Forced to Like Taylor Swift

I do not like pop or rock country music in the slightest. Generally it all sounds like the same loudness to me. However I do like other music that fits into the country category: you got your classic country with people like Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash; then there's Bluegrass and Americana which covers a heap of classic and new music ranging from Ralph Stanley to Gillian Welch; and then there are the bands that are moderately to heavily influenced by some sort of country, but I don't think of them as such, like Jack White, Mumford and Sons, The Decemberists, and The Civil Wars.

Cut to pop country's Taylor Swift and her new song"Safe and Sound," featuring The Civil Wars. It's dark, haunting, and pretty--three things that I never associate with Taylor Swift's usual pop country flavor. I'm sure this is due in part to collaborating with The Civil Wars, and due in part to the fact that the song is  on the soundtrack for The Hunger Games, which is a rather dark and haunting story. So kudos to Taylor Swift for basically forcing (yes, forcing) me like her.



The Hunger Games soundtrack will be released tomorrow. Based on the lineup, it may even be a winner of an album. I'm particularly excited about The Decemberists, Birdy, The Secret Sisters, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, and Glen Hansard.