By: Hanna Duenkel

“Blank Space” by Taylor Swift

Normally, Taylor Swift wouldn’t attract my attention, but with the recent release of her newest album, 1989, Swift has been gaining more and more followers since her break away from country music.  “Blank Space” is currently being played once every hour or so on most Top 40 stations and can only be described as “cookie cutter pop.”  Like most pop music, “Blank Space” has an irregular beat, switches back and forth between long, belting choruses and randomly placed verses, and also features an artist who is trying to change her image to one that is more mature.  The song focuses on how the media portrays the romantic endeavors of the singer, as stated by Swift, listing all of her flaws, including her inclination for jealousy and her tendency to break hearts. Swift also talks about her past relationships, such as when she sings about how “I can make a bad guy good for the weekend.” The artist released her music video for the song on November 10th, and after three days, the video had over 25,000,000 views.  The video highlights the main relationship between Swift and a guy named Sean, starting with how they are in a sensational love and ending with Sean frantically leaving Swift’s mansion with a dented car and multiple visible injuries.  In my opinion, this isn’t even close to Swift’s best work because of how different it is from what I’m used to with her music.  Swift’s sound used to be twangy, with lyrics that you could understand without having to google exactly what she’s saying– if I hadn’t googled the lyrics for “Blank Space”, I would have still thought that “Got a long list of ex-lovers” was “Got a lonely Starbucks lover.”  But, if you liked “Blank Space,” then check out the rest of Swift’s most recent album, 1989.

Candy by BØRNS

This EP was released on November 10th and has a light and airy tune, but combines the sound of electronica with wailing tones that belong in a H&M store. Candy is comprised of four songs: “Electric Love,” “10,000 Emerald Pools,” “Past Lives,” and “Seeing Stars.”  These songs all have a flair of their own.  “Electric Love” is lively with its finger snapping beat and sweet lyrics about how the singer is so in love.  “10,000 Emerald Pools” features a slow rhythm, which balances the tempo of the EP, making it so the four songs don’t fly by too fast.  “Past Lives” has an airy feel to it but still has a fast beat that makes you clap along.  My own personal favorite song from the EP is “Seeing Stars,” because of how easily it flows; a person could sing along on their first time listening to the song. “Seeing Stars” attracted my attention because of how relatable it was, and how it gets stuck in my head so I’m singing it for the rest of the day.  If you like Candy then you might like “Out Of My League” by Fitz and the Tantrums or “What You Know” by Two Door Cinema Club because of their similar electronic beats and catchy tunes.