By now, a majority of radio listeners know what song’s coming up when they hear, “I stay out too late…” It’s the opening lyrics to Taylor Swift’s latest attempt at pop music. I say “latest,” while many other reviews call it her first pop venture (despite the fact that her previous two albums, Red and Speak Now had no traces of country music, aside from the popular song “Mean”) as there the song doesn’t include a banjo.
“Shake It Off” is Swift’s attempt to adress all of her “haters,” saying that they don’t bother her. However, the chorus of the song stating “the haters gonna hate” just seems like a poor attempt to make a joke of the situation. Throughout the entirety of the song, Taylor continues to make jokes about herself. However, the jokes fall flat, especially considering Taylor Swift’s previous albums had so much more substance to them.
Speak Now was one of Swift’s greatest musical accomplishments thus far. It was named one of Rolling Stone’s Best Albums of the Year. It also earned several award nominations, and even won a Grammy. In this album, Swift seemed to be growing up, talking about the loss of innocence and her regrets in life. However, since Speak Now, Taylor Swift has seemed to regress back in her songwriting (and singing) skills. While Swift has never had a heart-stopping voice, she did have talent. But, now, it seems to have been snatched away and replaced with the voice of just another manufactured pop singer.
Swift’s new bubblegum image, seen in “Shake It Off,” contradicts her tougher, more gritty edge in Speak Now, seen in songs like “Back to December” and “Haunted.” “Shake It Off” plays like another mass-produced pop song, clogging up the airwaves. It’s a good song to pass the time in the car, but when it’s played four times in less than two hours, the song starts to lose its luster.1989 is the title of Swift’s newest album (and includes the “Shake It Off” single), but it does not look like a promising transition for Swift into the world of pop music.