Fearless!

Hello, all.

Tomorrow marks a week since I sat down by the fireplace and unwrapped my newfound treasure and turned on my dad's CD player (mine broke on the trip to Arizona) and pressed the play button. I opened the booklet, read the liner notes first, and then followed along with the lyrics. The sweet acoustic chords of "Fearless" filled the earphones, and it wasn't until the last dramatic drumbeats of "Change" faded out 53:26 later that I dared breathe. For those of you who want a play-by-play with the CD, here goes:

"Fearless" - Beautiful! It's the "best first date I haven't had yet song," and the lyrics make me want that type of date, too. As well as the songwriting prowess that emanates from every Taylor Swift song. Capture it, remember it.

"Fifteen" - This is what I've always wanted a friend to say to me, and she sounds like a best friend. In your life you'll do things greater than dating the boy on the football team / I didn't know it at fifteen / When all you wanted was to be wanted. It sounds like the kind of normal life that is lacking in my school. Or at least in my life.

"Love Story" - It's a fairy tale! How much more can I say about it? I love the banjo in the background, and I love how Taylz performed this at the CMAs last Wednesday (She changed dresses halfway through! And the guy from the music video was there, too.) My favourite part is the anticipation (acoustic guitar, percussion, banjo) leading up to the final glorious burst, Marry me Juliet you never have to be alone / I love you and that's all I really know / I talked to your dad go pick out a white dress.

"Hey Stephen" - Hey, Stephen, I could give you fifty reasons why I should be the one you choose / all those other girls, well they're beautiful, but would they write a song for you? This song puts me in a good mood whenever I listen to it. It's so cheerful. And the fingersnaps at the end make it even more so. Apparently it was written for a member of Taylz's opening band, Love and Theft.

"White Horse" - Songs don't get much better than this. The harmonies in the chorus are enough to satisfy your passion for good music, and then the bridge and the variations in the chorus (I'm gonna find someone someday who might actually TREAT me well / this is a big world, that was a small town there in my rearview mirror disappearing now) are sheer brilliance.

"You Belong With Me" - The pre-chorus is wonderful (She wears short skirts I wear t-shirts / she's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers or She wears high heels I wear sneakers / she's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers), and then the change to the chorus is terrific as well. This song is probably the catchiest on the album.

"Breathe" - A duet with Colbie Caillet. I love the first line of the chorus (And we know it's never simple, never easy) and the first line of the second verse (Music starts playing like the end of a sad movie.

"Tell Me Why" - Listening to this song, I can imagine Caitlin's violin sawing in half (that's Taylz's fiddle player). And I need you like a heartbeat.

"You're Not Sorry" - I think this is the weakest song on the album, but every time I hear it, I find something new to love. For instance, I love the bridge (You had me crawling for you honey and it never would've gone away / you used to shine so bright but I watched all of it fade). And the piano in the background. Ah!

"The Way I Loved You" - She wrote this with John Rich (of Big & Rich), and lately it's my favourite song on the album (this changes day to day, however). The difference in melody between the verses and the chorus is pure poetry, and I love the music to the verses and the bridge. I love the triangle (or is it a xylophone?) when she sings 'cause I'm not feeling anything at all.

"Forever and Always" - Second-catchiest song on the album. Was I out of line / did I say something way too honest? The chorus is terrific, but on first listen it's slightly hard to follow, as she switches from "you" to "he" and back.

"The Best Day" - The introduction to this song reminds me of the intro to a Kenny Chesney song, from his The Road and the Radio album. And it's the one song on the album that made me cry the first time I heard it. And the second, and the third. It's exactly how I feel about my mom, that she's my best friend. The relationship is gorgeous. I grew up in a pretty house and I had space to run / and I had my best days with you.

"Change" - I love the electric guitar part in the background. This song can be applied to so many circumstances, and it shines. Tonight we'll stand and get off our knees fight for what we've worked for all these years / and the battle was long it's the fight of our lives / but we'll stand up champions tonight / it was the night things changed, can you feel it now these walls that they put up to hold us back FELL down.

So that's my run-down. There are so many things to say about each song, and about the entire album, but I'll limit my glowing comments so that you won't be bored to tears.

I feel weird posting on of my lame songs after such a spectacular array of Taylor's, so I will end the post here and write another one soon.

Much love and thank you for the musik,

NBK

p.s. OMG! Best game ever on Saturday! Way to go Scottie Clemmensen, and congratulations to Trav on a 3-point game! Win on Thursday?

I have nothing to put here now!