I'm Clifford Stumme, and I use literary analysis and research to explain the deeper meanings of pop songs. Feel free to leave a comment or to email me at clifford@popsongprofessor.com with questions or ideas!
All in song lyrics blog post
It's no surprise to fans that Taylor's latest album Reputation centers around a romantic relationship. Most of Taylor's public persona has been established by her numerous boyfriends and subsequent breakups, and in Reputation she uses that persona to her advantage, creating an almost satirical embrace and critique of the media's portrayal of her.
While the holiday that most people focus on during the new year is New Year's Eve, Swift entitles the final song on her album "New Year's Day" in order to highlight the fact that she doesn't want to just stick around for the party but for the aftermath as well: the clean up, the solitude, and even the bittersweetness of moments gone but memories made.
While maybe not the most notable song on Reputation, I think "Getaway Car" is one of the better written ones. It tells a clear story and uses some excellent imagery and metaphors that really make that story come to life for listeners. The music, while certainly still pop, is more stripped down than previous tracks and offers a laid back, thoughtful wistfulness as Taylor recalls past experiences.
Musically and lyrically "So It Goes..." (heretofore referred to as "So It Goes") reminds me of "I Don't Wanna live Forever." It's sexually focused, and it's very slick and intentional, verging on dark pop. The song is focused on some new boyfriend (the Internet would have us believe Joe Alwyn) who Swift finds attractive and who she apparently feels deeply connected with. The song itself though may prove to have further surprises.
"Delicate" maintains some of the new pop sounds that Taylor's been using throughout the Reputation album, but the lyrics truly seem more like old Taylor or even "Wildest Dreams"--a little sexual, a little edgy, but overall innocent and sweet, wanting something real from a new relationship. Of course, the relationship in "Wildest Dreams" was dying or dead, and the relationship in "Delicate" seems to be just beginning.
While "Don't Blame Me" continues shaping a Taylor Swift persona that few of us were familiar with before "Look What You Made Me Do," the music is certainly more toned back than what we heard in that song or in "...Ready For It?" The song's certainly still intense--especially those choruses--but interestingly this time it's the verses that are more stripped back--the antithesis to the hyped verses and chiller choruses of other songs that appear early in the album.
"I Did Something Bad" follows the same formula that we heard from "Look What You Made Me Do" or "...Ready For It?" Taylor Swift has turned over a new leaf, and is now a tougher, stronger, harder, version of herself. She's not going to roll over for anyone or wait for someone to come save her. She's ready to take control of her own life even if it means destroying her enemies.
Taylor Swift released Reputation on November 10th, and "End Game" is the first song new song that many of us heard when we started listening. This second track, which comes right after "...Ready For It?" is one of the most noteworthy tracks on the album because not only does it feature Ed Sheeran and Future, but it also heavily features the title of the album--Reputation--which suggests that this song is tightly tied to the meaning of the album overall.
Of all the new Taylor Swift songs, "...Ready For It?" may be the most unique and most "new." While fans weren't quite sure what to do with "Look What You Made Me Do" until the music video came out, and "Gorgeous" and "Call It What You Want" at least made a little sense as far as who we think Taylor Swift is, "...Ready For It?" left most of us scratching our heads. But that doesn't mean the doesn't mean something interesting, so let's get into it.
Taylor Swift's "Gorgeous" was an especially trying one for me to explain. I stayed up until midnight to explain it and spent most of my first video talking about how people would probably think that it meant Taylor Swift was admitting to be a bisexual. Luckily for me, before it was up for long, my loyal fans explained the real meaning to me, and the next morning I started fresh and created the video you see below in which I explain the true meaning of the song. While not as controversial as Taylor Swift coming out of the closet, "Gorgeous" may still have a meaning that surprises you.
"Look What You Made Me Do" has to be the most contentious song of my Taylor Swift-listening lifetime. I thought "Bad Blood" was a departure for her, but "Look What You Made Me Do" seems to have even less to do with the sweet, pure, country singer in songs like "Mean" or "Our Song." Of course, Taylor Swift as an artist certainly is allowed to change and develop, but I don't think anyone six years ago or even three would have expected this. Of course, that's not me saying that "Look What You Made Me Do" is a bad song--that's for you to decide--but both music and lyrics are clear departures for her.
But "Call It What You Want" is certainly my favorite of the four new songs she's released from Reputation up to this point. It's simple, it's pure, and it feels honest. Not only that, but I think the lyrics truly do mean something to her, and I think they're going to mean something to you as well.
Again, Kesha surprises us with a new single and music video seemingly out of the blue. "Praying" surprised everyone last Thursday morning (particularly surprising because music usually drops Thursday at midnight rather than early in the morning). And now "Woman" is her next single from her upcoming album Rainbow. And this one sounds more like classic "Ke$ha"--swearing, partying, and ego-boosting. But it's different ego-boosting from her earlier work. This time, she's not deriving power from her party-girl status, but from her womanhood.
You're going to have a heart attack, but I didn't really get into music until after Jay-Z stopped producing music because he had to manage a label and not seem like he was biased towards promoting his own music. So, that being said, I don't know a lot about him other than all of the all-but-confirmed (by his and Beyonce's lyrics) rumors that he cheated on Beyonce. But I feel like "4:44" is about all of the introduction I need to who he is. He lays out everything here.
Due to an exclusive contract with Dr. Luke, Kesha has not been able to record or release music as an artist since 2014, the year she began a lawsuit claiming that Dr. Luke's contract was unlawful and enabled him to control every aspect of her life. Thankfully, in March of 2017, Dr. Luke's position as CEO of his record label expired, and Sony, the company who owns that record label didn't renew his contract and appears to have released Kesha from her contract. So, now she's able to release "Praying" and later in August Rainbow.
I've already explained seven out of the eleven songs on Evolve, and I'm not going to explain every song on the album. Two of the ones I've explained so far have been unfortunately rather shallow or rather vague in a "pop music sort of way" that leaves me wanting something deeper from Dan Reynolds and Imagine Dragons. So, to make sure that I wasn't wasting time, I looked at the last four I hadn't explained yet and decided that "Rise Up" was likely the deepest one I hadn't explained. The song's interesting, written almost entirely by band members, and focuses on a theme of improving one's self. Let's see if it stands up to explication.
While explaining several of the songs from Imagine Dragons's new Evolve album, I've the album playing in the background, and few songs have piqued my interest like "Yesterday." Each time it comes on, my ears perk up and I wonder, "Wait, what song is that?" I think it's because Imagine Dragons seems to be digging further back into the indie/alternative roots with this song. There's the eclectic voice emphasized and a bouncing, pounding drum-piano medley to give the track character and texture.
"I Don't Know Why" is the first song from Imagine Dragons's new album Evolve. It might be one of the poppiest songs we've ever heard from them (at least until you listen to "Start Over" which goes so far as to adopt a Justin Bieber jungle beat). "I Don't Know Why" only goes so far as to be a pulsing, pumping pop rock smasher that reminds me more of Demi Lovato or Maroon 5. The song is intense, sexy, and lyrically focused on dangerous love.
I've heard some bad things about Evolve so far. In fact, some of those things came from reviewers before the rest of us even got to hear the album. Two song reviewers that I trust gave it 3 and 2.5 stars out of 5 respectively, but I still fought to disbelieve that Imagine Dragons could turn out anything less than stellar. And I'm still fighting that. I'm just starting my explanation process. In fact, I've only explained the four singles, and I'm explaining "Mouth of the River" because it was one of ARTV's favorite tracks from the album.
We're moments away (at the time of the writing of this) from Imagine Dragons dropping Evolve and the seven songs from them that we haven't heard yet. While waiting, I realized I hadn't blogged about "Whatever It Takes" yet, so I decided I'd better give it a shot. I've already blogged about it and made a video explaining it, but it's time to get serious and to explain it line-by-line.
