The anatomy of Taylor Swift’s “Style”
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- čas přidán 18. 02. 2015
- Taylor Swift's new video for "Style," just one of three of Swift's songs currently in the Billboard top 20, completes Taylor's evolution from country to pop. But what is pop? We broke down both the musical and music video anatomy of "Style" to find out.
Voiceover: Kelsey McKinney, Vox Culture reporter
Edit & Animation: Joe Posner
"Style" Music Video: • Taylor Swift - Style
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I think a lot of people tend to overlook Taylor’s artistic abilities and clever lyric writing. She’s actually objectively a very good singer-songwriter, even though she gets a lot of hate.
She's indeed a true artist. Her perfectly made, laid-out lyrics is superb -- it inspired me to write some poems, etc.
exactly and she gets hate for no reason
She's more than very good, she's regarded by most industry insiders to be one of the greatest songwriters working in popular music today. Even more so after Folklore, Evermore and her third album of the year grammy.
almost as good as kanye
She gets hated because shes that great artist
okay, but this video was gorgeously edited and presented
Every Vox video is, if you haven't noticed already
INESSA yeah true that
yes Taylor Swift's style video is definitely an out of this world video I've ever seen
omg an exo-l hi! 👋😁✨
smashups omg hi!!! 💜
It's called pop perfection periodt
Preach!!
PERIODTTT
to emphasize the last letter, usually "d" and "k"
YESSS
I don’t think that I’ve met someone who doesn’t ADORE style. Truly is one of her best
@I exist yeah i saw too :'D
Spill
Right here 😂
I changed my favorite song a lot until I herd this like a year ago and it’s been my favorite ever since
Nuh uh
He didn’t cheat though. They were together on and off and when they’re off they see other people but still think about each other. Hence they never go “out of style”
he didn't cheat thought because they were never together
@@kap_22 um yes they were. y'all should stop being in denial pls it's 2021
he cheated on her in april?
@@doombuggie2923 He did in April, but maybe they weren't official or that serious for each other, it just started for them, i guess.
He cheat and his fans are toxic
And this is why I say this was her best album ever. It transcended Taylor into something we all knew was coming but not in this way. She’s a great composer.
*writer/poet
@@alejandromangieri1495 but its the album that has Clean, which imo is better than all too well
red evermore and folklore are her best albums but 1989 is good and really good though
@@mothergothelisagirlboss5735 those albums are great for composition alone but I consider 1989 the best pop album she’s ever made because it’s everything a great pop album needs and she never had to compromise her sound for it. Every song is meticulously crafted down to the background vocals and ornamental vocal lines. Not to say the others weren’t done this way but you know she had something to prove with this album and it really shows. To me this was an album that both reiterated and clearly defined the force she was and is. I’m thinking about it more from a critical standpoint. As a singer/ musician myself and someone who’s spent many a years in music theory classes and songwriting classes etc. 1989 accomplished what Red tried to do
I miss this type of music and era😖
Ummm 189 years ago? How?
lover has this type of music!
1989>>>>>lover
Başak Bozdoğan no it’s rep=lover>>>>>>>>>>>1989
Hello Tay delusional
As a Taylor Swift fan I must say that this video was actually really good and I honestly liked it. It kinda gives you food for thought about music and why it hits the top 10's on the charts
its hitting the top 10 because its catchy and thats it
i honestly dont even find it catchy, just some noise similar to every other pop song.
@@franta1014 💀💀
EXCITED FOR 1989 TAYLOR'S VERSION
the blue eye brown eye thing blew my mind tho
Wait can someone explain? I don’t get it
@@mindyys8584 maybe it's about the fact how taylor's part has become his, like even though he had a brown eye he replaces it with taylor's blue one, making it the way taylor wants it
"why are you wearing a little black dress?" MY DIRECTIONER MIND JUST EXPLODED
Wait.
I honestly don't get it. What's it referencing?
Brianna B a song by 1D
@Antoine Bilbord *Perfect sounds exactly like Style
@Antoine Bilbord i just realised that omg one year ago when i commented i clearly hadnt matured yet HAHAHAAH
STYLE a pop perfection
STREAM LOVER 8/23
And Folklore now hehe
And Evermore now hehe
I will come here later when she may release Woodvale
@@pranavig2340 steam fearless Taylor's version 👍👍👍
And midnights now hehe
style is one of my fave song it gives me different vibes like something quiet and peaceful like you're driving in the middle of the night and the wind is touching your face something like that.
"taylor swift isnt a sex symbol" , vox 2015
+Alex R. she isn't though
+Sebastian Köhler Öberg ok
haha!
shes not
*You think that she'd have half her net worth without bleached blonde hair, red lipstick, make-up, heels and short skirts?*
She's the epitome of how you can make millions flaunting your ass and making constant references to oral sex.
Love or hate her this song is a pop masterpiece and Taylor knows what she’s doing
this song is one of the bests she has ever released
One of the best pop song to ever walked on earth*
Style and blank space are the two songs I never got bored of... Specially style... There is always a time when you have listened a song so many times that by the time you hate it... But I've been listening to style and blank space ever since it came out... But I'm still not bored... It's been years now.
If only all music videos come with their own rhythm driven infographs...
I would love to have a similar anatomy analysis on Marina and The Diamonds' "Froot". That's the one song that always fascinate me in terms of construction, no matter how many times I listen to it.
this!
True
Just checked it out. It is strange, not a whole lot of pop songs use a diatonic motion, and g minor is a pretty cool key.
Omg yes !!!!
Thats a good idea. Though marina isnt too popular, its okay for Vox to cherrypick particular indie songs and analyze them, cause theyre a research company and well.. its not the Grammy's that are gonna give good music any attention.
It is fair that we discuss how talented Taylor is because she wrote this song by herself at the end of the day, but man, this production is perfect, clean, subtle yet so classic and modern. Max Martin never goes out of style, really.
No one comes close to Max Martin. I would give anything for those two to work together again.
I don't even like Taylor Swift that much but this is one of the greatest pop songs ever written and produced, it's masterful
Knowing more about the artist and the meaning behind pop music makes you appreciate it more. Its not all just "mainstream shit".
I've recently started studying music theory, and am extremely impressed with how well the musical analysis of this song is. The notes on tension building 0:30 the rhythm 0:40 song structure 1:36 and chord structure 2:18 & 2:35 are literally exactly what I've read in Music Theory For Dummies. Way to go Vox for putting an incredibly well informed and accurately explained video out on this rarely examined side of music. Keep up the good work!
But the producers and Taylor didn't mean that ok. It's sounds all smart and everything but it makes zero sense. Question and answer theme...umm sir wuttt? That's one person's analysis of the song. I do that too with songs but not everyone had to agree with it right? Just bcz it's vox doesn't mean its correct
Bro can you please tell me how songs are made na d easy book to how I start learning music
HOW AM I ONLY FINDING THIS NOW I NEED MORE OF THESE VIDS
9 years in, and I still come back to this video of Vox. Absolutely love this breakdown/analysis of this amazing song 👍🏼🤓
lol, some of the commenters getting antsy that something they just quickly cast aside as brainless might actually have more thought put into it than they care to admit.
@Thurman Ulrich I wouldn't say it's worthless and pointless to discuss popular culture. These topics affect regular life, and we're just going to ignore them? By that logic, we might as well scrap all art, literature, cinema, etc, since they hold no inherent value.
The problem with this video is that it's far too pretentious.
It's so weird to think that there were videos like this, praising her for her artistry, around the time that the "Taylor Swift is over" hashtag was just about to trend.
Wasn’t that summer the following year
It's just big in the US but the rest of the world still loves taylor
Out of the woods “two paper airplanes flying”
"Sexy feet"
"Sexy man"
"Who dat guy??"
i laughed so hard when i saw "who dat guy??"
Wow. I didn't realise how much complexity this song and the music video had. It's amazing to see how much effort people put into these things.
I have no idea what was the purpose of this video and why I've watched it :D
Im asking myself the same. I love tay tay but this doesnt make any sense lol
my life summarized
"its a video that doesnt make a lot of sense when u watch it" gurl style is an aesthetic video what do u expect
When she switched fully to Pop, it's like she already knew it and started dominating right away! Proves her talent!
I think about this video a lot
Oh trust
Literally me too!
Omg samee since i watched this a year's ago😫😭
I love her songs become sexier with newer albums
TS5 : STYLE
TS6 : DRESS,SO IT GOES....
TS7 : I THINK HE KNOWS, FALSE GOD
YES
Yes
Cornelius street
Afterglow is
Wildest Dreams too
Now style is a song that never go out of style 😏
This is legit my favorite song, it reminds me of summer 2015 memories
She is hands down the smartest businesswoman.
Why so many dislikes? I found this interesting cuz it took a sinple pop song and looked at all the layers that are overlooked
I think it is more interesting to analyze hits rather than indie shit, cause I think we are all fascinated how something this simple can be so popular. I guess Max Martin is just a genius.
+Leave The World Behind yeah because there is soooo much to analysis in hits. WOW a pop song incorporates a chord that isn't the main 4?
GENIUS!
Paschal Mwambene
There is a ton more to analyse than they do in this video. If it was easy to make pop hits, then why don't everybody do it?
Leave The World Behind because not everyone can afford to pay for countless singer-songwriters and engineers who have several years of experience and training to regurgitate music which will become hits for the ever so predictable masses.
Paschal Mwambene
If it was easy, then those engineers and songwriters wouldn't be as expensive, since there would be much more compoetition. Fact is that only very few people in this world can actually continuesly pull out hits time after time. Especially Max Martin and those swedish guys.
Leave The World Behind oh undoubtedly, but i'm just saying there isn't anything "deep" to analysis here. popular Pop music is just a formula which attaches itself to the current trend of the time to rocket itself into the mainstream.
The way in which she was analysis the lyrics and music here was as if it was Bob Dylan.
#ITSNOTTHATDEEP
Here after Style TV 😀
Can we all just agree to the fact that Taylor's a Lyric-genius, and also that she's a great composer and a really smart artist?
I really like this video and hoped there was more of it
Working in the music industry and studying music analyzation from high school, I had to learn these but this is a very crisp and simple yet explaining the good points kind of a video
Everyone is saying this song is terrible, but I wonder, why do people think that way? My guess is that they just see it was made by Taylor Swift and say it's shit, when it's not (and most critics agree).
please display what you listen to me, sir.
+napol3on is a nice guy I listen to anything that is good.
+mane games elaborate, please
It's not terrible but it is totally forgettable. It's not a masterpiece, a work of art, or anything like it. It's music constantly pumped out. It is pop music.
+Epcot lp (dawnqwerty) yeah i agree dude. most 2010s Pop is put on the radio for a month and they move on with the next hit single. Does anyone still remember all the words to Fancy? Fuck no. I wish the radio didn't exist, maybe 18 year olds and under wouldn't have shitty taste in that world.
I have no problem with Taylor Swift but this song is really not as ripe for analysis as Vox is trying to make it... Wow, a minor chord on the second pass of the chorus. That's only something that... I dunno... 80% of songs do? That "question and answer" at the beginning? Yeah, that's called a chord change...
is the chorus common? the melody just jumped a fifth higher in it's "internal" harmony(ignoring any chord underneath it). on top of the chords it plays the 9th and then "rests" a bit on the fifth. can you explain how you view this melody that shows you its simplicity?
I'm not saying the song is bad or even overly simplistic - It's a pop song. Pop songs are typically pretty simple and that's fine. I'm just saying it's a bit cringe-inducing to see a video "plumbing the depths" of... what... a 2/4 beat, or a 1, 4, 1, 4, 1, 4, 6 (ooooohhhh), 4 chord progression. I guess for the musically uneducated it's interesting but there is very little of any real substance here when compared to artists who actually make interesting music. And that's not me knocking TS - pop music is popular for a reason and that's fine, but let's not kid ourselves into thinking they're doing anything REALLY worth analyzing on a musical level.
Daniel King
i don't see how a format or genre of music could dictate it's quality. i even love wagner - tristan&isolde prelude but unlike harmony, melody combines the rhythm (an underrated HUGE aspect of music) with the harmony and that makes it infinitely complex and unique. pop songs have such complex rhythmic patterns - modules - in the melody, but usually poor harmony, but this song is more sophisticated harmonically.
you know you can "dress" a melody in all genres, including symphonic orchestrations if you really want to.
i like to compose but the theory is almost worthless. not a single drop of useful rhythm and regarding harmony i only have one question. sing 2notes forming the forth interval (C then F). you'll hear that the F sounds like "home" - the root of the interval. it's inversion, the interval of fifth has the root in the lower tone. < it's THE way to tonicize a root. yet the root of intervals theory is far from complete. what is the root between A-C (a minor third interval)?
I'm not talking about quality, really - I'm talking about depth. Again, I'm not saying this is a bad song or TS is a bard artist. I'm saying it's not the kind of content that is really asking for analysis, hence why this particular analysis feels like it's reeeeaallllyyyy reaching.
Like, I love the movie The Mummy, the 1999 one. It's campy action adventure/horror shlock and it does that really well. But does that movie, in any way, ask for a deep analysis diving into the subtext and themes? Of course not. It's just not there.
+Daniel King
i've been researching on my own the rhythm aspect of music. for over a year or two now. its modular like the universe is, it's very natural, it relies on our animalic instinct (predator animal specifically, makes sense since they're the most evolved). even the beauty of music (or any beauty) depends on our social animal instinct of reproduction. not necessarily sexually 'cause you cant reproduce sexually with a lamborghini but you can pair up with it thinking the result will be more attractive. my point is that there's nothing spiritual about music. it only connects with the listener speaking about intelligence (rhythm) or level stability/energy (stabile/instabile harmonies. but again it's the rhythm of the chord changes that "tells the story"). the spirituality of it, like the human spirit (which religions refer to as God, with good scientific reason) is a "software" that runs only on human brains. a sort of supernatural virus/animal feeding on humans. but it needs "metacommunication" - theorising (people who only eat&sleep or are completely isolated don't contribute to the human "hive" spirit). so we can extract spiritual information even from a rock or one tone IF we analyze it. but the beauty of a chorus resides only on the contrast it brings next to the verse(or prechorus)(rhythmically or harmonically, or even instrumentally, or even changing the speed if we get creative with the theory), and internally if there's a phrase that contrasts with another.
this is just attention grabbing just like i'm loosing my cat's attention if i make more than 3 identical moves to surprise her. its common that the 4 phrase (or member) contrasts and unwillingly generates the hook(the "we never go out of style x2" < member of the chorus).
And this is why Taylor’s Version, as admirable as her efforts are, doesn’t work. This song was literally perfect. Every choice was the right one, and every choice that wasn’t made was the wrong one.
So, changing it in anyway would be taking away that perfect and correct choice that was originally made.
Damn this shit's so deep, Beethoven ain't got shit on ma gurl tswift y'all.
:P
Joey28P David So!
***** k?
***** I should let you know that I am a major music connoisseur, no matter if you are talking about modern pop or 18. century classic, I have studied them extensively with the conclusion that there is no such thing as a piece of music with as many complex structures and different ways of interpreting than one of Taylor Swift's songs. Mozart, Beethoven and Bach don't even come close to the fidelity, plasticity and incredible genius, with which Taylor composes her songs.
Please get your uneducated head out of your ass and stop attacking anything that is new and popular, old is not always better than new.
Yours faithfully, main administrator of the #1 Taylor Swift fan club forum in the whole of Sweden, Greg Hunter.
Here is my proof: i.imgur.com/ySKdhzQ.jpg
***** Glad you got a kick out of it, spent more time on it than I should have lol.
the intro alone is just magical
This is why Taylor won grammy. This album is an instant classic
Max Martin responsible for this masterpiece.
Max Martin collaborated for this masterpiece. By now everyone knows that when Taylor works with someone she still fully contributes.
Great job, now do the rest of her songs.
i wish all of taylor’s songs had videos like this. they’re all literally masterpieces.
i love how this video is overlayed over the song from start to finish such a nice detail
Watching this is after Style Taylor's Version hmmmm...😅
😭✋
I sees Taylor Swift, I clicks no questions asked.
UGH this analysis shows up on my feed in after 1989 TV recently came out. how perfect and relevant.
Now, can we can get a breakdown like this for Cruel Summer?
1919: Let us learn the anatomy of the human body.
2019: Let us learn the anatomy of a song!!
This video just changed my perspective on this song forever!!😭 I always wondered WHYY I was SO DRAWN to the song. Lyrically it is one of my favorites because she shows more maturity, and the sounds are HYNOPTIC. I could play it for HOURS ❤ The presenting of the song in this video made me tear up!! Beautiful work! What artists both Taylor Swift ANDD the creator of this video are!!! Bravoo!!!! 😭❤🔥
I love how people are finally appreciating the greatest song of all time.
Style deserved #1 tbh
At 1:00, i feel the forest within her silhouette symbolises that she cannot move on (just as trees in a forest are standing permanently) and hasnt able to let go of the emotions she had invested in the relationship whereas the road within the silhouette of the boy, symbolises that he has easily moved on (the always on-the-move road ) and hasnt felt complicated feelings in this relation and so has easily let go and moved on.
6 years omg i fee old😭
I want Midnights era to have this type of songs again, a riff that transcends you.
I think Lavender Haze filled the Style role really nicely while still feeling so different
This song is brilliantly written and produced. It’s a hybrid of the late 80s synth pop mixed with Taylor’s 2010’s musical style.
No one in the music industry can someone make a video trying to explain its deep meaning like Taylor Swift, she is a GENIUS
I enjoyed this slightly off (not wrong, just different) analysis of the pop song. The reason I like it is because I enjoy seeing how artists construct their art, what elements are used and how. That goes for both the song and the video.
I just love how synth-pop this song sounds.. the whole 1989 album has an 80s twang that's been made modern, I LOVE IT!
I grew up listening to Taylor swift, but after I watched this video back in 2018 it truly made me discover her music and listen to each one of her albums and tracks, i grew this respect for her songwriting and what she stands for musically is all the prove we have for her sustainability in the music industry and why she gets bigger and bigger with each album she releases,
And till this day today, she will be that artist to have the highest grossing tour in history.
I respect her truly and i will always study each line she writes and each melody she makes.
I love this song. It´s my fav song of her since I started to listening her songs (that was about 8 years ago). There´s something magical about it, everytime I listen to Style it gives me goosebumps, and I love that feeling ❤
She has so much artistic abilities.... By putting the people in darkness showcasing, there is no story in the video,she put a part of her life there... That's why she is my fav
PLEASE DO THIS FOR OTHERS SONGS I LOVED IT
*And this is why STYLE is my favourite song of all Taylor's music.*
I love the intros... Who's feel the same?
1:00 umm but I found sense and meaning in the video, it's like they're constantly seeing each other in their minds, a projection (literally in some parts). Also, the broken mirrors can indicate that their relationship is over, but they're still recovering parts of their past. In the end, they get together, we don't know for how long, though. Also, the weather and nature set the mood i think, like, calm when water is shown, and striking passion when the ray is shown, etc.
Who else is exited for Style (Taylor’s Version)? 🩵
👇
and now im not gonna see how i see STYLE before😂 and im still amazed about the question and answer question
cai li probably radio, stores playing it, blah blah blah
this is so cool! I've seen Style like 50 times and never thought of all this. you're like that teacher that dissects a student's favourite novel and all of a sudden he realizes there's so much more to it
I knew 95% of this already but I really appreciate such an in-depth analysis of the song. If people take Taylor seriously you'll see she's a really imaginative artist, it's all in the bits and pieces
If you look through the lens of an oblivious person, you would say the she has a bland personality, collecting exes to produce songs, shallow character type of a singer, but if you magnify that lens to its greatest extent, you wouldn't beleive how deep and talented she is. Love her or hate her, lets just admit that she is a legend.
Not at all
She will be forgotten in 8 years tops
@@googleisillukinati8071 forgotten? Srlsy? In 8 years? Lol people wont forget her, unless we all go extinct after eight years
@@googleisillukinati8071well this didn’t age well at ALL
@@googleisillukinati8071 probably not now ...
I always go back here, reminding myself that this is a pop perfection
Style is the definition of pop song.
THIS IS TAYLOR SWIFT’S BEST SONG FOR MEEEEE I LOVE YOU TAYLOR!!!
These videos are insanely well done. Really a shame you guys dont have more views.
I’m not into taylor anymore, but this is really my fav song of her.
Joshua James Cortez oh no why aren’t you into her anymore??
Same..
@@yao9598 maybe, they grew up...
The algorithm sure is funny with how years late it brought me here the day after 1989 ( Taylor's Version ) was released
That was actually pretty cool
Only clicked on this video because it was a Vox video but was pleasantly surprise to have enjoyed that. Interesting analysis.
Plz make the comparison with 1989 tv
Style sounds really different than any of the other songs. It's a masterful song that is darker and moodier than any of the other songs. Happens to be my favorite on the the album and possibly my favorite Taylor song.
"Lol fuck Taylor swift amirite???? let's go analyze "I am the walrus" by john Lennon and the beatles and "bohemian raspberry" by queen, bcause beatled and queen are REAL bands and not some shitty manufactured pop!"
+Lunatikkrazie azylum The funny thing is, I am the Walrus was written to poke fun at the people who'd overanalyze the Beatles' lyrics.
+Lunatikkrazie azylum 'Bohemian Raspberry' lmao
I must say Style is one of her best singles. All of them are good but this song has something the others don't have.
I searched "pop perfection" and this came out. Honestly, youtube did not lie. 😏
Same
I'm kind of ho-hum on 1989 overall but this song is fantastic. It pays homage to the '80s aesthetic without being trite or derivative. Love the electric guitar riff and the vocal overdubs.
This needs to be a series. It's so amazing. I'd watch every single one of it!
3:34 she definitely showed that in "dress"
this is the kinda song i never get tired of and it always gives me this life’s waiting and excitement ! no seriously .
I've seen this video like 6 times over the past 4 years, Everytime it pops up in my feed. Makes me feel like she's teaching me something about myself.
Some more analytical videos such as this one should be really cool
Please more musical analysis of (older songs) please!
+Maria Mison yes! Older -and better- songs please
I am not a music major, but I love music and this video help me learn through infographics and now I am curious to every songs I hear, not only to enjoy but to kinda evaluate the structure of music.
Still one of my favourite videos by vox