My Thoughts on Reputation

Hello everybody!

Today, I’m sharing my thoughts on the songs from Reputation, as it’s round about a year since it’s release and I’ve never shared my thoughts on it before- it was the last album I listened to and really enjoyed before I started doing music posts. Onto the post!

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Ready for It?- this took so long to grow on me at first, mainly because it was so bizarre to hear Taylor rapping, but it’s really grown on me in the year since it was released. I think the verses are ridiculously catchy and while it was initially my least favourite thing about it, I now love that the pre-chorus sounds slightly like Wildest Dreams, but more cynical. I think the bridge works so well too. I seriously wouldn’t have guessed how much I’d like this by now when it first came out!

Endgame– I have super mixed feelings on this. I basically love everything that Taylor sings and the message of the song (which is kind of a less heartbreaking the Last Time, which is by far my favourite !) and can’t really stand Future or Ed Sheeran’s verses. I’d prefer it to all be Taylor’s experience, because I just felt like it didn’t really fit the song to have it as a collab.

I Did Something Bad– I am obsessed with this, from the opening strings to the vocals to the lyrics to Taylor calling out the way people pretty much witch-hunt her, and I love the Blank Space vibes that her narrating the song as the person the media portray her as (at least, I think she is). Also, I totally screamed in delight at the first pre-chorus because I wasn’t expecting Taylor Swift to ever require being censored, and because the line is just all round badass and amazing and I love it!

Don’t Blame Me– this so sultry and intense, and I think it’s brilliant. I don’t have any major reasons why other than I just do, other than the melody being great and just generally loving the way it sounds, because Taylor’s voice sounds even more fantastic than usual during it, and because I’m obsessed with the echo effect used.

Delicate– oh, this is such a fave. It’s so, so romantic and I love it’s storytelling, especially that it focuses on how Taylor feels loved for herself rather than her fame. I tend to cry when I hear it, and I think the melody fits really well with its lovely tone and meaning. The chorus is so catchy too, and like with Don’t Blame Me I just think it sounds amazing overall.

Look What You Made Me Do– there was such a mixed reaction to this when it was released as the first single, and I fell firmly in the camp of loving it. I love how sassy and spiky it is, and I think the way Taylor sort of snarls rather thing sings really emphasises how much she dislikes whoever this song is about (my bet’s on Kimye). I’m totally here for the “old Taylor is dead” spoken section. It’s a great song to listen to if you’re feeling angry too!

So It Goes– I really don’t have a lot to say about this one. I find it repetitive, and a bit dull, and I tend to skip it when listening to the album.

Gorgeous– the opening music of this is so pretty, and it really sets the feel of this song. It’s about Taylor meeting her current boyfriend and thinking he’s out of her leauge because he’s so gorgeous. I love the writing, especially the tongue in cheek parts, and it’s just a positive, fun song overall, even though it’s less optimistic than some of Taylor’s love songs from previous places.

Getaway Car– this was my favourite when Reputation was released and it still is now. It’s about a short-lived doomed relationship that was mainoy an excuse to leave someone else. The getaway car metaphor througuout is great, and I just love the melody. The bridge is one of my favourite bridges ever, I think. The whole song is so catchy, but the bridge especially.

King of My Heart– like Endgame, there are sections of this I really like, and others I really do not. It’s about a similar sort of thing to Delicate- that he loves her for her and not her fame- and I think I’d probably like this more than I do if I wasn’t comparing it to such a masterpiece. I think the verses are prettygreat though, especially the rythym of them,

Dancing With Our Hands Tied- I’m pretty ambivalent towards this, to be honest. It’s about a new relationship being exposed to the public, and while I enjoy it when I hear it, it’s not one of the standout songs of this for me. My favourite thing about it is the melody/rythym of the verses and pre-choruses, but I’m not keen on the chorus. I also really enjoy the bridge.

Dress– this has always been one of my favourites from the album. It’s got the same sensual feeling to it as Don’t Blame Me, but has a more upbeat tempo that makes me like it just a little more. It’s so melodic and catchy, and again, similarly to Don’t Blame Me I just love its sound overall. The bridge is so romantic especially!

This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things– this is the most joyous revenge song I have ever heard, and I think it’s Taylor’s best revenge song ever. It heavily references the Kimye feud, and I love the storytelling style of it, alongside the top-notch sarcasm throughout. I am here for ALL of this. ALL of it. The pettiness of the spoken section in the bridge gives me such joy too, as does the bridge in general to be honest. I do love a good bridge!

Call It What You Want– I know I’ve called just about every song on this romantic, and they totally are, but this is probably the most overt love song. I think the rhyming in the second pre-chorus is a bit dodgy (eg “trust him like a brother”…) but otherwise I’m a big fan, especially since it focuses on how this new relationship helped Taylor get through that period where people were lying about her and making her out to be someone she isn’t.

New Year’s Day– I love Taylor’s new pop direction, probably even more so than her early stuff, but this is so remniscent of her first few albums and it’s fabulous. It’s a soft and sweet piano ballad about being there for someone you love through both the good times (represented here as New Year’s Eve) and the bad (represented here as the clean up on January 1st). Its simplicity makes its meaming even more striking and clear, and it’s so powerful that I have definitely teared up on quite a few listens.

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Are you a Taylor Swift fan? What’s your favourite song from this album? I’d love to hear in the comments!

Amy x