Taylor Swift – Lover

[adamalterlago]

Fourth listen and it’s just not sticking. I don’t think this one is for me. There are some “good” moments but nothing sticks out. I actually don’t hear a smash hit like when I heard Blank Space for the first time. I think the closest they have for a #1 would be either Lover (but should have released at xmas?!) and Cruel Summer. Im not into The Man, it wouldn’t be a hit. I think she’s starting to reach that Beyonce stage where she’s becoming a legend, won’t have as many number ones as her prime days but will sell massively, which is OK! I want her to not care about hits or the charts and put out something totally left field!!

[wjr15]

Highlights: Cruel Summer, Lover, The Man, Soon You’ll Get Better

Lowlights: ME!, I Forgot That You Existed, The Archer, It’s Nice To Have A Friend

The rest is middle ground for me.

Overall, decent album. Not as good as Speak Now, Red, or 1989 but this is a step up from Reputation. If they wanted to go with a cheesy upbeat pop song for a lead single, they should’ve gone with Paper Rings which is much better than ME! Also, I had a little bit of a chuckle with that transition from False God to You Need To Calm Down.

Songs I can see becoming singles: Cruel Summer, The Man, Paper Rings

[theflying]

Aug 23, 2019 9:49:40 GMT -5 👑 Eloquent ™ said:

Still LOVEing this.

Can't agree with the whole "this album doesn't meet the highs of Reputation", as "Cruel Summer", "The Man", and "Miss Americana and The Heartbreak Prince" are better than anything on Reputation and Lover's lows aren't quite as low as "Gorgeous". This sails above it for me fairly easily.

I am surprised there isn't a stronger visual presence on the Spotify app. I just see her under New Music Friday with "The Man" (and select few tracks) and way down the list on new release albums.

[/quote]

Hmmm...I'm curious what people think about Lover not quite having the same highs and lows as reputation.


To me, Getaway Car's final chorus is a huge high of Reputation that isn't quite matched (yet) on Lover. There's no gigantic note taking us to the end of Don't Blame Me. There's nothing as sheerly jarring (in a good way) as Ready For It. No tension-breaking moment like the drop to Dancing with Our Hands Tied's chorus. Nothing quite so tricky to let sit as "So It Goes".

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

What’s the difference between the four deluxe versions and the regular CD?

[👑 Eloquent ™]

Aug 23, 2019 10:21:02 GMT -5 theflying said:

Aug 23, 2019 9:49:40 GMT -5 👑 Eloquent ™ said:

Still LOVEing this.

Can't agree with the whole "this album doesn't meet the highs of Reputation", as "Cruel Summer", "The Man", and "Miss Americana and The Heartbreak Prince" are better than anything on Reputation and Lover's lows aren't quite as low as "Gorgeous". This sails above it for me fairly easily.

I am surprised there isn't a stronger visual presence on the Spotify app. I just see her under New Music Friday with "The Man" (and select few tracks) and way down the list on new release albums.

Hmmm...I'm curious what people think about Lover not quite having the same highs and lows as reputation.


To me, Getaway Car's final chorus is a huge high of Reputation that isn't quite matched (yet) on Lover. There's no gigantic note taking us to the end of Don't Blame Me. There's nothing as sheerly jarring (in a good way) as Ready For It. No tension-breaking moment like the drop to Dancing with Our Hands Tied's chorus. Nothing quite so tricky to let sit as "So It Goes".

I was never balls deep in "Getaway Car" like a lot of folks, so it was never a highlight for me (lyrics aside). "So It Goes..." was an interesting song, in that it was different, but different doesn't always mean good and though the chrous was solid, the verses lagged for me. "Take Me To Church" part 2 was great, but I prefer the three I listed. "Dancing With Our Hands Tied" was one of my favs from Reputation, but the drop you listed was my least favorite aspect of the song (lol), was dated in sound.

[👑 Eloquent ™]

Aug 23, 2019 10:25:32 GMT -5 Rose "Payola" Nylund said:

What’s the difference between the four deluxe versions and the regular CD?

From what I gather they each have 30 different pages from Taylor's personal journal entries throughout her life.

[theflying]

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I actually think Cruel Summer is a less good Getaway Car don't @ me

[billboardtopten]

Cruel Summer and Paper Rings should be singles and I Forgot You Existed should have been cut. A really good album, though!

[bornfearless2000]

Aug 23, 2019 10:32:08 GMT -5 theflying said:

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I actually think Cruel Summer is a less good Getaway Car don't @ me

It reminded me of Getaway Car but i think both are as good

[AP]

Cruel Summer is a lesser Getaway Car and Getaway Car was a lesser Out of the Woods. And the latter flopped as a single, so why do we think Cruel Summer would've smashed as the lead?

[theflying]

You can't have a song that's like Out of the Woods if it's more than 5 words. Come on.

[Marooned@Midnight]

After several complete album listens I’ve become convinced that Cruel Summer is her best song ever. It’s Out of the Woods and Getaway Car (already my previous top two) perfected. The one-two punch of Cruel Summer and Lover is an absolute high that isn’t matched elsewhere else on this album (or on Reputation at all IMO). So I guess I would say Reputation has more highs for me, but Lover has the highest high.

I think there’s actually about ten stellar songs here that are in another league from the rest of the album.

Cruel Summer
Lover
The Man
The Archer
Miss Americana
Paper Rings
Death by a Thousand Cuts
Soon You’ll Get Better
Afterglow
Daylight

Finally, I’m not a fan of False God. The recipe is there but for some reason I actually really dislike it. I can’t put my finger on why.

[Ace]

BRB LISTENING TO LONDON BOY ON REPEAT FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE 

[Suono]

Paper Rings sounds SO Jack Antonoff it’s like right off of a Bleachers album.

How in the WORLD was Cruel Summer not the lead single... GOING INTO SUMMER 2019?? Are they going to release this in the fall? What the hell. Maybe they’re saving it as a fourth or fifth smash single? I understand how ME! rights the ship better from the dark reputation era, but Cruel Summer is a masterpiece pop song that would have immediately got every skeptic onboard with the new ear.

[Future Captain]

I'd say the highs of the album is on par reputation's but the lows are better. Some of the songs could be cut and the lyrics could be better (How the hell did her lyrics sounds more juvenile now than it was 7 years ago) but overall a cute album that I'll have in rotation for a while.

[deepston]

Aug 23, 2019 10:56:30 GMT -5 Marooned@Midnight said:

After several complete album listens I’ve become convinced that Cruel Summer is her best song ever. It’s Out of the Woods and Getaway Car (already my previous top two) perfected. The one-two punch of Cruel Summer and Lover is an absolute high that isn’t matched elsewhere else on this album (or on Reputation at all IMO). So I guess I would say Reputation has more highs for me, but Lover has the highest high.

I think there’s actually about ten stellar songs here that are in another league from the rest of the album.

Cruel Summer
Lover
The Man
The Archer
Miss Americana
Paper Rings
Death by a Thousand Cuts
Soon You’ll Get Better
Afterglow
Daylight

Finally, I’m not a fan of False God. The recipe is there but for some reason I actually really dislike it. I can’t put my finger on why.

The taste jumped out! Just add False God to that list already 

[#brayden]

I’m enjoying the album. Having listened to it a few times now, I have to say that I don’t think “ME!” was a ridiculous choice for lead single. It’s the only song here that feels appropriate to lead the era even if it’s a bit annoying. “You Need To Calm Down” probably isn’t the song I’d have chosen for the second single, but I can understand why it was selected. If I were in charge of selecting future singles, I’d probably carry out the era as such:

03. “Lover” (best shot at a big hit, in my opinion)
04. “The Man” (very catchy and fun)
05. “Afterglow” (great song, catchy and also quickly becoming my favorite)

“Cruel Summer” is decent, but isn’t anything special and certainly doesn’t sound like a smash hit. I don’t understand all the praise for it.

[Choco]

Whitney knows her stuff.

[Deleted]

I finally had the chance to go through the album on the first listen and here goes...

I actually really liked the album, I mean really like this album and it was a surprise to me because I though I wouldn't like anything else here thanks to the two singles (which should've never, ever been singles even to begin with when they had much better and wiser choices, what the hell were they thinking!) Here are some of my highlights and thoughts from the album.

 Highlights:

Cruel Summer - This is one is my absolute favorite from the album. Love the synths on it and it definitely should be the next single, period. End. Of. Story. I will be mad if it isn't and it will be a wasted single, deserves to be a single.

Lover - Damn those drums are so good on this and it so stripped down that it really hit me and that's a good thing for me, a little awkward at times, but otherwise great tune.

Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince - Like the piano on this and very tamed but in a good way. Does anybody think that this song is about Trump and the 2016 election, there some references that I thought that could be about her thoughts on it or am I reading too much on it? ex. "scoreboard" = Electoral Votes, "blue house" = Democrat, "bad, bad girl" = Trump calling her that or other Republicans about her actions)

Paper Rings - Definitely very Avril and very Red-ish as well but a fun track.

Cornelia Street - Love the simplicity to the song, very chill. Like the beat as well.

Soon You'll Get Better - I wish the Dixie Chicks harmonies were more into this but it's still a very sombering and touching song and nice to see her in her country roots again for this song.

Afterglow - Louis Bell & Frank Dukes did a great job in the production of capturing what Taylor was writing about in this song. It's probably my favorite that Louis Bell has done so far in his career and love the writing for this as well.

There really isn't anything bad on this album at all but the two singles she has sent out are probably and ironically the worst on this album. I also feel this False God is a little underrated, sure it's a little weird but I like the R&B vibe that I got on this, it's really interesting and I had to give a shout out to her for trying something different. I like that but not a big highlight but it's good to me.

Overall, I love this album, I really do. I'm a hip-hop fan and there are other releases I want to here this week from that, but I really needed to listen to this. Just a cute, fun pop album, I needed some pop music in my life to balance out the hip-hop that I like and I appreciate that, really I do.

I don't like this more than 1989 but I absolutely love this waaaaaaayyyy more than Reputation and most likely her first three albums. I have to go through Red again to see if I like this more or that but I'll do that another time.

Sorry about the long post. Lover 

[deepston]

#1 on Apple Music. Her first album to achieve this.

[👑 Eloquent ™]

I see them pushing "Cruel Summer" Sept-Nov and then pushing "Lover" during December (which would tie in well with the Christmas season).

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

Got it! Will listen this evening. I have high expectations.

[austin]

Aug 23, 2019 10:56:30 GMT -5 Marooned@Midnight said:

Finally, I’m not a fan of False God. The recipe is there but for some reason I actually really dislike it. I can’t put my finger on why.

Me too. It may unseat "The Last Time" as my least favorite thing she has ever done. I HATE the pre chorus when she sounds like she is rambling off-beat.

It's the only one I dislike though.

LOVING the album.

[Deleted]

Aug 23, 2019 12:15:26 GMT -5 deepston said:

#1 on Apple Music. Her first album to achieve this.

Awesome, I though she was never going to knock off Young Thug. Maybe I was being silly lol.

[Taylor.]

Full interview with The Guardian will be out tomorrow, but they released a few snippets.

The Pennsylvania-born musician described the atmosphere in her home country as “gaslighting the American public into being like, ‘If you hate the president, you hate America.’”

Of Donald Trump’s presidency, she said: “We’re a democracy – at least, we’re supposed to be – where you’re allowed to disagree, dissent, debate. I really think that he thinks this is an autocracy.”

Swift explained that after a period of personal turbulence in 2016, including her mother’s cancer relapse and a high-profile argument with the rapper Kanye West and his wife, Kim Kardashian, she felt unable to be in the public eye: “I was just trying to protect my mental health – not read the news very much, go cast my vote, tell people to vote. I just knew what I could handle and I knew what I couldn’t. I was literally about to break.”

She said her negative public image at the time made her feel “just useless. And maybe even like a hindrance”, adding that she felt “really remorseful for not saying anything”. She confirmed that she would otherwise have endorsed Hillary Clinton for president.

The Guardian met Swift as Tennessee lawmakers were voting to impose a near-total ban on abortion in the state. “Obviously, I’m pro-choice,” Swift said on the matter. “I just can’t believe this is happening.” She pledged to “do everything I can for 2020”.

www.theguardian.com/music/2019/aug/23/taylor-swift-trump-thinks-his-presidency-autocracy#img-2

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

My current rankings:

Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince
Paper Rings
The Man
I Forgot You Existed
I Think He Knows
London Boy
Lover
You Need to Calm Down
Cruel Summer
It's Nice to Have a Friend
False God
Death By a Thousand Cuts
Cornelia Street
Afterglow
Me!
Daylight
Soon You'll Get Better
The Archer

I probably would cut the last 4 tracks from the album. Soon You'll Get Better is nice, but it doesn't fit the rest of the album. Me! should be fired directly into the sun. Daylight is forgettable. The Archer should have been a bonus track

[austin]

Cornelia Street
Paper Rings
The Man
Cruel Summer
I Forgot That You Existed
I Think He Knows
Lover
Soon You'll Get Better
Miss Americana
London Boy
Death by a Thousand Cuts
Afterglow
ME!
You Need to Calm Down
Daylight
Nice to Have a Friend
The Archer
False God

[reputainbow]

totally agree with everyone saying "cruel summer" should've been the lead, in terms of both quality and timing (since "me!" was in late april).

i know it's super early but i have this ranked as my 4th favorite taylor album (speak now > 1989 > red > lover > reputation > fearless > self-titled). hopefully it ages really well with me.

as for song rankings:

Cruel Summer
Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince
The Archer
Cornelia Street
I Think He Knows
False God
Afterglow
The Man
Daylight
Lover
Soon You'll Get Better
Death by a Thousand Cuts
Paper Rings
You Need to Calm Down
London Boy
Me!
I Forgot That You Existed
It's Nice to Have a Friend

i just know i'm gonna end up switching these all around as time goes on lol

[born]

1. Cruel Summer
2. The Archer
3. Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince
4. False God
5. Afterglow
6. The Man
7. Cornelia Street
8. Daylight
9. It's Nice To Have A Friend
10. London Boy
11. ME!
12. Soon You'll Get Better
13. I Think He Knows
14. You Need To Calm Down
15. Lover
16. Death By A Thousand Cuts
17. Paper Rings
18. I Forgot That You Existed

[Lumi]

Oh man, do I have a LOT to say about this album.

I'm obsessed with the album tracks. I can't even fathom to understand how her team thought "ME!" and "You Need To Calm Down" would be good choices, especially when her careers on the line. (And I guess they're pushing "The Man" first when they've been teasing "Cruel Summer"... which I think "The Man" is a GREAT single choice, but not before "Cruel Summer"). But yeah, this is definitely the right path to go after reputation. Personally, not a single skip for me. And that's crazy especially since it's an 18-track album. Impressive from Miss Swift!

I think some of the production choices were... questionable. (Children, the echo-like vocal production), but overall I think it's incredibly strong.

Here's my ranking and opinion on each track:

1. Cruel Summer: This is such a strong track. It has the lyrics, the production, and it's a strong pop mid-tempo song which I think the general public has been pulled in by. I'm obsessed with that bridge and second pre-chorus
2. Cornelia Street: The "All Too Well" of this album, but happier! It's so beautiful and I love the lyrics. It uses similar beats to "Delicate", but I think it's a fun song and I don't mind it, because there's still a big difference between them.
3. Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince: The production on this song is so beautiful and just the whole concept of the song is so unique and different? It reminds me a bit of "So It Goes..." but more mature. And "So It Goes..." wasn't even a personal favorite of mine off reputation.
4. The Man: I love me a good synth-pop song! Also the bridge... yes bitch! (once said a wise woman on a 2019 album titled Lover.) I think it's incredibly relevant to topics of today, so I think that'll be the only reason it could be incredibly successful. However, angry cis straight white men won't be too pleased!
5. Paper Rings: I don't know how to listen to this song without getting up and dancing. It reminds me of old Avril and I think its one of the best songs lyrically too. It's corny, but in a good way. 
6. London Boy: I love the production on this song and the lyrics. I think it'd be a great single choice later in the album cycle. This would be so fun live too I think.
7. Afterglow: It's funny, cause after watching the Sessioners... not... talk about this track at all, I was expecting it to be one of the worst off the album, but I actually love it. I'm obsessed with the chorus.
8. False God: Her voice in this song made the song for me I think. The way she sings "We'd worship this love" is so heavenly and beautiful. I think it'd sound amazing stripped down too.
9. Lover: This is still such a romantic beautiful and happy song. Still obsessed with the bridge too.
10. Daylight: The best closing she could have written for Lover. It's so beautiful. I wouldn't say it's a standout, but I love it lyrically and I think it's great sonically as well. Not to mention that ending...
11. I Forgot That You Existed/It's Nice To Have A Friend: I think "I Forgot That You Existed" is a cute and fun little opening track, but I think Sessioners definitely over exaggerated it. It's cute but I expected a bit more from it. "It's Nice To Have A Friend" however was also INCREDIBLY exaggerated by how "bad" it is. The children choir isnt barely that bad. It's a very calming track and that instrumental is to die for. I couldn't decide which one I liked better. 
12. The Archer: I still love this track. It fits a little awkwardly in the album though. 
13. ME!: I don't know why I still love this song so much, but I do.
14. Soon You'll Get Better: I'm only putting it this low because I actually started crying during the song, and I'm mad and bitter about it. Such a beautiful song.
15. Death By A Thousand Cuts: I wasn't expecting this type a song under a title like that. I had my expectations a little higher than I should've but it's cute! I like it, but it could've been left off the album personally. 
16. I Think He Knows/You Need To Calm Down: "I Think He Knows" was also over exaggerated about how "bad" it was. It reminds me of a Carly Rae Jepsen song. It could fit on Dedicated. I like it though. "You Need To Calm Down" is still great, but just aged a bit.

I think it's a very strong album. Not sure if it's my favorite, but I'd say it's 10/10 for sure.