Country or pop? I feel confused when I listen to Taylor, especially her album Speak Now. I keep expecting country to flood the speakers of my car but it doesn’t happen that way. Too much BAM to be considered real soul country but then again, many songs that are supposedly country have us second guessing ourselves. Just think about listening to your Today’s Country station, you know that most of those songs don’t belong. I’d say this album is half and half. Enchanted was the original title of the album until Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta told Taylor that it really wasn’t a valuable representation of this piece of art. Borchetta reminded her that this album isn’t about fairy tales and high school like her past albums had been, but more a representation of evolution as Taylor Swift gets older. Taylor used his advice and came up with Speak Now, the perfect signature to her completely self-written album.
Country-pop grew to popularity when rock music was introduced and artists started appealing to the mass groups instead of solely to one genre of music-lovers. I don’t feel that Taylor is doing this crossover just for the popularity, which I am sure many people argue. She chooses her approach based on the story that accompanies each song, and I think that is the best strategy. A couple names to the idea of crossover music—Patsy Cline used country-pop with her music and it contributed to her success. Country-rock fusion gives Glen Campbell and John Denver their brands. Garth Brooks brings in honky tonk flare and rock-and-roll to country. Then grew the female vocalists like LeAnn Rimes and Faith Hill. This is eventually where Taylor Swift grows and learns from her mentor Faith Hill as they were on tour together. If you were asked what your favorite country song is, what would you say? Now I can guarantee that almost every song you mention would be country-pop. New songs that are soulful country are hard to find. The definition of country has changed since the 1900s and we are no longer expecting to listen to what you would call “old country” or the old-school bluegrass.
As you can see, country-pop is an approach that many successful artists have chosen to take. This cross-genre can be an excellent way to portray different feelings through an array of different musical elements since there are two different genres in which musical style is chosen from. I used to think that a song had to be either country or pop, but listening to Taylor Swift makes me think anything is possible. Swift claims that her up-tempo country-pop songs represent her habit of running away from the thought and presence of love, and I completely agree.
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Just a couple songs on completely opposite ends of the country-pop spectrum:
"Better Than Revenge". Honestly didn’t think this was Taylor when I listened to this song at first, which is supposedly about Camilla Belle stealing Joe Jonas from her. More like an Avril Levigne move. This song has a very high tempo, which is why I classify it as a pop song over the others.
"Last Kiss". I say for sure a country song. Gentle tempo is what I tend to consider country. During much of this song, I am stuck wondering if Taylor is singing or actually just talking quietly. In a beautiful way though, I have to admit this song is very powerful despite its quiet tone. Another song supposedly about Joe Jonas, he must’ve been significant enough to deserve a country and a pop song in this album.
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It’s funny because when I listened to Taylor’s songs as I was growing up, I never knew exactly who she was writing about, but it is so interesting to finally discover for whom she shared these love/hate feelings. For some reason, it’s easy to pair love songs with country music and songs of hatred with pop music just because the beats fit well together. As we have already discussed, Taylor doesn’t stick to one genre or one crossover type, she is very diverse and surprises us even more with each new album she releases. Just like she is discovering herself, Taylor is also discovering the world of new musical elements and unique approaches to take. In Speak Now, there is a track for everything on the relationship spectrum—Taylor calling out guys and even calling out herself. This album has its share of long tracks… not to mention Dear John that is six minutes and forty-five seconds. In general, I would think country songs would be longer because of their slower tempo, so I’m not surprised. There are several songs within this album that are upwards of six minutes which I do think is pushing it because I could imagine myself getting tired of the song much of the time.
Just a little side note on ‘Never Grow Up’—it reminds me of ‘Best Day’ from her album Fearless because of the whole idea of family. ‘Never Grow Up’ is about when Taylor gets dropped off at her apartment and stays alone for the first time, which many people can relate to. If someone young is listening, they may be able to relate to the part about wanting to leave home, but realize how weird leaving home really is (from Taylor’s perspective, of course). Leaving your family is a weird idea and Taylor does a good job of giving her stance as a young girl who wants to start doing things on her own and then finishes the song with her worries about being left alone to tackle the world. Diving deeper into the particular genre of country-pop, Speak Now encompasses many different elements that are a combination of many artists that made up the beginning of crossover history. This album is so diverse, but it makes it easier for me to pinpoint my favorite song since I am more a fan of pop. I love ‘Back to December’ because of its apologetic nature and ‘Better Than Revenge’ because of the upbeat tone and shows what amazing work Taylor is capable of.
Of course, as Taylor progresses in her career, she learns and discovers more than ever before and is able to advance each album in that way. After listening to Speak Now, I think Taylor could do a better job of keeping a cohesive main idea for the album because it is a whole piece of art in itself.
CS
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