Taylor Swift - The Life of a Showgirl (12th album)

The life of a showgirl - I expected this album to end with a big fat shart but this is actually good also. not sure why Sabrina is on it, or why it's the first and only song here that actually nods to the album title in any way. but it's cute.
 
01 - Father Figure (I'm going to regret going this low already, aren't I?)

George Michael's estate should SUE for DESECRATION. Never has a key change been so unearned, and never have I been less interested in dick.

05 - Eldest Daughter

Absolutely not for me, but at least this makes sense as a song. However Taylor should GET A JOB and STAY AWAY from Claudia Winkleman. :MilesPanic:

03 - Ruin the Friendship

You'd think that a song from the point of view of being in high school would be more playful and fun than this. It would make the turn more powerful, everyone knows that lyrical darkness works best over a DANCE BEAT
 
OT: Social media is a fucking nightmare already today, though. The amount of spurious connections to this release is already insane. I’ve had bars advertising “showgirl cocktails” and my local theatre trying somehow to link tickets for the panto to a “Happy Taylor Swift release day” post.
 
ZenGiraffe said:
01 - Father Figure (I'm going to regret going this low already, aren't I?)

George Michael's estate should SUE for DESECRATION. Never has a key change been so unearned, and never have I been less interested in dick.

05 - Eldest Daughter

Absolutely not for me, but at least this makes sense as a song. However Taylor should GET A JOB and STAY AWAY from Claudia Winkleman. :MilesPanic:

03 - Ruin the Friendship

You'd think that a song from the point of view of being in high school would be more playful and fun than this. It would make the turn more powerful, everyone knows that lyrical darkness works best over a DANCE BEAT
Click to expand...

Have you even actually listened to the songs fully or skipped through, as the timings of your posts suggests? :D
 
-99 - Actually Romantic

Everyone here should hand in their resignations and never work in music again:
1759475430914.png
 
Ariana clearly wanted to proper pop moments on Eternal Sunshine. Taylor wanted to stay in the lane she’s picked for herself despite opting for title like “The Life Of A Showgirl”. This feels like a case of “oh what could have been” - the recipe was there but the ingredients are subpar.

And I say that as someone who had a fair amount of time for TTPD.

If You Say So Shrug GIF
 
04 - Wi$h Li$t

I am still processing my anger and disbelief that anyone thought the last song was a good idea that this completely washed over me with no impact whatsoever.

03 - Wood

Now, why would you take a moment half way through your terrible album to remind us all of much better songs?

Anyway, SHALL WE?
 
there is a little part of Wood, the middle 8 maybe, that briefly threatened to take flight. it reminded me of I Know Places, I think? but then it reverted to basic.
 
Sheena said:
I did chortle, but that's not strictly true- it could be an interpolation of the tune itself rather than a sample and, also, Taylor seems to have history of not wanting to piss people off by giving credit to something that sounds only vaguely familiar (Look What You Made Me Do vs I'm Too Sexy for example)
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It's exactly the latter. It hardly sounds anything like the George Michael song.
 
07 - Cancelled

Release the directors cut of this song! You just know Max Martin unleashed would make this a 10. The best so far, but ultimately let down by a lack of ambition.

03 - Honey

Unremarkable.

07 - The Life of a Showgirl

This isn't terrible, but why centre a song and album around showgirls and then not give us anything to actually dance to? Though I appreciate that this goes quite musical theatre at least. Best song on the album, not that it was a hard bar to clear. Oh, and Sabrina Carpenter is entirely surplus to requirements.

OVERALL, this album hasn't drawn as strong a reaction as TTPD did from me, which I viscerally hated. Instead, it is broadly just a boring, pointless album that is a waste of everyone's time, and from the biggest pop star in the world, that is INEXCUSEABLE
 
Sheena said:
I’ve found the last two albums quite boring and impenetrable.
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I think this about sums it up. Impenetrable is the best word to describe her recent output; not because it's complex but because it feels like she's preaching her own congregation and the rest of us who are not hardcore 'Swifties' are not in on it. And I don't blame her to a certain extent given how big she is... apparently there was enough demand to fill 90 stadiums in the US alone for the Eras Tour? And then there is her singlehandedly pretty much keeping the physical format of records alive or something....
 
I'm up to Wish List. And I do agree it feels quite SAMEY, but I wonder if repeated plays are going to reveal its charms. It's certainly not worthy of the "ABSOLUTELY APPALLING" cries that have gone out here so far. But then that's perhaps her own fault for promising us an album of bangers...which this absolutely is not.
 
Just had to listen to My Tears Ricochet and Exile as a palette cleanser - and as a reminder that it doesn’t need to be BOP O CLOCK to be a good song. If she wrote My Tears Ricochet now, the lyrics would be something like “you played the board room like a board game, snakes and ladders - I’m climbing the ladder and you’re with the SNAKES on their SCOOTERS holding a BRAUN shaver”
 
2nd listen in
It still feels the samey.
It's not especially awful, just very same and sounds like Taylor Swift by numbers. And I still think the production sounds very cheap and tinny.
To think that, you know, back in the old days people like MJ would have production like Dangerous at this stage in their careers.
And she can absolutely do that if she wants.
Not to say that she should.
But yeah.
360/
143
 
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Glad to see she's finally being recognised as DREADFUL, like she ALWAYS WAS.

It's a CULT.
 
Just say that I wish to remove myself from the absolutely appalling narrative that I have not been involved in since 2009 (or in this case, about one hour.)
I maintain it's very much 'Taylor Swift by numbers'. There are some highs, some lows but mostly samey MORness...
 
Suedehead said:
2nd listen in
It still feels the same.
It's not especially awful, just very same and sounds like Taylor Swift by numbers. And I still think the production sounds very cheap and tinny.
To think that, you know, back in the old days people like MJ would have production like Dangerous at this stage in their careers.
And she can absolutely do that if she wants.
Not to say that she should.
But yeah.
360/
143
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That comparison is interesting, cause many would say that Dangerous was over-produced by that stage. (Not I, but still...).

Production generally nowadays is more bare bones across the board. I often think that with music the kids are listening to.
 
This album is definitely more produced than the last couple, bit not necessarily in a very pleasant way...

And her vocals are LESS produced. It's a weird mix
 
www.theguardian.com

Taylor Swift’s Charli xcx hit job misses the point – and underscores her tedious obsession with conflict | Laura Snapes

Sixteen months after Charli used Brat to air her anxieties about Swift, the US star’s graceless response is a missed opportunity for growth – and betrays her vengeful side
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

The think pieces on this album are going to be everywhere, but the comparison here between how Lorde and Taylor reacted to being called out by Charli is pretty damning.

Also apparently Cancelled! is about her MAGA friend Brittany Mahomes? :eyes:
 
Oh I'd happily ignore her FOREVER, but she's INESCAPABLE, so yes I'LL SAY WHAT I WANT TOO this time around.
 
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