Album: 1989
Year: 2014
. . .
When I first started this ridiculous project back in September of 2014, I never thought I’d be writing about the biggest pop star of the 21st century at the exact time she was somehow getting bigger than she already was, but here we are. And I know that some of you are like “yeah, go!” while others are like “what even the fuck, Jim?”
Well, I’m here to tell you what the fuck, but first a little of housekeeping, because one of the things about Taylor Swift is that everything is always “it’s complicated.” For Certain Songs, I’m going to respect the artist and write about the Taylor’s versions of songs from Fearless and Red, which is why I’m starting with “Shake It Off.
I first heard Taylor Swift in the late 2000s on one of the monthly Country Music Award shows — I think Rox was still listening to Country radio at that time — and thought she was good and everything, and of course was impressed at the fact that she was writing her own songs from the start. Then her transition album Red came out in 2012 — the second of her trilogy of albums that helped the Giants win the world series — and from that moment, I was utterly going to pay attention to everything she did afterwards.
Which I have, and will continue to do so until one of us stops caring about music. Or dies, I guess.
The third of her Giants trilogy was 2014’s 1989, which was the full pop crossover that Red portended, and while I didn’t quite like it as much, I fell deeply in love for the lead single, the upbeat joyfest “Shake It Off” one of the greatest pop songs anybody’s ever released. Period. Co-written & co-produced by evil genius Max Martin, “Shake It Off” is dominated by a simple but euphoric drumbeat from other co-producer (and other co-writer Shellback) and a sax line from a guy aptly Jonas Thander (a name I just now misread as “Jonas Thunder,” which would have been soo much better), over which Taylor addresses her public persona in the same way Mick Jagger did in “Monkey Man.”
I stay out too late
Got nothing in my brain
That’s what people say, mm-mm
That’s what people say, mm-mmI go on too many dates
But I can’t make ’em stay
At least that’s what people say, mm-mm
That’s what people say, mm-mm
But, of course, unlike Jagger, who never did anything that didn’t have 87 levels of irony, Swift is almost painfully sincere — that’s part her appeal — so she basically acknowledges all of the shit swirling around her and basically says “lol fuck you” with what I think is a chorus for the ages, announced by three quick handclaps(!) (or “handclaps,” if you want, I don’t give a fuck.)
‘Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off (hoo-hoo-hoo)
Heartbreakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off (hoo-hoo-hoo)
There’s a whole bunch of stuff going on in this chorus: keyboards for texture, horn lines and of course multiple Taylors adding vocals. To me, it’s so irresistible, I can even overlook the breakdown “rap” near the end of the song, because its immediately followed by nearly a minute of that chorus wrapping itself around itself until the fade.
As you know, “Shake It Off” was a worldwide smash, topping charts all around the world, including right here in the U.S. of A, where it eventually went Diamond — 10,000,000 units — and will probably remain inescapable forever. Oh, and the video has over 32 billion views, which is 4 views for every single person on planet Earth.
“Shake It Off” Official Music Video
“Shake It Off” Live in 2015
“Shake It Off” Live on BBC Radio One Live Lounge 2016
“Shake It Off” Live in 2019
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