Taylor Swifts New Song Combines Familiar Message With Craftsmanship

We all enjoy consistency in our everyday lives. I know I do. There's nothing more comforting than seeing certain things stay the same, especially considering how much in this world changes on a regular basis. It's nice to know that the sun will always rise and that Christmas will always come with Winter weather, but what we as a mass audience love is consistency in pop culture. Superman got under fire last year for the very uncharacteristic he took out his primary antagonist, and for good reason. That move betrayed all the character stood for and was not only a product of needlessly updating a beloved entity in order to be "hip", but was also a reminder of Man of Steels unending shoddy screenwriting.

Another thing 2013 reminded us in terms of pop culture consistency is that artists have to remain the same or else hell. Will. Be. Unleashed. Unlike the Man of Steel debacle, this ones more mystifying, since female musicians have used sexuality to promote music in the past, but for some reason, Miley Cyrus just broke America. Her twerking signified the armageddon of pop culture, because she wasn't acting like she used to act on her Disney Channel program. People were accustomed to seeing her act in a certain way, and seeing her have a song with such overt sexual themes threw the world into chaos.

That reaction just befuddles me, since, like I said before, women using sex to promote their music is an adage as old as time itself. Plus, there's the fact that people think Miley Cyrus is actually that kind of person in real life, and she probably isn't. It's just an attention-grabbing kind of personality that gets people listening to your music. Very clever stuff that I admire, especially considering that, controversy aside, Wrecking Ball is actually a great song. The same kind of media shakeup that Miley faced last year is now directed at Taylor Swift, whose latest single, Shake It Off (which you can watch the music video for below), has been degraded by many for being too different from older songs from Swift. "What happened to the old Taylor Swift????" numerous YouTube comments cry, as if there really is a big difference from Swifts older music and this newest track (Which is the debut single from her forthcoming album 1989)

Have things changed in Swifts music since she started? Oh yes, but mainly in the fact that not every one of her songs have a strong country influence anymore. Some do (like the extremely emotionally effective song Begin Again), but Shake It Off follows in the footsteps of her last debut single from a then forthcoming album, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, and go for more of a pop vibe. It also follows that particular song by being upbeat, having a message that centers around letting another persons actions not affect you and even having a portion of the song be just Taylor Swift briefly speaking. Oh yes, and the most important thing it shares with We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together is that it's another infectiously fun song that I'm already humming and dancing to.

Swifts career has been built upon two kind of songs; tunes that look at universal human emotions or upbeat songs revolving around positive messages. Frankly, I prefer the former from a quality standpoint, but the latter is not only the one that helps sell albums, but do stick around in your head for eons. Shake It Up certainly earns it's place in the second category with a memorable beat and while the lyrics are far from original (I won't lie; I feel almost putrid for endorsing a song that makes extensive use of the phrase "Haters gonna hate"), they are memorable  and Swift delivers with more authenticity than one would expect. I also like the instruments used in the song, which helps it stand out from other tunes in Swifts career. It may not be the most original song ever produced by Taylor Swift, but it is another fun piece of music from a talented artist that never fails to bring something memorable to the table.