Taylor Swift - Shake It Off

As corny as it is, this song has been quite inspiring to me and I admire it in many ways. Taylor has always been in my good books somehow, and as someone who used to be very critical on public personalities of artists in the earlier years of this decade, she has always impressed me with her politeness and professionalism. (I have since ceased to care about artists' personal lives nowadays because I have matured a lot since then and frankly it is none of my business. That said, I still think artists are very responsible for whatever image or personality they choose to portray to the public and they should be accountable for that).

Taylor has certainly been quite unavoidable in terms of hearing about gossip over the past few years though. And I found what she does with this song to be very admirable. A lead single from her 5th album? It could have been anything really. Love, a relationship, another "signature" break-up song like We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together? Instead, she steps out of the box and writes about something that many artists struggle to execute well.

I don't find anything wrong with engaging with the media or with public perception. If anything, it's what artists should be doing more often! It demonstrates an intelligent and mature knowledge of your position and understanding of your surroundings, and to creatively present a response couldn't be more interesting for a songwriter while still being very personal and engaging. It's what we all do in a society that is constantly changing and evolving. And honestly, I'm sick of all the same love tripe that we get literally 90% of the time. However, as I said before, the execution of this idea is much easier said than done.

So what does Taylor do here? Yes, this is very much a response to the criticism she has faced over the past few years. But how she does it is even more impressive. It could have very well been a song filled with spite and hate to the media, for her past relationships, for anyone simply because they're haters. Instead, she transforms the negativity into her own fun, upbeat, positive and uplifting track, 'shaking' off the criticism and getting on with her life just like we all should when facing such things in our lives. What was technically a really lame "f**k you" has evolved into an uplifting, catchy and upbeat track that is easy to dance to and make your day feel better. It's the failed-inspirational anthem that is actually inspirational! Taylor doesn't care, so why should you! Everything about the song reflects this, from the obvious lyrics to the upbeat brass loops and beat, and just how it all culminates into honestly one of the funnest and most positive tracks of 2014.

To me, this exceptionally mature step from Taylor has been really impressive for not only me, but surely the other millions of people that this track has resonated with. It's one thing to write a song like this, but then to execute it and perform it so naturally, this surely will become one of her best songs ever. After a very clunky and forced "Red" era, this basically felt like an effortless transition into pop. It's really quite fascinating how at-home she feels despite this not being her 'home' genre. Her endearing VMAs performance and the fun music video only affirm all these points and are both worth watching.
Laatst gewijzigd: 25/02/2015 07:29