Taylor Swift - new music & album "Reputation" (November 10, 2017)*

Just saw a story on the news and Right Said Fred was quoted as calling the song "a marvelous reinvention"...

 

Well they would. It's the first bit of cash they'll have had for years.

 

Just played the song with my daughter who's been a fan since fearless. She likes it. I think most of it is fine if a bit of a retread of something like 'we're never getting back together' with the gimmick voicemail thing. I hate the chorus though, sounds like that awful Meghan Trainor me too song.

 

Right said Gregorya... I believe the exact quote was "marvelou$ reinvention"...

 

I wonder if any of the songs on her new album will sample Deeply Dippy?

 

I'm surprised we didn't get a "Greatest Hits" type release between 1989 and this new album.

 

Me too. Maybe next year?

 

I like the lyrics but not the medley or production on the first single. Overall, a pretty big letdown. The song just sounds tired.

 

I got to the chorus of the new song and stopped it. Very disappointing. She sounds very unhappy and not in an inspired way.

Wasn't there some rumor that this was going to be her "return to country" album? What happened with that?

 

It was a rumor with no basis in fact.

 

It may have been a rumor based on the fact that she wrote "Better Man" for Little Big Town. Plus it is still possible the new album contains a mix of sounds and styles...

 

I know what sampling is. I thought there was a loop under part of the song but I stand corrected if there is not. I also understand the royalty arrangements for the sound recording vs publishing side of the biz believe it or not I did a masters project on the aesthetics and legal aspects of pop music sampling back in 1992 when the it was still the wild wild west days of sampling on the legal and business front.

 

The latter seems unlikely to me given the "hard" look and feel artwork and the deliberate "the old Taylor's dead" message of the first single

 

That's a bummer. My daughter was looking forward to Taylor returning to her original sound. She didn't like the last album.

 

Exactly what I thought.

 

I wonder if the Right Said Fred credit is simply a proactive move to stave off the "an element of your song sounds like my hit song" litigation trend.

You know, the reason Marvin Gaye now has a credit on "Blurred Lines", and Tom Petty on Sam Smith's "Stay With Me".

 

Sounds pretty much aimed at Kany to me, but what do I know?

 

I was rooting for her. I really liked 1989, it was my first entry back into anything-mainstream-pop for, like, two decades.

But this is definitely just some snarky tweet-level lyrics set to a Zzzzzzzz EDM track. Disappointed.

 

She had a good run. Time to go away for awhile, start a family, and detox from fame and superficial crap that ordinary people can't relate to. Celebrity has a downside and Taylor is trapped in it. At this rate, she could be the next Michael Jackson. Or Prince. Or Elvis, Or...

 

Geez, one mediocre single and she's the new drug-addicted Elvis or Michael Jackson? Really?! I think you're being a bit dramatic...

 

Dramatic but I get the message...

The release and branding of the whole new project is super controlled. Her first new statement/product in two years. And this is what she comes up with?

Celebrity culture is inherently self-obsessed. But IMO, coming from TS at this point in time, she's really getting into a solipsistic celebrity trip that people can't relate to, or even care about. I won't get political, but like...now is NOT the time for that.

 

Well, if you use someone else's copyrighted material without credit or payment, of course there's gonna be litigation. That's always why people give credit and share publishing or license the sound recording, because otherwise your violating someone else's copyright. "Blurred Lines" was different, although a court ruled otherwise, most experts believe the "Blurred Lines" didn't actully use any of the Gaye copyrighted material, just the feel of the record, which theoretically isn't copy protectable and factually in the case wasn't part of the material registered with the copyright office.

In this case, Swift and Antonoff deliberatedly used the material -- if there's not a sample buried in the mix I bet there was a loop on the original production beats when they were working on the song -- and so shared the publishing. You can actually cover anyone's copyrighted song any time you want and just pay a statuorily definied royalty, but I'm not sure if that applies to a derivative work. In any event, with a big record like this they probably negotiate a publishing percentage on the song. That kind of stuff and sample clearance and licensing is now a routine step the the pop album making process.

 

Just stating that I thought "Reputation" was bland and non-descriptive. At least words like "Red" and "Fearless" actually give something to bite into. Are we allowed to criticize art?
However, I guess it may refer to the lawsuit where the DJ accused her of ruining his reputation. Not sure that makes it any better...

 

I thought pretty much all of the singles from 1989 were great and catchy. If the singles from Reputation are as bland as the lead single I'm going to be very disappointed in the album.

 

Unfortunately we are starting to review and judge an album that we haven't heard based on one song. One thing i usually find is that the weakest track is sometimes released first (at least on spotify) which is what I think may have happened here. Unfortunately there is going to be a huge hype attached this song due to it being her first in 2 years. Hopefully the album will much better.