Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” Song Review

Hello, I’m MusiCommentator, and I’ve just noticed something.  There have been a lot of big names we have not heard from in a while making albums this year.  We’ve gotten projects from JAY Z, Katy Perry, and even Fergie is coming out with a new album.  Now, we have confirmation that Taylor Swift is coming out with a new album and a single came along with it.

If you have never heard of Taylor Swift, you probably do not have any kind of concept of modern pop culture, but if you somehow do not even know the name “Taylor Swift”, she is a young country-turned-pop star who has been blowing up in popularity ever since her self-titled debut album.  Now, she is a mega superstar and is deemed by many as “The Queen Of Pop”.  Hell, her last album sold over five million copies in thirty six weeks, which may not sound like a lot, but these are monumental sales compared to other stars, especially in the age of streamable/downloadable music.  Without being in the spotlight for about a year or so, Taylor came out with this single and the announcement of an album (which I may review, but don’t hold my word for it), and by the time I am writing this, her new song has already gotten 35 million views on YouTube.  So, I decided to give “Look What You Made Me Do” a listen.

(Oh, and before I start, I decided to slightly change my format so the song lyrics I put in here are italicized and swears in the songs will be censored with less *’s.  So, f*** would be changed to f*ck instead.  Alright, now that I have told you of my magnificent renovations, let’s get started).

The song starts off with some sweet strings and small, xylophone-like sounds.  But, it does not take long to change into a darker, bass-heavy beat.  This is definitely a change up for Taylor because many of her past songs have stayed on the cheerier side of pop.  However, the lyrics match well with the tone.

“I don’t like your little games
Don’t like your tilted stage
The role you made me play
Of the fool, no, I don’t like you
I don’t like your perfect crime
How you laugh when you lie
You said the gun was mine
Isn’t cool, no, I don’t like you (oh)”

The first verse starts with some pretty good exposition.  She is describing here someone that has done her wrong at many points in her life and only seems to care about her demise.  These lyrics fit very well with all the other ex-boyfriend revenge songs she has done in the past, so this is not bad so far.

“But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time
Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time
I’ve got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined
I check it once, then I check it twice (oh)”

Following the descriptions of the intended subject(s) of the song, she goes on to say how she will not be held down by said person/people.  However, what does she mean when she says she “rose up from the dead”?  I assume she is talking about how she has not made new material in a while, but she does not give us that context.  Also, Taylor, why are you checking your “list” once and twice?  You’re not Santa Claus, you know.

“Ooh, look what you made me do
Look what you made me do
Look what you just made me do
Look what you just made me—”

This is only half the chorus, but I am betting that you can guess how the rest of it goes.

This is a fine enough chorus, I guess.  The bass beneath it goes nice with her dark tone, but she never specifies what she did.  What are we looking at Taylor?  Did you spill a glass of water or something?  I have no idea.

“I don’t like your kingdom keys
They once belonged to me
You asked me for a place to sleep
Locked me out and threw a feast (what?)”

The beginning of the second verse pretty much continues what the first verse did, but I like these analogies she portrays here.  She is describing how she had it all, but some person came in and kicked her out, and the use of this medieval type imagery gives her problem a grander atmosphere.  Sure, it is not like she lost everything to anyone, since she is still a multi-platinum-selling pop star, but I still like the metaphor.

“The world moves on, another day, another drama, drama
But not for me, 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”

Oh gosh, Taylor is trying to rap.  She did this is “Shake It Off”, too, and while that song was catchy, nobody liked that rapping part.  Why do you do this to us, Taylor?  Also, the lyrics here are not good.  They feel extremely petty.  She is just saying “Hey, I know you’ve moved on from this stupid little thing we’re having here, but I haven’t, so let’s keep fighting”.  Maybe this relates well to her fanbase, but this does not put her troubles in a relatable or sympathetic light.

“I don’t trust nobody and nobody trusts me
I’ll be the actress starring in your bad dreams”

For this part of the bridge, Taylor brings back the light-hearted instrumentals from the beginning of the song, and yeah, this is not too bad.  This whole bridge is a bit repetitive, but I do not mind.  What I really do not like from this bridge, though, is the end of it:

““I’m sorry, the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now
“Why? Oh, ’cause she’s dead!” (Oh)”

Oh, do not try to pull that on me, Taylor!  I know what she is doing here: she is attempting to change her image to get more people interested in her, but the problem is that she really has not changed anything.  Just because you add a darker, trap influenced beat to the back of your songs does not mean that your entire style has changed.  These lyrics are too reminiscent of your past breakup/revenge songs to make you sound any different.

Now, I know that this is not supposed to be a breakup song.  From all the media is saying, I believe that this is supposed to be addressing her beefs she has with Katy Perry and Kanye West (which, frankly, I do not care about).  The problem is, though, that these lyrics could very easily be part of another one of her breakup songs.  When I first listened to this song, that was how I originally perceived it.  Unlike what Katy did with “Swish Swish”, Taylor does not have any lines that could directly relate to her beefs.  They are just blanket statements towards people that could have done her wrong.  If you were to put some acoustic guitar or shimmering synths in the background of this song instead of that 808 bass, it would be too easy to think that this was one of her stereotypical breakup song and not a track like “Bad Blood”.  But, I may be wrong about this whole “image change” thing.  Maybe the rest of her album forthcoming will have more songs pointing to the darker side of Swift.

Overall, this is a mediocre song.  The beat is pretty basic.  I am glad that incessant hi-hats are not spread throughout the entirety of the song like most trap tracks, but there are also little instrumental parts strewn in the beat that bug me.  Just listen to the beat of the song and you will see what I mean.  Taylor’s voice is as fine as it usually it, but the lyrics are just as I expected they would be.  They are about her calling someone out and exposing them, which is basically how all her breakup songs go.  And do not get me wrong, most of the lyrics are not bad, per se, it is just that I knew this is what Taylor was going to give is.  Also, I hate that rapping part in the middle.  But, I would give this song a 3 out of 5.  Would you agree?

Thank you for reading my “Look What You Made Me Do” song review. If you liked this review, make sure to follow my website, Twitter, and Instagram, like this post, and be sure to check in to read my future reviews. Also, if you have something you want to see me review, tell me in the comments. Until then, keep on listening to good music! I know I will.

 

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