When we last checked in with Tay, she was makin' like a rock star in the pages of Vogue with a more mature, refined version of her old Princess Sparkle image. Today, we see continuing evidence of the education of Ms. Taylor Swift with the release of the video for the first single off the oh-so-anticipated Hunger Games soundtrack, "Safe & Sound." Musical merits aside – the song is lovely if limp – the visuals show Swifty sans her usual heavy, overstated eye makeup and blindingly shiny lip gloss – a natural look appropriate for a song attached to a film about a post-apocalyptic world where teenagers kill each other for food instead of going to Sephora. With her simple, tulle-accented dress and tousled bangs, one could be forgiven for mistaking her for a Milk-Eyed Mender-era Joanna Newsom (particularly since most of the video she exhibits trademark indie-ingenue behavior – walking barefoot in spooky fields, lying on leaves, singing in dilapidated houses, etc.) So, tell us, do you like T-Swift as a wispy folkster, or do you want your Barbie back?
Photo: via MTV.