Every Song Off Taylor Swift's reputation album RANKED [Track-by-Track Review] Part 1

Taylor Swift's reputation Review

On Friday, November 10th 2017, Taylor Swift released her 6th album reputation. I'm a HUGE Taylor Swift fan. Since then, I have been listening to reputation every day on my hour-long commute to work. About a week has passed so I am ready to share my opinions about it with a track-by-track ranking of each song on the album.

15) So It Goes

Last place goes to So It Goes. I have heard this song many times in the last week but I cannot tell you what it's about. It's a forgettable song. Taylor sings the chorus in a soft, muted tone where it sounds like even she is bored. The words, "so it goes," implies sadly conceding to the boring reality in front of us. I assume, "So It Goes," is a love song so why is Taylor not excited and happy about her love for this guy? She also sprinkles sexy lyrics like "scratches down your back," and, "You know I'm not a bad girl, but I do bad things with you." When I listen to those lyrics, they just sound forced - like she put them there just to make this boring song edgier. I don't feel that way about "Dress, "which I think is a much better song.

Favorite Lyrics: You did a number on me/But, honestly, baby, who's counting?/I did a number on you/But, honestly, baby, who's counting?

14) Look What You Made Me Do

This was the first song Taylor released from reputation and almost everyone HATED IT. I agreed that it just wasn't a good song. Musically, it sounds cheap especially because of the Right Said Fred's I'm Too Sexy sample used in such a weird context. Taylor Swift has a bad habit of choosing the WORST songs for singles (like Bad Blood and Shake It Off are her WORST songs from 1989). I do like the beginning verses of the song - it's just when it hits the chorus that my brain gets turned off. The lyrics are true pop - boring, repetitive, and meaningless.  

The lyrics also contain a lot of childish lines. It's been pointed out that, "Look what you made me do" is something abusive people say. That's what is interesting about this song - it reminds me both of my abusers and myself. As I talked about in my post about Taylor's If You're Anything Like Me Poem, I went through something similar last year when my friends stabbed me in the back in a gruesome way. When my ex-friends hurt me, they said that I was the one who made them do it. However, the lyrics "Locked me out and threw a feast," reminds me of myself and how hurt I felt so it goes both ways.

Also, what did we make Taylor do? Release this song? Re-invent her image? What did she do to Kanye or Kim? The chorus is so vague. 

"I'm sorry, the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now.Why? Oh, 'cause she's dead!" is cringey but also funny. Taylor Swift is pretty funny.

Favorite Lyrics: "Maybe I got mine, but you'll all get yours."

13) Don't Blame Me

As a huge fan of the TV show Crazy Ex Girlfriend, I am wary of depictions of "crazy in love." This song feels like a cliché. Yeah, yeah, you want a love that makes you crazy. Hunter Hayes sang that 4 years ago. The only reason this song is so high on the list is because at least the music sounds good even though I may not like the lyrical matter. She sounds so happy being addicted to her drug of choice - love and her baby. But I hate addictions - they really take a toll on mental health and so I can't get behind that sentiment. 

Favorite Lyrics: "I once was poison ivy, but now I'm your daisy." - Looks like someone was reading The Great Gatsby.

12) ...Ready For It

My biggest problem with Taylor's new musical style is that I don't like the EDM sound. There are too many random sound effects which makes it sound in-cohesive and cheesy. I think the producer of this song tried too hard to incorporate EDM elements. I do like the "dot dot dot" sounds in the beginning because it at least makes sense with the title of the song. I do like the lyrical content in some places. For example, the line "And he can be my jailer, Burton to this Taylor," is a clever, punny line. (She is referring to Elizabeth Taylor but her name is Taylor too!) Also, I like how this song accomplishes what it set out to do. It gets us excited for a new romance.

The lines, "In the middle of the night, in my dreams/You should see the things we do, baby," remind me of an older Taylor Swift song. She's written so many songs that maybe she's accidentally started using the same lyrics LOL. In Taylor Swift's song "Untouchable" from Fearless, she sings "In the middle of the night when I'm in this dream. It's like a million little stars spelling out your name." The first line is almost exactly the same!

I read somewhere, maybe on Tumblr, that the line "Touch me and you'll never be alone," has a double meaning. It also means that if you start a romance with Taylor, your life will change and the paparazzi will always be with you - a much more heartbreaking interpretation. 

Favorite Lyrics: "And he can be my jailer, Burton to this Taylor."

11) Call It What You Want

This song sounds good and there are some great lines. The lyrics that touch me the most are, "I brought a knife to a gunfight," "Starry eyes sparkin' up my darkest night," and "Would you run away with me? Yes".  What I don't like about this song is how Taylor tries to convince us she isn't the naive girl dreaming of "fairy-tale" love but that's exactly how she sounds in this song. She is saying that her current boyfriend is saving her from the darkness she is currently experiencing. She's basically saying, "Yes, my reputation got ruined but at least I have a boyfriend who loves me!!!" which I find a little childish. Maybe I am a little salty because I went through some back-stabbing heartbreak, but I don't have a boyfriend to show off. So that is where I stop relating to the song.

About the lyrics: "I want to wear his initial on a chain round my neck/Chain round my neck/Not because he owns me." I mean, no one was thinking he owned you until you said it, and now it is awkward.

Favorite Lyrics: "Starry eyes sparkin' up my darkest night."

10) King of My Heart

This song is fun! Calling herself an, "American Queen," and pronouncing "Jaguars," the way she does makes this song an upbeat, good time. It's way better than "So It Goes," because she is celebrating her love and seeming genuinely excited about it. King of My Heart also doesn't mention her tarnished reputation, which is a relief because sometimes it doesn't fit in with the theme of the song. 

The lyrics, "Is this end of all the endings?" worry me. With my Target Taylor Swift Magazine, I got a poster that said the same line, but unfortunately I cannot relate to that line and have never felt what it is saying. Is she aware that EVERYTHING ends? Even if Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn end up married, unfortunately there will be an end (death). Also, you shouldn't be SO scared of endings. Sometimes things end and it's for the best. But I understand the sentiment of these lyrics: she is so excited and hopeful that this relationship will last.

Favorite Lyrics: "My broken bones are mending."

9) Dancing With Our Hands Tied

I like this song because it reminds me of 1989. Some of the love songs on reputation sound too naive; Taylor is TOO sure that Joe is awesome and their love is great. In 1989, she would talk about how her relationship with Harry Styles was passionate but complicated. I thought it was nice that Taylor discussed the good and bad sides of love. Here she does the same thing, Taylor says she is in love with this person but is worried that the world (media) will break them up. It's interesting to note that I have no idea WHO this song is about!! But it looks like she was right when she sang, "I had a bad feeling," because she goes to mention that, "I'd hold you as the water rushes in/If I could dance with you again." This implies that the relationship did end and she misses him.

Favorite Lyrics: "So, baby, can we dance? Oh, through an avalanche?"

Every Song Off Taylor Swift's reputation album RANKED [Track-by-Track Review] Part 2

Thanks for reading my review! These are just the 15th - 9th place songs. Please click here to read Part 2 where I discuss the top 8 best reputation songs.

Suggested Blog Posts

• Every Song Off Taylor Swift's reputation album RANKED [Track-by-Track Review] Part 2

• What Taylor Swift's "If You're Anything Like Me" reputation Poem Means To Me
• Every Song Off Harry Styles, the album RANKED
• Every Song Off Camila Cabello's debut album Camila RANKED [Track-by-Track Review]
• Taylor Swift's Boyfriends Ranked By How Much They Remind Me Of My Own Loneliness
• Taylor Swift: "I Swear I Don't Love The Drama, It Loves Me" Reaction