I had planned to feature this song before Taylor Swift penned her letter to Apple, and the company did an about-face on on their new streaming service. (Although Wired takes a different view on the situation.) While her album 1989 dominates the music landscape, and I find myself singing along to ‘Shake it Off, some of her country stuff shows good song writing crossing this pop-music-infused mind.
‘Shake it Off’ and ‘Mean’ both deal with barbs disguised as criticism. Recently, the UK group Cybersmile foundation had their Stop Cyberbullying Day with people tweeting awareness about internet bullying, and how it crosses the criticism line. (How did I learn about his group? Let me give you a riddle: The tall dwarf always has the loudest voice without raising it.) The topic requires a series of posts, but I remembered music giving the strength to get out of bed to face the barbs in my own life. (Next Monday I will reveal the song with the most impact in this department.)
Now sing it with me someday I’ll be living in a big ol’ city..
Unpaused Life 