Melissa Kacar

Have I known you twenty seconds or twenty years? To celebrate the massive anniversary milestone of Taylor Swift's self-titled debut album being released, I wanted to highlight some of my favorite vinyl in my collection alongside the full album review I also shared. This is such a special album in Taylor's catalog, as it really is the foundation that all of it is built upon. It is such an underrated gem of her earliest work and showcases some of the earliest sparks of the generational talent she would go onto shape and refine with each subsequent release.  My vinyl copy of Taylor Swift  is the rarest and most valuable record in my collection, which I somehow managed to get not only for face value, but also completely by chance one day while randomly browsing online. I purchased it online sometime in late 2018 or early 2019 from Turntable Lab in New York City , alongside the gold Fearless Record Store Day pressing, which is another cherished piece in my collection. This editio...

"Soup" is written with a very distinct warmth and playfulness that is present across so much of Remi Wolf 's work, but it also carries a deep vulnerability alongside it. The yearning at the center of the song is encapsulated in the repeated phrase in the chorus, "I don't wanna live without you," which becomes so central to the narrative it depicts. It's such a direct and simple sentiment, but it really anchors the entire song, shaping everything else around it in that way. "I think typically in my writing, I'm able to express myself in like metaphors or in drastic imagery, or even just like shock value lyricism. And I think it allows me to like, hide behind something. Like, I'm the only one that knows the truth behind this song. And I think, in some ways, that excites me," Remi said in an episode of Song Exploder , decoding the meaning behind this song. She continued, "But I think, in some ways, I use it as a crutch. But there are ...

"we fell in love in october" is a quintessential autumnal declaration of love. Throughout the song, girl in red captures a sense of unbridled devotion in the most simple and personal way possible, repeatedly returning to the phrase "you will be my girl". The song is such an intimate and unapologetic embrace of the love that defined this point in her life.  "Just screaming, "My girl, my girl!" twenty times in the chorus and sort of just owning it because I struggled a long time accepting it, and there was so much shit going on with this girl, there was just so much drama," she said in an interview with Fader. It's about when things have kind of settled and I'm like Fuck yeah, this is my girl. And you will be my girl. I don't know, I love this girl." Although she released the song independently in 2018, girl in red began writing it in 2015. It was the first song she ever wrote about a girl, marking a significant milestone in both...

Bass Persuades seemingly promised a rebirth for Miley as a massive, bass‑driven dance record, but somehow that never fully materializes within the project itself. The rollout was unusually quick, with the lead single announced, released, and then the full album arriving within about two weeks. Unfortunately, the music feels just as rushed as the promotion did, most disappointingly offering not much bass to be persuaded in a largely forgettable, lackluster chapter of her discography. Boring is worse than bad, and ultimately that's exactly what much of the criticism for this album boils down to. There are glimpses of something interesting conceptually, with flashes of the artist who has been known to push boundaries and reinvent herself with intention time and time again, but the highlights of this album are buried under songs that never rise to the level of persona Miley is capable of. Bass Persuades  somewhat picks up where Endless Summer Vacation and Something Beautiful left o...