Tag Archives: Lover

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Song of the Day #5,520: ‘Cruel Summer’ – Taylor Swift

It’s a testament to the world-conquering success of Taylor Swift that a single from a four-year-old album currently sits at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

‘Cruel Summer’ is one of the best songs on 2919’s Lover. At the time of the album’s release, I wrote this about the track: “This should have been the first single, and I’d bet it still has the potential to become a big hit.” 

Now, I’m no prophet. That was the opinion held by pretty much everyone, and it’s the reason ‘Cruel Summer’ finally got an official single release earlier this year in the midst of the record-breaking Eras tour.

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Song of the Day #4,270: ‘Death By a Thousand Cuts’ – Taylor Swift

Continuing my ranking of Taylor Swift’s albums…

#1 – Lover – 2019

The more time I’ve spent with Taylor Swift’s 2019 Lover, the clearer it is to me that this is her very best album. That it is also her newest bodes very well for future releases.

Lover was teased as a blend of pre- and post-pop Taylor, and on a surface level it fulfills that promise. Most of it is less overtly poppy than 1989 or Reputation, but the production does have an edge and sheen that wasn’t present in her earlier work.

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Song of the Day #4,095: ‘Cornelia Street’ – Taylor Swift

Concluding my countdown of the songs on Taylor Swift’s Lover.

3. ‘False God’ – I wrote a little bit about this one a few weeks ago, calling it my early favorite after a couple of listens to the album. I still love it enough to have it at #3, though the two tracks below have crept their way to the top spots. This is the sexiest song on the album and a whole new sound for Swift that she pulls off beautifully.

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Song of the Day #4,094: ‘Paper Rings’ – Taylor Swift

Continuing my countdown of the songs on Taylor Swift’s Lover.

6. ‘Soon You’ll Get Better’ – This is a devastating song about Swift’s mother’s cancer, performed with the Dixie Chicks (her mom’s favorite band). It’s nice to see Swift use her star power to give the Dixie Chicks some high-profile exposure, years after they were run out of country music for daring to speak out against then-President Bush. The lesson of their blacklisting is likely one Swift took to heart, partly explaining her own political silence. I’d like to think country music has changed since then, but the truth is Swift is a full-blown pop star now so she is no longer bound by those constraints. Meanwhile, women — politically outspoken or not — continue to have a hard time getting airplay on country radio.

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Song of the Day #4,093: ‘The Archer’ – Taylor Swift

Continuing my countdown of the songs on Taylor Swift’s Lover.

9. ‘Daylight’ – The album’s delicate closing track looks back at the rocky road — romantically and professionally — Swift has taken to arrive at a place where she finally feels fulfilled. On Lover, Swift seems more self-aware and more at peace than ever, and this song does a lovely job of describing how she got there.

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