Album Anniversaries: 5 Years Since The Death of Taylor Swift’s ‘Reputation’
Five years following the release of Taylor Swift’s Reputation, the divisive album remains a milestone in her discography as an experimental effort and a crucial step in the singer’s return to the spotlight from a year-long hiatus.
In Album Anniversaries, writers honor their favorite aging albums and their subsequent legacies, revealing which projects have stood the test of time.
Written by Miranda Garza
Photo courtesy of Mert Alaş and Marcus Piggott
In the death of her reputation, Taylor Swift found peace.
November 10 marks the five year anniversary of Swift’s sixth studio album, Reputation. Divisive among fans for its off-center sound, it’s important to consider the rocky year that inspired the work before judging it. Between criticism of the album’s predecessor 1989, and a drama spectacle with then-couple Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, Swift found herself at the apex of tabloids and gossip websites in 2016. The singer subsequently took a year-long hiatus, disappearing from the public light to take time to heal and reinvent herself completely. Thus, Reputation was born.
Driven by a desire for retribution, Swift breaks her silence with the comeback single “Look What You Made Me Do.” The song’s dark currents are distinct from Swift’s previous work and the lyrics are scathed and domineering: “The world moves on, another day another drama / But not for me, all I think about is karma / And then the world moves on, but one thing’s for sure / Maybe I got mine, but you’ll all get yours.” While some applauded Swift’s comeback, others were quick to criticize the song for being juvenile; petty at best. Regardless of which side fans found themselves on, it goes without question that the track is a milestone in the singer’s career for its contrasting sound, which perfectly set the tone for the rest of Reputation.
The album opens with its second leading single “...Ready For It?” and it’s safe to say that fans and critics alike, were not. A maximalist’s wet dream, the track tackles electropop melodies with haughty synthesizers and fast-paced tempos. Swift offers listeners refuge from the industrial cadence in the chorus, where instrumentals mellow and her vocals soften before she poses the question, “Are you ready for it?” followed by resounding beat drops.
Next follows the album’s third single “End Game,” an experimental collaboration with Ed Sheeran and Future. The effort received mixed reviews as the album’s third single, mainly due to its disjointed verses and attempt to Swift-ify rap trap beats. All is redeemed, however, in “I Did Something Bad,” an unapologetic piece that’s spiteful in the best way. The first verse opens with the line, “I never trust a narcissist / But they love me,” over menacing stringed instrumentation that gives the track its daunting feel. At its chorus, the track breaks into extravagant production and wicked notes, which have made it a fan favorite.
Image courtesy of Big Machine Records
Reputation also houses a bundle of heartfelt layers, which help the album—and singer—stay grounded. “Call It What You Want” is a slow-paced vignette that the song gradually builds with electronic drums and wavering synths to a subdued crest. The album’s theme of tarnished public perception and disdain for fame also span to the serenades, evident in the track's opening lines, “My castle crumbled overnight / I brought a knife to a gunfight / They took the crown, but it’s alright.” The muted pace continues with “Delicate,” where Swift proceeds with caution while pursuing a new love interest. With unadulterated honesty, the singer uses the first verse to acknowledge her position as a public figure as an obstacle: “My reputation’s never been worse, so / You must like me for me.”
However, don’t be fooled. Not all of the album’s songs portray love in the same tender light. Opposed to the adoring and dreamy “King of My Heart,” “Don’t Blame Me” portrays romance as obsessive and all-consuming. By comparing love to a drug, Swift justifies her erratic behavior with her devotion to her partner: “Don’t blame me, love made me crazy / If it doesn’t you ain’t doing it right / Lord save me my drug is my baby / I’ll be using for the rest of my life.” The warped portrayal of partnership continues on the hidden gem,“Dancing With Our Hands Tied,” which chronicles a doomed secret affair between two people. Imposing piano keys open the song and continue through drum-driven production until a crescendo at each chorus. Old habits die hard in “Getaway Car,” where Swift leaves her current lover for someone new, and eventually does the same thing to him. Swirl harmonies make the listener feel like they’re speeding down the highway in a getaway car of their own as Swift vindicates herself of her actions, “Should’ve known I’d be the first to leave / Think about the place where you first met me.”
A remarkable contrast to the rest of the tracklist, Reputation closes with the ballad “New Year’s Day.” Minimal instrumentation saving a single piano line and occasional chimes bring a stripped-back atmosphere to the song. They pave the way for Swift’s soft vocals where, full of sentiment, she uses a New year’s Day party as a metaphor for the people in her life and the memories they share. She compares her love interest to a midnight kiss and someone who’ll stay with her after the party’s over to help her clean up the aftermath. The song closes with two layers of vocals –one from the bridge where Swift repeats, “Hold on to the memories / They will hold onto you” and the other where she poignantly sings, “Please don’t ever become a stranger / Whose laugh I could recognize anywhere.”
Reputation lives on in infamy, not just because of its unfamiliar sound and creative direction, but also because it’s the last album Swift released under her former record label, Big Machine Records. A year following the album’s release, the singer signed a new deal with Republic Records after her previous contract expired. Simultaneously, Scooter Braun became the new head of Big Machine Records and the new owner of all of the masters that Swift had recorded while with the label. Swift made attempts to buy back her music, but Braun wasn’t receptive, eventually selling her catalog to a private equity company, Shamrock Holdings, for over $300 million. In response, the singer announced that she’d be rerecording all of her music that had been sold, beginning with her hit single “Love Story.” Ironically, these events mirror the themes of greed and betrayal that Reputation tackles head-on. As fans eagerly await the album’s re-release, the ardor and resilience Reputation represents remains more relevant than ever.