Taylor Swift says "Shake it Off" but I just can't do it!

If you haven't noticed already, Taylor Swift's new song "Shake It Off" has been inescapable - Every where I turn the song is being played again and again. I first heard it when my daughter was listening to it, and I was like "is that Taylor Swift's new song? Don't tell me you actually LIKE that song!" I asked her. Now before all you Taylor Swift fans get up and protest, I have been a big Taylor Swift supporter for years, simply for the fact she has come out with a multitude of really great pop tunes. There was "Teardrops on my Guitar", "Our Song", "Should've Said No", "Love Story", "You Belong With Me", "I Knew You Were Trouble" and I probably missed a few. Whether or not she wrote or co-wrote all of these songs I don't know, but I do know that she has remained a star all these years because she consistently released quality songs (if your a pop song fan you can't deny this!).

When I first heard "Shake it Off", it immediately struck me as the type of song that a new artist would NEVER get radio to play let alone put it in rotation. It's a great idea for a song, but the melodies are just second rate at best. Does anybody remember what a "B" side is? That's the flip side to the "A" side on an old 45 vinyl single and its the "A" side that's the hit. I'm afraid to say that "Shake it Off" in my opinion is definitely a "B" side. Tonight I forced myself to listen again, just trying to be as objective as I could and the result was the same. Good beat, great lyrical concept, but melodies, melodies melodies need some work. Oh well I tried :) If you haven't heard this yet (probably not possible :)) please take a listen yourself here and let me know your thoughts:

I also came across a good article explaining why "Shake it Off" is such a big hit (and just how big a hit it is already after less than two weeks). I can't argue with the logic they present: "Shake if Off" is a huge hit simply because Taylor Swift is probably the biggest pop star on the planet right now. I can only hope that she has more pop gems in her pocket to share with us, because this phenomena won't last forever unless she can bring some of that magic back. Here's a link to the article Slate Magazine - How "Shake it Off" became a HUGE hit!

Before I go today I'll leave you with one of my favorite Taylor Swift songs called "You Belong with Me" - no doubt about it its just a great song and deserved every bit of the attention it got!

Today is new Blog Day #2 - Stop back tomorrow when we try to make it Blog Day #3 - Getting back up on the horse and riding again is funnn!

Music, Love & Happiness,

Vincent James @ LoveSongs.com

Fridays Featured Song - "Our Song" by Taylor Swift

I first heard this song a year or so ago and thought wow this is a really cool uptempo pop song I wonder who sings it. This was of course before Taylor Swift had become absolutely huge on both both pop and country radio. "Our Song" was the 3rd single off her debut CD "Taylor Swift" from 2006 (when she was like 17 years old) and went to #1 on the Country chart and #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart...this is before "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me" off her 2008 "Fearless" CD that is still hotter than ever. Also on her debut was another really good song "Teardrops on my Guitar" (my daughter just loves that song). Altogether Taylor has sold over 9 Million copies of her first two CDs in the US alone and holds the record (24 million) for the most digital tracks sold by any artist ever. Pretty heady stuff for someone who just recently turned 20 (think its too late for me to adopt her?? ha ha). Well "Our Song" was my first introduction to Taylor Swift and its as catchy as any uptempo pop ditty there is. If you haven't heard it recently or at all check it out along with the video here:

"Our Song" by Taylor Swift (YouTube)

New Free Austrailian Music Streaming Website launches March 30th

There's a new free music streaming site called Guvera coming online March 30th from the land down under. It will be ad-supported but instead of having the ads delay the music the webpages will be branded with an advertiser thats suited for that particular style of music. So you'll see the ads but won't have to wait to hear the music you want to hear. For more info on the beta launch coming next month check out this article on Wired.com

That's all for Friday fellow music lovers - I'll be back tomorrow with another post and perhaps another song post - We'll have a flashback weekend favorite coming right at ya!

~Vincent James @ LoveSongs.com