I have a reputation for liking things that most people have collective strong negative feelings towards – notably, Spiderman 3 (the one with Tobey Maguire) and the Star Wars prequels (Episode III is my fave, come at me!).
This extends to music as well, and I bop to whatever puts me in the right mood, regardless of who’s singing it. And the following artists not only get hate on a regular basis, they made some seriously sick tracks that without, I may not be the same person I am today.
Okay, maybe that’s taking it too far. But what I’m trying to say is, if you go into mob-mentality and hate on artists just because its cool to do so, you’re going to miss out on some amazing stuff. Like the following:
- Taylor Swift, Reputation
Oh my god do I love this album. I cannot get enough of bad Taylor. And what’s worse, is that she’s not even really “bad,” I don’t know why she gets so much hate. Because she changes her style often? Because she has fights with friends? Because she is sometimes nice and sometimes not? Because she’s not a country star anymore? Or because she’s dated a lot of guys… so what? At least she knows when to leave ’em, or vice versa – I am certainly guilty of wasting my time on bros who didn’t deserve it, so now that Taylor is happy and embracing her self – her imperfect, obsessive, loving, needy, emotional, passionate, fun, cool, daring self in all of its contradictory and beautiful parts – I am alllllllll for it. In my opinion, she’s the realest artist out there. This album was a big gamble and I think she should be proud. Own it, Taylor.
Listen to: 1. “Ready For It” (rap and high notes?? Yaaas, I karaoke this all the time now, it’s very No Doubt-esque) 2. “New Years Day” 3. “Delicate” (imo the best song on the track, the beat is infectious and sexy) 4. “Dancing With Our Hands Tied”
2. Justin Bieber, Purpose and Journals
Ah, the Biebs. Any track he puts out is fire and if I could find a club that would play his stuff on loop, you bet I’d be there every night.
Justin Bieber may not be the brightest bulb in the box IRL but his music is pretty consistent. He sings about love and not once has he warbled about swimming in pools of money and banging hoes in the back of limousines. So why do people hate him so much? Because he had a floopy bowl cut when he was a kid? Whatever the reason, he’s a huge star and has been ever since he was a teenager. What do you expect? I definitely don’t expect him to be perfect and take all that fame in stride..
Did you know that in between Believe (the album with “Boyfriend”) and Purpose he released an R&B album called Journals? And that its full of catchy, smooth, sexy songs? Now you know.
I also give Biebs respect for Purpose, the videos of the singles hardly feature him and for the most part, the songs expose a bit more about his personal life and are set to dope beats.
Listen to: 1. “All That Matters Is You” (watch the video too) 2. “Backpack” (lyrically, it doesn’t make any sense and the video is terrible, but it’s still my drug) 3. “I’ll Show You” 4. “The Feeling”
3. Miley Cyrus, Bangerz and Younger Now
Miley went off-the-handle following her graduation from Disney, and while I didn’t really need to see as much of Miley Cyrus’ tongue and body through her transformation into Bangerz-Miley, you know what? It’s not my body and she can do whatever she wants because her pipes are phenomenal.
I think people were mad about her going rogue because she had a squeaky-clean Disney image. But yeah, that’s because she was on a Disney show and she had to have it. That doesn’t mean that is who she actually was. She has been a freak (in a good way, guys) all her life and when she retired from Disney she was able to let it show.
And just as people who grow up, she changed back into a more “tamed” version of herself for Younger Now, but is still very much Miley, still unique, still freaky.
Listen to: 1. “Someone Else” 2. “Adore You” 3. “Drive” 4. “Thinkin'” 5. “I Would Die For You”
I don’t expect these people to be perfect. I can find something to relate to in each “transformation” and am thankful to see these huge names exposing their innards to the world. With great celebrity comes great pressure (or something like that) and I am glad that they are still making music on their own terms despite it. Rock on.