Red is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on October 22, 2012 through Big Machine Records, as the follow-up to her commercially successful 2010 album Speak Now.^[10] It was announced through Swift's live webchat on August 13, 2012, in which she revealed the album title, album cover, as well as answered fan questions. Four promotional singles were released in the month leading up to the album release, three of which debuted inside the top ten of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The album features collaborations with new producers and guest artists such as Gary Lightbody and Ed Sheeran, and sees Swift experimenting with new musical genres.

The album's lead single, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" was a worldwide commercial success, topping the iTunes charts all over the world and sold 623,000 copies in the first week, becoming Swift's first ever Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper after vaulting from 72 to number one and stayed atop for three weeks. The second single, "Begin Again" was released in October 1. "I Knew You Were Trouble" was released as the third official single (promoted, like "Begin Again," from promotional single status) on November 27. "22" will be released as the fourth single from the album in 2013.

Red has also spawned three other promotional singles, all of them reached top 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Red has been mostly acclaimed by music critics, who praised Swift's versatility as a musician and enjoyed her experiments with new music genres. Red sold 1,208,000 copies in its first week in the U.S, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, the second highest debut for a female artist, behind only Oops!... I Did It Again by Britney Spears.^[11] Red is also Swift's first chart-topper in the U.K., and also topped the album charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. The album sold 1.89 million copies in its first three weeks, superseding One Direction's Up All Night as the second biggest selling album of the year in the U.S.^[12]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_(Taylor_Swift_album)

Comment: Its great seeing her in a small venue. And "unplugged". I think her guitar is an electric-acoustic. But so friggin what? She is too damn cute to critique negatively unless she starts sounding like Britney Spears on politics. Just as long as she doesn't become another air-headed substance abusing music industry egomaniacal beeyotch.

What I'd suggest if she was listening & even if she isn't (I'll send a message via ethereal vibes...) once your contractual obligations are met & you're up for it, do something entirely different. Go indie. Dream-pop. Surf-rock. Into a garage! Exactly what you think you shouldn't  do but know you should. 

Go play with other artists you admire.  Like Leslie Feist does e.g. Broken Social Scene, Wilco, etc. Don't mind playing a supporting role. Shake that tambourine & those maracas! 

Do a trans-musical-genre thing. Write a rock-opera. Do jazz & blues, torch-songs & crazy off-the-wall experimental stuff. 

You don't grow stale by moving into new areas. Evolution of the artist is key. Can't be afraid to leave the "so-called quality productions" behind & go "nouvelle vague".   Bring new meaning to the term Swiftian!

I'm not saying anything bad about what you're doing now, but...artists who stagnate become frustrated wrecks. Enough said on that negative possible but that's  hopefully not happening. 

Maybe someday down the line you'll turn up at The Village Vanguard or Yoshi's...

22

It feels like a perfect night to dress up like hipsters
And make fun of our exes, ah ah, ah ah.
It feels like a perfect night for breakfast at midnight
To fall in love with strangers, ah ah, ah ah.

Yeah,
We're happy free confused and lonely at the same time
It's miserable and magical, oh, yeah
Tonight's the night when we forget about the deadlines
It's time

Oh oh!
I don't know about you
But I'm feeling 22
Everything will be alright
If you keep me next to you
You don't know about me
But I'll bet you want to
Everything will be alright
If we just keep dancing like we're
22
22

It seems like one of those nights,
This place is too crowded.
Too many cool kids, ah ah, ah ah (who's Taylor Swift anyway? ugh)
It seems like one of those nights,
We ditch the whole scene and end up dreaming
Instead of sleeping.

Yeah,
We're happy free confused and lonely in the best way
It's miserable and magical, oh, yeah
Tonight's the night when we forget about the heartbreaks
It's time

Oh oh!
I don't know about you
But I'm feeling 22
Everything will be alright
If you keep me next to you
You don't know about me
But I'll bet you want to
Everything will be alright (alright)
If we just keep dancing like we're
22
22
I don't know about you
22
22

It feels like one of those nights,
We ditch the whole scene.
It feels like one of those nights,
We won't be sleeping.
It feels like one of those nights,
You look like bad news,
I gotta have you,
I gotta have you.

I don't know about you
But I'm feeling 22
Everything will be alright
If you keep me next to you
You don't know about me (you don't know about me)
But I'll bet you want to
Everything will be alright
If we just keep dancing like we're
22
22
22, yeah, yeah
22, yeah, yeah

It feels like one of those nights,
We ditch the whole scene
It feels like one of those nights,
We won't be sleeping
It feels like one of those nights,
You look like bad news,
I gotta have you,
I gotta have you.

--song written by Taylor Swift,  Max Martin, Shellback

The song [ 22] has received generally positive reviews from music critics, who complimented Swift's dynamic new pop sound. Idolator gave the song a very positive review, saying 22 is a thunderous pop track kicking off with a twangy acoustic guitar riff before a propulsive beat that evokes Katy Perry‘s Teenage Dream drops to make way for verses that are cute and likably bratty".^[4]

Meanwhile, Billboard also has praised for the song saying that it is "Swift's most blatantly pop song off her career", adding ""22" is all about trying to "forget about the deadlines" and embraces only the most sugary hooks available. Underneath the heel-clicking positivity and shiny production sits the line "We're happy, free, confused and lonely in the best way," a rather stunning meditation on being in your early 20s that's flicked off like a piece of pre-chorus lint. Even when she's having fun, Swift is succinctly communicating conflicting emotion." ^[5]

Further, Joella Estrada of Philippines praise her ability to capture ones attention with her dynamic voice. Amy Sciaretto of PopCrush also gave it a positive review, saying that the song starts out with an acoustic guitar, but quickly escalates into a fun anthem for sleepover parties. There is some requisite twang, which again might appeal to her country base, but this sounds penned for the teens when she sings about being “happy, free, confused and lonely” at the same time. It has the same cadence and energy as the lead single We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together and some Avril Lavigne-style sass. There is a self-referential sound bite and a clip of the phone ringing. ^[6]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/22_(Taylor_Swift_song)

Treacherous

 
Put your lips close to mine
As long as they don't touch
Out of focus, eye to eye
Till the gravity's too much
And I'll do anything you say
If you say it with your hands
And I'd be smart to walk away, but you're quicksand

This slope is treacherous
This path is reckless
This slope is treacherous
And I, I, I like it

I can't decide if it's a choice
Getting swept away
I hear the sound of my own voice
Asking you to stay
And all we are is skin and bone trained to get along
Forever going with the flow, but you're friction

This slope is treacherous
This path is reckless
This slope is treacherous
And I, I, I like it

Two headlights shine through the sleepless night
And I will get you, get you alone
Your name has echoed through my mind
And I just think you should, think you should know
That nothing safe is worth the drive and I will
Follow you, follow you home...
I'll follow you, follow you home...

This hope is treacherous
This daydream is dangerous
This hope is treacherous
I, I, I... I, I, I... I, I, I...

Two headlights shine through the sleepless night
And I will get you, get you alone
Your name has echoed through my mind
And I just think you should, think you should know
That nothing safe is worth the drive and I will
Follow you, follow you home...
I'll follow you, follow you home...
I'll follow you, follow you home...
I'll follow you, follow you home...

This slope is treacherous
I, I, I like it

--song written by Taylor Swift & Dan Wilson

"Treacherous" was critically acclaimed by music critics, who complimented Swift for her songwriting, comparing the song to her work on Speak Now. Billboard gave the song a positive review, saying that the song had a "hushed, confessional beauty [in] the verses," though also noting that rising guitars and percussion at the end of the song broke the earlier tone.^[1] About.com also gave the song a very positive review, giving the song a rating of four out of five stars.^[2] Idolator praised Swift's vocals, saying that they were "rising to a threatening power."^[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treacherous_(song)

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

I remember when we broke up the first time
Saying, "This is it, I've had enough," 'cause like
We hadn't seen each other in a month
When you said you needed space. (What?)
Then you come around again and say
"Baby, I miss you and I swear I'm gonna change, trust me."
Remember how that lasted for a day?
I say, "I hate you," we break up, you call me, "I love you."

Oooh we called it off again last night
But oooh, this time I'm telling you, I'm telling you

We are never ever ever getting back together,
We are never ever ever getting back together,
You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me
But we are never ever ever ever getting back together

Like ever...

I'm really gonna miss you picking fights
And me falling for it screaming that I'm right
And you would hide away and find your peace of mind
With some indie record that's much cooler than mine

Oooh, you called me up again tonight
But oooh, this time I'm telling you, I'm telling you

We are never, ever, ever getting back together
We are never, ever, ever getting back together
You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me (talk to me)
But we are never ever ever ever getting back together

Oooh yeah, oooh yeah, oooh yeah
Oh oh oh

I used to think that we were forever ever
And I used to say, "Never say never..."
Uggg... so he calls me up and he's like, "I still love you,"
And I'm like... "I just... I mean this is exhausting, you know, like,
We are never getting back together. Like, ever"

No!

We are never ever ever getting back together
We are never ever ever getting back together
You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me
But we are never ever ever ever getting back together

We, ohhh, getting back together, ohhh,
We, ohhh, getting back together

You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me (talk to me)
But we are never ever ever ever getting back together

--song written by Taylor Swift, Max Martin & Shellback

Rolling Stone named it  ["Never Ever..."] the second-best song of 2012 in their end-of-year critics' poll: "It's like a Clash of the Titans: Swift, the world's hottest pop singer or songwriter, meets up with Max Martin, the Swedish maestro who's been the Dr. Evil of global trash-disco for more than a decade. To nobody's surprise, they cook up a perfect three-minute teen tantrum about country girls getting mad at high-strung indie boys, topping the charts faster than you can say, "This is exhausting." It's a stadium-chant breakup song that may have less to do with the actual guy it's about than with the massive raging-cowgirl audience Swift has led to the pinnacle of the music world.^[19] The song was marked at number four on Time magazine's "Top 10 Songs of 2012 Playlist".^[20] It has also received a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year for the 2013 Grammy Awards.^[21]

Upon initial release, the song received mixed to positive reviews from music critics. Robert Myers of The Village Voice felt that the song, while "good", was "not Swift at her best" and speculated that the decision to release it as a lead single was made for commercial reasons: "I doubt 'Never Ever' is even close to being the best song on Red; it's a teaser, an indication to her fans of what's coming up. That sounds like commercial calculation of the worst kind, but I don't think it is. Swift's connection with her audience is possibly more important than her connection with her boyfriends. And there is one brilliant touch: the spoken bit that comes after the middle eight."^[22]Grady Smith of Entertainment Weekly drew comparisons with Avril Lavigne and praised the "undeniable, instantly catchy hook".^[16]While describing the song as "joyous", he nevertheless expressed concern that the song's "juvenile sensibilities" marked a regression following Swift's work on Speak Now.^[16] Andrew Untenberger of Popdust described it as "smart and catchy but maybe a little soulless compared to her most resonant songs".^[23] Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone noted that the song's "hooks, plural, have a zing that's more Stockholm than Nashville. But it's unmistakably Taylor: a witty relationship postmortem, delivered in inimitable girlie-girl patois. And this bit – "I'm just, I mean, this is exhausting. Like, we are never getting back together. Like, ever" – might be the most sublime spoken-word interlude in pop since Barry White died."^[24]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Are_Never_Ever_Getting_Back_Together

Final Take: All of the songs on this vid are excellent & Taylor's performances suburb. Consider them little somewhat tragi-comic music-dramas.