Taylor Swift Monday

And now--to address the elephant in the room--there's a new Taylor Swift album.

The praise--from the NYT, Vulture, Rolling Stone, L.A. Times--is emphatic.

One inane piece--in the Washington Post--complains that Swift returns too often to the same territory, and I'm reminded of Hilary Mantel on Anita Brookner: "The critics grew frustrated. They wanted Brookner's heroines to get out more, to cheer up. To take some Prozac...."

The real stand-out is the cancer song, "Soon You'll Get Better," in which Swift addresses her sick mother. Swift observes her mother, ranking the nurses, "making the best of a bad deal." She contrasts her mom's behavior with her own behavior: "I just pretend it isn't real."

It's odd that Swift includes an entire song about Kanye West--"I Forgot that You Existed"--and the fact that she continuously announces how little she cares about West? This makes it hard to believe that she really has moved past West. On the other hand, the *cancer* song--so far from petty--is a persuasive case that maybe she has moved past Kanye West. Show, Tay Tay. Don't tell.

Like the NYT writer, I'm a fan of "Paper Rings," which announces: "I like shiny things...but I'd marry you with paper rings." The speaker likes imperfection: "I want to drive away with you; I want your complications, too. I want your dreary Mondays...." The writing feels light and joyful.

More to come, I'm sure. I'm excited for the VMAs tonight!

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