Taylor Swift’s new album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” is extremely underwhelming. Released on Friday, Oct. 3, the 12-track album could easily be summarized by listening to just half of the opening song.
Truthfully, I fell asleep within the first minute of her second track, “Elizabeth Taylor,” and only woke up when I heard what sounded like The Jackson Five’s quintessential beginning to “I Want You Back.” Only, it wasn’t The Jackson Five, but rather Swift’s nearly identical guitar intro to her ninth track, “Wood.”
I had high expectations for “Wood,” especially after her outright thievery of the Jackson’s guitar intro, but no. Just the first line — “Daisy’s bare naked” — left me in confusion. It felt as if one would need to know Swift’s life story to understand her lyrics. Her words were tailored — excuse my pun — to her Swifties.
However, when the chorus of that same song began, I immediately knew what — or should I say who — Swift was singing about. Long gone are the days when her lyrics told a story that could apply to anyone’s life or relationship.
“Redwood tree / It ain’t hard to see / His love was the key / that opened my thighs,” are just some of Swift’s lustful lyrics about her fiancé, Kansas City Chiefs football star Travis Kelce. “The Life of a Showgirl” marks a pivotal moment in her career, where Swift prioritizes commenting on her relationships over considering the different age groups listening.
Besides “Wood,” another example of Swift’s unoriginality was “Opalite,” whose chorus had a striking resemblance to “Won’t Go Home Without You” by Maroon 5. I soon realized that this was a recurring theme throughout “The Life of a Showgirl;” each track left an aftertaste of déjà vu and disappointment.
Initially, I was stumped trying to think of which song each of her tracks resembled. Then it occurred to me that her so-called “new” album is simply a carbon copy of her own previous music. Swift is changing the only good parts about her music — the storytelling and relevance to all — while clinging for dear life to her redundant song structures. Although she is clearly running out of those as well, as seen in her repetition of other artists’ music.
A dear friend once told me that all of Swift’s music “scratches the same itch.” After 20 albums and well over 200 songs, I think it’s safe to say that “itch” has been scratched by now.
