Y'all are probably going to laugh about this post and think I'm silly. But I just feel like writing about it and going down memory lane, if you will.
It's fun to have one thing you've loved for a long time, that you keep coming back to year after year. For some people it's a certain book or a movie series. In a lot of ways, music has always been that for me. Taylor Swift is at the top of the list probably.
I remember the first time I saw her in concert with my mom and middle school friend in 2008. She was on tour with Rascal Flatts who I was really more interested in at the time. (And by interested, I really mean absolutely obsessed but that's probably for another nostalgic post. 😂) Taylor had just released "Love Story" on the radio and I remember being SO hopeful that she would sing it at the concert and she did. I'm not joking when I say that it gave me chills when she started playing it just because I was so full of excitement and that kind of special feeling you get when you hear a favorite song. I wish I had pictures to share, but that was almost 10 years ago so who knows where they are now!
The second time I saw Taylor Swift perform was on the RED tour in 2013 with my little sister, Rachel. Ed Sheeran was on tour with Taylor and it was pretty stinkin' great. I was blown away because she changed outfits like 20 times. It was the first concert I drove and went to without an "adult" - I was the adult now haha. Enjoy this extra blurry picture of our good sister memory.
Here we are years later. I'm 2.5 years married, have a 15 month old son, and I'm still listening and getting excited about her new music.
Reputation is not my favorite album of hers and I doubt it ever will be. It doesn't have that cohesive feeling or emotion like I normally get from her other albums. Overall I would say the album has fewer genuinely sweet love songs than I would like, she does a lot more talk-singing in a monotone voice, and some of the songs are little too vengeful for my taste. Ha! So I definitely have some issues with it. However, there are a few great ones on there too. I'll list my favorites at the end, so keep reading.
I'm still glad I decided to pick it up. She's changed as an artist over the years, that is for sure. I've changed too. I think change is a normal and good thing for an artist to do. I'm not going to be one of those people that complain about how Taylor Swift went from country to pop. But I think it's interesting that there's something that still remains that brings all those familiar emotions back up to the surface.
I know I'm not the only one who has that one thing they'll probably just love because it holds a special place in their growing up years. Doesn't matter if it gets a bad reputation. (See what I did there?) Or if it changes over the years. Or if it seems a little childish. Or outdated. It might be a "guilty pleasure," something that makes you feel nostalgic, something that makes you remember. That's how I feel about Reputation.
If you haven't listened to Taylor Swift's new album yet, I would recommend these favorites to you:
Delicate
Dancing With Our Hands Tied
Call It What You Want
Getaway Car
King of My Heart
New Years Day
Happy listening! Xo Emily
Hold on to the memories they will hold on to you. And I will hold on to you.
