Girlfriend is heading to a listening party in her new orange PJs with her friends so I can probably listen through twice before she gets home. We’re doing the movie theater thing tomorrow night.
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Damn. She’s good.
First lesson was meh. Just a bit poppy…which is odd.
Started the 2nd go and it’s better.
Goes to show you shouldn’t judge an album on one listen
Album dropped at 2pm Sydney time. Time diffference from US East Coast coming in clutch for a change.
(Last week was 3am alarm to watch the Sunday singles at the Ryder Cup)
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Travvy for 120+ and 2TDs this weekend
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It’s a Max Martin produced album, we were always returning to pop.
Halfway through my first listen from the drive up to work, Opalite and Actually Romantic are my favorites so far.
Laughing at Father Figure and how I think George Michael.
Also the guitar strumming on Actually Romantic makes me think of the drums on Where Is My Mind? by the Pixies, like the sirens should drop in where the vocals start lol. Or maybe there’s another song I’m thinking of that I can’t quite pin down at the moment.
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I think it’s fine. Some of the lyrics are cringe imo but she’s always tiptoed that line so that’s not a big deal. None of the songs jumped out to me as something that’s going to end up being on the popularity level as some of her older stuff. Anymore Taylor just kind of lives in the lower end of her vocal range in her songs and almost half talks half sings most of her verses (admittedly saw this take elsewhere online and it made a lot of sense) and I guess I just want something that she really belts out sometimes. Could just be that she’s gotten older and her voice has changed too. Or I’m just getting older and have changing tastes. I’m not really throwing shade her way but the last couple albums just haven’t really been my tempo.
Also a bit disappointed because in the new heights episode she was on she talked this up like it was going to banger after banger of high energy stuff and it’s a bunch of mid to slow tempo stuff and didn’t meet the expectation I had from that interview.
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There are a few songs that have similarities to other songs, but not been able to pinpoint exactly. I guess that comes with a limited amount of chord progressions etc.
I think I got to the 3.5 times of the way through before needing to actually do some work, and the songs are growing. Haven’t got any full favourites though, even if Wi$h Li$t makes me chuckle, same with Actually Romantic.
Also, weird how the sky was Maroon before, now it is Opalite…
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I’m canceling CANCELLED!
I said that the intro to Wood sounds like the intro to a late 70s/early 80s sit-com (it was late, not my best comparison but not horrible). Woke up today and I saw someone else say that it sounds like a Jackson Five song, and that’s probably almost perfect.
Agree with that (not the disappointed part per se, just what I thought it was gonna be). I thought it was gonna be an album of Manchild/Espresso/Cruel Summer type stuff. It’s not that.
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I’m on my first listen, but if you’d told 2006 me that Taylor Swift would at one time write and sing the lyric “turns out my dick is bigger” I’d have called you a damn liar.
One listen obviously, but I’m edging towards an “Opalite is a banger” take.
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It’s fine overall and will inevitably grow on me, but woof the Sabrina Carpenter cos play of Wood was no bueno
Opalite was my favorite first listen through last night. We’ll see how subsequent listens and the movie theater experience shapes that going forward.
Yikes, poor Olivia Rodrigo.
I’m not nearly as many laps through this album as some of you, so apologies if this is an underdeveloped idea.
Seems to be a general air of disappointment in here about new album. While it won’t be making my top albums of all time ranking, and some of the lyrics are cringe, I have to say if I had 10 album plays to split between showgirl and tortured poets, it’s probably 9/1 in favor of showgirl. Big improvement from her last effort. It’s a solid pop album.
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Just finished. I’m with you. I think my lukewarm take is that I like it. Not my favorite. Not my least favorite. Somewhere in a high B towards B+.
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I think that’ll shift over the next week. Like TTPD… at first people are like “what’s this?” but then you hear the lyrics more, you call back to the end when you listen to the beginning… you start to understand each track for what it’s worth.
TTPD did it through sheer volume. Lot of good songs on TTPD, but a lower percentage. This will have a higher percentage, but maybe fewer tracks because there are only 12. (Though two of my girl golfers lists TTPD as her favorite album. That’s rare, I think?)
Opalite is probably my favorite right now, but I think that’ll change. It just hits the clearest right now, but may lack the depth of some of the other songs.
Anyway, I’ll hang up and listen. Curious to hear what Nora has to say (and a tiny bit what Nathan says). Largely avoided engaging much on X yesterday. I did see that the leaks were actually the tracks, though.
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Going to listen to album on repeat at work today. Will report back with hot lame takes.
Opalite is a banger
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Respectfully disagree-my favorite track on the album.
Covered in Reputation vibes.
“It’s easy to love you when you’re popular
The optics clock everyone prospers
But one single drop you’re off the roster
Tone deaf and hot let’s fucking off her”
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