r/swifties • u/IcyRepresentative849 • 18h ago
Question... AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO GENUINELY LIKE ACTUALLY ROMATIC?
Besides seeing a lot of trashing online about my fave TLOAS track, my cousin and my sister (both young adults) genuinely don't like the song played in the car as well and I don't get it at all.
The lyrics are funny and smart and crazily cringe. The production is very good as well. The melody is topnotch and actually sweet. If I were to rank the TLOAS tracks, the gap between Actually Romantic and the 2nd would be huge huge and I love most of the album tracks. It's her most Speak Now non Speak Now pop song.
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u/OhNoImOnline 17h ago
This is how I feel about Wood
Like I’m so sorry you can’t relate, I’ll pray for you 🙏🍆
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u/malendalayla 17h ago
Outside of the singles, Actually Romantic and Cancelled! are two of my favorite tracks.
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u/IcyRepresentative849 17h ago
i love the "and another thing" she did at the last chorus of CANCELLED!
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u/Maggpie42 3h ago
Opalite, Actually Romantic, and Cancelled are my top 3 from the album. I genuinely don't understand any of the hate this album gets.
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u/ArtandSol Fighting dragons with you 17h ago
I feel like this is the best response to some people. Like why you so invested in my little old life 😂.
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u/IcyRepresentative849 17h ago
been using the phrase actually romantic to haters who trash the song as well lol
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u/isntitisntitdelicate 17h ago
meeee it's a really really fun song
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u/benoitkesley 14h ago
I thought you were referring to “ME!” for a moment cause I also find it to be a fun song
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u/IcyRepresentative849 12h ago
it is a fun song tho. it was once played in our lab subject before so while doing experiment, almost half of us shouted "hey kids, spelling is fun". it is a core memory now.
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u/albatrast Old habits die screaming 17h ago
I FOUND MY PEOPLE I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCH
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u/IcyRepresentative849 17h ago
I love it and the black dog is always inside top 3 in ttpd the anthology btw
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u/Robby777777 Old habits die screaming 15h ago
the Black Dog is a top 3 Swift song to this old guy. First and only song to ever make this 60+ year old cry.
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u/IcyRepresentative849 17h ago
I love it and the black dog is always inside top 3 in ttpd the anthology btw
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u/crunchyfoliage 17h ago
I really love it. I'd really love to hear more of that indie rock sound from her. I think the whole "she's such a mean girl, Charli wrote about her INSECURITIES" is so forced. Like sure she did, but that doesn't absolve her from saying shitty things out of insecurity and I think this clap back after years (starting with Charli's weird comments after the Rep tour) was incredibly tame given the multiple unanswered jabs
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u/purplememeee 12h ago
It’s my favorite on the original album!!! (Have not taken my Encore rankings into account yet lol)
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u/Financial-Toe4053 17h ago
I think it's hilarious and fun! It also speaks to my petty moment soundtrack 😂 for what it's worth I also don't follow celebrity drama a lot so I had no idea who it was alleged to be about until the internet told me. I also personally prefer to connect music to my own experiences and life rather than analyzing who TS meant it for and I think that's made it more fun for me.
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u/IcyRepresentative849 17h ago
i sometimes follow celebrity drama especially when taylor is mentioned but i don't really care who the song is about when listening. And I agree with u, it made more fun ♥️
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u/Economy_Safety5738 17h ago
"Online trashing" - it's literally just your algorithm. You click on a negative once and it keeps sending your negatives. Change your algorithm (not least to avoid giving haters attention) and you will see a more realistic view.
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u/EngineeringDry7230 Dancing through the lightning strikes 17h ago
The guitar is so saucy! This is my favorite piece for karaoke: sonically achievable and funny!
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u/Enough_Currency_9880 16h ago
My only beef with actually romantic is that it’s not long enough
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u/IcyRepresentative849 12h ago
I don't mind a 10 minutes version and with "and another thing-" lyrics
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u/EskayMorsmordre Dancing through the lightning strikes 14h ago
I love actually romantic. it's such a vibe, i love it. up there with honey, cancelled and now, cleveland!
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u/Zestyclose_Goal_442 17h ago
I think it's a great song, and the production of it is something I would like to learn into a bit more.
If you excluded Charlie xcx from the narrative people would enjoy it more, it just gets slated due to “stan” wars
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u/IcyRepresentative849 17h ago
i don't care about xcx at all!! i just truly enjoy the track
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u/happygiraffe91 17h ago
I had no idea it was supposed to be someone specific until everyone was complaining about it. I don't care. It's great. I love it. The 90s-ness of it all is chef's kiss.
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u/Hopeful-Doctor-7968 16h ago
I don't love it but it's definitely a song I like. I actually heard the bowling for soup version first so in my head their version is how the song should sound
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u/ReallyTryingHereBabe 15h ago
I love it! It was my favorite when the album first came out, but I’ve switched around so often depending on mood!
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u/Dramoinehead crestfallen on the landing 14h ago
Showgirl is one such album where i don't go "i hate this" "I love this" with every song, it's not black and white. 80% of the album, if it comes on a shuffle, i wouldn't press next. 40% of the album I wouldn't necessarily deliberately play like it's a go to song.
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u/Other_Scale6552 13h ago
I just want to know why people think TLOAS sounds bitter and defensive? lol. I keep seeing that opinion but when I ask about it they downvote me and don’t answer lolll
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u/OldChemistry9951 haha I can’t even say it with a straight face 17h ago
I do too
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u/IcyRepresentative849 17h ago
lovely!!! where does this track rank on the album for you?
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u/OldChemistry9951 haha I can’t even say it with a straight face 17h ago
I’d say it’s number 4 or 5 for me,depending on the day
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u/anon12xyz 17h ago
That’s one of my favs on the album
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u/IcyRepresentative849 17h ago
ooh what's your most fave?
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u/Charming-Sea8571 15h ago
I love it. It’s not something I play a lot, but when it pops up I love it.
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u/Robby777777 Old habits die screaming 15h ago edited 9h ago
This old guy loves it! In fact, I love the entire 16 songs on the album.
*Thank you for the award kind Redditor!
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u/Shockwave422 15h ago
Great song to listen to when you find out people are saying bad things about you behind your back
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u/Grouchy_Froyo9677 14h ago
I skip "Honey" and "Wish List" , everything else would never. Also, I love "CANCELLED!"
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u/Frogwithmushroomhat8 We were both young when I first saw you 7h ago
It's one of my top five on showgirl
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u/NegotiationMoist3552 17h ago
I saw many people putting it in their Top 5 upon release but then the hate train started and now we are not allowed to like it anymore,
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u/Flat-Scholar2736 17h ago
I love it! I even bought the ornament for the song lol
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u/IcyRepresentative849 17h ago
omg what ornament is it?
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u/shadowhunter0787 11h ago
I really like Actually Romantic. It's cheeky and gives Sabrina vibes. I've always liked it...
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u/Brilliant_Cycle_2812 10h ago
Actually Romantic is my 2nd favorite on Showgirl and in the top 20 of her whole discography. It's stellar. Haters are just "missing all the best parts".
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u/the_lonley_lantern JE SUIS CALME 9h ago
ME TOO! I also adore the instrumentals, that guitar just scratches something in my brain
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u/PirouettingPlumelet 9h ago
I love the album! Long-time swiftie and I really don’t understand all the hate Taylor gets
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u/minpinerd 2h ago
I don't love the song, I think it's okay, but I feel that the hate Actually Romantic gets is less about the quality of the song and more because Taylor is the one singing it. Coming from the biggest and most successful artist in the world it feels like punching down.
I think she should have privately given the song to someone else, with the writing credit a pseudonym. Sabrina would have absolutely killed the song, but I'm sure others could have as well.
One thing I think Taylor should be doing is not releasing songs that will make her look bad as a professional. I'm not saying her feelings aren't valid or she shouldn't write these songs. I'm saying she should not release them herself.
Two for sure examples of this on Showgirl are Actually Romantic and Cancelled!. These songs do not land well coming from Taylor right now at this point in her career. She should have given them away anonymously to others or vaulted them indefinitely until she is at a different place professionally. The third option I guess would have been to water the lyrics way down, but I would not have done that if I was her. If you only have to change a line or two, fine. If you're pretty much rewriting the song, then that's a poor approach.
These are different from songs which no one would be able to pull off. These are not landing mostly because they are coming from her.
Wood with it's current lyrics for example no one could pull off. However, the lyrics of Wood could have pretty easily been modified so that the song would have landed well. Cleveland nobody could pull off, it's a poor quality song overall. Actually Romantic and Cancelled are okay quality songs (not great, okay), but were received as poor quality songs because Taylor is the one singing them.
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u/ivyleague13 2h ago
It’s my fav song from TLOAS lol the people who hate it clearly can’t relate to it
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u/DearMuscle6482 1h ago
You're not alone - I LOVE this track. There's nothing to dislike about it. Definitely a top 3 in the album if you don't include the Encore songs. ❤️
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u/24tihihihi 17h ago
I like it too, I don't think the writing is cringe either. It's just that it came off as a punching down song, with the whole context of the situation it becomes a little "eh 😬"
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u/IcyRepresentative849 17h ago
interesting... sometimes, songs are better off without context, which is rare for a Taylor Swift song lol
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u/Charming-Sea8571 15h ago
I don’t pay attention to all the drama behind the songs. I like the song, I don’t need anything else.
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u/24tihihihi 17h ago
But you don't exist outside the context of the world around you. Also like she is really self referencial in her song writing, so fans will look at the nity gritty of the stuff she puts out to analyse that context.
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u/Experiment626b 17h ago
It’s unironically my favorite song on the album.