#and also feels underused because nothing of note goes terribly bad

[mohntilyet]

about illario working with the venatori, we can't forget that elgar'nan gifted him blood magic, so I do think that he somewhat influenced him and that's why he's so much more vindictive and jealous in comparison to tevinter nights. I don't mean that he's being mind controlled, but it's a bit like cyrian, a god just amplifying those negative emotions in you and promising power and glory can push a person to that edge and to make stupid af decisions.

im also not forgetting that zara line in inner demons where she talks about an envy demon. like. why an envy demon in specific...there's THINGS between zara and illario that were not shown

no literally if you get me talking about illario + envy + the possibility of getting him possessed, you will have me here for fucking ever. a non mage doing blood magic (any magic at all) is really weird and interesting to me and i don’t remember an example of this happening before (feel free to correct me tho lol. i’m discounting possessions and dwarves)

i had started wildly theorising after bloodbath that he had been possessed and he was tapping into the fade using an envy demon. especially like you said, zara mentions it, AND because i swear there’s a codex in the ossuary where it mentions an envy demon whereas spite is obviously determination, right? so i thought it was a breadcrumb trail to a big “illario is being influenced and doesn’t even know” reveal— same as you anon like great minds am i right— but i’m not sure there is actually any evidence of that lol. like maybe if you squint but i do believe it was explained away by “oh yeah, and elgarnan let him do special blood magic”

it does also make sense to me that illario can only control lucanis, due to being part of the same family. a bloodline thing, and it is very poetic to me that their shared family connection in caterina is what allows him to control lucanis, even for a moment lol. spite being the extra magical boost that lucanis needs to block that out ALSO makes sense to me so i’m not too fussed abt these details lol🤔

the envyllario in my heart also gets spectral weapons for himself. lucanis gets wings, illario gets talons, PLUS green-purple are complementary colors so it would have been really fun to see them clash with their spirit/demon-powers. the talon thing is also a kind of reflection of his end-goal desire, how envy demons already have those freaky hands, and it manifests as claws and is a much more aggressive, strength-augmenting manifestation (as opposed to manoeuvrability and speed-augmenting that spite’s wings give lucanis.) anyways that's what the diagram above is supposed to be (this is extremely hot to me)

[jess-the-vampire]

whatcha think of the new episodes

heyyyalll35 said:What do you think about the heart shapes the capes were making at the end of knight shift? 

 Anonymous said:Thoughts about the newest Star VS episodes today?

The Knight Shift:

So this episode was kinda about the fact Marco just well….didn’t really want to be a knight the rest of his life. Apparently knights on mewni have to be knights for the rest of their lives and with a new sibling coming and everything marco kinda realizes maybe jumping into knighthood wasn’t his best move.

He kinda wants to go back to earth cause he can’t stay on mewni forever and he wants to go to college (Which is funny since he left school for knighthood so i wish him luck with that).

Star’s a little selfish about this, because she wanted marco to stay forever but by the end they do realize even if they go separate ways, they’ll always still be best friends and have crazy adventures together.

So yeah, this episode feels like it’s something to prep for the idea that star and marco might take different paths in the future, but it won’t meant they won’t always be best friends or that things have to be different.

which i think is nice.

i know people are gonna take this episode as romantic in a way, especially cause their matching capes seem to form a heart at the end. But the episode seemed to emphasize their friendship more to me in particular since it wasn’t really focused on romance, that even if they’ll be apart, they’ll still be friends. 

I kinda got some Wreck it Ralph 2 vibes from it, where you can’t keep your friends to themselves and they gotta sometimes do what’s best for them. But it doesn’t mean your friendship is over.

Star was overacting and that’s mentioned a few times, they might not live together anymore but they’ll still have more great memories in the future.

Also Higgs and most of the knights are probably gonna stay in the hekapoo dimension.

Also Mr Candle was here, for…some reason. But then again it made sense for him to be here as it was another episode discussing marco’s future.

Queen-napped

So apparently this episode was NOT the one to do with Mina this round and apparently was part of the “Get Eclipsa loved” plotline.

I’m glad we got some cameos of Larry, Babs,ect and got to see at least a LITTLE of the other kingdoms but i am sad we couldn’t get a little more of these kingdoms.

if there’s one thing that bothers me besides the many things that can bother me about the show, it’s that the kingdoms are very underused. We never get to learn much about them or see them and i find that disappointing that we got a magical world and see very little of it and how it works.

Ponyhead’s kinda a jerk, as apparently everything that happened was just a hoax to get eclipsa some fame and attention. Which could’ve literally caused more issues and started a panic, but it’s ponyhead….so they let it slide.

Though they do acknowledge it’s bad and what pony did was TERRIBLE even though it worked.

Not that i’m sure how much this will do in the long run for eclipsa as though it got her attention, her priorities and how she handles some things are still an issue.

Also looks like TPS was not a wasted episode cause it sets up the plot of this one.

Junkin Janna

I mean, yeah it’s both what i was expecting and not at all what i was expecting.

The description is a misdirect cause tom not having much to do outside of star had pretty much nothing to do with this episode other then be there for some laughs and to give tom an excuse so he and janna could find out about mina’s scrapyard.

This episode’s mainly to be for setup for conflicts around mina and possibly eclipsa, not the love plot if you’re curious. Tom and Star are both being lovey dovey and texting each other funny pics and stuff but they’re not in jeopardy in this episode or anything.

Apparently Janna kinda tricked Tom, she made him think he was here to do something fun while Star was busy, but she actually only invited him because mina’s bird kept stealing these giant knight boots she liked to sled in and she wanted tom to kill it.

Which of course, Tom doesn’t do because it’s a bird and doesn’t attack it himself till the bird turns into a giant monster and attacks him. Which implies Mina somehow figured out how to turn people into solarians (Which is odd cause Solaria needed the wand for that so i hope we get some explanation on it).

Tom and Janna are mostly at odds with each other, Tom didn’t seem to mind spending time with her to pass the time and had fun getting their stuff back. But if you were expecting them to get romantic, they really don’t.

Janna finds tom’s texting to Star annoying and kinda well, like i said, was using him for selfish reasons and then got mad at Tom when Tom said no.

And Tom is trying to be polite and hang out, but that’s about it. Though he gets very mad with Janna using him and being rather rude to him at times.

So they’re kinda friends but not really to the same degree as other show friendships, they seem to butt heads a bit.

There’s also a side plot with eclipsa and star, star also sending tom texts and pics, finding it adorable. The MHC are just being rude to Eclipsa and Eclipsa is just kinda sick of their garbage.

the biggest thing to note is the MHC point out strange magic coming from the temple, but at the same time there are a dozen magic users living there, so to star and eclipsa it kinda feels like a waste of time.

and knowing this show, it’ll probably mean something.

Mina’s also building giant armor with the scrap her bird’s been collecting, so looks like she’s making her army herself.

A Spell With No Name

hi so this episode’s description is not even remotely correct, star and eclipsa do not meet up in this episode and their spells never collide. Can i have a talk with whoever’s making these descriptions?

so yeah, this episode takes place in the “Spider with a Top Hat” Universe.

You know how it was confusing that the wand seemed to have a community full of creatures for the spells living inside it? Well, turns out, this is actually a separate dimension, not inside of the wand.

Star’s wand area is one of many in the same dimension, all the spells of the queen’s in fact, can literally visit each other and talk because they have separate chambers for each queen in whatever dimension they live in.

moon’s spells have a room, you see one for solaira, jushtin, meteora….

we get a sneak peek of Celena’s…but it appears empty….strange.

every spell seems to have a creature tied to it, even spells that are just beams.

Apparently eclipsa’s spells are on a black ops mission to capture the spell eclipsa gave to moon to kill toffee that’s gone rouge and is killing other spells in this dimension.

Which…does this mean eclipsa can’t use that one spell that died anymore or what?

Narhwal Blast is the star this time, as spider goes down for the count, and he helps the other spells recover the evil one. But the episode kinda alludes it won’t be the last time we see this spell.

Which isn’t a good sign since yeah….it’s meant to kill.

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT 1X20 - The Stranger

Hey, stranger!

Meet me under the cut to read my thoughts on this episode!

Press Release August promises to enlighten Emma and take her on a journey that will show her how she can beat Regina, and possibly take custody of Henry; and with Mary Margaret returning to work, Regina puts a plan in motion to seduce David. Meanwhile, in the fairytale land that was, with the Evil Queen’s curse about to strike, Geppetto agrees to a plan that will save Snow White and Prince Charming’s daughter, but with a proviso that could also save his own son. General Thoughts Past Gepetto is the shining beacon of this episode. I love the lengths he goes to to protect Pinocchio and the dark places he goes to in the process. I also give the episode a lot of credit for showing so much of Gepetto and Pinocchio together in the earlier bits of the flashback. We see the selfless nature of Pinocchio that grants him his humanhood and seeing the two of them bond a bit make Gepetto’s blackmail so much more tragic and understandable. That said, while I love the way he emotionally blackmails Jiminy into helping him out, I do feel like it would’ve been a touch stronger had we seen their friendship a bit more in the second flashback scene. Wow, that scene with Pinocchio really didn’t do it for me. See, I get that Pinocchio left Emma and I can understand why. He was roughly 7-9 years old and a baby is a big responsibility, especially when you’re in a new land and are a kid. But I wish that we had seen more of a lingering effect of tension with Pinocchio taking care of Emma other than just one guy who was mean to him. I feel like an additional flashback scene would’ve come in handy here - one with Pinocchio taking care of Emma and one of him being exhausted after some time had passed, being told off, and then having the offer to leave. Because as it stands, Pinocchio only has that one bad encounter that takes maybe ten seconds total with a nothing character to take him away from a baby he cares about and a promise he made to his Papa. Present I find that the scene at the tree between Emma and August was a better version of Jefferson’s speeches from “Hat Trick.” Because August - in addition to being an established character, now ten episodes in the making - is Emma’s friend. Because he’s already earned a great deal of her trust and is implementing evidence (Something that he knows will better help her believe), it feels more like an earned discussion. And while I’ll take my objections with it in the next episode, I find that August demanding that Emma step up and be the Savior works better because his motivations are more selfish.

Also, I like how Emma’s desperation is playing out in the background of the episode as Gold and August continue to fail her, culminating in such a crazy and off the charts decision to abduct Henry. It’s a great moment where it’s completely indefensible both in-universe and to an Emma fan like me and the fallout in the next episode is so well-earned for a WTF decision like that, making me feel like the writers knew damn well what they were doing. Insights -That is the coolest door lock ever and I want it soooooo badly! -”My kid needs me. I don’t have time for faith.” Say what you want about Emma, but my girl has her priorities in check! -I know people have their problems with OUaT’s effects, but they’ve always managed to capture water so well. Whether it’s practical or in CGI, it’s both realistic and beautiful. -Alongside those lines, the Pinocchio wooden toy is so expertly crafted. Given how it’s only in a handful of scenes, it’s really impressive that they went to such efforts to make it tangible. -Regina, making everyone use those old school phones that take forever to reach someone was the most vile part of this curse! -There’s such a great stark contrast between Mary Margaret from the pilot and now. Back in the first episode, she could barely talk to Regina without getting barked at, but the tables have turned so drastically. It speaks to her development over the past 19 episodes, and what’s even better is that she retains her ability to forgive, an aspect of Snow that is such a big part of her, especially in later seasons. -Damn! Henry’s determination is really something else here! While I definitely feel for Regina (It must be awful seeing the child you raised turn on you and call you evil, not matter how true it actually is), Henry has clearly reached a limit and given that Regina actually did frame Mary Margaret, I can’t help but feel some catharsis out of that speech. -Gold, you bastard! That was so douchey, and I am cracking the fuck up! It’s probably some more catharsis, and not unjustified catharsis given August’s ploy in the last episode! He’s now just having all the fun in the world dicking around with August and while I love August, it’s so entertaining to watch! Oh! And when you see the clock, it all gets so much sadder! SO MANY FEELS! -To be fair, Pinocchio, I don’t blame you for tying up Jiminy. -Emma and Rumple just have the best discussions! I like how blunt Emma is with her demands and like Henry, she’s determined as hell! -I wonder if Regina got that rocky road from a certain Snow Queen. ;) -It only occured to me now that August’s presence was foreshadowed in the first episode. Why else would Gepetto speak of not having a child when in the previous scene in the pilot, he clearly did? -Regina’s fake story about finding David is like the evil version of Michael’s letter to Jane in Season 3 of “Jane the Virgin.” It reflects on themes of meant-to-be and coincidences. Also, I have to wonder how much of that story was improvised and how much of it had she planned beforehand. -The effects are on a roll here! I love how the tree in our world all but cracks open as Pinocchio enters our world. As a side note, it’s really lucky that humanity hadn’t built over his landing spot. Imagine that happening to Pinocchio at a Starbucks! XD -There’s such a sad contrast between the “fake” reunion in the past episode and the real one here. The “fake” one while...well, fake is so honest and upfront. You just know that that’s the kind of reunion August would want with his Papa, and in this episode, it’s so calm and lowkey, but tragic because it’s on a bed of lies. -Oh, Emma. That was a terrible idea! I get where you’re coming from girl, but...no! Arcs The Mystery of August Booth - Finally, all is revealed! I’m glad that they got the reveal out of the way earlier in the episode so that we could spend the rest of the runtime exploring his past and present relationships. It really helped to define August as a character. As for the reveal, it was always an engaging mystery that revealed just enough to make August’s character engaging, but not enough that the answer would become obvious. This may just be one of the most underrated twists in all of OUaT for that reason. Favorite Dynamic August and Gold I love how much resentment Gold has towards August and the petty and hurtful ways he lets it out. At the same time though, the two begrudgingly work together knowing that they’re the only other padults that they have on their side, and they’re surprisingly good at doing it. Because of that, how they work together and interact is so amusingly petty and yet coopertaive all the same and it makes me wish we could have seen more reluctant team ups between them. Their relationship is definitely a proto Season 3 Golden Hook, albeit toned down significantly due to circumstances. Writer Awww! It’s Andrew and Ian’s last episode of the season! These guys were a real treat. Their dialogue is fantastic and their theming, while it doesn’t match Fruit’s, works well here because both the latter past segments and the present segments show how far he’s fallen from his virtues and the emotional as well as physical consequences of that. But, they do a good job keeping August likable by showing just how much effort - genuine effort - he’s making to get Emma to believe here. Additionally, these guys know how to use just the right character at just the right moment. Nothing ever feels over or underused. Rating 9/10. We got an excellent exploration of character here. August comes out of this episode fully fleshed out and his dynamic with Emma really pegs home the danger that everyone is in going into the final two episodes. The pacing of the story gives us a fun adventure and every character featured has something to do or contribute to the story. I took a point off for the weak scene in the foster home as that’s supposed to be so much better than it ended up being.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

Thank you for reading and to the fine folks at @watchingfairytales for putting this together! Next time: We talk about fruits. How about apples?

Season Tally (176/220) Writer Tally for Season 1: A&E (50/70) Liz Tigelaar (17/20)* David Goodman (33/50) Jane Espenson (46/60) Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg (38/40)* Daniel Thomsen (8/10)* Vladimir Kvetko (9/10)* (* = Their work for the season is complete)

Operation Rewatch Archives

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 22nd April 2018 - Nicki Minaj and David Guetta Edition

Let’s just get on with it.

Top 10

Alright, so we do have a new number-one, with “One Kiss” by Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa jumping up two spots to claim its throne only a week after its debut. I mean, I’d rather it be this than what it was two weeks ago, but this isn’t really that much of an improvement over what is now at the runner-up spot.

Yes, that’s right, Drake’s “Nice for What” has fell off of its debut – which is something I didn’t really expect to happen. I think it will regain its position sometime, however, and you can quote me on that.

At number-three, going down a single spot from its runner-up position last time, we have a song.

“Paradise” by George Ezra creeps up a spot to number-four.

“These Days” by Rudimental featuring Jess Glynne, Dan Caplen and Macklemore continues its slow descent to number-five, which is okay – it had a good run.

“Friends” by Marshmello and Anne-Marie still won’t budge at number-six.

“Lullaby” by Sigala featuring Paloma Faith has strangely moved up two spaces to number-seven.

“Feel it Still” by Portugal. The Man, similarly to “Friends”, won’t move out of the number-eight position.

“Psycho” by Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign has moved up a spot to number-nine, probably because of the next spot’s absolute freefall.

At number-ten, we have “This is Me” by Keala Settle and The Greatest Showman Ensemble barely holding on after a three-spot tumble.

Climbers

So, the top 10 is pretty stable, but is anything shifting up in the 30 less popular songs? I mean, not really anything that notable. Off the debuts, we have “Answerphone” by Banx & Ranx and Ella Eyre featuring Yxng Bane moving up seven spaces into the top 20 at #18, as well as “Mad Love” by Sean Paul featuring Becky G and David Guetta up 14 spaces to #25. The big story here, however, is definitely Cardi B’s swift 17-space uptake for “I Like It” with Bad Bunny and J Balvin, now at #23. I can see this becoming a big hit.

Fallers

There were a lot of earlier 2018 and even late 2017 hits that fell this week, but none of them all that big. We had “Breathe” by Jax Jones featuring Ina Wroldsen down five spaces to #27, “IDGAF” by Dua Lipa down seven spaces to #28, “SAD!” by XXXYIKES down five spaces to #29, “A Million Dreams” by Ziv Zaifman, Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams down seven spaces to #33, “Sanctify” by Years & Years down six spaces to #35, “Never Enough” by Loren Allred down eight spaces to #36 and “All the Stars” by Kendrick Lamar and SZA down five spaces to #39. It should also be noted that “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran is now being credited as the duet version with Beyoncé as it goes down five spaces to #38. The BBC and Charts Company are very inconsistent about that.

Dropouts and Returning Entries

Now, we are gathered here today to mourn the losses of “Dreams” by Ruti from #14, “Wasted Times” by The Weeknd from #30, “Pray for Me” by The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar from #32, “Fine Line” by Mabel featuring Not3s from #35, “I See You Shining” by Nines from #37, and finally, “Dancing” by Kylie Minogue from #39. Nothing terribly tragic or even important here, and no returning entries, so I think we should get straight into the new arrivals.

NEW ARRIVALS

#40 – “Like I Do” – David Guetta, Martin Garrix and Brooks

Two David Guetta tracks debuted this week and I’m going to assume right off the bat that they’re just bland EDM or electro house tracks with a pitch-shifted hook and a tropical tinge.

What? Did you expect it not be exactly what I expected from David “I Made One Good Song, Let’s Do It Another 72 Times” Guetta? No, but I am somewhat surprised by how punchy these house synths are in the drop, with some alarm sounds for good measure and pounding percussion, as well as that throbbing bassline. The pitch-shifted vocals are repetitious and assumingly a sample, but they fit in the synth noise that is the verse’s instrumental, which also has some subtle... tambourines? Damn, Guetta, you really went all out for this. Yeah, I’m sad to say this about a track I was so downbeat about, and to an extent, three artists I don’t care for, but, yeah, this is pretty damn good. Exciting and straight-to-the-point dance music, with all artists having a damn good jab at it.

#37 – “Flames” – David Guetta and Sia

Now, this is more what I expected. A flat melody with some extra tropical synths and Sia being completely wasted. Sounds like David Guetta, right? Well, not really. It’s got a chugging guitar melody to back it up, a steady drum pattern and Sia is underused but still kills it as always. I especially love the chorus, where it goes into a burst of celebratory, triumphant electro-pop, as Sia sees how many ways she can mispronounce “flames”. It’s not amazing, and neither is “Like I Do” for that matter, but man, I’m surprised by how much I like this, considering my distaste for Guetta’s music in the past. I hope Sia has a new album out soon, by the way. I’ve missed her.

#31 – “Barbie Tingz” – Nicki Minaj

You do not know how hyped I have been to listen to these two new Nicki Minaj tracks. I don’t tend to bother with pre-album singles, but since I kind of have to for this show, I gave these two a shot to see if my expectations are met. Honestly, this production is somewhat underwhelming. Tribal drums would usually be an immediate appeal for me, but it’s drowned out in reverb and a weak droning circus-synth that they call a bassline. I like the constant ad-libs, though, they add some flavour - and Nicki’s still great on the mic as always, with some decent rhymes as well as the fantastic flows and unique delivery we all know her for. I wanted to like this so much more, but sadly, Nicki’s new producer can’t keep up with the woman herself. I’m still excited for her new album, of course – I love Nicki’s personality and skill as an MC enough that I could probably listen to a whole project of disappointing tracks and give it a positive score.

#30 – “German” – EO

Andalé, andalé, EO, EO, uh-oh! What’s popping tonight?

I have no idea who this EO dude is, but like Nines from last week, the dude sure has a joke-bank of names. Seriously, these British faux-reggae rappers need to start working on their stage name game. Oh, yeah, the music – well, I’ve talked about this song before. At least, I think so. I’ve heard this autotuned croon with some mediocre lyricism, weak reverb-addict dancehall production and steel pan/trap snare combination for the percussion a few times before. Hmm... Let’s just say that if I wanted to listen to German music, I’d go for Kraftwerk.

This isn’t even in German, it’s just about foreign jewellery, foreign cars and foreign women. I mean, why German? It’s not stereotypically a luxurious country or anything; you’d expect a rapper to say that their cars and their girls are from like France, right? Is that just me? I don’t care – skip this trash.

#26 – “Chun-Li” – Nicki Minaj

Is that a man singing with an incredibly nasal nose or a bee buzzing for that synth? I can’t tell. Either way, Nicki is steps ahead from her served production as with “Barbie Tingz”, with intimidating, albeit melodramatic, spoken interludes and catchy fire bars, some of it being pretty impressively freestyled... which you can tell with the “Call me 2 Chainz, name go ding-dong” line. Yeah, that’s pretty questionable, but otherwise, yeah, with some less underwhelming production, this would have been a certified banger. As it is, it’s just some dude blowing his nose over an otherwise bland trap-rap track. Nicki, get some better dudes behind the keys next time, because this newly-hired guy isn’t doing too well.

#20 – “Let Me” – ZAYN

Oh, my God! It’s the lead single from former One Direction member turned R&B bad boy Zany Milk’s sophomore album... even though he released two singles prior but let’s just presume those were for buzz. This is the real thing! It’s going to be amazing! It’s going to be ground-breaking! It’s going to be a trap banger with production that is breathtaking and not watered down! It’s going to have meaningful, conscious lyrics that do not mention vanilla ice cream! It’s not going to have Zayn’s skin-crawlingly weak falsetto! It’s not going to have a jumbled mess of a chorus! It’s going to be a powerful, triumphant “stick-it-to-the-man” anthem with experimental instrumentation and a rebellious attitude to the lyrics! It’s not going to be the lazily trend-hopping BS that Zayn otherwise decides to sing on! It’s going to be new, fresh and exciting! Yeah...

Nope.

Conclusion

Nothing here knocked my socks off, but nothing here forced to me to put shoes on and go out for a walk. Best of the Week goes for “Like I Do” by David Guetta and co., with his other single with Sia, “Flames” getting the Honourable Mention. Worst of the Week is pretty obviously “German” by EO, with Dishonourable Mention going to “Let Me” by ZAYN. Nicki Minaj doesn’t take anything, which is sad because I thought she’d bring home Best of the Week. We’ll see how that album is, though, in a few weeks. For now, see ya next time!

[youngbloodfreshmeat-blog]

reputation - Taylor Swift

‘Reputation’ is a culmination of many things, the jigsaw pieces and songwriting scraps of Taylor Swift’s career turned into an eerie electronic pop art form for the new age. It’s a pulsing, echoing blast of mockery, of romance, of desire. And the newly crowned snake queen sits on her throne above it all.

The history of Taylor Swift’s many romances, conflicts and career snapshots has been well-documented in the public eye. From her fleeting 2009 relationship with a young Joe Jonas leading to bitter break-up comments on ‘The Ellen Show’, to the #TaylorSwiftIsOverParty brought on by the spreading of her private phone conversations with Kim Kardashian and husband Kanye West, every second of Swift’s life has been broadcasted to the world. For better or for worse, attention has chased this woman everywhere she’s gone. Now, it has evolved into one hell of an album.

Opening with the bass-driven ‘...Ready for It?’, a football game anthem leading with Swift clearing her throat and sort-of-almost-rapping, ‘Reputation’ begins with a crackling oddity. ‘...Ready for It?’ may be questionably titled in regards to grammar, but the lyrics are even more confusing. A stretched comparison to burglaries and prison cells, as a way of running with the ‘partners in crime’ metaphor, doesn’t seem to work very effectively here- Swift claims her new man can “join the heist”, and then follows it up with, “he can be my jailer”. Ignoring the clunky lyrics, the song itself doesn’t seem to fit in its own skin; the verses sound completely different to the blossoming pink chorus of Swift past, making for an interesting track, but not something as ‘sonically cohesive’ as Swift has boasted for the past three years. Nevertheless, the absolute strangest thing about ‘...Ready For It?’ is that when all of these mismatched parts come together, somehow… it still works. It’s not a top track, but something certainly manages to hold it together, which is no easy feat.

The follow-up is the Future and Ed Sheeran number, ‘End Game’, another very rap-oriented song. Surprisingly, Swift sounds right at home on the track, leaving Sheeran in the dust. It’s nice to hear the more unfiltered sound of Swift’s vocals on this number too, with her laughing chants of “big reputation, big reputation!” echoing throughout the song. It’s far from the best track of the album, but its hook and catchy rhythm are at least enjoyable. The structure, however, is choppy, and the song quickly wears itself out after a few replays.

When we reach ‘I Did Something Bad’, we see a side to Swift we have never seen before. She is completely owning the dark, brooding bitch personality that recent events have attributed to her, and it results in everything ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ should have been. This is the blasting lead single, the number soaked in snake imagery and fire and murder, everything the dark and edgy ‘new Taylor’ promised and more, and it’s without a doubt a major highlight of the album. Swift’s chants of, “why’s it feel so good?”, the gunshot sound effect, and the dubstep cries reminiscent of 2012’s ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ will haunt you until the very last crooning moment.

‘Don’t Blame Me’ is another peak of ‘Reputation’, its gospel-infused cries injecting into your bloodstream. The recently released karaoke version of the album also highlights some of Swift’s incredible backing vocals on this number, with a deep, swooning hum sweeping underneath the song, and some astounding harmonies in which she reaches surprisingly high notes in her criminally underused belt. Taylor’s shouts of “trip of my life!” and her glorious high note at the start of the last chorus are an out-of-body experience, proving her true versatility and unappreciated power as a vocalist.The dazed, heady passion of this track speaks for itself as one of ‘Reputation’’s greatest successes.

The notorious track five of any Swift album, ‘Delicate’ seems to be a rather polarising song. Swift sings through a robotic vocalising effect for the majority of the track and as a result, it becomes a real love-it-or-hate-it number. Pretty lyrics, pretty echoes, but it sounds nothing like the title would lead you to believe. However, these cautious whispers and repeats of “isn’t it?” echo with an unspoken beauty, and something about the strange track has such an immense appeal that it eventually becomes tough to dislike. It’s perhaps the one song on the album that really does grow on the listener before it can be appreciated.

Lead single ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ has been discussed to death. It samples Right Said Fred’s ‘I’m Too Sexy’, an entirely unlikely song for Swift to use, but unfortunately that moment seems to be the song’s ultimate weakness. The verses are lyrically strong and achieve the spooky, threatening feel Swift strives for after the haunting introduction. Each pre-chorus is even stronger, serving the noteable one-liner “honey I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time”. But with all this build-up, it only makes the boring, repetitive chorus an even greater disappointment; there is no power to it, no excitement, nothing strong whatsoever. Swift’s monotone repeating of one simple phrase is worsened in her live performances of the song, which only serve to further prove how gutting that chorus really is after the beauty of the verses and pre-choruses. A special mention is also deserved by the fact that the second verse lazily uses the line “the world moves on”, twice in a row in quick succession, but somehow, to most listeners it goes unnoticed.

‘...So It Goes’ is another of the album’s weaker songs, wasting its strong lyrics on a mediocre melody. Making comparisons between a lover and a magician, each word paints a dreamy, ethereal picture, but almost the entire song seems to be composed of only two or three notes. The track would be completely lost within ‘Reputation’ without its standout bridge, in which Swift whispers, “you did a number on me, but honestly baby, who’s counting?” It again pushes how much of a waste it was to use such beautiful lyrics on this less-than-average tune.

There’s no doubt that ‘Gorgeous’ is the weakest song on the album. It’s painfully repetitive, there’s a weird disconnected baby voice as an introduction, and award-winning lyricist Taylor Swift rhymes ‘face’ with ‘face’. It’s still catchy, of course, and the sparkly, feel-good production makes it a fun sing-along number, but the words are weaker than anything in Swift’s entire discography, and hearing the same four-note riff looping over and over quickly drives the listener crazy. Of course, if this song has one thing going for it, it’s the iconic line, “I guess I’ll just stumble on home to my cats”. Well played, Swift.

After a three-track run of the album’s worst, ‘Getaway Car’ sounds like an offcut from 2014’s ‘1989’, reaching the record’s absolute peak. It’s a snappy, soaring song with fantastic lyrics and the instantly recognisable pop production of Jack Antonoff. A pulsing drum beat paired with catchy clicking and powerful cries leading into each chorus drive this number to success, plus, the key change in the bridge further lifts the song higher off the ground. ‘Getaway Car’ perfectly represents how to use build-up, and it’s where ‘Reputation’ finds its climax, in its synths, stacked backing vocals, and steady drum beats, building a song that only gets better and better.

‘King Of My Heart’ is better appreciated if its titular lyric is disregarded entirely. Most of the song is beautifully written, with wordy verses following a beautiful descending melody, which speeds up and ascends during the catchy pre-chorus. Clicking and synth chords carry the song through, and it also provides some of the most beautiful harmonies on the album, again better heard on its karaoke edition. However, this song is again rather polarising, as it really makes use of Swift’s new vocalising effects and heavy bass. It’s not something the old Taylor would have released, but it’s wonderful in its own right, even with its new age sound and clunky name. Again, the bridge is a highlight, and Swift’s use of British slang in “say you fancy me, not fancy stuff” calls to mind her current boyfriend Joe Alwyn, born and raised in the heart of England. It’s a not-so-subtle callout, but it’s nice to hear most of this album as a callout of love rather than revenge.

Fans have greatly underrated another of ‘Reputation’’s true peaks, found in the pulsing dance track ‘Dancing With Our Hands Tied’, which details a romance lost to the media frenzy often faced by Swift. The dreamy lyrics and melody on this song are highlighted in its woozy bridge, in which she claims, “I’d kiss you as the lights went out, swaying as the room burned down”. It’s undeniably romantic, whilst still maintaining the sheer panic at the core of the song. Every word is carefully perfected, with the rush of a pre-chorus further building on this fear, leading up to that incredibly powerful chorus. It truly lives up to its name, in that this song leaves the listener dancing, but not sure if they should want to.

Following ‘Dancing With Our Hands Tied’ is a song deemed controversial by Swift, but sadly very tame for any other artist, defeating the shock value after the first listen. ‘Dress’ is entirely all built around the key line “only bought this dress so you could take it off”, which Swift says she likes because it sounds like a “bad pick-up line”. However, it’s kind of a terrible lyric, and it’s a shame, because it’s probably the song’s one true weak point, much like ‘King of my Heart’. The rest of the song is an otherworldly rendition of desire and lust, with more breathy harmonies and production. The pre-choruses, met with Swift’s gasps, are reminiscent of her 2014 song ‘Wildest Dreams’, but here they seem more natural and fitting. ‘Dress’ is one of the album’s slower moments, but it still pulls through with the more electronic production present throughout ‘Reputation’, making it sound cohesive when by all accounts it shouldn’t fit in. It’s a beautiful song, but perhaps overshadowed by the album’s other heights, which just seem to reach higher.

There was inevitably going to be one song on the album which was a bite back at Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, after their infamous feud with Taylor over the past few years. That song is found in ‘This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things’, a ridiculous, over-the-top chant that sounds like children yelling on the playground. And yet somehow, it works. The delivery of each line, sneering and snapping, makes the song so much more intense. The instrumentation is always on the verge of collapsing on itself, and the childish chanting manages to both make a mockery of the Kardashian-Wests, and of Swift herself; she knows exactly how silly she is for indulging the feud, but she owns it. Her drawl on the line, “if only you weren’t so shaaaady…” emphasises the joke of the song, making it so much more enjoyable, and that cackle before the final chorus is so ugly that it’s pretty. This petty revenge jam is the perfect contender to close her upcoming ‘Reputation’ stadium tour.

We then fall into familiar Taylor Swift territory with ‘Call It What You Want’, which is unforunately a clear case of a song having been done better before. But here, the real shame is that lovey-dovey almost-ballads have been done better before by Taylor herself. Even if we’re taking the song on its own without comparing to her previous works, ‘Call It What You Want’ is lyrically weak, and structurally confusing. It makes use of Taylor’s love of following melodies which have barely any changes between notes, and also her almost-rapping style, but it never tries to work in any of the smart, piercing lyrics that brought her other love songs up so high above the rest. It also contains the disturbing lyric, “trust him like a brother”, which is an uncomfortable thing to say about a lover, and a declaration that would have been far better suited to Taylor’s redneck country days. Intended as a cutesy love song, the fact that ‘Call It What You Want’ never goes anywhere makes it easily forgettable in comparison to the rest of ‘Reputation’, and its almost unforgivably bad bridge places it very, very low in the rankings.

‘Reputation’ closes with the simplistic ballad ‘New Years’ Day’. Its time signature is bizarre and wonderful, and it’s a refreshing moment of stripped-back Taylor Swift after the extremely high-end production that makes up the rest of the record. There’s very little vocal editing, and no instruments other than a piano and acoustic guitar, leaving the focus on Swift’s sweet harmonies and untouched voice. This song is warm and homely, dancing with the idea of true love being found with the person who “helps you clean up the mess on New Year’s Day”, rather than the one you kiss at midnight. It doesn’t fit with the rest of the album at all, and it’s perfect that way. ‘New Years’ Day’ doesn’t sound particularly like anything Taylor Swift has done before, but it’s still familiar. Walking that line is what makes this album closer so nice, so comforting, and so beautiful.

All in all, ‘Reputation’ is a strong record, amongst Swift’s best and an interesting flip on her 2012 effort ‘Red’. There has been little public discussion of how this seems to be an intentional contrast; for starters, ‘Red’ was characterised all in capitals, whereas ‘Reputation’ is written entirely in lower case. Both albums also feature many mirroring lyrics, aligning with the track numbers. Amongst the most notable are 2012’s “stay, stay, stay” at track nine, versus ‘Reputation’s’ “go, go, go!”, and the opening number on ‘Red’ proclaiming that “love is a ruthless game”, whilst here, ‘...Ready For It?” urges that we “let the games begin”. At its core, that is what ‘Reputation’ is. It’s a Twitter clapback, it’s a declaration of adoration, it’s a love letter to her people. Most importantly, ‘Reputation’ is a challenge to Taylor Swift’s past self, and to her many future selves we have yet to meet.

Rating: 8/10

Review by youngBLOODfreshMEAT 4th April 2018