Taylor Swift - Red

When it comes to new music, I frequently need to hear a song several times to decide if I like it. I think in part it is that I enjoy being able to sing along and when I hear songs the first few times, I can't sing along.

I think that some of this has rubbed off on my daughter. I find that when we are in the car, she is not willing to listen to the radio, because she doesn't know all of the songs, but once she knows a song, she will sing along and will sing it even when it is not on. One artist that she seems to know a lot of songs by is Taylor Swift. Her favorite is what she calls "I warm the bleachers" but what most people know as "You Belong With Me".

Lately, I have been listening to Taylor Swift's new CD - Red in my car. So far, I have enjoyed the music. I have listened to it several times. Of course, there are a couple of radio hits already from the album (clearly some of them came out before the album did).

As I listen to her music, I always wonder what her inspiration is, where she gets her ideas. I have heard that she bases much of it on her life and former dating relationships. This surprises me a bit, she has a lot of songs about break ups and heart break and yet she is only 23 years old - how much heartbreak can a young woman of 23 have experienced. I also think that much of her music seems much more mature than her age would suggest it should be. Either way, I enjoy listening to her music and this album did not disappoint.

I was a little surprised to find out that my kids were familiar with a few of the songs on a recent car trip. I always wonder where they learn new music. They pretty much just listen to what is playing in the car or the music on their iPods. Now that it is the school year, they rarely ride with me and my husband tends to not listen to the radio, but to his own music. When "I Knew You Were Trouble" came on the radio, I was not surprised that it was familiar to me because I had been listening to the album, but was surprised that my kids already recognized the song. My son even knew it was sung by Taylor Swift, by name.

No compensation was received for this post. A complimentary copy of the CD was provided to me. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.