[Icannot]

Originally posted by Artemisia

I've been listening to the instrumental albums and it's amazing how strongly Taylor relies on continuous and varying lyrical melodies to make her songs catchy rather than letting the beat or production take center stage. Mean is a perfect example of what I'm getting at. There's not much to the song's production, it's just there to offer background to the strong lyrical melodies.

Another interesting thing I noticed is her frequent use of instrumental hooks following choruses. Sparks Fly and Speak Now have a little guitar solo. Mean has that swaying banjo bit. My favorite is Begin Again's accordion after the first chorus ends. I realize this is a general technique in pop music in general, but I feel like Taylor excels at it and makes it feel special.

Yes at you finally getting into those instrumental solos. There are also a few productions that stand on their own, e.g Enchanted, State of Grace, Treacherous - They all have several layers that have been meticulously arranged. They stand on their own quite well without the main vocals.

[Achilles.]

Originally posted by Artemisia

I've been listening to the instrumental albums and it's amazing how strongly Taylor relies on continuous and varying lyrical melodies to make her songs catchy rather than letting the beat or production take center stage. Mean is a perfect example of what I'm getting at. There's not much to the song's production, it's just there to offer background to the strong lyrical melodies.

Another interesting thing I noticed is her frequent use of instrumental hooks following choruses. Sparks Fly and Speak Now have a little guitar solo. Mean has that swaying banjo bit. My favorite is Begin Again's accordion after the first chorus ends. I realize this is a general technique in pop music in general, but I feel like Taylor excels at it and makes it feel special.

I feel the same.

[BlueMoon77]

Originally posted by Bentley13

I know I shouldn't say this, and I'll get dragged, but...

The irony of singing "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" to really sick kids.

Her singing WANEGBT to kids with cancer is great. It can be interpreted as saying "hey Cancer WE ARE NEVER EVER EVER EVER GETTING BACK TOGETHER!!!"

[BlueMoon77]

Originally posted by eddytws

but its basic production.... Icannot

Imo, ATW's production isn't anything better

[Achilles.]

Yeah, I feel like ATW could've been better produced.

[Icannot]

The live production sounds horrid, NGL.

The studio one is near-flawless though. The beginning might sound a little basic, but it's all about the lyrics and build-up.

[eddytws]

Originally posted by BlueMoon77

Imo, ATW's production isn't anything better

[BlueMoon77]

Originally posted by eddytws

She likes the Stay The Night song. She probably knows him

For a second I thought you were referring to James Blunt's "Stay The Night"

Shows how little I know about Zedd

[Icannot]

Let's not forget about the iconic guitar riff.

[eddytws]

Originally posted by BlueMoon77

For a second I thought you were referring to James Blunt's "Stay The Night"

Shows how little I know about Zedd

know about your fave's music taste please

[thediscomonkey]

When you take away the lyrics, Her music sounds pretty basic to be honest.

[BlueMoon77]

Originally posted by castle13

The production of the 1st half is kinda forgettable but the build up to the bridge woo Lord and the imagery together with the production in the last part make me think of images of her failed relationship flashing right in front of her eyes

Wind in my hair, you were there, you remember it all
Down the stairs, you were there, you remember it all
It was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well

One of the holiest moments of Red.

Agree with everything you said. Couldn't have said it better myself.

[BlueMoon77]

Originally posted by castle13

The production of her live ATW grammy performance slays!! Especially the steel guitars in the verses like she's saying to the audience "Hear that? Yeah that's right I'm country and this is a ****ing country song losers!"

Tbh I hope she keeps pushing those boundaries of what's considered to be mainstream "country" nowadays. Here's to hoping that everything she puts out to country radios is folk/pop or any kind of alternative country

[Icannot]

Guess I just like basic productions. Oh well.

[thediscomonkey]

Though like that Cloud Nothing dude said, the structure is obvious, from A to B to C to D *end*. So obvious and pretty common, but it worked. What makes the difference is the lyrics. Because the productions alone is........ EH.

[Safe&Sound]

Mine is punching

I just can relate the "and everytime I look at you, it's like the first time" line

[Safe&Sound]

Originally posted by BlueMoon77

Tbh I hope she keeps pushing those boundaries of what's considered to be mainstream "country" nowadays. Here's to hoping that everything she puts out to country radios is folk/pop or any kind of alternative country

I'm hoping the same thing
Too bad, seems like Red is the last song she would ever released to country radio

or do you think she still has a chance?

[Icannot]

Wish I could write, compose and produce my own musique. Kinda hard to judge when I don't make them.

[castle13]

Nnnnn Bring them the apocalypse

[boodytay]

I think her productions are pretty conventional and her songs, in general, follow the same verse-chorus-explosive bridge structure. Some of the productions on Red sounded a bit unconventional (Holy Ground, State of Grace) while others were absolutely and undeniably basic in every single way (22, I Almost Do, Everything Has Changed). I want her to try using unconventional song structures and productions at some point in her career, like Beyonce did with her self-titled album, but, also, as proven by Beyonce's self-titled album, unconventional productions and structures don't always guarantee quality.

Just my 2 cents.