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kaylorrehabcenter · 3 years

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Don’t Blame Me Analysis: Or a Thesis on What the fuck was up with Kaylor

In 2016 I started reading Kaylor theories, and at the time I fully believed they were in a long term omitted relationship and that they were, if not married, definitely engaged. As I grew away from those theories, I still returned to Kaylor, trying to figure out what exactly happened between them.

If you read the amazing @bisluthq’s realistic kaylor timeline, you get the vibe that Josh and Karlie were off and on towards the beginning of their relationship, with some sort of break around the time of the Kaylor Big Sur trip and a reconnection around the following Met Gala. (The same Met Gala reference in lwymmd and Wildest Dreams) This leaves a gap around that time of the Big Sur trip. We can assume then Kaylor probably wasn’t serious, as we know Karlie ultimately chose Josh and started converting to Judaism around 2015.

So what about Don’t Blame Me then?

Don’t Blame Me is on, what I usually refer to as the A side of reputation. This would be the loud, bombastic side where Taylor plays up the vengeful character created by the media. It also immediately follows “I Did Something Bad”, which while I don’t think is ~about~ Kaylor, it’s interesting in the context of being immediately before a song where she sings about participating in an affair. Or at least something affair adjacent.

Don’t Blame Me also carries a lot of imagery I very strongly associate with Kaylor. The daisy reference and trip of my life being some of the most obvious. Drug references are in another big kaylor song for me, Illicit Affairs, and I believe it shows Taylor thinking of Karlie and their relationship as an addiction. She knows what they are doing is wrong and stupid and she will get hurt, but she keeps coming back.

If you assume Cruel Summer is also a Kaylor song, lines like “I love you isn’t that the worst thing you ever heard” seem to suggest Taylor was the more invested party. The line following that one “he looks up grinning like a devil” also seems to invoke imagery of Josh, perhaps specifically of him and Katie reconnecting and Taylor realizing that whatever Kaylor was was over now.

“What doesn’t kill me makes me want you more” after all.

While this interpretation of Kaylor is more depressing, I believe it makes more sense with Taylor’s music as we see it now. It explains her recent obsession with affairs, and songs like Don’t Blame Me and Cruel Summer work much better for me at least, if they’re about a relationship never fully committed to. Taylor is begging on her knees for Karlie to stay, everyone is saying she’s gone too far this time, but she’s willing to risk everything just to touch Karlie’s face again.

Look at this godforsaken mess that you made me indeed.

Return to Don’t Blame Me’s position on reputation, why would a song that carries a lot of Kaylor imagery and themes be on the A Side instead of the softer and emotionally intimate B side. The song immediately following this is Delicate, which explores a softer hesitancy then you see in any Kaylor song. Those emotionally intimate songs could exist for Karlie somewhere in Taylor’s archives, but they certainly aren’t on Rep, at least from my perspective. I believe that this song being on the a side has something to do with how public it was, as a friendship and as a relationship. Especially when you consider how differently she treated Dianna and Lily, she was way more public with Karlie.

You can spin this into Don’t Blame Me being about kissgate or a glass closeting anthem, and if you believe in the traditional Kaylor story, that makes sense. But I come back to lines like “Halo hiding my obsession” and the daisy reference feeling so blatant. Yes you can easily make hetero or Joe explanations for them, but surely Taylor, or at least someone on her team, would know how the daisy line would be interpreted. Maybe all of this is to play with the public perception of Kaylor, as much as anything. While it was never mainstream per say, it was known especially in the Swiftieworld, and people caught the reference fairly easily.

In some ways, that interpretation of it reminds me of the 1, of Taylor forcibly reminding someone who never chose her, never committed to her that they were something beautiful and important and real, and it will haunt you the rest of your life.

Of course to some extent it’s exaggerated to fit the vibe of Rep, and of course I’m not Taylor and I could fully be talking out of my ass. But I think all that I’ve talked about here makes this song more rich and more complex than a fairly simple. Don’t Blame Me for going into hiding to keep my boyfriend, and that’s enough for me.

#don't blame me #song analysis #k*ylor #it feels nice to write again!!!#also it's funny cam and cara's ep came out while i was working on this lol #text post

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taste-in-music · 5 years

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My Top 10 Favorite Hit Songs of 2018

I’m going to say it. This year’s popular music SUCKED. As I attempted to keep in touch with the US Billboard charts, the music I saw getting big every week only assisted in my losing faith in humanity. Pop music just wasn’t popular this year. And that’s not to say that pop music is dead or that there isn’t any good pop music being made, (just look at my entire page,) but it certainly wasn’t getting as much success in the mainstream as usual. I get it. Music trends come and go, and what’s big in at one point in time might not be in another Just think about how much R&B there was in the 2000s, and how club/EDM anthems were giant in the early 2010s. This year was dominated by hip hop, which I have nothing against in theory, but at least have it be GOOD hip hop music. I know there’s amazing hip hop out there, but that’s not what I saw getting popular. The bad stuff this year was really bad, at best bland and forgettable and at worst unlistenable garbage music made by garbage people. But rather than focus on the bad, I think that it’ll be better for my sanity to focus on the good, just to assure myself that even when the charts are dominated by shit there might a diamond hidden somewhere. This is the chart I will be using. So, without further ado, here are my best hit songs of 2018.

10) One Kiss by Calvin Harris ft. Dua Lipa This isn’t my favorite Dua Lipa song by far, (or Calvin Harris song,) but this is still a ton of fun. The production is simple, but tropical and uptempo, with a glossy, shuffling background beat and synthy horn riffs, and Dua Lipa’s performance helps elevate it all. This song radiates summer, it’s like having a tall glass of orange juice on the beach. My only problem with the song is the drop, with the pitch-lowered vocals and continuation of the background track. It feels a bit lazy and is too short to really build up steam. Otherwise, this song is pretty good. It was certainly refreshing to hear on the radio every so often.

9) Eastside by Benny Blanco ft. Khalid & Halsey This song is so relaxing and smooth. The production is simple, with a mid-tempo beat and a couple fluttering notes her and there, but it suits the subject matter of the song, which is very nostalgic and bittersweet. As always, I love the sound of Khalid’s voice, (though his pronunciation on this song is kind of garbled, it’s hard to tell what he’s saying,) and Halsey’s performance is good too, never dipping into grating territory like it does sometimes.The two of them have great chemistry. Also, the music video for this song is both funny and heartbreaking. It low key made me cry? I never heard this on the radio where I live, and only listening to it recently when making this list, but it’s certainly one of the best hit songs of the year.

8) LOVE. by Kendrick Lamar ft. Zacari Kendrick Lamar made a… pop song? Kind of? Okay, I wouldn’t call it pop, it’s definitely still hip hop, but it’s got some R&B and pop elements to it. It’s his version of a pop song. While it may not Kendrick Lamar’s best song, it’s still Kendrick Lamar. Him not at his “not best” is a whole lot better than other artists at their peak. The production is bold but at the same time chill, with a smoky kind of atmosphere. I’ve never listened to Zaraci, but his voice is wonderful here, cutting through the background music and Kendrick Lamar’s rapping like a ray of sunlight. I’m going to be honest, I mostly love this song because the CHVRCHES version is so good (listen to that here.)

7) Love Lies by Khalid ft. Normani This is one of the only pop songs that got consistent radio play where I live, and while the overplay did wear this track out a bit, I still like it. I never changed the station when it came on. Khalid and Normani have great chemistry, (what is it about Khalid that makes him so good at duets? With Eastside, this, lovely with Billie Eilish…) I love their harmonies on the chorus. Normani is a very promising vocalist, I’m excited to see what she comes out with in the future. The production is solid, with that low (I think guitar? synths? IDK) riff, snap percussion, and vocal layering in the backgrounds.

6) IDGAF by Dua Lipa The. Tell. Off. Anthem. Of. The. Year. This is a guilty pleasure of mine, I can’t say that this song is particularly good, but I’m literally in love Dua Lipa, so I don’t care. She’s sassy as hell on this song. The production is so catchy, especially with that plucky guitar melody and those pianos that come in as the song progresses. I love the bridge, where it goes back to just her and guitar, and it slowly builds back up to the final chorus. My only problem with hearing this on the radio is that it always had to be the censored version! I mean, I get why, but listening to the censored version of this song is like eating an unsalted Saltine cracker. It’s completely against the point.

5) Delicate by Taylor Swift I haven’t heard the entirety of Reputation. I don’t think I’ll ever go out of my way to listen to it. Look What You Made Me Do and ...Ready For It? were pretty awful, but Delicate? Delicate I really love. I didn’t like LWYMMD or ...RFI? because they were grating, lacked subtlety in their lyrics, and the production was all over the place. But this song takes the lyrical themes in those songs and presents them in a more vulnerable light, which works a lot better. And the production is very nice too. Everything flows together so smoothly. I like how the chorus is just her voice with the snaps in the background, and then melodies rush back in for the “drop.” This song washes over you and it’s perfect for a late night drive.

4) Boo’d Up by Ella Mai Praise the heavens for this song’s success. I remember when I first head it, it was so pants-shittingly good that it blew my mind. Ella Mai’s vocals are gorgeous, going through the melodies with such ease and grace and using vibrato in just the right places. The production on this song is lush as hell. I love the blocky percussion, light cymbals, and twinkling pianos. My only problem with this song is the extended spoken word outro, which gets a bit tiring. Otherwise, this is an amazing song.

3) when the party’s over by Billie Eilish I’m cheating here. This song didn’t make it onto the year end list, but I just had to include it. This song is heart-wrenching in all the right ways. Billie Eilish’s vocals are quiet and reserved, dipping into her higher register, they’re just so vulnerable and sad. She emits so much emotion on this song. The production on this song is simple, with just a piano, some distortion, background vocals, and not much else, but that’s what makes it work so perfectly. Anything else, and this song would become too cluttered. I’m so happy that this has hit the charts and is picking up steam, because god knows we need more promising, unique, and talented voices like Billie Eilish’s in the mainstream.

2) Finesse (Remix) by Bruno Mars ft. Cardi B Sometimes, you just need a song that’s downright fun. That’s how to describe this song. FUN! It’s so energetic and fucking catchy, everything about it clicks into just the right place. I don’t like Cardi B, but she’s pretty great here. Bruno Mars is great here. The production is slick as hell, with the bells and the drums and the sound effects. That little doh-pah sound in the chorus? Amazing, low key my favorite part of this song. You can’t not dance to this song. It’s perfect for a party playlist, or even when you just want to feel happy. This was such a relief to hear on the radio in between all the forgettable mush, like a rainbow pouring through the clouds.

Should Have Been Hits

Strangers by Sigrid This song had a ton of chart success in Europe, but didn’t cross over to the U.S. I guess we weren’t interested in listening to a bubbly, sunny BOP AND A HALF.

Paradise by George Ezra George Ezra, you know, the “Budapest” guy? That song was pretty good, wasn’t it? Another hit in the UK, this song features an electric, rushing beat, sick guitars, and George Ezra’s wonderful deep voice. I only have one issue with this song, and that’s that the line “running though your bloody veins” makes my skin crawl. Otherwise, this song is a total jam.

Answerphone by Banx & Ranx & Ella Eyre featuring Yxng Bane Slaps to the gods. Holy lord. This is the summer smash we deserved. Listen to it NOW.

Sun In Our Eyes by MØ ft. Diplo C’mon, we can give MØ another hit, can’t we? One where she isn’t sidelined into a feature slot? No? Our loss, then. This song isn’t my favorite off Forever Neverland, but had the most potential to become a hit, (I even heard it in a Starbucks one time,) and it deserved to.

Honorable Mentions/Guilty Pleasures

Wait by Maroon 5 I’m willing to admit that this song isn’t that good. Adam Levine’s falsetto is grating, the beat staggers all over the place like it’s drunk, and the production turns everything into soup. But something about this song keeps me from hating it like I know I should. Maybe it’s the fact that I find it kind of relaxing, maybe it’s because Alexandra Daddario is in the music video and she’s really pretty... I don’t know.

Friends by Marshmello ft. Anne-Marie Okay, this song straight up SUCKS and I kind of like it a lot? The production is a mish mash of random noises that sound like a robot having a seizure, Anne-Marie’s voice get annoying, and the lyrics are reprehensible. Still low key love it though. It’s like drinking Mountain Dew: you know it tastes cruddy and is bad for you, but there’s a spark to it that keeps you coming back.

Nice for What by Drake In a year where Drake absolutely DOMINATED the charts, this is the song by him that I liked the most. It’s got a groove to it with that Ms. Lauryn Hill sample and some decent lyrics.

Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD It’s just fucking catchy, man I don’t know what else to say. (It’s not even his melody, really. It’s a Sting sample.) This song is the epitome of whiny sad boi emo rap, and the positively dreadful lyrics reflect that. I’m not going to say this song is even remotely good, (it’s probably one of the worst songs of the yeah, tbh,) and I’m not going to defend it. I’m ashamed enough as it is.

Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer Who would’ve thought that the band that came up with “you look so perfect standing there in my American Apparel underwear,” one of the dumbest lyrics ever put to music, could come up with something good? This song has a propulsive feel, like you could go on a run to it. I like the “ooooh” that come in during the chorus too. Count this in as my number 11 pick.

All the shitty schlock music that got big this year was starting to weigh me down. I was in a state of mind, if you will. But then, something happened. I heard a song, a pop song, a good pop song. A great pop song. A song with an angelic opening, a surprising yet amazing switch-up, and uplifting lyrics. And then, in that moment, I knew that something wonderful had happened, that a god has returned from the heavens, and that I, now, had no tears left to cry.

1) no tears left to cry by Ariana Grande This song is awesome, okay? The production is catchy, the lyrics and fun, the chorus soars like a goddamn eagle, and the vocals? Do I even have to tell you? It’s Ariana Grande. This powerhouse performance puts all those mushy mouthed vocal deliveries that ruled the charts this year to shame. And in the midst of all the slower tempoed songs, I remember hearing this song and thinking: “by god, you can dance to this.” All of these elements come together and form something special, something damn near perfect. no tears left to cry by Ariana Grande. My favorite hit song of 2018.

Do you agree with this list? What were your favorite hit songs of 2018? Leave a comment and let me know!

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highlineheartbeats · 6 years

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Every Song on Taylor Swift’s reputation

As analyzed by Time Magazine

1. “…Ready For It?”: Starting things off with a thumping bass line and rallying cry, “…Ready For It?” also offers one of Swift’s prettiest melodies. “In the middle of the night, in my dreams, you should see the things we do,” she sings sweetly before switching into her new-era rap-singing. “He can be my jailer, Burton to this Taylor,” she insists, name-checking a famous — and drama-filled — pairing, and setting the scene for the rest of the album’s investigation of the perils of stardom.

2. “End Game” (featuring Ed Sheeran and Future): Swift tapped her good friend Sheeran for this slow-jam-style track, a self-reflective — and self-aware — plea to both the listener and a lover. “I wanna be your end game,” Swift sings off the top, allowing in a little vulnerability — before jumping into a rap-sung chorus. “Big reputation, you and me we got big reputations,” she chants, recognizing the baggage that her stardom brings (and name-checking the album’s title, of course). Of-the-moment rapper Future of “Mask Off” success adds in a slick verse, sticking to the love-against-the-odds theme. Swift goes on to sing she doesn’t want to be an “ex-love” and that she isn’t into the drama; it’s just her burden to bear. This is peak Swift: emotionally open, but ready and willing to have some fun with the hype around her own persona. Sheeran’s contribution comes in the form of another rap-sung verse in the same vein, seeming to reference his own relationship and the pitfalls that fame has placed in his path to love. His advice? Ignore the rumors.

3. “I Did Something Bad”: Swift knows that her critics have strong opinions about her; after all, the album is called Reputation. And in the bombastic “I Did Something Bad,” she appears to address some of the narratives that have surrounded her. “I never trust a narcissist, but they love me / So I play them like a violin, and I make it look oh so easy,” she opens this one over a sharp string pluck. “If a man talks s–t then I owe him nothing.” Here is new-era Swift: holding her head high, unapologetic and fiercely protective of her own success. Then, a funky dubstep drop brings shades of her mega-hit “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” into the mix. Heavily electronically manipulated, and punctuated with a strong beat, it’s a banger of a track — and her defiant response to her detractors. “I never trust a playboy, but they love me,” she insists, stating matter of-factly that it’s best to “leave before you get left,” and hinting that maybe her splashy former relationships weren’t all they might have seemed. And then there’s the kicker: “They’re burning all the witches, even if you aren’t one,” she croons on an auto-tuned bridge. “Go ahead and light me up.” Of all the quotable lines in Swift’s oeuvre, this one is right up there at the top for its blazing imagery.

4. “Don’t Blame Me”: If you’re a fan of Avicii or Kygo’s brand of un-rushed atmospheric electro-pop, you might like the rich, vibey notes Swift brings together in “Don’t Blame Me,” a moody, dark song that starts out swinging and pretty, and builds into a gospel-backed EDM anthem. “Don’t blame me, love made me crazy / if it doesn’t you ain’t doin’ it right,” she sings emphatically. “Lord save me, my drug is my baby, I be using for the rest of my life.” Swift has endured criticism for her relationships: the fact that she’s in them, the fact that she sings about them. “Don’t Blame Me” could be a clapback to that criticism, reminding listeners that the heart simply wants what it wants, as her friend Selena Gomez once said.

5. “Delicate”: Swift is, appropriately enough, at her most fragile on “Delicate.” Refreshingly honest, it’s a melodic electro-ballad with a resonant refrain. “My reputation’s never been worse so, you must like me for me,” she muses, her voice a light wisp, in a wry nod to her year in the spotlight before breaking down her insecurities: “Is it cool that I said all that? Is it too soon to do this yet?” Like pretty much anyone dealing with a new crush, Swift sings of moments of doubt. Perhaps even superstars have their sore spots. She couches this sweetly uncertain song in snippets of dates — at a dive bar, in her apartment — but keeps it about her circular internal monologue, always questioning just how much her feelings are being reciprocated.

6. “Look What You Made Me Do”: Swift’s lead single — and immediate chart-topper following its release — “LWYMMD” was a shocking reintroduction to the Swift of Reputation: hard, unapologetic, focused on retribution. Step aside, “Bad Blood,” this song is much more cutting. “I’ve got a list of names, and yours is in red, underlined,” she reminded her haters over a Right Said Fred sample. The propulsive beat and insistence that the old Taylor was “dead” only sharpened her point.

7. “So It Goes…”: Here, she switches things back to romance, reflecting on just how a new love interest might help her out of her fixations: “you make everyone disappear,” she explains in the moody, murky opening segment, which opens into a trap-lite chorus about getting caught up in the moment (and, of course, leaving some signature lipstick “on your face”). But for life with Swift, that’s just how it goes. “I’m yours to keep, and yours to lose. You know I’m not a bad girl, but I’ll do bad things with you,” she adds with a wink; this version of Swift has made a marked departure from her squeaky-clean roots as America’s Nashville sweetheart.

8. “Gorgeous”: Yes, that’s Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’s baby daughter James opening up “Gorgeous” with a gurgle. But the rest of the song deals with adult topics. Over a bubbling, chime-like beat, Swift sings about the irresistible power of attraction — even when it’s not the best idea. “You’re so gorgeous, it actually hurts,” she sings with frustration. “There’s nothing I hate more than what I can’t have.” Despondent, she talks of heading home to hang out with her cats — and then, with a wink, invites her object of attention to join her.

9. “Getaway Car”: Told as a dramatic story of a heist and an ill-fated love adventure over shimmering 80s-style production, “Getaway Car” is one of Swift’s most metaphor-driven tracks on the album. “We never had a shotgun shot in the dark,” she sings with a rebellious twang. “Nothing good starts in a getaway car.” Swift’s has often had its fair share of melodrama; remember “Into the Woods”? In “Getaway Car,” though, she calls herself a “traitor” who turns in her erstwhile partner in crime. Looks like Swift might be willing to flirt with the dark side, but she’s no good at following through with crimes — of the legal kind, or of the heart. Instead, she says, she takes the keys and leaves the guy stranded at a motel. It’s no happy ending, but it’s a reminder that Swift isn’t afraid to assert her independence.

10. “King of My Heart”: Taylor Swift has always been good at love songs. In “King of My Heart” she hits her sweet spot, over a synth-heavy track and strategic auto-tune assist. “I’m perfectly fine, I live on my own, I made up my mind I’m better off bein’ alone,” she starts off. But it doesn’t stay that way for long; after meeting a (evidently non-American) paramour who pursues her, the story (and the song) go straight into the romance. “You’re the one I have been waiting for,” she gushes, dissing some other guys with “their fancy cars” who didn’t quite measure up to this new interest. And yes, the character in the title is indeed the king of her heart — and body, and soul.

11. “Dancing With Our Hands Tied”: Although it starts off as a down-tempo, melancholy kind of tune, “Dancing With Our Hands Tied” adds in Swift’s now-rote trap-lite drop to amp up the drama on this will-we-won’t-we tale of star-crossed lovers separated by an unkind fate. “I had a bad feeling,” she suggests about the romantic interest, but she goes on to dance with him anyway; some chemistry just can’t be denied.

12. “Dress”: “I only bought this dress so you could take it off,” Swift sings slyly on “Dress,” her most overtly sexual work yet. She wants her lover to carve his name into her bedpost; her hands shake in anticipation. A breathy, synth-y track with lots of whispery vocals, Swift is unequivocal about her interest in this person as much more than a friend. “Made your mark on me; a golden tattoo,” she sings cryptically. It’s a departure from her usually PG approach to love songs, emblematic of a Swift who’s claiming her maturity more than ever.

13. “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things”: Kicking things off with a siren sound, Swift strips it back to a stomping call-out of the haters, a giddy sister of sorts to dark lead single “Look What You Made Me Do.” “Why’d you have to rain on my parade?” she asks, her voice petulant, sneering with humor and attitude. “This is why we can’t have nice things, darling: because you break them, I have to take them away.” When she tries to go diplomatic — “forgiveness is a nice thing to do” goes one line, sung in an angelic lilt — she breaks the fourth wall with a burst of sharp laughter. Swift is no longer willing to “Shake It Off,” as she once tried to do.

14. “Call It What You Want”: Maybe the most by-the-book Swift song on Reputation, “Call It What You Want” is a slow-burning meditation on the transformative power of relationships, filled with lyrical puns: “All the liars are calling me one,” she sighs at one point. “All my flowers grew back as thorns.” But this is still a love letter, and a reminder that Swift has moved on from the fray around her so-called “reputation.” “My baby’s fly like a jetstream, high above the whole scene,” she sings proudly, making it clear that the baby in question has taken her along for the ride.

15. “New Year’s Day”: Her one acoustic piano ballad on the album, “New Year’s Day” is a tender and intimate love song. The snapshots are sweet and evocative: glitter on the floor after a party, candle wax and polaroids on the hardwood floor, holding hands in the backseat of a taxi. “Hold on to the memories,” she repeats in the chorus, “and I will hold on to you.” Nostalgic for the moment even as it’s happening, it’s a lovely, effecting closer, letting Swift’s voice and earnest message shine without the complications of over-production. She may get her kicks with big pop anthems, but vulnerable ballads like this one are just as much a part of her musical DNA.

Lifted from Time Magazine

#time magazine #time #reputation #taylor swift #reputation review #review #ts

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