Taylor Swift | Speak Now | 10.25.10 (1M Debut!)

[JamaicaFunk²]

Oct 19, 2010 6:59:42 GMT -5 Cody Wants Out... said:

Oct 19, 2010 6:09:49 GMT -5 applechic said:

I think everything she's released so far has been better than Mine. That was a mistake on her team's part.

THIS. I never got into "Mine;" nothin' special really. Got tired after fourth listen.

Speak Now > Mean >> Back to December >>>>>>>>>>>>> Mine

and I was gonna pass this era.

I was gonna pass as well. Haven't liked "Mine" at all, so I didn't even bother with the weekly releases. But, seeing "Mean" go to #1 so fast, I decided to check it out.
I love it!

[Joe1240]

Oct
19
2010 Taylor Swift To Perform At CMA Awards



Reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Taylor Swift will perform on “The 44th Annual CMA Awards.”

Hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, “The 44th Annual CMA Awards” airs live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Wednesday, Nov. 10 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network. Previously announced performers include Dierks Bentley, Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Reba, Blake Shelton, George Strait, Sugarland, Underwood and Keith Urban. In addition, special duet performances will feature top nominee Lambert with Sheryl Crow in a tribute to Loretta Lynn‘s 50th Anniversary as a recording artist, and Zac Brown Band with Alan Jackson.

Swift is also the reigning CMA Female Vocalist, a category for which she is nominated again this year. She has won a total of six CMA Awards, including Album (in 2009 for Fearless, which also earned her a second trophy as co-producer), Music Video (in 2009 for “Love Story,” directed by Trey Fanjoy), and Horizon (2007). In 2009, she was the recipient of the annual CMA International Artist Achievement Award. Her highly anticipated third album, Speak Now, will be released on Oct. 25.

www.countrymusicislove.com/2010/10/taylor-swift-to-perform-at-cma-awards.html

[Stephen]

LOVE 'Mean.' Didn't think I would, but wow, awesome. Love it.

[wavey.]

She is killin iTunes right now. 3 of her singles from this album have hit number 1 there.
Haha Mean is subliminal diss:giggle:

[Stephen]

Taylor should release 'Mean' as a single. It has an anthemic chorus. I can imagine hoards of people singing along at CMA fest. It's just that type of song, you know?

[wavey.]

^It def is.

[Taylor.]

"Y u gotta so mean? " should be the new internet meme y/n?

[Stephen]

y/y, obvi. :kii:

[fullonrainstorm]

According to rumors/confirmed :

"Mine" - Cory Monteith
"The Story Of Us" - Joe Jonas
"Back To December" - Taylor Lautner
"Dear John" - John Mayer
"Better Than Revenge" - Camilla Belle
"Mean" - Bob Lefsetz
"Innocent" - Kanye West
"Speak Now" - inspired by Hayley Williams
"Enchanted"- Adam Young (Owl City)


Also higher quality cover of Mean :

[musicrocks]

Oct 19, 2010 12:39:21 GMT -5 fullonrainstorm said:

According to rumors/confirmed :

"Mine" - Cory Monteith
"The Story Of Us" - Joe Jonas
"Back To December" - Taylor Lautner
"Dear John" - John Mayer
"Better Than Revenge" - Camilla Belle
"Mean" - Bob Lefsetz
"Innocent" - Kanye West
"Speak Now" - inspired by Hayley Williams
"Enchanted"- Adam Young (Owl City)

Haha, what did Bob Lefsetz say about Taylor? I know he can be brutal....

[Kyla]

I think...

Oct 19, 2010 12:39:21 GMT -5 fullonrainstorm said:

According to rumors/confirmed :

"Mine" - Cory Monteith (seems that way)
"The Story Of Us" - Joe Jonas (confused about this one now; she said it was the last song written for the album)
"Back To December" - Taylor Lautner (obv.)
"Dear John" - John Mayer (obv.)
"Better Than Revenge" - Camilla Belle (most likely)
"Mean" - Bob Lefsetz (??)
"Innocent" - Kanye West (I still say John Mayer...)
"Speak Now" - inspired by Hayley Williams (Seemed that way initially, but after hearing her talk about it more, I don't think so)
"Enchanted"- Adam Young (Owl City) (haven't heard that before, but I don't think so. They just seem like really close friends. Prob. not a celeb, otherwise wouldn't she know if he had a gf or not?)

[wavey.]

Yeah the Owl City one puzzled me. Did they date?

[Joe1240]

Info about Taylor's NBC TV Special!!!!!!!

NBC BRINGS BACK TRADITIONAL FAVORITES AND ORIGINAL SPECIALS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON HIGHLIGHTED BY A THANKSGIVING NIGHT MUSIC SPECIAL WITH GRAMMY WINNER TAYLOR SWIFT

NBC celebrates the holiday season with traditional favorites and original programming including a new Thanksgiving night music special, “Taylor Swift – Speak Now,” on Thursday, November 25 (8-9 p.m. ET) that takes fans on a whirlwind trip from New York to Los Angeles as the Grammy winner launches her latest album.

“Taylor Swift – Speak Now ” brings fans on a whirlwind trip from New York City to Los Angeles with multiple one-of-a-kind performances including a concert 30,000 feet in the air on the plane ride across country. The special also features behind-the-scenes access to the recording studio and video shoot, autograph signings, appearances, paparazzi dodging — and all the mayhem viewers expect surrounding the Grammy-winning superstar.

tvbythenumbers.com/2010/10/19/nbc-brings-back-traditional-favorites-and-original-specials-highlighted-by-thanksgiving-night-music-special-with-taylor-swift/68648

[fullonrainstorm]

Oct 19, 2010 12:49:52 GMT -5 musicrocks said:

Oct 19, 2010 12:39:21 GMT -5 fullonrainstorm said:

According to rumors/confirmed :

"Mine" - Cory Monteith
"The Story Of Us" - Joe Jonas
"Back To December" - Taylor Lautner
"Dear John" - John Mayer
"Better Than Revenge" - Camilla Belle
"Mean" - Bob Lefsetz
"Innocent" - Kanye West
"Speak Now" - inspired by Hayley Williams
"Enchanted"- Adam Young (Owl City)

Haha, what did Bob Lefsetz say about Taylor? I know he can be brutal....

He was initially a huge Taylor fan after attending her first Staples Center concert but later on was highly critical about her vocals.One particular blog stood out where he said her career was doomed after the Grammy debacle hence :

You, with your switching sides,
And your walk bywildfire lies and your humiliation
You, have pointed out my flaws again,
As if I don’t already see them.
I walk with my head down,
Trying to block you out cause I’ll never impress you
I just wanna feel okay again.

And I can see you years from now in a bar,
Talking over a football game,
With that same big loud opinion but,
Nobody’s listening,
Washed up and ranting about the same old bitter things,
Drunk and grumbling on about how I can’t sing.

Of course those lyrics could mean any number of critics but Lefstez stands out since he's one of the most prominent music bloggers and his turnaround was the most marked.

And another thing.He's had direct communications with Taylor and her Dad in the past and blogged about his exchanges with them,going so far as to talk about his phone call with Taylor.

(corrected lyrics thanks to Kyla)

[Kyla]

Pretty sure it's 'wildfire lies'.

[musicrocks]

Oh wow. Thanks for the explanation. That sucks, I read his blog and I like it a lot but didn't think he would do that....

[Gravity.]

Oct 19, 2010 10:01:22 GMT -5 Ivy Leegue™ said:

Damn. Taylor is NO JOKE this era. She seems to have ditched the "I wanna appeal to all 15 year old girls out there" approach in an attempt to get even more personal and get some things off her chest. The title also makes so much more sense now. I will probably be buying this album and I never thought I would say that about a Taylor Swift album. Also, I just found out about this "Dear John" song. Did John Mayer get it in???

I have no idea if there was an actual relationship between John and Taylor.

[realityBITES]

Oh, I really hope it's about Lefsetz. Dude think his **** don't stink. I wish she said his name at the end. Well, maybe not. His ego would just grow.

Here is his take, for those who care.

That Taylor Swift Song…

What did Ann Coulter say, you don’t attack down, you attack up?

When I got the e-mail from the reporter asking me if Taylor Swift’s new record was really about me, my temperature didn’t even rise. Because I don’t think I’m that big a guy. Howard Stern read my post on his radio show yesterday and claimed that he’d never even heard of me. And if the King Of All Media doesn’t know who I am, how big can I be?

That’s the weird thing about fame. You don’t know you’re famous. At least I don’t think I’m famous. Maybe Joe Walsh put it better, "Everybody’s so different, I haven’t changed".

So I’m not gonna go to iTunes and buy the damn track, which Google tells me is available today. And I go to YouTube and all I get is this publicity clip with a short snippet of the song. And then I Google harder and find the complete track and the lyrics.

And lo and behold, I’m wondering if that’s me in a Taylor Swift song.

You, with your words like knives and swords and weapons that you use against me
You, knock me off my feet again, got me feeling like a nothing
You, with your words like nails on a chalk board, calling me out when I’m wounded
You, picking on the weaker man
Well you can take me down with just one single blow but you don’t know what you don’t know

Doesn’t sound like me. Sounds like the famous guy all the online pundits are speculating about, John Mayer or…

But it could be me, I do work with words…

Then again, the chorus references some high school hick bully. And I’m old enough to be Taylor Swift’s father:

Someday I’ll be living in a big old city and all you’re ever gonna be is mean
Someday I’ll be big enough so you can’t hit me and all you’re ever gonna be is mean
Why you gotta be so mean?

Then:

You, with your switching sides and your wildfire lies and your humiliation
You, pointing out my flaws again as if I don’t already see them

Boyfriends don’t switch sides. And Taylor writes about boyfriends, not the high school maelstrom at large. And I did go on praising Taylor Swift despite being inundated with e-mail from insiders that she couldn’t sing and then ultimately realized they were right and said so, but…

And you can read the rest of the lyrics. And there are some that are clearly not me and some that could be and songs are always written in code with obscuring phrases to protect the guilty and…

Then again, didn’t I ultimately lead the charge about her vocal flaws after her Grammy appearance?:

Drunk and grumbling on about how I can’t sing but all you are is mean

And:

But nobody’s listening, washed up and ranting about the same old bitter things

The number one way people describe my writings is "ranting". So…
So… Where does this leave us?

Well "Mean" isn’t quite "You’re So Vain" and I’m not quite Warren Beatty, not by a long shot. Then again, people thought the song was about Mick Jagger, when everybody on the inside knew that was wrong, hell, he even sang on it. And only insiders would know who I am.

So here I am giving Taylor Swift the publicity she desires. She won.

But she still can’t sing and isn’t it time to start acting like an adult? To cast off the high school persona and fly as a woman instead of darting around like a little girl? That’s what’s got everybody’s eyes rolling, her aw shucks/ohmygod! look when she strides onto the stage to earsplitting applause.

Taylor got to live out her adolescent fantasy. Can she now be a woman singing about womanly issues?

I mean Joni Mitchell ultimately sang about the human condition, contemplating suicide in "Song For Sharon", is Taylor Swift gonna grow or keep on fighting these petty wars?

I get e-mail every day telling me I’m an asshole. As a matter of fact, the same guy e-mails me every day to tell me I’m a shithead. Let me see, he’s e-mailed me 295 times so far. It goes with the territory. Stick out your neck and people will bite it. And just like Obama doesn’t waste time fighting the petty ignoramuses, I’m surprised that Taylor Swift would stoop to this level.

We don’t like to see celebrities bitch. They’re tearing Jennifer Aniston a new asshole every day online. Does she complain? No, she puts on a smile and ignores the carping.

Or let me put it differently. Kenny Wayne Shepherd was cool when he was a teenager, same deal with Jonny Lang, but you ultimately grow up and either succeed as an adult, on adult terms, or you’re forgotten.

Taylor Swift captured the teen zeitgeist better than anyone in this century. And the hooks in her songs made them catchy. Her material was sincere and honest.

But she still can’t sing.

And if this song is really about me, I wish it were better.

_{lefsetz.com/wordpress/}

[Stephen]

It's definitely about him. His response is exactly what I expected. He's flattered, yet condescending. No surprise.

[tsr]

at his entire response. Someone's bitter...

[Kyla]

So here I am giving Taylor Swift the publicity she desires. She won.

Yeah, dude. Taylor Swift wants YOUR publicity. I, and most people, never even heard of you before people linked you to this song.

[👑 Eloquent ™]

He's not even worth the time. Next.

[Gravity.]

Oct 19, 2010 18:28:29 GMT -5 Kyla said:

So here I am giving Taylor Swift the publicity she desires. She won.

Yeah, dude. Taylor Swift wants YOUR publicity. I, and most people, never even heard of you before people linked you to this song.

LOL, so true.

[maria4hitz]

Just listened to Mean, I didn't like the preview but now that I heard the full song I LOVE IT. I'll never get tired of saying what an amazing songwriter she is, she never disappoints. Each song we've heard is better than the last one. I don't know how she does it.

[ADAMAZING]

I don't know why, but I'm really beginning to like this girl. A year ago I was saying how much I couldn't stand her, and now I'm obsessing over her recent releases to iTunes, specifically Mean and Speak Now.

I guess I'm just beginning to see her phenomenal songwriting abilities. She definitely has talent.

[wavey.]

Oct 19, 2010 19:11:39 GMT -5 ADAMAZING said:

I don't know why, but I'm really beginning to like this girl. A year ago I was saying how much I couldn't stand her, and now I'm obsessing over her recent releases to iTunes, specifically Mean and Speak Now.

I guess I'm just beginning to see her phenomenal songwriting abilities. She definitely has talent.

Same here.

[Eqbk]

Oct 18, 2010 23:45:54 GMT -5 desertfloods said:

Yes she has been writing about her life all along, but I feel that in the past, her songs aren't as direct and detailed as the new ones. Her selling point for me had been simplicity and relatability. Especially relatability. But the new songs are lacking those IMO.

I disagree w/ this. Even though it's obvious who some of these songs are about, what she went through w/ these people is something plenty of people have gone through. For example, people who were maybe not the best girl/boyfriend and regretted how they treated an ex can relate to 'Back to December'. People who've had someone in their life who constantly belittled them or were overly critical will relate to something like 'Mean.'

Mean is so hilarious btw. I was chuckling by the end of the song. This album will act as a warning to all people who dare cross Taylor. She will come after you and hard.

[pandy]

Mean and Back to December are phenomenal songs. I suspect that Mean will be a single.

[CammyCan]

I change my mind, "Mean" is now my favorite of the pre-release tracks. I love the way she sings "down"/"around" in each verse.

[Modern Myth]

I love "Mean." It could be about that guy, but I think it could just be about haters in general as well.