dman4life

Patient Zero is suddenly giving me everything I need including the bridge

I don't think any artist intentionally releases underwhelming music. Taylor's biggest issues at the moment are complacency, a lack of quality control and not working with fresh new producers who will challenge her creatively.

I don't see what's supposedly "inorganic" about her millions upon millions of fans and haters tuning in to hear her latest release. Sure, the quality itself is subjective but her continuing to put up these kinds of numbers shouldn't surprise anyone at this point.

Same. I will never understand the ones who say she's lost her touch with melodies when this, Ophelia and IKIIKY all exist. They may not be everyone's cup of tea but they are undeniable earworms.

Also Patient Zero, with a reduced bridge should've been the only song added to the album to close out the era. Like someone else mentioned the other 3 songs despite being cute have done her 0 favors for her Grammy campaign. Granted, I don't think the album was getting awarded as a whole anyway and hopefully this doesn't hurt Ophelia's ROTY chances (it shouldn't right?)

Also Patient Zero proves that she isn't "creatively bankrupt" like the OTHs love to say. She clearly still has things to say as it pertains to relationships, even if she is currently happy in her own life. The lyrics and melody are so 36 year old Taylor coded. The wordy, run on sentence bridge is the only negative but that's something that she needs to retire from in general.

I mean of course she says that but I think we all know Taylor still craves some sort of validation (atleast from her fans), just not nearly as much as she did earlier in her career.

Literally Eldest Daughter all over again

I actually love TTPD so I'm definitely not trying to downplay it. But otherwise, just for me personally it's a balance of accepting her artistic output as it is while also being honest in expressing when she's capable of more. I do love that she releases whatever she wants, whenever she wants. I just think with Showgirl there was a noticeable decline in quality (other than a few songs) that legit caught all of us off guard But like I said I do think the discourse is healthy for her since she's historically been receptive and reactionary to genuine critique from her fans. I think we'll be in for a treat for TS13. You are right about ppl having insane expectations instead of just accepting who she is as an artist.

Update: I finished it and yeah the other songs are definitely cute but mid. I don't see myself revisiting anything besides Patient Zero, which should have just been a standalone add on single to close out the Showgirl era. The other songs were so unnecessary and add 0 value to the album.

I do think it's important to not dismiss some of the legit criticism as just "haters are gonna hate" when there has been a clear stagnation in her output since Midnights. Speaking of which, that album got alot of hate from the usuals as well but it ultimately didn't matter since it was a solid pop album. I do think the current discourse about her artistry is healthy for her, if it actually penetrates her bubble.

My overarching question since the start of this era (and TTPD) has been WHERE IS THE QUALITY CONTROL??? Like seriously the momentum of the og album was completely ruined by Eldest Daughter and it didn't have any business being included. And now we have this wordy bridge for Patient Zero which drags down an otherwise great record. Taylor needs a team exclusively dedicated to being objective and honest about her output before it releases to the world, or fire the current team if she has one. The fact that majority of Swifties have the same feedback about the bridge goes to show that it was a completely avoidable misfire that someone on her team should have caught. Sorry for the rant my feelings are just genuinely hurt because I was really vibing with PZ before the bridge

The way I was completely vibing with Patient Zero and then Cleveland! happened and I didn't even bother finishing the album

She doesn't need a hiatus as much as she needs new collaborators that challenge her. Hopefully The Encore closes out the Max Martin and Shellback chapters for a while (or for good )

Beyoncé's Love On Top performance has always been so overrated to me. Maybe because I never liked the song nnnnn Her 2003 Baby Boy/CIL medley or 2007 Ring The Alarm performances never get the love they deserve on these lists