Moroni's Review of Taylor Swift's "Red"

Okay, I am admittedly not a Taylor Swift fan.  The only reason I am doing this review is that my ex-wife got the album, and I figured that I would review it to be "diverse".  I put it off, and my friend Nikki asked me when I was going to do my review.  I said, "I am waiting for her to break up with her new boyfriend."

Yeah, I've made plenty of Taylor Swift jokes in the past.  For instance, my kids and I will sing loudly to the radio in the car, "WE are never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever getting back together!"  And then we throw in a few more "evers" for good measure.  I have made a few posts about her voice sounding like the bleating of sheep.

But honestly, all my sarcasm aside, she writes her own music, which is more than I can say of the Rihannas and One Directions of the world.  It may not be my kind of music, but you gotta respect art, no matter what form it comes in.  So what if every song is about a boyfriend that ditched you?  Beauty comes from pain, right?

My review process is that I will put the headphones on and listen to music while I do other writing projects.  I will listen to the album over and over while I work - sometimes just on the periphery of my consciousness, until something grabs my attention.  Then I stop writing and I listen.

Admittedly, I already had some preconceived notions about this record when I started listening to it.  I was plotting the bad review, and, after the first listen, I was patting myself on the back for being right. The record was boring.  It didn't grab me.

Second listen, what the crap!  This is actually kind of catchy.  By the third listen, I had to admit to my ex-wife that I kind of like this album.  I am never going to be a Taylor Swift fan.  I am not rushing out to buy her back catalog.  But I can kind of tap my finger to this album.

I did notice something odd.  All of the songs that she co-wrote with others, with a team of writers, are the songs I like.  The songs she wrote by herself don't stand out to me.  It makes me wonder if the real genius behind her music are the writers in the background.  I wonder of she "writes" her music the way Avril Lavigne "writes" her own music.  "22", "I Knew You Were Trouble", and the ubiquitous song they overplay on the radio.  My favorite song is a duet with Gordon Lightbody from Snow Patrol called "The Last Time".

But my absolute favorite song is a little bluegrass ditty called "Stay Stay Stay", which really reminds me of one of my all-time favorite bands, Nickel Creek.  And guess what - she wrote it all by herself!  It is the only song on here that sounds remotely country.  In fact, this album has a decidedly "not country" feel to it, and more like a pop album.

Believe it or not, I do like country music, and I have disliked how country music sounds less and less like country music anymore.  I have made an observation - rock ballads, country songs, and R&B hits - all of them today sound like they were written without any genre in mind, a blank slate, so to speak.  The song is written first, and then a genre is slapped on once it is sold to the highest bidder.  That is how music sounds anymore nowadays - as processed and "natural" as a Twinkie (R.I.P.)

My oldest daughter has said that she is "obsessed" with this album.  It will never be that way for me.  But I admit.  It is catchy.  It tastes pretty good.  Like a McRib sandwich.  It fills you up, but ultimately there is no nutritional value there.

So I might be tapping my finger today.  But tomorrow, I will have forgotten this album and be back to jamming to the Pixies.