There is no middle ground with Taylor Swift. On one side, you have the diehard fans for whom Swift is something between a wise older sister and a benevolent god, along with the smitten music writers who praise her for taking singer/songwriter auteurism to the top of the charts.
On the other side stand her critics, whose recent points of contention (cultural appropriation, silence on political issues) can’t be dismissed as easily as the patronizing too-many-boyfriends gripes of old. Into the middle of this tempest drops “Reputation,” and in classic Taylor fashion it’s sure to annoy as many people as it pleases.Between the tabloid cover and the grating, confrontational lead single “Look What You Made Me Do” released earlier this fall, some feared that “Reputation” would be an album-long airing of grievances against Swift’s many enemies. Thankfully, for most of the record Taylor the Aggrieved takes a back seat to Taylor the Romantic, as Swift chronicles the feeling of falling for someone just when you thought you’d been burned too many times to love again. When the two themes intertwine, it’s to illustrate how her paramour’s affection salves the wounds of fame (from “Call It What You Want”: “All the drama queens taking swings/All the jokers dressing up…
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