The release of “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” last August caused quite a stir. What seemed like an innocently perfect song to mend broken hearts had turned into something of a debate. Such as the usual, “who’s this song about this time?”
YouTube comments have provided a variety of feedback:
“I love this song so much! Taylor Swift is an amazing artist. Let haters be haters, it is their choice. And people shouldn’t be saying comments back. There is no point, the fans of Taylor Swift are wasting their time. Like if you agree!”
— Rachel Kennedy
“Taylor Swift, do us all a favor and go pop. You are no longer country and you’re giving country a bad name. I am tired of people saying they like country when all they like is YOU. You have potential in pop, you’ll do well in pop, but I really wish you wouldn’t be clogging up the country channels. You were once a good country singer – I used to like you. But now? No.”
—xEaglexBetrayalx
“Lyrically, this has got to be one of the stupidest songs I’ve ever heard. But I’ll be damned if it’s not catchy. Musically and vocally, they did everything right. And to people complaining, just because something is simplistic doesn’t mean it can’t be good music. Plus, they took a big chance with the video. The whole animal costume thing could’ve turned out incredibly lame; instead, it ended up being funny as hell. Yeah, the lyrics need a lot of work, but otherwise, it’s a fine piece of art.”
—Alexis Brooke
Simply put, you either love it or you hate it. And if you hate it…the repetitiveness of the “evers” will haunt you. It’s more than likely the song will eventually start to grow on you. But regardless of the who, when, what, or why of the song, audiences are left to ask this: what’s the rest of her album going to sound like and is she still doing country? As a Taylor Swift devotee I was eager to find out for myself. When the album dropped in stores I drove to the closest Target, popped the CD in my car. After continuous listening to the whole album for a few weeks I’ve come to this conclusion:
Regardless if she’s traded in her country style for a crown in pop royalty, it’s safe to say that Red is a good album. And on that note, you go Tay-Tay Swift! You get 4/5 stars for me.
Perhaps my high ratings comes from my ability to personally connect well with the songs (#foreveralone), but still the album in its entirety is pretty great. Not to mention there are honorable features on some tracks, like Ed Sheeran on “Everything Has Changed.” The album’s genre style is arguable as most songs seem to lack the country vibe. “I Knew You Were Trouble,” “Starlight,” “Stay Stay Stay” and “22” are some of the few upbeat songs. “22” is much similar to “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” in which Taylor mentions that despite being “free confused and lonely at the same time” it can be pretty “magical.” Most girls in their twenties find an affinity to this song just as they do when they shop at Forever 21; we all just want to remain emotionally invested in our twenties. “Stay Stay Stay” talks about a potential lover who will stay with you even if you decide to “throw a phone across the room at [him].” As sweet as that sounds, I doubt my own significant other would “walk in wearing a football helmet saying ‘ok let’s talk.’” “Red,” the song for which the album is titled, might require some in-depth thinking. A majority of the song contains a bunch of color analogies. One of my own friends pester me about how loving someone can be like a color. Still, I find them to be pretty clever. Anyone who rides in my car will fall victim to Taylor Swift’s Red. Although there is some positive feedback, I still get (excuse my lack of better words)…barfy looks.
The song topics in Red stretch from being a hopeful couple to realizing you probably should’ve never started dating in the first place. Needless to say, it’s typical Taylor. Even if there are more beats and bass drops, it’s still Taylor. And I like it.
However, it’s always best to listen to the album on your own and make your own judgment!