dirty laundry

#musicmondaytuesday

taylor swift finally got angry. like carrie underwood beating up a car angry. but with less actual violence. the stand-out track from swift's third studio album, speak now, is definitely "better than revenge." the song will probably never make it onto country airwaves, but is sure to be the new bitter girl anthem. i've been waiting for swift to break free of the "my life is a perfect storybook with rainbows, butterflies and glitter everywhere" theme for a while now - the girl is approaching her 21st b-day - and make some music that's relatable, not fantasy. speculation is that "better than revenge" is about swift's split from joe jonas and the girl he picked up post-swift, actress camilla belle. it's very rocky, it's well produced and there are no references to princesses. the song could have easily been a hey monday or paramore, which is a big departure for swift. however, the rest of speak now is basically "love story" meets "white horse" plus some time. taylor needs to break out of her comfort zone. even doing something like a duet with kelly clarkson or one of her celeb bffs, like surprise pop star selena gomez, could help taytay evolve as an artist.

remember grayson chance? the piano-prodigy middle schooler who became an overnight youtube sensation with his cover of lady gaga's "paparazzi?" well now he's ready to hit the radio. the 13-year-old debuted his first single, "waiting outside the lines," today on ellen degeneres' talk show (chance is signed to degeneres' label, eleveneleven). the song is exactly what i'd expect from grayson - very augustana meets cobie calliat. i'm glad no one steered him toward being the next justin bieber. chances are chance won't be a huge sensation, at least not with this slow of a song, but he's only 13 - he has plenty of time to become a massive pop sensation. in about 5 years or so, i say chance will have quite the career. check out the performance from ellen above.