Who doesn’t love Taylor Swift? And who didn’t get upset about the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards spectacle between Kanye West and Swift, when he virtually humiliated her before she accepted her award on live television? Awful. Especially because she’s so young and so sweet. I certainly love her music, and I have a soft spot for teen celebrities because of the media microscope under which they live–it’s hard enough being a teenager today as it is, never mind when you are under constant video surveillance. (Though, Swift is recently 21). In the age when Lindsay Lohan falls and falls publicly again, Swift has managed to maintain a holier-than-thou image, more or less.
And yet! In a rave review of her new album “Speak Now” which is out today, apparently Ms. Swift gets some revenge on those who have wronged her over the last few years. There is a song about Mr. West on there, for sure, called “Innocent,” but there is also apparently a six-and-a-half minute scolding of John Mayer of all people, who allegedly, possibly, maybe broke Swift’s heart called, “Dear John.” Jon Caramanica, who reviews the album in his article, “Taylor Swift Is Angry, Darn It,” had this to say about “Dear John”:
“FOR pure star-on-star revenge, “Dear John,” from the new Taylor Swift album, “Speak Now,” will be tough to beat. Six and a half minutes long and flagrantly provocative, it’s a deeply uncomfortable song, its protagonist anguished and violated. “Don’t you think I was too young to be messed with?” she asks. “The girl in the dress/Cried the whole way home.” John Mayer has brought this out in Ms. Swift, awakening her pain, her ire and her creativity. Rather than write a song in her familiar country-pop mode, she’s written an electric blues, its pealing guitar licks a hilarious and pointed reminder of Mr. Mayer, who’s a master of the style. It’s warfare on the level of Jay-Z versus Nas, Oasis versus Blur, Carly Simon versus whomever.”
Well. I have to say, I’m not only excited to hear the new tracks (I love her music, her lyrics, the videos, too, and I am not ashamed to admit this), but I’m even more excited to listen for the stories that might give a little window into Swift’s more grown up, slightly less sweet new image. Somehow, she still manages to come across as holier-than-thou in this album review, too.