Illustration by Grace O’Keefe
“I’m sorry, the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, ‘cause she’s dead,” sings Taylor Swift on her new album, Reputation, which – as you might expect – is all about protecting and reinventing her own image. As a celebrity, you will always have a reputation. Some of it will be of your doing while other parts of it will come from what people say about you. Moreover, if you don’t like what they are saying about you, then it is your job to go out there and change. That’s what Taylor Swift did in her newest album: she changed your perspective of her and made you want to put her album on repeat.
What may surprise you is that the album is spectacular and reminds us all that Taylor Swift is a master lyricist. People have speculated that these songs are about her relationships with two recent ex-boyfriends, Tom Hiddleston and Calvin Harris, as well as her feuds with Kimye (Kim Kardashian and Kanye West) and Katy Perry. There are clear references in her lyrics, but Swift ultimately lets us interpret for ourselves.
One of her lyrics from “I Did Something Bad” says, “I never trust a playboy / But they love me / So I fly him all around the world / And I let them think they saved me.” This is supposedly a reference to ex-boyfriend Tom Hiddleston and their vacation around the world, but she never comes right out and says it.
Swift lures you in and gives you a glimpse of her life but never more, maintaining the level of mystery that Taylor Swift has been known to cultivate. Another lyric that I love from this album comes from her song, “Call It What You Want.” She sings, “I want to wear his initial / around my neck, chain round my neck / Not because he owns me / But ‘cause he really knows me.” This was the song that was presumably about her new boyfriend, Joe Alwyn. It gives you a few details without really giving anything away, although it still makes you feel like you can relate to Swift.
She creates her own image and stops letting the media have a say in it. Although she presents herself as vulnerable and hurt by a former flame in her lyrics, she struts a new confidence, undeterred by outside expectations and media criticism.
In all these songs, Swift debunks her old media image, especially in the song “Look What You Made We Do.” She says what you may think but makes it clear that is not her at all. The media makes her seem like a heartbreaker or a person who jumps from guy to guy because she writes so many breakup songs. “Look What You Made Me Do” talks about the media and how they made her look and then talks about who she wants to be. Her music video for this song was interesting because at the end of it showed different versions of her public image, sort of like different portraits of herself, and none of them were truly her, but images of her media has constructed. What is great about these songs and music videos is that she give you her side of things and debunks what some people say about her.
The only downside to this album is that some tracks were overshadowed by the electronic beats that are in almost every part of the album. Songs like “Dancing With Our Hands Tied,” “King of My Heart,” and “Delicate” could have benefited from more of an acoustic sound that Swift fans are familiar with.
Since the computer bits sometimes muffle the lyrics or her tone was lost in the computer. It would have worked better if the electro beats were places in key areas but the base was acoustic. Even though these songs didn’t entirely work, the majority of the album was a huge success despite the few areas in the production where it faltered.
Overall, this album was worth the wait. Taylor Swift brought her A game, from the album cover to her lyrics to the production to her social media posts leading up to the release.
Whatever her reputation was before, she has a new and better one now that’s managed by her, and not controlled by outside forces.
The songs that shine the brightest are “ New Year’s Day,” “Look What You Made Me Do,” “Call It What You Want” and “…Ready for It?”.
Her lyrics are revealing about her life which is great because part of music is relating to words being spoken. By letting us in even just a bit, she creates a connection with us and that has us latch onto to something in all of her songs.
All in all, Reputation is a very strong album from Taylor Swift.