1989

Let me start off this review of Taylor Swift's 1989 by stating that I haven't always been a Taylor Swift fan. I'm not a country fan at all to be honest so it took time for her to grow on me.  Luckily, my best friend is a huge Swfitie and her enthusiasm got me to fall in love with Swift's ability to make any song into a story.


Now that we got that out of the way, I can start talking about the new album.  I know many of Swift's fans were shocked when "Shake It Off" was released as the lead single off the album with its catchy tune and marching band sound that imitates The Jonas Brothers, "Pom Poms".  I, being the pop junkie that I am, loved it pretty instantly and sing along every time (50 times a day) that it come on the radio but I didn't know what to expect from the album that Taylor herself was calling pop.  Today the album came out and I listened to it in its entirety.  I can honestly say I love it, not as much as Red but it's definitely my second favorite Swift album.

The best songs on the album in my opinion are "Blank Space," "This Love," and "I Know Places."  Those three for me really hold up as pop but not too far from what we love about Taylor Swift.   If you're her fan and you don't want the whole album those three songs are worth the download.  Other tracks come in a close second like "Clean" and "Wildest Dream."  The only two songs on the album that I just don't really like at all are "I wish you Would" and "Bad Blood."  To me, there's just a little too much chaos on the the first one and the second was way too repetitive which makes listeners miss out on the story telling aspect that makes Swift albums so great.

Overall, I'd give 1989 an A- but I'm by no means a music critic so take this with a grain of salt.  I hope everyone gives it a chance, new fans and old.  Let me know what y'all think of the new Taylor Swift like favorite and least favorite songs?

The Blacklist Season 2

We've had three episodes of the new season so far and I think it's time to discuss what we've seen, what we may see and how good is it?  

The second season so far has brought us a tougher Liz, played very well by Megan Boone, but also a Liz who doesn't see things as black and white anymore.  In the last episode she made some decisions that were on the brink of criminal activity to get the job done.  The only complaint I currently have about Liz so far this season is her relationship with Red.  I like the father/daughter (even if he's not the dad its still that type of caring) they displayed last season and I'm not sure I like how she now treats him as an adversary.  But in her defense, her whole life did just come crashing down so she may be dealing with some trust issues.  

The new season has also given us more information about Red and almost it would seem a deeper look into his personality and character.  I've really enjoyed that aspect of these last episodes.  We've met an ex wife, who clearly does not love him anymore, and seen how he handles things when the pieces start to crumble around him.  We've seen Red on the edge though we still don't know what he wants with Lizzie.  Though it would seem his ex wife, Naomi has these answers.  

The first two episodes seemed a little too chaotic for me.  It was like there was too much story or too many things they wanted to throw at us and it was beginning to make me worry about where the show was going.  I mean, I pay attention each week but I was getting lost in all the plots.  This past Monday, I was pleasantly surprised to get the normal two story lines, if there were more I missed it completely, and was able to focus and enjoy the show much more.  I still have a million questions:  who's the guy at the hotel, where has Berlin gone off to, is Tom alive, who is Liz to Red, and what secret does Naomi hold that she resents Red for?  

Y'all tell me what you've thought so far of the new season and any theories you may have on the show.  One thing this show is very good at is starting conversations.  Be back soon.