Song Review: "ME!" by Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie

Since American pop music, in general, seems to be so mediocre and lazy lately (including the good songs), I haven't been paying much attention to what's popular anymore. This why I haven't been posting much of anything since 2017. Even when I do, it's not on songs that are contemporary or popular. I've heard a couple of songs that even if I tried writing something about them, there's very little to work with. For example, "Earth" by Lil Dicky was one of these songs. It's unfunny like everything else Lil Dicky has done, the only appeal is the amount of celebrity cameos, the song itself is substandard, and it has one joke about World War 2 that he just shouldn't have done at all. He doesn't have the wit or charisma to make it even work, not to mention that he seems like the type of person who doesn't understand the weight and implication that joke carries. And that right there was the entire review.

You can imagine the joy I had when a friend of mine asked me to review "Me!" by Taylor Swift. Last time someone asked me to review a song, it was one of the worst things I have ever heard sung by one of the worst people I have ever heard of. So I was filled with dread and excitement. Taylor Swift has devolved as an artist into black hole of ego ever since "Shake It Off" hit the charts. Since then, her singles have become even more about herself and her reputation. A song by her with the title "Me!" sounded like Taylor Swift's final transformation to Meghan Trainor levels of narcissism. Not to mention that the song has Brendon Urie, lead singer of Panic! at the Disco. Which as a band has also devolved into the discount version of Fall Out Boy (who themselves have crumbled into an angrier version of Maroon 5). Oh how the mighty have fallen.

With my expectations set, I finally listened to the song and it was overwhelmingly ok. In fact, I actually like it more than I thought I would. Why? For starters, it stands out. While nothing really groundbreaking, it takes little to no influence from Trap, so the song actually has some energy in it.  This on its own already sets it a part from the rest of the Hot 100. It's also written in the key of C major which is a very bright sound to contrast the downbeat darkness of other hit songs of the past 2 years. Unlike "Happier" by Marshmello, it doesn't sound or feel hollow either. It does in a way due to the production, but Taylor and Brendon's voice have a lot more personality than Dan Smith's voice does, helping the song feel more alive. Furthermore, the drum beat on the verses help the energy of the song have a pulse and properly build up to a chorus. Once in the chorus, we're hit with a synth chord progression of C-Am-F-G accompanied by some horn fills. Again, not necessarily a groundbreaking chord progression or melody, but it is a bright, catchy, and well composed section. Everything is where it needs to be and it fits the tone and theme of the song.


Speaking of the theme, what is this song about? Not what I expected at all. It's a love song, to begin with. The song is about how "I (the narrator) have a lot of problems, and there are other people out there who comparatively are better and/or cooler. However, no one is going to love you like I love you". This is the gist of it and it reminds me a lot of the "You Belong With Me", but crossed with the (probably accidental) self-awareness of "Blank Space". "ME!" is undoubtedly about how the narrator is the right person for you, like "You Belong With Me", but it doesn't hide the fact that the narrator is not perfect. "You Belong With Me" is a great "Teenage Love Song". It's young, naive, and innocent.
"ME!", on the other hand, is honest, open, mature, and with the right level of assertiveness. The characters of this story are slightly dysfunctional to make them feel like real people, but not too much to where we (the audience) don't think the relationship is dead. But instead of comparing it to "You Belong with Me" and "Blank Space", I think we should compare "ME!" with "Somebody that I Used to Know". Both songs have a good enough concept to make them work in any song (in theory), but what make both of these songs great is having a guest singer. Brendon and Kimbra both serve the same purpose in their respective songs: give the narrative a different perspective. In "Somebody that I Used to Know", Kimbra sings her side of the story, making Gotye look not as innocent as the first verses made it seem. Because of the way songs are generally written, breakup songs are very one-sided and The Other is the one who looks bad while the narrator looks more like the victim. Gotye subverts this idea by having Kimbra sing her side of the story, making the song way more interesting, developed, and relatable, while emphasizing that this relationship is dead and both parties are hurt and bitter. Like "Somebody that I Used to Know", Brendon sings about the relationship from his point of view. Unlike "Somebody that I Used to Know", Brendon's verses are there to emphasize how this relationship, despite its problems, is alive and well. Without his point of view, "ME!" could be interpreted as being a self-centered breakup song of someone in denial. There's something romantic about the idea behind "I suck/I suck too, and I love you regardless" and this song understands the what makes this sort of narrative appealing. We all have problems and we all want to find someone who loves us despite our problems. The line that I think best encapsulates what makes this song work is "You're the only one of you/Baby that's the fun of you".

I was very pleasantly surprised with this song. I know I didn't talk too much about the music itself, but I think the strength of this song lies in the theme and the singers. The music is just the setting where this story takes place, and it does its job nicely. Even though Taylor Swift and Brendon Urie haven't written anything "good" per say in a long while, they are talented singers with a lot of personality in their voices. It's not anything revolutionary, and a lot of things could've gone very wrong. However,  I can safely say that this song is in fact ok (I'm tempted of even calling it good, for what it is). The one part of the song that objectively doesn't work at all is the "rap" break where they "spell" It's quite forgettable, but it does make me laugh due to how bad it is, so I'll let that part slide. When I first heard it, my first impression was "This sounds like Imagine Dragons or Lukas Graham if they didn't suck". Could it be that I like this song because comparatively there isn't much of anything in the pop charts to like? Maybe. There is something to keep in mind and that is that this IS a Taylor Swift song. It is unfair to listen to "ME!" and expect it to be the modern day equivalent of a Mozart composition. As far as Taylor Swift songs go, it is an improvement from "Look What You Made Me Do" and "End Game". Would I recommend this song? Not particularly, but if you have 3 minutes and 14 seconds to spare, I'd say give it a listen.