Thursday, November 20, 2014

Style

Today's Taylor Swift song is the meaning of the song "Style" from her album 1989.

This song it sounds like two different songs, the chorus and the verses have a different and distinct sound.  This first part of the song sounds like you are driving around with just a drum and synthesizer playing an ostinato, the same musical phrase over and over.  The chorus has a fuller sound incorporating a lot more instruments and a lot more confident tone. It all makes it sound amazing and really defines the two moods of the song.  The verses focus on the story and Taylor's uneasiness in the romance.  The guy comes picks her up at "midnight" and she knows that last time things didn't end well. But her reasoning is ignored, because their relationship is just that good.

Photo courtesy of Taylor Swift

Taylor said at her livestream secret session October 27, 2014 "When I wrote this next song I was thinking about how we have these kind of fashion staples that never quite, we never quite throw them out of our closet, right? No one's going to be like, why are you wearing a little black dress, no on wears that, that was so two years ago. Everybody has that perfect little black dress or for a guy that great white t-shirt that fits you perfect. You may not necessarily wear them all the time, but they're always there in the back of your closet in case you need to go to your old standby, that classic thing that always works.  I was thinking about that, and I then I was thinking about how there are feelings like that, how there are trends that never go out of style and how there are feelings that never go out of style.  Do you see where I'm going with this?"

She compares the love to classic looks like "red lip classic", "long hair/slicked back
White t-shirt" and a "James Dean daydream look in your eye", who coincidentally make the white t shirt famous.

Who was this romance with that never went out of style?

James Dean in a white t-shirt
Just take a look at the name of the song, Style.  It was Harry Styles. 

Taylor Swift told On the Air with Ryan Seacrest, on October 31, 2014, "Well it's basically kind of one of those relationships that's always a bit off. I talk about in another song on the record, a crooked love, which is kind of like never quite synced up right.  The two people are trying to forget each other and they've both been out with other people and they've both tried to forget the other.  It's like, I heard you went out went off with her and you came back and well I've done that too so... I would never have said anything like that on a previous album.  My previous albums have always been sort of like, I was right you were wrong, you did this, it made me feel like this, kind of a sense of sense of right and wrong in a relationship.  What happens when you grow up is you realize that the rules in a relationship are very blurred, and that it gets very complicated very quickly. There's not always a case of who was right and who was wrong."
Taylor Swift and Harry Styles recreating a classic pose 12/11/2012
from Dirty Dancing.  Harry has his white t-shirt on :)
This is exactly how their story went down.  Taylor met Harry at the 2012 Nickelodeon Kids Awards in March 2012.  Then she saw him in the news with other girls, hence the lines, "I say I heard -Oh
That you been out and about/With some other girl".  But while he'd been out with other girls, she'd been out with other guys, Conor Kennedy.   Hence the lines, "I said I've been there too a/Few times".  This happens all the time.  I had friends in high school that liked each other, but never at the same time. They were always dating other people usually at opposite times. They finally got in sync when they went to college.  When they decided they wanted to get married, they waited for a few years, because one of them was out of the country always doing something.  It took a long time, but their love is solid.  There are some things in life that are just classic and will never go out of style, sounds like they had a great time together!

Interestingly enough he wrote a song about Taylor in rebuttal to her album, "Perfect".  Click here for the meaning of that song.

Click here for lyrics to the song, "Style".

PS This was the last song written for the record on February 19, 2014.
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Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Friday, November 7, 2014

Blank Space

Today's Taylor Swift song is the meaning of the song "Blank Space" from her 1989 album.

This is a really fun upbeat song from her album and definitely a fan favorite.  From a musical standpoint, the chorus is my favorite part of the song.  It has a really good melody.  My other favorite part of the song comes during the bridge, "Boys only one love if it's torture".  She does amazing things with her voice that sound a lot like Lorde's music.

Who is this song about?

Photo courtesy of Taylor Swift

It's about Taylor, kind of.  Taylor told Chris Willman of Yahoo November 6, 2014,  I just wanted "to write this completely satirical song about the fictionalization of my personal life, and just kind of poke fun at it."

In her secret session livestream on October 27, 2014 she said,  "This is a song that I wrote with Max Martin & Shellback and I always bring them lots of ideas. I bring them like 4 or 5 first choruses that I've kind of worked on and I decided that I like them. We decide together which ones we're going to work on that day. With this one I did not think it was going to get picked because I kind of wrote it as a joke. I was thinking a lot about, you guys know, you've seen in the last couple of years, it's been interesting what the media has decided to fictionalize and sensationalize about my personal life. It's been pretty gnarly.  I was thinking about that. I was thinking about how they've drawn up this character, she's like emotionally unstable, and needy and clingy, but she gets all these boyfriends but they leave her.  She's devastated.  She goes to her evil lair and writes songs for emotional revenge. I was thinking about the juxtaposition of that and my actual personal life which involves just kind of me just sitting there with two cats watching Friends marathons. But I got to thinking about it and I thought, which one is more interesting to write about? I thought the character they've drawn up, although it may be fictional, it's actually sort of interesting. I thought of this line that went, 'I've got a long list of ex lovers/They'll tell you I'm insane/But I've got a blank space baby and I'll write your name.' "

The song has a lot of satirical elements to it, "I get drunk on jealousy", "You look like my next mistake", "I'm dying to see how this one ends", "Got a long list of ex-lovers, They'll tell you I'm insane, But I got a blank space, Baby, And I'll write your name.", "Be that girl for a month", and "boys only want love if it's torture".

Taylor's rooftop livestream secret session October 27, 2014, photo courtesy of iHeartRadio
But what makes the song extra special is how she uses this song to illustrate her thoughts about love, as many great writers do. (Jane Austen I'm looking at you.) In this song she sings about guys with "New money, suit and tie".  Some guys think the way to impress is by having nice things.  I went on a date once with a guy and he had a nice car and that was it.  He didn't know how to treat a lady, he didn't open doors and talked about himself the whole time.  I was not impressed and kept asking myself, am I really on a date? She addresses the fact that some guys only like the chase and once they have the girl it's over, with the lines, "Love's a game, want to play?" and "Boys only want love if it's torture".  She answers the media and those game loving boys with "So it's gonna be forever, or it's gonna go down in flames".  She doesn't want someone who isn't willing to commit. "I can read you like a magazine".  She can see through them and see exactly what they want. And she says she's not going to just take it, "I can make all the tables turn/Keep you second guessing like/Who is she/I get drunk on jealousy". Yes the media may spin it it to appear she is just jealous, but she is not going to take someone who is playing around, as no one should. She knows some guys just want a "girl for a month", like the latest thing, but she wants someone that is going to be around forever. She uses this song to let the media and potential suitors/ex suitors know exactly what she doesn't want in a relationship.  She doesn't want to leave people with "a nasty scar", or with the pain. She doesn't want to have the "worst [] yet to come", tell "pretty lies" and "get drunk on jealousy".  She is not "dying to see how this one ends", but she wants her relationship to be "forever" and not "go down in flames".

Dating is really all about wading through the muck (alot of muck) to find that diamond, to find that prince. It takes time and lots of lots and lots of dates.  It can last forever and it can be the best thing that ever happened in your life.  I hope Taylor you can "grab your passport" and someones hand and not just make things "good for a weekend", but good for "forever".

Click here for lyrics to the song, "Blank Space".

Click here to see the music video for "Blank Space".
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Tuesday, November 4, 2014

All You Had to Do Was Stay

Today's Taylor Swift song is the meaning of the song "All You Had to Do Was Stay" from her 1989 album.

Photo courtesy of Taylor Swift

This song tells a story of a guy who begged to be back in Taylor's life after they had ended their first attempt at romance.  She says in the song, "People like you always want back/The love they gave away/And people like me want to believe you/When you say you've changed." He kept wanting to get back together with her, and she believed him. But he didn't stick around, wasn't fully committed. He "drove [them] off the road", an allusion to "Out of the Woods" where they ended up at the hospital. The guy got stitches because he couldn't drive the snow vehicle on the road. She then says he was the one that changed his mind wanted to end it, "Let me remind you.../This was what you wanted/You ended it/You were all I wanted/But not like this..."  She wanted him, enjoyed being with him, but he ended it.  She says that in the end even though "People like you always want back/The love they pushed aside/But people like me are gone forever/When you say goodbye".  He said goodbye and she is gone forever. She is not getting back together with him. She tells him in the song that If he really had wanted her "all [he] had to do was stay."

Who is this song about?


It's about Harry Styles and how he ended their relationship the second time around after he tried and tried to get back together with her. The relationship was a whirlwind, and he could never fully commit.  He was all she ever wanted, but he just couldn't stay around.

One of the interesting parts of this song is story of the high pitched Stay. Taylor told fans in her ask/reply on Youtube, "I think the oddest scenario that I ran in to when I was writing this album was when I woke up from a dream that I was having.  It was kind of one of those social anxiety dreams, where you get embarrassed in front of a person that you don't really want to be embarrassed in front of.  In this dream I was trying to talk to someone and instead of being able to speak normally the only thing that would come out of my mouth was this very high pitched singing, going, STAY, the word stay, but it was sung really high and that was all that would come out of mouth, instead of just normal talking. So I woke up from the dream, I was really weirded out by it.  I decided to incorporate that sound into a song called 'All You Had to Do Was Stay.' I'm very lucky that I had that very weird dream because it's a great song."  I can totally relate to Taylor, I've had some very weird vivid dreams, where I couldn't fly, or I could fly, couldn't read something, or the dream just unfolded and I had no control, but I remember lots of details.  I even had a dream to a while ago that I'm turning into a novel, look for that later.  I'm glad that she was inspired by her dreams, because I sometimes think I am weird that I have such vivid dreams.

This song is similar to "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", but nicer. You can tell she has grown since writing that song. In WANEGBT she told her suitor that she was never getting back together with him. In this song she is tells her suitor (a different suitor) what they should have done to stay together, why she is gone forever. He just had to stay.

Click here for lyrics to the song, "All You Had to Do Was Stay".
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Monday, November 3, 2014

Out of the Woods

Today's Taylor Swift song is meaning of the song "Out of The Woods" from her 1989 album.

When I first heard this song I could definitely hear the 80's sound, especially the intro. According to USA Today it features percussion and synthesizers, a Yamaha DX7 and a "super-distorted Minimoog Voyager". Taylor wrote this song with Jack Antonoff, he wrote the track and then she put lyrics and a melody to it.  What she came back with was brilliant Jack said to USA Today, "she wove this whole story that felt like it came from the outer space of your head."  One of the most interesting things about the development of the song was Jack's voice being used as the back ground.  He told USA Today, "I just chopped this piece of my voice singing and started looping it over and over. Then I started banging on some drums I had in the room and stomping on the floor and sampling all these sounds to make this big bombastic looping beat with the sample on top of it."

Photo courtesy of Taylor Swift

Taylor says, "This song is about the fragility and breakable nature of some relationships, this was a relationship where it was kind of living day to day wondering where it was going if it was going to go anywhere, if it was going to end the next day.  It was a relationship where you kind of never feel like you're standing on solid ground.  That kind of a feeling brings on excitement, but also extreme anxiety, and kind of a frantic feeling of wondering, endless questions.  This songs sounds exactly like that frantic feeling of anxiety and questioning. But it stresses that even if a relationship is breakable and fragile and full of anxiety, it doesn't mean that it isn't worthwhile, exciting, beautiful and all the things that we look for." The verses and the chorus serve as a counterpoint to one another.  The chorus is repetitive and frantic, "Are we out of the woods", and "Are we in the clear" repeated over and over.  Then the verses have a distinct melody and tell a story. She is wondering, hoping if their relationship is in the clear. She spends the whole song looking for that clear, just to get that relief.

I think a lot of people can relate this this stage, the honeymoon stage in a relationship, where everything is new and exciting, but you don't know where you stand, the relationship stands, what the other person wants. You are just dating and it can be so stressful.

Who is this song about?

Taylor Swift and Harry Styles wearing matching airplane necklaces.
It's about Harry Styles. They dated twice, but this song is about the second time they dated. It was a whirlwind romance. They dated from November 2012 to January 2013. The whole time was crazy. She told Rolling Stone "every day was a struggle. Forget making plans for life – we were just trying to make it to next week." They were in different cities all the time, Taylor promoting her new album Red. They met in many places; meeting up in Central Park for a very public date, New York for New Year's Eve, LA for her performance on X Factor, LA for him to get a tatoo, London for her birthday, Utah to spend some time in the snow where the line "20 stitches in a hospital room" came from, and finally Virgin where things ended and Taylor was seen leaving on a boat by herself.

According to Rolling Stone "She says it was inspired by a snowmobile ride with an ex who lost control and wrecked it so badly that she saw her life flash before her eyes. Both of them had to go to the ER, although Swift wasn't hurt. She corrects herself: 'Not as hurt.' "  This was their ski trip in December 2012 in Utah. She asked the hospital staff not to say anything and they didn't.  It was a miracle.  She told Rolling Stone she included this line because "People think they know the whole narrative of my life, I think maybe that line is there to remind people that there are really big things they don't know about."

Photo courtesy of Harry Styles
The song describes other things they liked to do together that the media didn't see, taking Polaroids, wearing matching airplane necklaces (I wonder if they chose this because they had to fly to be with each other), "moving the furniture so [they] could dance". But the pace was too frantic, it didn't work out. They were constantly hounded by the media, they couldn't be alone. It scared them so much, they "couldn't take the heat", she "walked out", and said “I’m setting you free.” But later Taylor realized that the monsters chasing them were just trees, not as scary as what they had imagined. I hope that Taylor doesn't give up on love, because there will be a time when she will get out of the woods and it really doesn't matter what other people think of her relationships. I am glad she enjoyed this one even if it was so stressful.
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1989 World Tour dates

Taylor Swift just announced her 1989 World Tour dates, here they are. I've included presale ticket dates and public sale ticket dates. Which one are you doing to? Vance Joy and Shawn Mendes will be joining her.

The tickets go on sale November 14 with presale tickets selling on November 7 to American express meembers and taylorswift.com members in select cities, other cities are noted below.


Target is selling these 1989 shirts for 16.99. 


May
5 - Tokyo Dome, Tokyo Japan, Public: December 13, 2014
6 - Tokyo Dome, Tokyo Japan, Public: December 13, 2014
20 - CenturyLink Center, Bossier City, La. Presale: November 14-20, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 21-10:00 am local
22 - LSU Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, La. Presale: November 6-12, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 13-10:00 am local
30 - Ford Field, Detroit, Presale:November 14-20, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 21, 2014-10:00 am local

June
2 - KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Ky. Presale: December 5-11, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, public: December 12-10:00 am local
3 - Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Presale: November 7-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
6 - Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Presale: November 7-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
8 - Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, N.C., Presale: November 7-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
9 - PNC Arena, Raleigh, N.C., November 7-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
13 - Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Presale: November 14-20, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 21-10:00 am local
19 - Lanxess Arena, Cologne, Germany, Publick: November 13, 9:00 am CET
20 - Lanxess Arena, Cologne, Germany, Presale: November 3-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
21 - Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam, Holland, Presale: November 3-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
23 - The SSE, Hydro Glasgow, U.K., Presale: November 4-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
24 - Arena, Manchester, U.K., Presale: November 4-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
27 - British Summertime Hyde Park, London, U.K., Presale: November 4-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local

July
6 - Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, Ont., Presale: December 5-11, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, public: December 12-10:00 am local
7 - Bell Centre, Montreal, Que., Presale: November 7-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
10 - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ., Presale: November 18-20, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 21-10:00 am local
11 - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ., Presale: November 7-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
13 - Nationals, Park Washington, D.C., Presale: November 14-20, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 21-10:00 am local
18 - Soldier Field, Chicago, Presale: November 7-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
19 - Soldier Field, Chicago, Presale: November 17-20, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 21-10:00 am local
24 - Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass., Presale: November 7-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
25 - Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass., Presale: November 7-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local

August
1 - BC Place Stadium, Vancouver, BC., , Presale: November 14-20, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 21-10:00 am local
4 - Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alb., Presale: November 14-20, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 21-10:00 am local
5 - Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alb., Presale: November 14-20, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 21-10:00 am local
8 - CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Presale: November 14-20, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 21-10:00 am local
15 - Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif., Presale: December 5-11, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, public: December 12-10:00 am local
17 - Gila River Arena, Glendale, Ariz., Presale: November 7-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
18 - Gila River Arena, Glendale, Ariz., Presale: November 7-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
21 - Staples Center, Los Angeles, Presale: November 17-20, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 21-10:00 am local
25 - Staples Center, Los Angeles, Presale: November 7-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
26 - Staples Center, Los Angeles, Presale: November 7-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
29 - PETCO Park, San Diego, Presale: November 14-20, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 21-10:00 am local

September
4 - EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah, Presale: December 5-11, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, public: December 12-10:00 am local
5 - Pepsi Center, Denver, Presale: November 14-20, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 21-10:00 am local
6 - Pepsi Center, Denver, Presale: November 14-20, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 21-10:00 am local
9 - Fargodome Fargo, N.D., TBA
11 - Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minn., Presale: November 14-20, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 21-10:00 am local
12 - Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minn., Presale: November 14-20, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 21-10:00 am local
16 - Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Presale: November 7-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
17 - Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio, Presale: December 5-11, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, public: December 12-10:00 am local
18 - Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio, Presale: December 5-11, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, public: December 12-10:00 am local
21 - Sprint Center, Kansas City, Mo., Presale: December 5-11, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, public: December 12-10:00 am local
22 - Sprint Center, Kansas City, Mo., Presale: December 5-11, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, public: December 12-10:00 am local
25 - Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Presale: November 7-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
26 - Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Presale: November 7-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local

October
2 - Rogers Centre, Toronto, Presale: November 7-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
3 - Rogers Centre, Toronto, Presale: November 7-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
8 - Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa, Presale: November 7-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
9 - CenturyLink Center, Omaha, Neb., Presale: December 5-11, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, public: December 12-10:00 am local
10 - CenturyLink Center, Omaha, Neb., Presale: December 5-11, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, public: December 12-10:00 am local
13 - Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Presale: January 23-29, 2015, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, public: January 30, 2015-10:00 am local
14 - Scottrade Center St. Louis, Presale: January 23-29, 2015, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, public: January 30, 2015-10:00 am local
17 - AT&T Stadium, Dallas, Presale: November 7-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
20 - Rupp Arena, Lexington, Ky., Presale: December 5-11, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, public: December 12-10:00 am local
21 - Greensboro Coliseum Complex, Greensboro, N.C., Presale: February 20-26, 2015, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, public: February 27, 2015-10:00 am local
24 - Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Presale: November 7-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
27 - AmericanAirlines, Arena Miami, Presale: November 7-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
31 - Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Presale: November 7-13, 10:00 am-10:00pm local, Public: November 14-10:00 am local
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