toxic - Britney Spears Somewhere only we know - Keane Nearer than heaven - The Delays (electronica, soaring vocal) Get some sleep - Bic Runga Dog song - Nellie McKay (coffeehouse piano bop) California - Phantom Planet Four to the floor - Starsailor Float on - Modest Mouse Perfect wave - Barlow (eligible?) Eighth world wonder - Kimberley Locke Save a horse (ride a cowboy) - Big & Rich (bro country) Talk shows on mute - Incubus €Forza - Nelly Furtado Books - Belle & Sebastian Don't go (girls & boys) - Fefe Dobson €Mourir demain - Natasha St Pier & Pascal Obispo One thing - Finger Eleven €Amerika - Rammstein Alpha beta gaga - Air The promise you made - Kate Ryan A love that will last - Renee Olstead (smokey piano ballad) You are the generation that bought more shoes and you get what you deserve - Johnny Boy

2005 The world is mine - Hooverphonic Destroy rock n roll - mylo €Le souvenir de ce jour - Jenifer (chanson) €Ma philosophie - amel bent (dancey chanson) Shiver - Natalie Imbruglia What's in it for me - Amy Diamond (inspiration for EVERYONE AT JESC 2019) Going missing - Maximo Park See you as I do - Trijntje Oosterhuis King of the mountain - Kate Bush Soul meets body - Death Cab for Cutie Coin-operated boy - The Dresden Dolls First day of my life - Melanie C I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor Arctic Monkeys Song For Lovers Flopstars All about us - Tatu

2006 U + ur hand - Pink Nature's law - Embrace Welcome to the black parade - My Chemical Romance Hips don't lie - Shakira Pull shapes The Pipettes €Aimer jusqu'a l'impossible Tina Arena €Nolwenn ohwo! Nolwenn Leroy I Belong To You - Eros Ramazotti ft. Anastacia Everybody's Gone To War - Nerina Pallot breaking free - zac efron vanessa anne huggens Sing To Me Lisa Miskovsky €Baila morena Zucchero One Mary J Blige & U2 It's not that easy - Lemar Portions for foxes - Rilo Kiley Röyksopp's night out - Röyksopp Walking backwards - Angela Ammons Low happening - Howling Bells The adventure - Angels and Airwaves Once and never again - The Long Blondes That old pair of jeans - Fatboy Slim Ocean size love - Leigh Nash Speljet (Mr nice guy) - Trine Dyrholm Lloyd, I'm ready to be heartbroken - Camera Obscura

2007 %Grace Kelly - Mika 11%*About you now - Sugababes 11% When we were wolves - My Latest Novel My best friend - Hello Saferide Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne My idea of heaven - Leigh Nash Summer wine - Ville Valo & Natalia Avalon (murder ballad) €Ein stern - DJ Ötzi The sweet escape - Gwen Stefani Close your eyes - Racoon (emo ballad, properly sung unlike Lewis Capaldi etc) Treehouse - I'm From Barcelona Young folks - Peter, Björn & John Thou shalt always kill - Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip €Heul doch - LaFee Potential breakup song - Aly & AJ €Divine idylle - Vanessa Paradis With every heartbeat - Robyn Foundations - Katherine Nash from Wealdstone Pony Club Amaranth - Nightwish The balance - Fiona Bevan Ah Mary - Grace Potter and the Nocturnals Brooklyn's on fire - Nicole Atkins Jolene - Jill Johnson (the cycle of Aaron's music challenges)

2008 %This is the life - Amy MacDonald Up - The Saturdays €Dégénération - Mylène Farmer (reinvents herself) New soul - Yaël Naïm Time to pretend - MGMT €Le menage - Stanislas (timeless fairground la-la-la) 11%0,000 nights - Alphabeat Shut up and let me go - Ting Tings LES Artistes - Santogold Crying blood - VV Brown White winter hymnal - Fleet Foxes One step at a time - Jordin Sparks Numb - Honey Ryder (crushing stately girl band) Don't call me baby - Kreesha Turner Heartbeat of the city - Kendi (rap & semi-classical break) €Allein, allein - Polarkreis 18 Politics in space - Kate Miller-Heidke

2009 11%*Bulletproof - La Roux Bad romance - Lady Gaga Rabbit heart (raise it up) - Florence & the Machine The climb - Miley Cyrus The fear - Lily Allen €Eisblumen - Eisblume Give it to me right - Melanie Fiona February air - Lights (ultra-chill electronica) It's a sin - The Jade (glam rock) So human - Lady Sovereign (Jools MF remix, interpolating "Close to me" Cure) I didn't just kiss her - Jen Foster (reply song to Katy Perry) My canvas my skin - Soulcage (emo-rock) Release me - Agnes The show - Lenka Jiggery-pokery - The Duckworth-Lewis Method We are the people - Empire of the Sun Goodbye - Kristinia DeBarge (empowered crushing breakup) Remedy - Little Boots Fools - The Temper Trap First train home - Imogen Heap Fireflies - Owl City €Krieger des Lichts - Silbermond (power ballad) Meet me on the equinox - Death Cab for Cutie I got nothing - Chartjackers (BBC Switch demonstrate how stupid it is to try and rig the chart) Cry me out - Pixie Lott According to you - Orianthi (snotty breakup with uselessbloke) New York - Paloma Faith All the right moves - Onerepublic

2010 %Say you love me - Voodoo Hussy (got a dj sacked) Neutron star collision (love is forever) - Muse Cry me a river - Michael Bublé Wavin' flag - K'naan On a mission - Gabriela Cilmi Need you now - Lady A. Home - Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros Bee - Lena (jazz-pop) The flood - Katie Melua You and I tonight - Faber Drive (totes emo) Two sisters - Emily Portman (proper folk ballad) On your head - Tiffany Page Paris is burning - St Vincent All time low - The Wanted Born free - MIA Get some - Lykke Li Christmas lights - Coldplay Firework - Katy Perry

2011 11% Downtown - Saw Doctors / Petula Clarke (joyful!) Sister wife - Alex Winston (squeaky indie) Pumped up kicks - Foster The People Uncharted - Sara Bareilles (loud piano banger: Tori Amos x Chas 'n' Dave) Clementine - Sarah Jaffe (angsty rock, folk tinge) Price tag feat B.o.B - Jessie J Moment 4 life (feat. Drake) - Nicki Minaj (haunting rap) My body - Young the Giant Sing it loud - k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang (21st cent kd i'm most comfortable with) The edge of glory - Lady Gaga Something in the water - Brooke Fraser (jolly clip-clop country song, different from Carrie Underwood's) Sunset in July - 311 Swagger jagger - Cher Lloyd Hide and seek - Christina Novelli (songwriter phase) Learning to ride - Caitlin Rose (multitrack angel vocals) New age - Marlon Roudette (Europop with dark tinge) Red solo cup - Toby Keith Anti-hero - Marlon Roudette (emo rap)

2012 £Closer - Tegan & Sara Stronger - Kelly Clarkson Anything could happen - Ellie Goulding Youth without youth - Metric Never go back - Grace Potter and the Nocturnals Somebody that i used to know - Gotye Call me maybe - Carly rae jepsen We are young - Fun. Next to me - Emeli sande Good time - Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen Black heart - Stooshe Spectrum - Florence + The Machine Alone again - Alyssa Reid ft Jump Smokers (Heart's "Alone" + rap) Dance with me tonight - Olly Murs Video games - Lana Del Rey €Ai se eu te pego! - Michel Teló (flamenco, chantalong) Blow me (one last kiss) - Pink €Avant qu'elle parte - Sexion D'assaut (gloomy rap) Girl on fire - Alicia Keys Guardian - Alanis Morissette €Lila wolken - Marteria, Yasha & Miss Platinum (more gloomy rap) Girl like me - Frances Wood €Le sens de la vie - Tal (poppy bop) Tage wie Diese - Die Toten Hosen Last night - Lucy spraggan Concrete angel - Gareth Emery Whirring - Joy Formidable We were children - Tribes Loveless - Said The Whale Superhero - Bigkids Safe and sound - Capital Cities

2013 Feel the love - Rudimental Best song ever - One Direction (waves at Stacey-Mae Anaïs) Pompeii - Bastille The days - Avicii ft Robbie Williams (covers two stars in one hit) Royals - Lorde A thousand years - Christina Perri €Papaoutai - Stromae (absent fathers) Wings - Birdy €Whatever - Cro (skater pop) Here's to never growing up - Avril Lavigne Am I wrong - Envy Work bitch - Britney Spears Selfies - Nina Nesbitt €Un angelo disteso al sole - Eros Ramazzotti Boys With Girlfriends - Kate Morgan Make A New Dance Up - Hey Ocean! (chirpy pop) Hold on we're going home - Drake f/Majid Jordan Falling - Haim Don't Look Down - Boxes (uplifting indie) Get Lucky - Daft Punk wicked games f/anna naklab - parra for cuva

2014 ~Blank space - Taylor Swift (repl Wildest dreams) 11% Take me to church - Hozier Calm after the storm - Common Linnets Something in the water - Carrie Underwood (about her experience in the mikvah, right?) I will never let you down - Rita Ora (big career from singing basic love songs in a contemporary style) The heart wants what it wants (nervy, glitchy) Happy - Pharrell Williams Rather be F/Jess Glynne - Clean Bandit Waves - Mr Probz Ghost - Ella Henderson Budapest - George Ezra Hideaway - Kiesza Chandelier - Sia Prayer in C - Lillywood & Robin Schulz Nobody to love - Sigma Let it go - Idina Menzel All about that bass - Meghan Trainor Cool kids - Echosmith Punks don't dance - Crystalyne €Atemlos durch die Nacht - Helene Fischer The man - Aloe Blacc Habits (stay high) - Tove Lo Say something - A Great Big World with Christina Aguilera Somebody to love - Sigma She looks so perfect - 5 Seconds Of Summer Geronimo - Sheppard Wild heart - The Vamps Girls chase boys - Ingrid Michaelson

2015 %If you love someone - The Veronicas 11% New americana - Halsey Not my soul - Destiny Chukenyere Black magic - Little Mix Send my love (to your new lover) - Adele €Est-ce que tu m'aimes - Maître Gims Running with the wolves - Aurora Shut up and dance - Walk The Moon Lean on - Major Lazer Ain't nobody (loves me better) - Felix Jaehn f/Jasmine Thompson Bills - Lunchmoney Lewis Never forget you - Mnek & Zara Larsson Runnin (lose it all) - Naughty Boy f/Beyonce Fight song - Rachel Platten One last time - Ariana Grande €Avenir - Louane €Christine - Christine And The Queens Follow your arrow - Kacey Musgraves Don't be so shy - Imany Live forever - The Band Perry Makeba - Jain

2016 %Can't stop the feeling! - Justin Timberlake €No degree of separation - Francesca Michielin The arena - Lindsey Stirling Believer - Imagine Dragons This one's for you - David Guetta & Zara Larsson Under the influence - Elle King My church - Maren Morris Cake by the ocean - Dnce If love was a crime - Poli Genova This girl - Kungs vs Cookin' on 3 Burners Don't let me down - The Chainsmokers f/Daya Stressed out - Twenty One Pilots Stitches - Shawn Mendes Perfect strangers - Jonas Blue f/JP Cooper I hate u, i love u - Gnash f/Olivia O'brien In the name of love - Martin Garrix & Bebe Rexha The sound of silence - Disturbed Lost on you - LP Better - Hezekiah Walker Sink like a stone - Naomi Pilgrim Best kept secret - case lang viers Feel like fallin' in love - Madison King & Rhett Miller Sit still look pretty - Daya Starving - Hailee Steinfeld

2017 Castle on the hill - Ed Sheeran Chained to the rhythm - Katy Perry ft Skip Marley Issues - Julia Michaels Symphony - Clean Bandit f/Zara Larsson Be mine - Ofenbach Call on me - Starley Stay - Zedd & Alessia Cara Rooftop - Nico Santos Blinded by your grace - Stormzy f/MNEK Get what you give - Felix Cartal Lights down lox - Max f/Gnash Guys my age - Hey Violet €Chocolat - L'artiste €Millionär - 187 Strassenbande

2018 %IDGAF - Dua Lipa €Anyone I wanna be - Roxie Weigel Make your own kind of music - Paloma Faith This is me - Keala Settle Flames - David Guetta & Sia Friends - Marshmello & Anne-Marie Meant to be - Bebe Rexha Eastside - Benny Blanco, Halsey & Khalid Strangers - Sigrid Shallow - Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper €OK ou KO - Emmy Liyana €À nos souvenirs - Trois Cafés Gourmands Broken - Lovelytheband €Bella ciao - El Profesor Baby shark - Pinkfong Candy cane lane - sia Feel it still - Portugal. The Man €Mayachki - Yulianna Karaulova (breathy Russian pop) €Dicke Lippen - Katja Krasavice (jittery neu-deutsche rap) €Sand - Molly Sandén (delicious ice mountain) €Perta - Manw Call - Francesco Yates (horny hookup disco) Sweet but psycho - Ava Max

2019 Arcade - Duncan Laurence How would you feel - Krezip Rollercoaster - Danny Vera Skyward - Davina Michelle Bad guy - Billie Eilish Don't call me up - Mabel €Con calma - Daddy Yankee & Snow Break up with your girlfriend - Ariana Grande What lies ahead - Kensington €Blauwe dag - Suzan & Freek Some say - Nea Let nature sing - RSPB Better - Lena & Nico Santos €Cordula Grün - Die Draufgänger €Alles is nog hier - Og3ne Into the future - Chef'special Acapella - Mikolas Josef Summer girl - Haim €Banshee - Anna Kearney You're somebody else - Flora Cash Uh huh - Jade Bird

2020 Release me - Hooverphonic Underdog - Alicia Keys Symphony - Sheppard €3sex - Indochine & Christine and the Queens €La fièvre - Julien Doré €Svag - Victor Leksell Death bed - Powfu, Beabadoobee Someone to you - Banners Lost in yesterday - Tame Impala Husavik - Will Ferrell & My Marianne If you think this is real life - Blossoms €Soms is het te laat - Wies The watchman - Eimear Quinn Water witch - The Secret Sisters Blinding lights - The Weeknd €Punk fu! - Daria Zawialow Wap - Cardi B My silver lining - First Aid Kit Ra's song (When you're mine) - DC Super Hero Girls OST (voice: Jason Charles Miller) At this table - Idina Menzel

2021 New shapes - Charli XCX ft Christine & the Queens, Caroline Polachek My heart goes (la di da) - Topic and Becky Hill Island - Alice Merton €Adem je in - S10 Hypnotized - Purple Disco Machine & Sophie And The Giants Wellerman - Nathan Evans €Lose my mind - Myra Granberg €Blijven slapen - Snelle & Maan Treat people with kindness - Harry Styles Don't shut me down - ABBA Abcdefu - Gayle Serotonin - Girl in Red Up - Inna Ik wil dansen - Froukje Strangers - Laura Tesoro And Loïc Nottet That's how it goes - Zoe Wees

2022 11%*Snap - Rosa Linn Anti-hero - Taylor Swift Secrets from a girl (who's seen it all) - Lorde €L'enfer - Stromae (depression) She's all i wanna be - Tate Mcrae Multicolor - Son Mieux We don't talk about Bruno - Carolina Gaitán/Mauro Castillo/Adassa/Rhenzy Feliz/Diane Guerrero/Stephanie Beatriz Ufo - Roxen €Meisjes van honing - Pommelien Thijs The wexford carol - Anuna Numb little bug - Em Beihold €Solas - Sophie Lennon Christmas in L A - Olivia Rox Bring on Christmas day - Joss Stone

2023 Flowers - Miley Cyrus Vampire - Olivia Rodrigo Runaway - Onerepublic €Pardonne-moi - Louane (silky pop) Thumbelina - Lizzy Hilliard €Stiekem - Maan/Goldband Boy's a liar - Pink Pantheress Bittersweet goodbye - Issey Cross Six feet under - Smash Into Pieces Over & over - Only The Poets Strangers - Kenya Grace Not strong enough - Boygenius My body - Coi Leray Cinderella snapped - Jax Dance the night - Dua Lipa

Now to slim these 457 tracks down to 50. Wish me luck!

#fear of mu21c #fear of music #uncool50 #uncool 50 #music #pop music #21st century #massive list of great songs #working post

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adevotedappraisal · 3 years

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“Magical,” by Laura Mvula from Pink Noise

A curious millennial once asked me what the 1980s really was like, and immediately I opened my mouth to prattle on about the magic of Michael Jackson and Prince, or about the kaleidoscopic glare of bright jackets caught in the neon lights, or the movie and television screens inflating entertainment personalities into immortal superstars. However, the more I truly contemplated the question, the more I realised that the eighties only resembled those moments in palpable bursts during electric peaks, and I realised furthermore that my bronzed memories from then were couched in far more peaceful, pastoral years and sounds than the garish swash in the background of marketed 1980s iconography lets on nowadays.

Compared to the non-stop pace of today's internet age, life in those days was slower, the rush towards new technology allayed by a clash against long-standing values, I mean the whole place was just imbued with religious commands, symbols, or sayings.

And across that slow tension, your eyesight was just more tessellated with the textures of decades prior.

Everywhere you looked there were people, still wearing clothing from the seventies, getting into Datsuns from the sixties where their AM radio stations played Sam Cooke songs from the fifties. Memes and dances from commercials and sitcoms stuck around for years not weeks and, because of the lack of constant connectivity, the very real fear of nuclear annihilation wasn't even as pervasive as our modern concerns about terrorism or pandemics.

Artists nowadays have tried to capture the feel of the cultural memory of that aesthetic-rich decade in their albums, to just slip it on them sleek like a jacket, most notably Taylor Swift with 1989 from 2014, The Weeknd’s After Hours, from last year, and Coldplay’s Peter Gabriel-esque pep on their recent Music of the Spheres album. Overall, they leaned heavily on the industrial neon glare and synths of the decade, and less on the spaces in between, where we all would take a collective breather.

Each of those albums accomplished the aesthetic goals they attempted, and they draped their best songs in that approach. Looking back now, through the narrow yet fertile valley of memory, I can see that the context, or the width of a culture, is as important as it’s heights. And so, for a more catholic representation of that storied decade, I'd point towards Birmingham, UK singer-songwriter Laura Mvula's latest album Pink Noise.

Mvula's 2013 debut Sing to the Moon, (reviewed here) was a tender beauty of an album, floating on a cloud of choral harmonies, horns and solemn pianos. Her songs there dealt with self-determination, the searching for purpose, and the gentle embrace of love. Her follow-up, 2016s The Dreaming Room, while less focused, continued her musical back-drop of floating harmonies, nocturnal chord changes punctuated by danceable songs of encouragement and heartbreak, helped along in that regard by legendary producer Nile Rodgers on "Phenomenal Woman." With Pink Noise, Mvula changes this approach, tempering her wistful, searching harmonies, and buttoning down the lyrics of her wandering songs of love into punchy, clear-eyed synth pop and r&b. This risk is rewarding for the most part.

“Church Girl” grooves with a stinging snare, harmonies that sway with and against each other, garnished with synth sparkles on the chorus. It’s a swaying, entertaining update of Who’s Zooming Who-era Aretha Franklin, with Laura ensconced in wonderment and concern in the middle of the dance floor, asking, about a love or maybe the music industry itself, "how can you dance, with the devil on your back?/ how can you move? Caught up in a picture perfect that will never last?” Meanwhile, closer “Before the Dawn" is an encouraging anthem that switches between two tempos and moods of electric pop, at one point recalling the high-powered synths of Lionel Richie and Cameo, and then gearing down into the strutting encouragement of a Chaka Khan ballad, all in four or so minutes.

Producers Dann Hume and Troy Miller excel at transitioning Mvula’s songs and swirling lines into these nostalgic textures. The song most reminiscent of her debut, “Golden Ashes,” is layered in sparkled synth notes attempting to balance the Mvulian minor chords. The song would have brightened up The Dreaming Room, but here it is a sleeping album track, indicating true growth is taking place instead of plastic cosplay. The song softens the middle section of the album, along with "Remedy," with its percussive synth lines, and soft chorus in the middle.

Notably though, these songs do not distract, because the interesting and socially conscious lyrics are caught in the type of synth romp that, upon reflection, typified most songs of the eighties. You see, what plays on digital stream playlists nowadays are the starting lineup of that decade, but the vast musical soundscape of the eighties consisted of songs like these. The album tracks on Wham!, New Edition albums or the myriad movie soundtracks of the era will produce the same musical template.

Meaning, what the sound of the eighties really sounded like, was a menage of late seventies disco hits, Pop vocal power ballads, Reggae lover's rock, Rock hits, and these new wave synth pop dancing songs. There were a bunch of songs that didn’t need to knock it into the stands every time, they just took their time, and found their rhythm.

While there was less neon exuberance playing than the present-day nostalgia of the eighties leads you to believe, there still was an aesthetic of ‘new' in a lot of the media, packaging designs and culture, so I believe that the true feeling of that strange, singular decade was mostly expressed in the synth-laden ballads of Luther Vandross, Atlantic Starr, or Evelyn “Champagne” King that replaced the lush, dense quiet storm staples from seventies soul singers Smokey Robinson and Teddy Pendergrass. That electric sentimentality that came from the throats of everyone's sisters, younger aunties and girlfriends.

It is for that reason that Pink Noise's true highlight is not only the high powered swing of the impressive single "Got Me," but also the towering ballad "Magical." The song finds Mvula trying to mend a frayed romance by utilising the best motifs of the eighties -chucking rhythm guitars, timpanis rolling into the chorus, ponderous synth squats, and a chorus billowed by naked sentimentality, with bright trumpets appearing at the end, played with pomp and alacrity. The song brightens the back end of the album with a steady glow, flourishing character into Pink Noise, the hot midday sister to the furtive, nocturnal Sing to the Moon.

So then the eighties, the eighties. The truth is that thankfully there was less self-aware irony and branded sophistication of the self. Less emphasis on being seen and more on what you were seeing. So much so that you didn’t know the eighties was a thing until the moonwalk. You didn’t know it was over until the Cosby Show was winding down and NWA burst through from someplace called Compton. Mvula easily reminds me though, that there once really was this electric groove snaking high and low amongst the church bells and birdsong and the silence. It was coming out of our cars and homes all hot and new, just out there softly couching our memories.

#laura mvula #rnb #pop #pink noise #black music #80s music #new music

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kingstylesdaily · 4 years

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Why Harry Styles Just Scored His First No. 1 Song

Like any boy band alumnus, he first had to overcome radio’s bias against teen heartthrobs.

Late summer is a great time for sleeper hits: songs that have been hanging around the charts for months and finally hit their stride. Four years ago, in August 2016, Sia’s “Cheap Thrills” reached No. 1 after knocking around the charts since the prior winter, getting its final boost from a Sean Paul remix. In September 2018, Maroon 5’s year-old “Girls Like You” slipped into the top slot after wafting around the Top 10 for more than four months, with a Cardi B verse putting it over the edge. Last year around Labor Day, Lizzo finally topped the Hot 100 with “Truth Hurts,” a song that was two years old and had been rising gradually on the chart since the spring.

This year’s sleeper hit is “Watermelon Sugar,” a wisp of a song by boy bander–turned–self-styled rock star Harry Styles. With a name inspired by Richard Brautigan’s hippie-era, post-apocalyptic novella In Watermelon Sugar, Styles’ lackadaisical tune is not only a sleeper but a grower, the sort of hit that sneaks up on you—I wasn’t sure it even had a fully written chorus the first time I heard it, and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone. Indeed, the whole nation took its time deciding that this quirky ditty would give the starriest, most eccentric member of One Direction his first-ever U.S. chart-topper.

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“Watermelon Sugar” is the third single promoted from Styles’ second solo album Fine Line, which was released last December. That alone is remarkable, given the challenge in the digital age of generating chart interest in anything other than an album’s first couple of singles. Generally, in an era when all of an album’s songs are available to be consumed the day the album drops, you need a remix or a special guest of some kind to gin up chart action months after the song first hits streaming. “Sugar” has none of those. To be sure, there was some gimmickry fueling the song’s leap to the top, albeit of an old-fashioned kind: The song had its best week of sales ever thanks to an assortment of limited-edition vinyl and cassette singles that came bundled with a digital download. Those sales got “Sugar” the last mile on the charts, but Columbia Records wouldn’t have put the physical goods on sale if the song wasn’t already a radio smash—“Sugar” currently has the second-biggest U.S. airplay audience—and they knew they had an opening between current hits by Taylor Swift and a pair of lascivious female rappers I’ll almost certainly be writing about in this space next week. So, fair play to Team Harry: They took advantage of an open chart window, a tactic as old as the Hot 100 itself.

As “Sugar” leaps from No. 7 to No. 1 on the Hot 100 this week—essentially switching places with his ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift’s “Cardigan,” which falls to No. 8—Styles scores only the second-ever chart-topper by a member of One Direction. That includes all of the hits by 1D itself. In its five years of recording, from 2011 through 2015, the band never scored a Hot 100 No. 1. This despite topping the Billboard 200 album chart with its first four studio albums, the only group in history to launch a career with that haul. So … what was that other 1D-affiliated Hot 100–topper I mentioned? It was by ex-member Zayn Malik, the only member to break from the crew while it was still active. Zayn’s smoldering, Weeknd-esque boudoir jam “Pillowtalk” debuted at No. 1—and spent a solitary week there—in the winter of 2016, fueled by blockbuster streams and downloads ginned up by 1D superfans still mourning his departure the prior year and the group’s resulting, presumably permanent hiatus.

Explaining how the top-selling boy band of the 2010s could shift so many CDs and downloads but generate only two No. 1 singles means briefly recapping the fraught history of boy bands and the charts. Selling albums has never been hard for pinup pop groups, since the days of Meet the Beatles! and More of the Monkees. And in the ’70s and ’80s, such precision sing-and-dance troupes as the Jackson 5, the Osmonds, and New Edition managed to generate both gold albums and chart-conquering singles. In 1989, New Kids on the Block had the year’s second-biggest album and four of the year’s top singles, including a pair of No. 1s. But starting in the ’90s, as U.S. radio networks consolidated (fueled by the 1996 Telecommunications Act) and programmers more narrowly targeted specific demographics, radio stations shied away from maximalist teen-pop that appealed primarily to under-18 audiences. By the end of that decade, even as boy bands were enjoying a new wave of TRL-fueled popularity, radio became a chart handicap for them. The Backstreet Boys and ’N Sync had the top-selling albums of 1999 and 2000, respectively—the diamond-selling Millennium and No Strings Attached—but only scored a solitary Hot 100 topper between them, ’N Sync’s “It’s Gonna Be Me.” (Backstreet never hit No. 1: The deathless “I Want It That Way” peaked at No. 6.)

This radio bias against boy bands has persisted into the 21st century. And ever since the Hot 100 went digital about a decade and a half ago, teen-pop’s chart placements have been the result of a battle between rabid downloaders and radio gatekeepers—massive digital sales compensating for modest radio play. For example, radio was what kept the Jonas Brothers from scoring any chart-topping hits during their original wave of teen idoldom; their biggest hit of the ’00s, the No. 5 hit “Burnin’ Up,” sold 2 million downloads but only ranked 55th at U.S. radio. By the ’10s, the same fate befell one-man boy band Justin Bieber. In this long-running Slate series, I have chronicled the blow-by-blow between Justin Bieber and radio programmers that swung from Justin as hit-starved teen idol in the early ’10s to dominant young-adult chart-dominator in the late ’10s. In the early ’10s period, Bieber was a YouTube and iTunes demigod with not a single radio smash to his name. He could sell a half-million downloads of “Boyfriend” in a week and still fall short of the No. 1 spot, thanks (no thanks) to radio.

For One Direction, the chart patterns were the same. A Frankenstein’s monster that Simon Cowell famously threw together in 2010 on his televised competition The X Factor from five solo competitors—Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson—1D continually found its singles dragged down on the Hot 100 by radio, even as the band sold truckloads of albums. The pattern was set in fall 2012 when “Live While We’re Young” debuted with a staggering 341,000 downloads but could only get to No. 3 on the Hot 100, thanks to its 50th-ranked radio airplay. In the summer of 2013, the slyly Who-interpolating “Best Song Ever” became 1D’s highest-charting hit ever, debuting at No. 2 with record video views and near-record downloads, but at radio it never got past No. 53. “Story of My Life” (No. 6, 2014), “Drag Me Down” (No. 3, 2015)—no matter how many downloads sold or videos viewed, 1D could never top the Hot 100 so long as its radio spins remained limited.

The reason I’m running down all of this granular chart data is it reveals the hurdles both 1D and its post-breakup soloists had to overcome to top the Hot 100. Like Justin Bieber, they had to become credible radio fodder with adults as well as kids. With his early break from the group, Zayn was the first to pull this off. Though “Pillowtalk” debuted at No. 1 largely due to massive sales and streams, the carnal song did eventually become a No. 4–ranked airplay hit. Cleverly, Zayn had chosen a then-current EDM-inflected R&B mode and dropped his debut while the Weeknd was between albums. Other former 1D-ers have had their share of solid radio hits, including Liam Payne’s hip-hop–inflected “Strip That Down” featuring Quavo of Migos (No. 10 on the Hot 100, No. 4 on Radio Songs) and Niall Horan’s softly bopping pop jam “Slow Hands” (No. 11 Hot 100, No. 2 Radio Songs).

And Harry Styles? He decided to make things harder on himself. His 2017 debut album was chockablock with old-school classic rock. This would be like launching a career in 1964 with big-band jazz. While Styles’ fame ensured a big launch for his Bowie-esque single “Sign of the Times”—it opened, and peaked, at No. 4 on the Hot 100, fueled by strong downloads—radio showed only moderate interest. It eventually reached a modest No. 21 on the airplay chart. Later Harry singles like the twangy “Two Ghosts” and the thrashy “Kiwi” missed the Hot 100 and had little radio profile beyond a handful of pure-pop stations that were loyal to Styles from his 1D days. One admired Harry for following his artistic muse—more Joni Mitchell than Justin Bieber—but as a pop star, he arguably squandered his momentum coming out of One Direction.

What has made Fine Line, Styles’ sophomore album, such a clever left turn is he retained the rock flavor he naturally gravitates toward but converted it into mellow California-style surf-pop, and he let his production team—Tyler Johnson and Thomas “Kid Harpoon” Hull—fashion the songs into percolating radio jams. Each single has opened the door a bit wider: “Lights Up,” a No. 17 last October, is lightly strummed beach music with ethereal backing vocals. And “Adore You,” a No. 6 hit in April (for my money, still Styles’ best single), is thumping electropop. “Adore” in particular served as Styles’ entrée onto radio’s A-list—it reached No. 1 on mainstream Top 40 stations and No. 2 on Radio Songs by early summer.

With this beachhead established, Harry was finally free to let his freak flag fly with “Watermelon Sugar,” which is simultaneously his oddest single and his most infectious. The chorus consists of nothing more than the line “Watermelon sugar high” repeated a half-dozen or more times, with emphasis on the “HIGH.” (TikTok users have keyed into this idiosyncrasy, sharing videos in which the “high” gets its own video edit of the user playacting her best stoner face.) Last November, when Styles did double-duty hosting and singing on Saturday Night Live, “Sugar” was one of the songs he performed, and in that indoor setting, it came off as willfully quirky and seasonally incongruous; the song’s first verse line is “Tastes like strawberries on a summer evenin’.” Now, timed for 2020’s beach season—complete with a video filled with beautiful people on the shore, shot just before the pandemic and, according to a title card, “dedicated to touching”—it’s sitting atop the hit parade.

In short, Harry Styles finally has a profile on the radio and on the Hot 100 that matches his profile on magazine covers, and he achieved it on his own schedule and something like his own terms. Like John Lennon in the ’70s—the founder and nominal leader of the Beatles but the last former Fab to reach the toppermost of the poppermost as a solo artist—Styles just had to find his own way. As that onetime teen heartthrob sang, “Whatever gets you to the light, it’s all right.”

source: Slate

#kingstylesdaily #harry styles #hs: watermelon sugar #august 2020

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karliesbuzzcut · 4 years

Text

(100) Million Dollar Lawsuit

Intro | part1 | part2 | part3 | part4

We are on the last chapter (for now) and this the most chaotic one. Mainly because it doesn’t follow any kind of chronological order (or logical sense), it’s just Russ going in circles for literal years.

But I’ll try my best to condense it for you, so all you need to do is to keep your seat belt fastened until the aircraft stops completely.

Right after the failed Ari lawsuit, Russ goes back to his one and only love: Taylor Swift 💫 And he has learned a lesson — not a good lesson, mind you, but a lesson: small claims courts won’t take him anywhere. If he really wants to punish women for not complimenting his suit, he will have to file a multi-million dollar federal lawsuit.

But, since denying sex from The Russell isn’t illegal (yet), he had to come at it from a different angle. I’m going to give Russ a chance to explain himself first.

Before you ask: yes, the following was Russell’s response to a woman thanking Taylor for visiting an 8 year-old girl who was very badly burned in an accident.

As I’ve always said, it’s okay if you aren’t fluent in Bullshit. That’s what I’m here for.

You see, Russell views human interactions as a series of transactions: I make a tweet worth liking, you go on a date with me; I take you to Olive Garden, you give me a handie for free; I put on a suit, you hug me and smile; I write you a song and sue you, you produce said song. Whenever women don’t fulfil their side of the deal, he becomes enraged.

But the reason he has such a strong hate-boner for Tay, is because she seemed to also follow his same ‘moral code’. A kid makes a cute video, she visits them at the hospital. A fan writes her a letter inviting her to their wedding, she goes to the wedding. A couple of kids fold 1989 paper cranes for Andrea, Taylor invites them to one of her concerts.

Russ thought “this is a done deal”. He didn’t write that song for Taylor because he particular liked her; he just thought she’d be the most likely artist to produce it — or at least acknowledge his existence.

I mentioned before that Russ wrote a whole-ass book about this. And I think it’s as good a time as any to talk about it. For a short amount of time, Russell chilled out about the ✨100 million dollar lawsuit ✨ but my guess is that he thought his book would get him the same results as a lawsuit? To be fair, the book is fantastic. 5/5, would recommend.

He details the harassment he went through after suing Taylor Swift (the first time). Apparently old ladies at coffee shops would scream at him because he dared to sue Our Queen. A Mexican even pointed a gun at him (it wasn’t me, guys! Just a fellow countryman ❤️) and ordered Russ to drop the lawsuit. Computers at his job caught on literal fire because he was sent very powerful viruses. His friend Ken — who definitely exists! — was hit with a Molotov cocktail. Yep. 2016 was definitely the year people were willing to murder for Taylor Swift.

There’s also this brilliant dream sequence that involves an owl with the voice of Morgan Freeman, and Taylor’s agents guarding a tower in which she’s being held captive.

ALSO ALSO: an entire chapter is called “SHE CHOSE HIM OVER ME”. Taylor Swift chose Joe Alwyn — a man she actually knows — over a man she’s not even aware exists. Women, amiright?

I think Russell would enjoy the Kaylor community to a certain extent. Not the lesbian part, obviously: he doesn’t trust women who don’t want to touch his peen. I just mean the baseless hatred of Joe. Look, I made a little collage of his rants ❤️ tell me if any of this sounds familiar!

You know — I’ve been joking around a lot about Russell just wanting to do the nasty with Taylor. But you know me, I like joking around. In reality Russ only wants what is fair. He wants to put a stop to all these senseless acts of kindness perpetrated by Taylor ‘The Generous’ Swift.

This isn’t about him at all, actually. Shame on you for thinking there’s an ounce of greed in that selfless little body of his. HE’S DOING THIS TO PROTECT THE KIDS WITH CANCER!

There are no ulterior motives here! This isn’t about a date!

THIS IS NOT ABOUT A DATE AT ALL GUYS STOP SAYING THAT.

I think this is my favourite post of his, because– grammatically speaking –he doesn’t specify which of them is wearing the red dress. And that sends me every goddamn time.

Anyway. The book, as magnificent as it was, got him absolutely nowhere. I know, I can’t believe it either. So he went back to focus on his lawsuit. But apparently not enough, because he didn’t serve her properly..? Now, don’t expect me to understand this, because I am very stupid (so it’s quite a good thing that I haven’t sued anybody for millions of dollars) but something about him sending the lawsuit to her old legal team..? And then trying to force UPS to serve her? I think he even said he was going to serve her in the middle of one of her concerts... but I’m guessing that didn’t go as planned 🤷‍♀️ oops.

Of course, Russie wouldn’t allow such an anticlimactic ending. Can you guess what he did? Please tell me that you can guess what he did. HE MADE ANOTHER SONG 😭❤️

This one is called ‘I Don’t Get You, Taylor Swift’. Another masterpiece that we definitely didn’t deserve 🙌

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This was around April, 2019. By then I was being lured away by Kaylors, so I broke it off with Russ. I know that he filed a 3rd lawsuit against Taylor last year, which is just like the second one but hopefully this time he’ll be able to serve. And listen— I know that sounds like an awful thing to wish on Taylor, but I’d rather have Russell occupied suing a rich woman (who isn’t even going to deal with him), than a poor sex worker in Nevada. I bet TayTay would prefer that too.

Well guys, I’ve mentioned this a few times already, but I really had to be selective with the amount of information I was going to throw at you. I’ve avoided some of the shittier stuff he said or did, because I wanted to keep these posts as lighthearted as possible. I also didn’t touch on many things because they would just derail us. Like for example: one of the few lawsuits he has filed against someone who isn’t a woman, was against the state of Utah. I know, right? He’s trying to singlehandedly legalise prostitution in Utah, and even wrote a book (more like a pamphlet) brilliantly titled ‘Why I'm Making It Legal for Your 18 Year Old Daughter to Get In Bed with a Complete Stranger for Only 500 Bucks: A Short Essay from a Pro Se Litigant who is Challenging the Utah Brothel Bans’.

I copy-pasted that title guys, I swear to god.

The book is very graphic. This one I certainly do not recommend as I still suffer nightmares because of it.

Soren is a character who also had to be cut out — which is a shame because he really tried to be a good christian and help Russell. Not as in “I support you, Russell” but as in “why don’t you take a nap, Russell”. Turns out, even cinnamon rolls have a limit. Russ, of course, blames Taylor Swift for the fact that he’s losing his friends. I’m not joking — it’s an article in his lawsuit:

Greer has lost family relationships, friend connections and business connections because of the trauma of Taylor Swift. His family tells him to "get over it," resulting in shouting matches and strained relationships. Greer's friends get annoyed by his focusing on the trauma of it, when nobody knows the pain of getting rejected by a public figure — twice — and the fallout that has resulted from it.

Russell embodies that comic/meme of the little guy who puts a stick in his bicycle’s wheels and then blames Taylor Swift when he inevitably falls.

Sooooo...

Maybe someday I’ll write a post about Russ’ latest antics. I know he still posts stupid stuff on Facebook, which he later deletes. He shined especially bright at the peak of the BLM movement. He also plead guilty to electronic communications harassment— did you see that conviction coming? Yes, yes you did 😌

Regarding Taylor, I read that Russ knew someone who knew Todrick Hall — and Russ sent him a song and video for Taylor. All he got back was a Cease and Desist letter. But I’d have to do a bit of digging to get the details. I was already so overwhelmed with organising the information I was previously aware of, that I decided to leave the newer stuff for another time. You know, once I’ve had some time to inform myself... as well as a really long shower.

Since I left so much shit out, I’ll be taking questions if you have any. And if you can muster the courage to ask them. I’m weirdly proud of being some kind of Russell encyclopaedia. I might not have much going for me...

There’s no ‘but’ — that was the complete statement.

Before I go, I wanted to add this screenshot. I absolutely love it because it summarises ✨The Russell Experience✨. Russ wants Taylor to know pain, poverty and punishment. But when asked “why?” his answer is just “oh, I was ignored lol”

*none of the screenshots are mine

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