Because the stomping, struming, and swooping bear the influence of “Somebody That I Used to Know,” Avril Lavigne, Miley Cyrus, “Call Me Maybe,” and other pop hits so obvious I won’t name them, I distrust the chorus rush. Other than the euphoria of being mean – who else gets away with it in contemporary pop? – she’s jabbing herself in the breast plate with an adrenalin shot. It’s possible Swift has outgrown expressing the root of the fabulous title. Worse, Swift sings the indie line that all the indie-suspicious critics adore with too much emphasis. She’s like a villain with a pencil mustache winking at the camera; she’s like a bad actress. Besides, the number of indie fans who think their favorite records are cooler than Taylor Swift is small enough for her not to worry about her profit share.
Totally agreed. I think this is her worst single by some distance, actually. No idea what the appeal of the indie line is to those indie-suspicious critics — if anything, it feels like someone who doesn’t really know me nudging me in the ribs (hard!) expecting me to laugh along to their bullshit. Who is she, Katy Perry?