Tay and Kenny

So, follow me here… You know I’ve been digging this new Taylor Disney+ thing. And her new album is fire. And her new new album I haven’t even heard yet, but it comes out tonight. The woman is existing in a different stratosphere than the rest of us right now.

And for some reason today (idly thinking about Tay, like ya do…) I thought about how pissed I was that 1989 beat To Pimp A Butterfly for the Album of the Year Grammy back in 2015. And I was chewing on that a bit while I was taking a jog, and I literally stopped on the sidewalk and thought “huh, I don’t think I’ve ever actually listened to 1989.”

So I put it on for the rest of my run. And I run slow, so I caught most of it. Obviously, I knew about half of it because it has like 11 radio hits on it, but I didn’t even realize most of them were on the same record.

I liked it, but I was also reflecting that I’m not unbiased here. Generally speaking, I like hip hop a lot more than pop; and specifically I like Kendrick a lot more than Taylor. And I’ve certainly heard my share of both.

So then later in the day I was driving around to various curbsides and I put on the Kendrick. I mean fuck. This record is good. I was texting Sarah about it by the second song.

I got all the way to “For Sale?” (the sequel to the aforementioned second track) by the time I got home. And then I went back out to grab takeout later and put it back on. That next track… “I need that” are the first words after the groove drops. It’s so right.

“Momma” — Kendrick Lamar (2014)

And there’s your Song of the Day for this Sunday. This record is just a masterpiece all the way through. I found myself driving around thinking “this is the greatest record of this Century. Is this the greatest record in the history of recorded music?! It’s definitely under consideration.” I might’ve just been zonin’ at that point, but I’m not sure I was off base.

S

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Update:

The new Taylor has some real burners on it. I think I’ve been forced to revise my previous stance. Not that Kendrick didn’t deserve the 2015 Grammy, because he did. But this is Taylor’s hour.

There are a handful of really good ones on evermore but this one just totally floored me. I went out to do some errands Friday night and ended up listening to this track three times in a row.

“happiness” — Taylor Swift (2020)

The lyrics, the way the track builds, the repeating “haven’t met the new me yet…” and “…leave it all behind” lines. The “when I’m above the trees” perspective that you can see but can’t feel. They all crush me.

Anyway, about a year ago we were arguing about the Artist of the Decade for the 2010’s and of course I gave Kendrick the crown and I think it was Danny who brought up (after giving J Vernon his vote) that, by all objective metrics, Taylor crushes the competition. That said, I was unswayed at the time. Being a Data Scientist by trade, I know that objective metrics are a farce. (Once you see how the sausage is made…)

But this year she’s won me over. I’m working on a little piece for the Best of 2020 because I think it’s been a great year in music. I’ll heap some more (hopefully more nuanced and well articulated) praise on Taylor there but for now I’ll say “well done” again. Well done Taylor.

S