Taylor Swift
2006年冬天,乡村女歌手Taylor Swift推出她的首支单曲,以当红乡村巨星Tim McGraw的名字作标题,引起广大的注意。也打进了乡村排行榜前十.另人惊奇的是,Taylor Swift不但是歌曲的作者,她首张同名专集里面的所有歌曲也都是她亲自参与谱写的,而当时他才十五岁.当十六岁的Taylor Swift来自宝洲,由于外婆曾经是个专业的歌剧演员,从小便爱上了音乐,特别的乡村,年方十岁就开始在家乡一带到处表演,十二岁那年,她开始苦练吉他,每天至少四个小时,经常弹到手指破皮流血,同时开始尝试作曲,决心进入歌坛.
Taylor Swift的歌喉似乎不是那么早熟,甚至还带有些许小女孩的甜美,但她以相当成熟的创作技巧弥补了一切,风格有些类似早期的Shery Crow,虽然她在创作方面的表现相当超龄,她却没有不自量力的探讨自己有限的生活体验之外的内容,绝大多数歌曲都是自己所熟悉的题材,生动的描绘着青春期的喜怒哀乐.
All of 16 when she recorded this debut album, country-pop singer Taylor Swift's considerably strong voice straddles that precarious edge that both suggests experience far beyond her years and simultaneously leaves no doubt that she's still got a lot of life to live. It's a fresh, still girlish voice, full of hope and naïveté, but it's also a confident and mature one. That Swift is a talent to be reckoned with is never in doubt: her delivery on tracks like the uptempo "The Outside," the spare acoustic ballad "Mary's Song (Oh My My My)," and especially the leadoff track, "Tim McGraw," which was the first single from the album, is that of a seasoned pro, despite Swift's newcomer status. "Tim McGraw" may also be the album's highlight — not a teenager's tribute to the country superstar, it instead uses McGraw as a marker in a lover's time line: "When you think Tim McGraw/I hope you think my favorite song." It's a device that's been used countless times in as many ways, that of associating a failed affair with items, places, and people, yet it works as a hook here and manages to come off as an original idea. Swift wrote or co-wrote every song on the record, a fairly remarkable feat considering the sophisticated manner in which she treats matters near and dear to the heart of one her age ("Now that I'm sitting here thinking it through/I've never been anywhere cold as you"). Producer/mentor Nathan Chapman has applied to some of Swift's songs a gloss that not all of them really require and in some cases would do better to shed. But Swift has no trouble overcoming any blandness taking place around her. She's come up with a commendable starter album that's as accomplished as any by a ten-year veteran who's seen a lot more road and felt a lot more emotion. Swift's young age may be a major point of interest in bringing listeners in, but by the end of the record she's succeeded in keeping them.
"Got the radio on, my old blue jeans and I'm wearing my heart on my sleeve," Taylor Swift sings on "A Place in This World," a self-penned coming-of-age anthem from her debut album due out this fall on Big Machine Records. It's an apt description of the enthusiastic, down-to-earth young woman, whose original compositions about teenage life brim with poignant honesty and an infectious spirit.
Just 16 years old, Taylor is at an age when most teenagers are only beginning to find their identity and lay tentative plans for the future. But there's never been much doubt in Taylor's mind about her calling. Growing up on a farm in Wyomissing, Pa., music was ever-present in her home. Inspired by her maternal grandmother, a professional opera singer, Taylor took up singing early in life. At 10, she began performing around town at karaoke contests, festivals and county fairs, and even recording rough demos at a studio. At 11, she performed the national anthem at a Philadelphia 76ers NBA game in front of thousands of fans.
But it wasn't until she picked up a guitar at 12 and learned to write her own songs that Taylor discovered how readily she could channel the turbulent emotions of growing up into her music. That year, she wrote "The Outside," a heartbreaking lament about loneliness. Before long, she was spending every available moment playing and writing. "I was playing four hours a day until my fingers were bleeding and my mom called me to dinner," she says.
No strangers to the music business, Taylor's family recognized both her talent and determination. They began taking regular trips to Nashville to shop her music around, and she began writing with local songwriters. After a few years, during which the family made the decision to move to nearby Hendersonville, Tenn., a showcase at the Bluebird Cafe caught the attention of music-industry veteran Scott Borchetta, who was planning to launch a new label. After meeting with Taylor, he knew she was one of the first artists he wanted to sign.
Since then, Taylor has pulled double duty as a straight-A high school student and full-fledged recording artist, a balancing act the teenager handles with grace. "I have tunnel vision as far as this goes," she says. "I can always keep my eyes on the goal." Still, she admits sheepishly, there are moments when songwriting inspiration strikes in the middle of a lecture, making concentration difficult. "If we had random notebook checks, my teachers might find biology notes, biology notes, then suddenly a bunch of lyrics," she laughs.
The songs Taylor scrawls in those spiral notebooks are bright, engaging melodies filled with all the ebullience and drama of adolescent life. In "Our Song," the narrator bemoans the fact she and her boyfriend don't share a sentimental tune, only to have him affectionately describe all the little moments that make their relationship special. "Our song is the way you laugh," he tells her.
Like all songwriters, Taylor is inspired by the life going on around her, and like any 16-year-old, she admits to a "fascination" with love. Thus, her classmates—her biggest fans, she says—often find themselves the subject of her songs. "They're all going to buy the album and have a little bit of a heart attack," she says with a grin.
A country superstar—and one of Taylor's greatest influences—was also surprised to find himself the subject of her debut single. A tender ballad, "Tim McGraw" describes the way music can evoke the sweetest of memories: "When you think Tim McGraw/I hope you think my favorite song/The one we danced to all night long."
Elsewhere on the album, Taylor tackles more serious issues. "Tied Together With a Smile," captures the fragile self-esteem of teenagers, inspired by girls Taylor has known through the years, including a beauty-pageant queen who suffered from an eating disorder: "Seems the only one who doesn't see your beauty/Is the face in the mirror looking back at you." In the second verse, she laments lack of confidence sometimes leads girls her age to make hasty and reckless decisions about their relationships: "I guess it's true that love was all you wanted/'Cause you're givin' it away like it's extra change."
Such flashes of maturity give weight to songs that otherwise sparkle with the carefree joie de vivre of youth. Taylor admits her primary agenda with her music is to evoke a strong emotional response. "I want to make people feel things," she says simply.
As she prepares an album with that in mind, Taylor is careful not to let her "tunnel vision" keep her from enjoying every moment of her budding music career. "Everything about this business is exciting to me," she says, "whether it's putting on a pretty dress to go to an awards show, or putting on a sweatshirt to go into the studio to record."
"You only get so many firsts," she adds. "Every one is a blessing."