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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/aug/19/taylor-swifts-shake-it-off-video-yahoo-livestream-event
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Taylor Swift's Shake it Off video falls flat | Taylor Swift's Shake it Off video falls flat |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| After weeks of dropping clues on social media about an impending big reveal, popstar Taylor Swift finally gave her fans what they’d been waiting for on Monday evening: a new single and a new video. But unlike other artists who might release a new track on iTunes or even (gasp) the radio, Swift made her announcement during a 30-minute live stream (in partnership with Yahoo!) broadcast around the world. During the event, she danced, chatted with fans in the audience, took questions via Twitter, and shared some important news. We watched the whole thing for you – and here’s what we learned. | After weeks of dropping clues on social media about an impending big reveal, popstar Taylor Swift finally gave her fans what they’d been waiting for on Monday evening: a new single and a new video. But unlike other artists who might release a new track on iTunes or even (gasp) the radio, Swift made her announcement during a 30-minute live stream (in partnership with Yahoo!) broadcast around the world. During the event, she danced, chatted with fans in the audience, took questions via Twitter, and shared some important news. We watched the whole thing for you – and here’s what we learned. |
| Shake it Off is catchy, but not her best work | Shake it Off is catchy, but not her best work |
| At her best, Swift is a moody, introspective weirdo — as she said today: “All I think about are metaphors and cats.” She’s a gifted writer, but Shake It Off doesn’t show off her talent. Lyrically, it expresses lazy sentiments like “haters gonna hate”. Lines like “You coulda been getting down to this sick beat” and “To the fella over there with the hella good hair” sound jarring coming from Taylor Swift. | At her best, Swift is a moody, introspective weirdo — as she said today: “All I think about are metaphors and cats.” She’s a gifted writer, but Shake It Off doesn’t show off her talent. Lyrically, it expresses lazy sentiments like “haters gonna hate”. Lines like “You coulda been getting down to this sick beat” and “To the fella over there with the hella good hair” sound jarring coming from Taylor Swift. |
| The Shake it Off video falls flat | The Shake it Off video falls flat |
| Directed by the estimable Mark Romanek, the video depicts Taylor trying, and failing, to hold her own among diverse groups of professional dancers. The incongruent blend of modern dance, ballet, and breakdancing is fun, but the conceit falls flat. Taylor is a little too skilled a dancer for the comedy to really work, though watching her shake it in a Swan Lake tutu is nevertheless pretty great. That said, her twerking scenes — with closeups of the gyrating butts of anonymous, primarily black female dancers— come off as somewhat misguided (Earl Sweatshirt has already accused her of ‘perpetuating black stereotypes’). | Directed by the estimable Mark Romanek, the video depicts Taylor trying, and failing, to hold her own among diverse groups of professional dancers. The incongruent blend of modern dance, ballet, and breakdancing is fun, but the conceit falls flat. Taylor is a little too skilled a dancer for the comedy to really work, though watching her shake it in a Swan Lake tutu is nevertheless pretty great. That said, her twerking scenes — with closeups of the gyrating butts of anonymous, primarily black female dancers— come off as somewhat misguided (Earl Sweatshirt has already accused her of ‘perpetuating black stereotypes’). |
| Taylor’s new album, 1989 (named for the year she was born), is due out on 27 October | Taylor’s new album, 1989 (named for the year she was born), is due out on 27 October |
| Swift says 1989 is “the most sonically cohesive” album that she’s made. You can pre-order it now and the label is already hawking a deluxe version, featuring three bonus tracks which she recorded on her phone during the songwriting process. Another bonus: The cover of 1989 is a Polaroid of Swift herself, and each copy of the album will come with a packet of 13 different Polaroids (even if many of her fans have likely never seen a Polaroid before). | Swift says 1989 is “the most sonically cohesive” album that she’s made. You can pre-order it now and the label is already hawking a deluxe version, featuring three bonus tracks which she recorded on her phone during the songwriting process. Another bonus: The cover of 1989 is a Polaroid of Swift herself, and each copy of the album will come with a packet of 13 different Polaroids (even if many of her fans have likely never seen a Polaroid before). |
| Taylor could have a second career as a daytime talk show host | Taylor could have a second career as a daytime talk show host |
| From the moment she first addressed her studio audience (“Welcome to this live stream extravaganza adventure-a-thon!”), Swift was in control. She came off as smart and personable, and proved herself to be an effective master of ceremonies. |