He's the song in the car I keep singing, don't know why I do...
I wanted to give this album a chance. I mean Taylor Swift was young (like LeAnn Rimes), on a smaller imprint (Big Machine Records), and had a slow-building, though totally opportunistic debut single named “Tim McGraw” (even going so far as doing the "radio station callout" gag). Give her credit for slapping a good country star name on a single to give it attention. Being sixteen, there's a half-pass to produce anything schlocky, which to her credit it's not Disneyfied fluff-sounding. Somehow her self-titled debut album’s grown to a monster, hitting #1 on the country album chart nearly a year after its release, with a second single “Teardrops On My Guitar” eclipsing even the success of the first. Well, I listened. Twice. Mostly, it sucks. I could go on about the tidbits of hope on here, such as the well-done “Cold As You” or the delicate “Tied Together With A Smile”. I could wax poetic about the hillbilly-Avril Lavigne persona she’s apparently tapped the tween-to-twenties girl market with. I could describe the trite lyrics behind inane material like “Our Song” or “A Place In This World”. But I won’t. I’ll sum it all with her “Picture To Burn” song, where Swift gets over on an ex by spreading a rumor that he’s gay. And she wrote it. Fuck you, Taylor. You apparently should’ve been dumped. Nyah Nyah. Seriously though, with a voice reminiscent of Natalie Maines without any emotional power besides a whine, unfortunately Taylor Swift sells way short. She seems to be fighting her upper Pennsylvania roots with an unnatural faux-Southern inflection that's disturbing. “Teardrops On My Guitar” is barely passable, and besides the other two songs above, the set proves to be a bland exercise in kiddie-twang.
Best Cuts: “Cold As You”, “Teardrops On My Guitar”
Weakest Links: “Tim McGraw”, “Our Song”, “Picture To Burn”
"Tim McGraw" hit #6 country singles and #40 pop singles.
"Teardrops On My Guitar" made #2 country singles and #33 pop singles.
"Our Song" so far made #36 country singles.
Listen: "Cold As You" [Click this link to hear]
Buy: You can pick up Taylor Swift at sites like here and here.
and for the clips...here's the debut single "Tim McGraw"
In her second video, tarted-up Taylor somehow doesn't get the guy in "Teardrops On My Guitar"...
and lastly - here's a fan-clip for the latest single, the ultra-corny "Our Song"...
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