‘Shake It Off’ by Taylor Swift
Grade: A
Oh, T-Swift.
I think I might have fallen in love with you.
Taylor Swift released her new single, “Shake It Off,” on Monday, and with that single, she has answered the age-old question, “Is T-Swizz really country?”
No. She’s not. Swift has officially crossed the line completely from the dark and into the light. She’s a bonafide pop star.
“Shake It Off” is airheaded and simple, and it has almost no lyrical depth.
That doesn’t stop me from calling it one of the best songs of the year.
“Shake It Off” is infectiously fun, bubbly and it’s almost impossible to listen to the song without a giant grin on your face. This is the song we’re all going to be dancing to at approximately 100 percent of all house parties this semester.
I normally don’t watch music videos — I don’t really see their point — but I’d heard some good things about this one, so I watched it, and it made me love Swift even more.
In it, she dances with a variety of professional dance groups, from ballerinas to cheerleaders, with an embraced awkwardness, climaxing in shots of random people dancing.
The song’s message, while not wildly philosophical, is one I can get behind: don’t worry about what other people think of you, just “do you.”
I just wish this song had been released a couple of months earlier so we could always remember it as the song of summer 2014.
Keep it up, Taylor. This is you at your finest.
‘Break the Rules’ by Charli XCX
Grade: C-
I really wanted to love Charli XCX’s new single released Monday, “Break the Rules.”
This album being her debut, there are a lot of expectations riding on it, considering her massive success in the past.
Remember Icona Pop’s “I Love It,” the single best jam of Little 500 week 2013? Thank Charli XCX. Or Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy?” Charli XCX again.
She’s really a superstar. She lays down some absolutely killer pop hooks.
Sadly, I don’t know if she can do much more than just the hooks, though.
“Break the Rules” is by no means terrible, it’s just kind of ... there. It’s not that fun to listen to, the lyrics are stupid and cheesy (and not in a hip, ironic way), and it’s not nearly as explosive as her other features.
The tone of the song isn’t as fun or party-inciting as her other pieces, and “Break the Rules,” ironically, tends to break no rules whatsoever. In fact, it’s about as textbook as it can get. The song’s EDM-wannabe melodic instrumental hook isn’t catchy. The purpose ?is defeated.
I know I’m beating up on “Break the Rules” hard, but that’s just because I’ve loved what Charli’s done in the past so very much. “I Love It” is still one of my go-to songs for having a good time, and that song technically came out in 2012.
I’m still rooting for this album, Charli XCX. ?Please don’t disappoint.
by Ike Hajinazarian
