In 2010, Taylor Swift had something to prove. with the release of talk nowThe crosshairs star was making a statement: every song on the album was written by Swift alone, basically the entire time she was touring her previous album, fearless. Where their debut record was wide-eyed and optimistic, and fearless was the upbeat and energetic follow-up that proved the singer-songwriter is here to stay, talk now A little sharper around the edges – there’s more heartache, more applause for the critics of the era, and more musings about a rejected young woman.
Almost 13 years have passed since then talk now He reached the world. It’s a record that felt noticeably absent from “The Eras Tour” (get tickets here): “Enchanted” is the only song from the album in the usual rotation. blink f talk now Part of the show is already gone.
Now, though, the album Swift has used to establish herself as a solo songwriter is getting her time in the sun — so put on your favorite purple T-shirt and settle down. Speak now (Taylor version).
This is our love
Swift stretches an interesting line talk now: There are traces of youthful love, particularly in tracks like “Sparks Fly” and “Ours,” but most of the album has a definite thorn. Some of these moments work better than others, even after so much time has passed — “Mean” is still the perfect country pop to silence the haters and detractors. (How much of this song helped bring down Perez Hilton’s gossip empire? We’ll never really know.)
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“Dear John” is also a comforting listen for young women who feel taken advantage of by an older romantic partner. Less effective is “Innocent,” the song often interpreted as an indulgent response to Kanye West’s infamous onstage interruption that set off a pop culture chain reaction that would follow both parties for far longer than anyone expected. Misleading at the time of release, “Innocent” is even worse now — lyrics like “It’s okay, just wait and see / Your string of lights is still shining bright for me” don’t seem applicable to the Ye of 2023.
Overall, though, the nostalgia for the original tracks is on talk now It takes up a different space than Swift’s previous two albums, as well red And 1989 that followed. fast than talk now He’s haunted by the knowledge that youth slips by quickly—”Never Grow Old” and “Live Long” feel like remarkably self-aware girl-goodbyes, and the record’s best lyrical moments still hit all these years later.
