Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library student manager Eliana (class of 2024) which features some country music.
A Foray Into Country Music
You don’t need to like country music to like these songs. Everyone knows them, true country fans hate them, but to you they’re cowboy enough.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
Taylor Swift, one of the biggest artists of the century, has amassed a cult-like following since her self titled debut album. She’s since released 9 additional studio albums and 2 re-recorded albums, all seemingly more successful than the last. Speak Now, her third studio album released in 2010, remains my favorite to date. Let me tell you why.
When determining my personal album rankings, I consider two factors: general cohesiveness and amount of “skips.”
In terms of cohesiveness, Speak Now exceeds expectations. Taylor describes it as a loose concept album regarding the things she never got a chance to tell people throughout her life. She calls the songs diary entries, using them to navigate her newfound adulthood. Speak Now perfectly encapsulates all the emotions of a 20-year-old dealing with love, heartbreak, and regret. Every song tunes into those emotions in a slightly different way, creating a wholly relatable album.
Even more importantly, this is a no-skips album. Each song serves a beautiful purpose in connecting the whole, but also has the ability to stand alone. Of course, this isn’t to say I don’t have favorites. “Back to December“, “Mine“, “Better than Revenge“, and “Last Kiss” certainly top my list. Still, even my least favorite songs on this album are always worth a listen.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
She wrote the song “9 to 5” for that movie and it is also one of her most popular songs. “9 to 5” is not only a catchy tune, but the lyrics highlight workplace issues that are very relevant in both the 80’s and today. I would highly recommend giving the song a listen!
