Taylor Swift: Songs Are Like 'Messages in a Bottle'

With songs like "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," Taylor Swift's new album expresses her "girl-power angst" and proves "she's ready to grow up," writes Ramin Setoodeh at the Daily Beast. An unabashed fan of the record—called Red—he talked to Swift about songwriting, feminism, and dating. A few quotes:

• "Songs for me are like a message in a bottle. You send them out to the world and maybe the person who you feel that way about will hear about it someday."
• "I have had a guy say, as we were breaking up, 'You better not write a song about this.' At which point, I proceeded to write an entire album about it."
• "When people say things about me empowering women, that’s an amazing compliment. It’s not necessarily what I thought I was doing, because I write songs about what I feel. I think there’s strength when you’re baring your emotions."
• "I’m always afraid of failing. I have to quiet that fear if I’m going to get up in the morning."
• "I feel like I get my heart broken more than break hearts."
• As for who she's dating now ... "Don't go there. C'mon. I know you have to ask. But don't ask."

Click for the full interview. (More Taylor Swift stories.)