Taylor Swift – Lover

[theflying]

The good part: I’ve been sticking to enjoying the highlights and songs from mainly the first part of the album. There are songs on the second half I’ve still only listened to once. I couldn’t even tell you what False God sounds like. So there’s a lot of time for me to rediscover stuff and change my con.

The con: With that said, this doesn’t feel like as much my lane as Reputation. I tend to like bop-Taylor, and the album itself hasn’t grabbed me as an entirety the way Reputation did. Reputation, as she said, was such a nighttime-out on the town kind of vibe which is also more my lane. Lover inherently doesn’t feel as interesting and I think a I know why (for me).

ME! really is genuinely a bummer. It has a very important slot to fill: that upbeat-smash-help-anchor-the-project slot. But because it’s...well...not that great...it’s not really something I want to listen to. It thus feels like this massive presence I just avoid and there aren’t that many songs that make up for it. It would be like if she botched the song “Style” from 1989. That song is really crucial to 1989 executing its vision as a sleek, modern-yet-80s emergence of Taylor Swift the popstar. If Style wasn’t good, and you didn’t really listen to it, you can feel how 1989 just feels like it’s not quite lived up to as an entire project. To me, that’s what ME! feels like: The fact that it’s such a subpar song, a terrible lead single, and had a really important slot to fill, it feels like Lover doesn’t quite live up to itself.

Look What You Made Me Do, while not one of my favorites and not a song I listen to much, certainly helps anchor the entire vision of Reputation and as a lead single, helps you take in the context for the rest of the songs. It was interesting. I had little sense of what to expect from the project because of it, in a good way. And it certainly packs a punch and its release was a moment.

ME! just...doesn’t do that, and I do think it makes Lover feel like it’s missing something.

[¤ Matthea ¤]

'Me!' is actually one of the better songs on the album. She should have released 'Cruel Summer' as the second single. I don't know what would be a good third single, there are not that many single-worthy songs.

From the album tracks, I like 'Cornelia Street' best. 'I Forgot That You Existed' is the worst song on this album, I really don't know what she was thinking when she made it the album opener.

[theflying]

Even if Me! isn’t a bad song (...it’s not one of the better songs on the album...), Me! being the lead off to the entire project, one of the few radio-designed up tempos, and it being put forth as an anchor to the project does take its toll on Lover, for me, sadly.

Not even because I want to. But avoiding listening to the lead single because it’s just not great does make the album feel like it’s missing something.

[kimberly]

Sept 1, 2019 10:57:43 GMT -5 Choco said:

Didn't happen to me here but with long albums I usually have a hard time connecting because it's so much.

I tend to rediscover gems later on once my interest for the shiny singles and highlights dies down. "All too Well" was once one of my least favorite Red tracks but time thankfully fixed that lol.

Probably because it is an hour-long record, an average run time of 3:26 per track. Doesn't feel all that long to me either. It's not like Cuture II where the average track is over 4 minutes long and the album is 1 hr 46 minutes, or even Scorpion with its 3:36 average and 90 minute total run time.

However, it is definitely unnecessarily long in my opinion. It should have been 13 really good tracks. 

[deepston]

Sept 1, 2019 17:11:38 GMT -5 ¤ Matthea ¤ said:

'Me!' is actually one of the better songs on the album. 

[neverduplicated]

Sept 1, 2019 17:57:35 GMT -5 kimberly said:

Sept 1, 2019 10:57:43 GMT -5 Choco said:

Didn't happen to me here but with long albums I usually have a hard time connecting because it's so much.

I tend to rediscover gems later on once my interest for the shiny singles and highlights dies down. "All too Well" was once one of my least favorite Red tracks but time thankfully fixed that lol.

Probably because it is an hour-long record, an average run time of 3:26 per track. Doesn't feel all that long to me either. It's not like Cuture II where the average track is over 4 minutes long and the album is 1 hr 46 minutes, or even Scorpion with its 3:36 average and 90 minute total run time.

However, it is definitely unnecessarily long in my opinion. It should have been 13 really good tracks. 

This has been a common refrain from many people, however there doesn't seem to be a lot of agreement about which 3-6 tracks should be cut to make a better album. Everytime someone says that such-and-such track is one of their least favorite, someone chimes in saying it's one of their most favorites. The most common songs I've seen people say they don't like are "Me!", "I Forgot that You Existed," and "It's Nice to Have a Friend," but even for those I've seen lots of people championing those songs. I was shocked when one of my best friends said that "Me!" was his favorite "happy song" on the album. I think that's partly why the album's so long, so that Taylor can give lots of fans an album's worth of tracks they like even if there are several they don't like. That makes so much sense in the streaming era where lots of people pick and choose songs anyway or listen to playlists.

[Dylan :)]

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

I don’t know what album some of you are hearing but it’s not Lover

[Zeebz]

Can’t get enough of this album lately. It doesn’t quite match the highs of 1989 or Red, but it’s more definitely more consistent overall and at the moment is my third favorite from her. Every time I listen to it I find something new to appreciate, so I fully expect the album to continue growing on me.

My album highlights would have to be “Afterglow”, “The Archer”, “False God”, “I Think He Knows”, and “Daylight”— all career highs in their own right. “The Archer” in particular is one of my favorite things that she’s ever done (not sure why people seem to think it’s bland and goes nowhere, but I digress.) “Cruel Summer” and “Soon You’ll Get Better” are up there too.

Ugh, I love her.

[Ivy Leegue™]

She performed Holy Ground and wasted a spot on an acoustic version of London Boy on the Lovers Lounge today.

[justlurkingaround]

Acoustic Holy Ground was... holy sh*t.

[kimberly]

Sept 2, 2019 8:48:56 GMT -5 Ivy Leegue™ said:

She performed Holy Ground and wasted a spot on an acoustic version of London Boy on the Lovers Lounge today.

London Boy was the third best performing album cut in the uk after The Man and Cruel Summer so no surprise there.

[Ivy Leegue™]

Sept 2, 2019 10:47:32 GMT -5 kimberly said:

London Boy was the third best performing album cut in the uk after The Man and Cruel Summer so no surprise there.

It is a surprise to me, given the reactions from British reviewers, including one that compared this song to Madonna moving to London and wearing tweed. Either way, it's still easily one of the weakest songs on the album.

[kimberly]

Sept 2, 2019 10:54:13 GMT -5 Ivy Leegue™ said:

Sept 2, 2019 10:47:32 GMT -5 kimberly said:

London Boy was the third best performing album cut in the uk after The Man and Cruel Summer so no surprise there.

It is a surprise to me, given the reactions from British reviewers, including one that compared this song to Madonna moving to London and wearing tweed. Either way, it's still easily one of the weakest songs on the album.

I agree, I listen to it only because it’s right after “death by a thousand cuts” lol

[Kinney]

Her Live Lounge session was f***ing incredible, my goodness. Holy Ground (!!!) and the Can't Stop Loving You cover in particular. Also, the instrumentation on the live version of The Archer was much more suited to it and elevated the song so much.

Does anyone ever put out Live Lounge EPs? She should really chuck it out on Apple Music/Spotify, if BBC allows her to.

[Ivy Leegue™]

The reason why this album is her best and deserving of my stanning is because even the songs I actively dislike (False God, It's Nice To Have A Friend, and London Boy) have things that REALLY stand out as career highlights. False God has one of my favorite vocal performances from her (even though it's very processed). It's Nice To Have A Friend has the enchanting steel drums and TRUMPET! I LIVE for that little trumpet! London Boy is an absolute joy from the bridge until the end. I might actually put It's Nice To Have A friend over those other two, which shocks even me to say, but I dunno, the whole WEIRDNESS alone puts it above

reputation was training for this album. She first really experimented with more heavy beats and textured vocals and they are all in full-force here, along with elements from other key parts of her career.

Can Afterglow PLEASE be the final single?? My GOD, what a song. Anyone who doesn't recognize this fact actually is deaf and THAT'S OK! That's just what it is.

For some reason, the sequencing just hit me and OMG what a CHOICE. I mean, maybe she CHOSE to do that or had such a hard time trying to sequence the random collection of songs together. I can see that.

Final words: I'm GLAD she released ME! and Calm Down as the first singles. They are unskippable bops for me and put me in a good mood, whereas the rest of the album mostly makes me emotional or pissy, LOL. They are also IMMACULATELY produced. These guys really took care of her. Fuck Max Martin and Tortoise Shell forever, honestly. Maybe throw them one bone an album, if it makes sense for that album.

This album is an A+ and her first actual album to be deserving of an AOTY Grammy. I am near dead at the end of Daylight. FUCK.

[myhouse911]

Hearing Holy Ground makes me miss the Red era so much.

[Deleted]

Yes, that's a really gorgeous performance and version of Holy Ground.

[theflying]

That version of Can’t Stop Loving You is absolutely stunning.

[JamaicaFunk²]

Holy Ground is a gem in so many regards. It’s not even one of her all time best, yet it’s still a 10/10. She’s genius.

[Zeebz]

Love love LOVE that performance of “Holy Ground”. It’s one of my absolute favorites from her and I’m so thrilled that she chose to include it. Absolutely stunning.

[Au$tin]

omg Holy Ground! That's always been my favorite track off Red. Yes, All Too Well is the better track objectively, but I really love HG.

Paper Rings reminds me a lot of Holy Ground.

[Deleted]

Those live lounge videos were just breathtaking. Also, I am still really digging the Lover album and I'm falling in even more love with most of the songs everyday.

[surfy]

had to share this! it's so pretty!

[deepston]

[theflying]

Holy shit. That Lover performance. It really DOES make it sound like a classic!

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

YNTCD acoustic sounds a lot like WANEGBT

[justlurkingaround]

All 18 songs charted on the Hot 100 chart this week.

[deepston]

Sept 3, 2019 11:11:51 GMT -5 justlurkingaround said:

All 18 songs charted on the Hot 100 chart this week.

#4, You Need to Calm Down
#10, Lover
#11, ME!
#23, The Man
#28, I Forgot That You Existed
#29, Cruel Summer
#38, The Archer 
#45, Paper Rings
#49, Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince
#51, I Think He Knows
#57, Cornelia Street
#62, London Boy
#63, Soon You'll Get Better
#67, Death by a Thousand Cuts
#75, Afterglow
#77, False God
#89, Daylight
#92, It's Nice to Have a Friend

[Ivy Leegue™]

Seems like y'all's fave False God is not the fave of the GP but...Pulse v the GP is a thing.