10 Things that make Taylor Swift’s music great
Taylor Swift has over 250 songs at the time of this writing. Her one-of-the-greats status is undeniable now but non-fans are still baffled by her prestige. She has no world-smashing hits like “Thriller” or “Hey Jude”, they say. Although I will admit that her music is not meant for ALL audience and age groups, when examined, one cannot deny the level of her work.
And here are the reasons:
Genre-bending. Her songs encompass nearly every genre now. Country, pop, rock, folk, alternative, metal, bubble-gum pop, bedroom pop. She’s even meddled with a bit of rap and theatrical music at some point. Regardless of the genre, she will make it work with her voice, she will infuse it with good lyrics, and she will make it a pop hit.
Masterful album curation. If one is to venture into listening to Taylor Swift, one has to do it by listening to at least one complete album of their choice. Only then will they fully appreciate her artistry. She makes songs for albums, of an era, under some theme. She architects the track-listing that will steer the listener through the most pleasurable journey possible. And multiple times she has created what they call a “perfect album”, which means there are no skips or that every track could’ve been a hit, and it is sonically cohesive and flows smoothly from beginning to end.
The lyricism. She is, above all else, a songwriter. Her writing is what she takes most pride on. From vivid story-telling to infectious rhyme-making, every word and phrase is intentionally chosen and arranged. What’s been impressing me lately with her writing is how the lines don’t only rhyme at the ends anymore, but at almost every matching syllable. A good example is the song Anti-Hero. Recently she has also been in the practice of concocting fictional tales and characters to convey her ideas.
Vast catalogue. She has released over 250 songs at the time of this writing. Who knows how many more she has written that have not been released. I have listened to every single one of them: each song has a reason for existing, and no song is a lazy iteration of another. Only her brain can come up with that amount of melodies, hooks and rhymes, stories and exciting bridges.
Hit-making. Why yes, she’s actually got a number of mega-hits. Songs that have reached every corner of the world, include Love Story, You Belong with Me, Shake It Off, Blank Space, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, I Knew You Were Trouble, Look what you made me do, Anti-Hero. Some of her albums (Fearless, 1989) are packed with hits, that any of their non-singles could’ve been a smaller artist’s biggest hit.
Longevity. She has been in the industry now for almost two decades, and she is bigger than she’s ever been, and is showing no signs of slowing down. Some of her first songs, written when she was 16, are still being played today, and don’t feel outdated at all. Some of her songs have only gotten more love as time went on, such as Cruel Summer, All Too Well, Long Live, Getaway Car. And even others have gotten some refinements due to the re-recordings.
Production value. This is one aspect I cannot speak very technically of. But I know the feeling of hearing a well-produced track. And if you are someone who doesn’t care much about lyrics and hooks, and is only looking for good music, then try turning off Taylor Swift’s vocals to listen only to the instrumentals and I guarantee that this will still be a rewarding experience. The best examples of these would still be her four Grammy-winning albums thus far: Fearless, 1989, folklore, and Midnights. The re-recordings only made the production cleaner, although I have zero qualms about the originals
Emotional resonance. The first Taylor Swift song I ever heard, Teardrops on my Guitar, has literally made many pre-teen classmates of mine back in 2006 crying on their guitars for their own versions of “Drew”. Since then, she has made a couple more tearjerkers, such as All Too Well, Soon You’ll Get Better, exile, marjorie, loml, Dear John, Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve. But her power to package specific emotions into a song are not limited to tearjerkers. Each song captures a particular feeling or experience, supported by the rhythm, instruments, and way of singing.
A song for every occasion. As she has been creating works for two decades now, she has written songs at different stages in her life. From feeling lost, isolated, and insecure in her Debut album, to her growing fearlessness and outspokenness in her second and third albums, from her teens to her 20s, and now to her 30s as she contemplates getting married and looks back at losing her youth. She’s been to the highest highs of transitioning to a pop-star and to the lowest lows of losing her reputation and going through the pandemic. She’s been in-love and heartbroken, criticized and deified, blameful and self-aware, jealous and prideful. More recently she has also been speaking more about what she stands for and her own mental health struggles. Tell me a situation, there’s a Taylor Swift song for it.
Inspires generations. Even now that she is a billionaire, possibly the busiest artist/businesswoman out there, she still writes songs that everyone could relate to. Songs about basic human experiences: love and heartbreak, pressures of this world, being misunderstood. And as masterful her songwriting is, her songs still feel like you could make them too. It is not being sung by a once-in-a-lifetime voice, there are no vocal/melodic acrobatics going on. Or at least, it makes you realize, that your own ordinary life experience, can be turned into such a catchy song. I, for one, before hearing a Taylor Swift song, thought that songs are only meant to be belted-out or danced-along. I was extra shocked that you could name-drop real people in songs. She has already inspired many young boys and girls to start writing songs, besides you only need a pen-paper and some instrument. Some have grown up now to be popular artists as well, like Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter.
