#but she kinda lost me around 1989 and reputation era

[pop-punklouis]

re: your anon from yesterday bc im lazy and havent updated my dash, that's why folklore felt so refreshing to me (as a middle school swiftie who lost interest when she went pop and was pulled back in by folklore). by that point she was 4 years into her relationship w joe and started expanding past just writing about public facing stories into creating new worlds and stories to write about. paired w the new genre and much more poetic lyricism (especially compared to lover) it was a breath of fresh air. in the last year or so it's like you said, tired. it's felt like we're moving backwards, we're back to taylor swift's newest relationship and all speculation about that and the last boy she dated being the main thing both we (the culture, in news articles and social media posts) and she (in songwriting) are writing about as if we're back in 2010, or 2012, or 2014, or on and on and on. as if no one learned or grew in these 10 years

i would agree. i, personally, believe there are layers to taylor swift's resurgence in popularity (to the insane extent it is now) and how it got a head start due to folklore. besides it being an album that kinda dropped in the perfect moment where we were all at home and resonated with music like folklore during the pandemic.... and besides it being a pleasant surprise to see taylor step outside of the comfort we all know her music to be with an album that is, largely, considered an indie/folk project.... it was in the songwriting, for me, that ultimately brought me around.

and, during that time i had, had a tumultous relationship with her as a celebrity and as an artist. the rollercoaster i had felt since 1989 with her image and music was fascinating when i look back at it, and Lover is the record that brought be tentatively back into enjoying taylor swift. yet, folklore is the album that sucked me in entirely. and it was because there wasn't any nonsense revolving around the release or the lyricism of the project. it was so detached from her life that you could actually focus on the music and her songwriting without being distracted by easter eggs or references to relationships/controversial songs/lyrics that would be broadcast in the headlines. i felt at ease listening to it and creating my own world and own interpretations out of this universe she spun around both evermore and folklore.

so, i do think that is such an important observation to see as her popularity skyrockets how she is digressing (imo) in her sound and lyricism. almost devolving into what she was beforehand, making pop music which is fun to listen to but really doesn't grip you or keep you coming back around because the lyrical content isn't as rich. i remember when folklore came out, i was on a podcast with a few writers that used to write for the same music publication as me, and we discussed all of this. and the one who wasn't as big of a swift fan previously, really enjoyed folklore because of the difference in pace and her songwriting. then, just last year a group of us in the same publication had a roundtable just to discuss all things taylor swift (from both those who enjoy her and those who don't see the hype), and the conversations touched a lot on this dynamic with her songwriting and the differing of opinions of her since like reputation to folklore to now the second era of overexposure of her with the eras tour and the disappointment a lot of people felt with midnights etc. so!!!

all in all, i agree. i think everything she/her team is doing now feels so dated? like we've been here in this loop before, and i do hope tortured poets surprises us all and makes me shut up, but idk all signs are pointing to the same marketing and sound she did at 21 and 24 and 27. it doesn't feel new. not to quote the girlie herself but i feel like ive seen this movie before and i didn't like the ending lmfao

[thisselflovecamebacktome]

So I’m stealing this from @tayloralisonswift and you should definitely check out their version, but I’m going to listen to and rank all of Taylor’s songs album by album (and then maybe her non album songs at the end). You can also see my debut rankings and what I’ve changed here + my Fearless, Speak Now, RED, 1989, Reputation, Lover and Folklore rankings here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

So with that in mind, it’s Evermore’s turn. As per usual, I’ll put a content warning here and say that I mention mental struggles and family issues. They are just mentions, but read at your own discretion.

Willow: I know what she meant by this song, but it is still my 'she sure is saying words huh?' song ngl. It has one of my favourite aesthetics of Eras, but otherwise not really much going for it for me personally. 4/10.

Champagne Problems: I said this about We Were Happy too, but having a failed engagement shortly after this song came out sure was a time. Like I was expecting to go to Eras and burst into tears when I learned this was on the setlist. I did not thankfully. Much like All Too Well, this is one of those songs that people call overrated that I feel is more the case that it is appropriately rated but other songs that are undervalued should be as appreciated but are not and that's where the dissonance comes from. This song is also one of the very few in Taylor's discography where I like the 'clean' version better because not only do I think 'stuck in her head' gets the message of the song better than 'fucked in the head' but like god 'fucked in the head' is so sad when you consider it's her so called friends saying it. Like I'm a big 'the word they will never say again is 'ours'' defender but I can understand why people say it's friends with that line. Anyway incredible song. 9/10.

Gold Rush: This is another song that I feel everyone loves more than I do. Like lyrically I relate to the song a lot, right down to the coastal town, but yeah it just never hit for me. 5/10.

Tis The Damn Season: Remember when this album came out and, before reading the prologue, I was like "Tis The Damn Season's love interest and Dorothea feel like partners to me" and thought I was smart for that just to be clapped with the "Yeah they're meant to"? Me too lmaao. I don't have much to say about this song other than I'm so glad it made it to (my) Eras show because it's a song I always loved but wasn't expecting to be played opening night lmao. 9.5/10.

Tolerate It: This has somewhat grown on me but I still find it kinda boring despite having periods in my life where I related to it ngl. I also read Rebecca after hearing it and that alone was... a journey lmao. 5/10.

No Body No Crime: I have the weirdest personal association to this song after a friend joked about it relating to an aspect in my past (not a murder). Unfortunately for this song, I overplayed it in 2020/2021 and still have not recovered, so it has somewhat fallen in my rankings, but I still like it. 7/10.

Happiness: My stan song for the album and second favourite Taylor song ever! (Mid) 2020 was the year I finally let go of all of the life engulfing anger I had towards my family and started to accept things for what they were, so this song really just came at the perfect time for me. I think there's been multiple 'new me's' since then, but the one I am right now is the happiest and most stable I have ever been in ways that even 2020 me could not imagine, let alone 2015 me who lost them. And of course there will always be grief that they will never get to know this (and future) version of me and vice versa in that I won't know those versions of them, but it feels so nice to be living in that sunrise. As an aside, anyone looking for a sister song to this should check out Blue Velvet Dress by Missy Higgins. But yeah, incredible song all around. 10/10.

Dorothea: An underrated song if I've ever seen one. Like being (nearly) the only person who did not leave my state after high school and in general a lot of my high school friends and I having to watch each other's lives through social media may be impacting this, but god, it's just like a perfect 'went to school in the 2000s/2010s' nostalgic vibe to me. 8/10.

Coney Island: I'm sorry I find this song boring. I did however pick up the connection with it and Tolerate It before Taylor said it and remember my friends all @ ing me when she confirmed the connection lmao, so that was fun. 4/10.

Ivy: Ya'll can thank one of my loved ones for this not being in the 'boring song that is fine but I don't get why everyone loves' category for me. He completely recontextualised the song for me by saying that he sees the husband as mental illness and the other party as someone who makes you realise you want to get better and that makes my heart so warm. The song is still not a favourite, but definitely gained a few points for that. 7/10.

Cowboy Like Me: I'm sorry, but this is another one that is boring to me. I will say that I am a 'Taylor wrote this as a love song but I see it as a breakup song' truther and think it's far more interesting as a breakup song. 4/10.

Long Story Short: A relatable banger. Not much else to say, I just love it. 8.5/10.

Marjorie: This is one of those songs I feel I should love to more because like I do relate to it through the estrangement (and death while being estranged) of family members, and it really did have the most impactful moment of Eras for me (which was a shocker to me because it felt like such a weird pick but I'd argue it's the centrepiece of Eras, or at least the version I saw), but it just does not hit outside of that, sorry. 6/10.

Closure: All I can say is that I'm a pots and pans/"weird" production defender and lover. Also, I wonder what 2015 me would say if she knew we got to have this moment with (redacted family member) in 2022, and that we picked this instead of sucking up and accepting the apology? 8.5/10.

Evermore: Another self love song to me. Like this just feels like 2011 - end of 2018 me's journey and much like Happiness, I think that version of me would be in awe and just how much the pain wasn't forevermore and how right they were to trust that there was that older, more stable, more happy version of them that they were dreaming of and pushing through to get to. I also really love the juxtapose of vocals with the feature, which I know is an unpopular opinion. 9.5/10.

Right Where You Left Me: This song came out just as I was in the early stages of defrosting/was just leaving the restaurant (not having the estrangement of my family fully take over my life like it had done for the previous 5 years) and honestly? I'm glad for that because I think 2015 - mid 2020 (but especially 2015 - late 2017 who was in denial about the whole thing being over, like girl who lived in delusion indeed) me would have been too devastated to ever listen to the song. My heart still aches for that version of me, but the song is amazing and I'm glad I can listen to it. 9/10.

It's Time To Go: She wrote this for The Archer fans, and until recently The Archer was her most relatable song for me, so yes, I love this one too. Like in a sad way (because it's a devastating song) I think this may be the closest thing Taylor's ever written to be a self love song (nobody say ME!, as mentioned in the Lover part, that song is a romantic love song and one filled with anxiety at that) because of the utter trust it takes to walk out all of those times. But either way, I love it and find it relatable to so many past situations I've been in. 9/10.

Final score: 123/170 - 72.4%

[enchantedpendant]

i dont drink but sometimes i feel like drunkenly shouting but i can see us lost in the memory~ august slipped away into a moment in time~ cause it was never mine~! and i can see us twisted in the bedsheets~ august sipped away like a bottle of wine~ cause you were never mine~!!! ya feel me

[likeadevils]

hey! for your post about sun moon and rising but with taylor albums, can you list out the characteristics of each album? i'm having a hard time associating them and it'd make it a lot easier, if you could do that :)

oh totally! Its really all about your personal association, so i’ll give vibes for the era and the album. a good rule of thumb is to read the prologue if you want the tone for the era quickly. honestly, there’s no set system, go wild

taylor swift (2006) “debut”

era: blue and teal and brown. cowboy boots and sundresses, wild curly hair, trucks and mud and wildflowers. very 2006, very high school, very country

album: swings between pining from a distance and wanting to destroy a boys whole ass life and feeling like you have no friends and no one understands you in the whole world. like I said, very high school, but also full of whole ass bangers

fearless (2008)

era: yellow and white. 24/7 prom. she’s got the fairy tale aesthetics set in high school, she’s got calling your ex boyfriend out on national television, she's got so many headbands. god to be 8 years old when the joe jonas/taylor swift drama was going down

album: again, fairy tale set in high school. lots of crushes, lots of realizing men aren’t shit. it’s about the pull between childhood ideals and real life tearing them down, and deciding how much you should cling to your dreams and how much you have to let them go. it’s also a pull between knowing that these little moments are kinda ridiculous but also taking everything so goddamn seriously

speak now (2010)

era: purple purple purple. she’s starting to grow up! her look has evolved out of sundresses and prom dresses and into a more preppy style. she’s moved out of fantasy and into this like. circus aesthetic? 30s movie type thing? watch the mean music video, idk how to explain it. her hair is still curly and but under control, and she’s solidly Famous at this point. the idea that she can’t sing is Big, and the man-eater stereotype is starting to get popular 

album: she’s starting to grow out of country. she’s experimenting with rock, but her pop sound is starting to take off. it’s all about Dramatics: she’s experienced her first heartbreak, broke someone else’s heart, and was in an emotionally abusive relationship all within two years. she’s moved out of her parents house and is both infantilized and forced to grow up to fast by the media.

red (2012)

era: its 2012 hipster style. her hair is Straight and she’s wearing vintage dresses everywhere, and she’s posting sketches of red lips and quotes from fitzgerald about heartbreak and finding yourself on instagram. she is dating and breaking up with harry styles Very Publically, and its the last major relationship she’ll have for two more years. the idea that she dates to much is everywhere, and she’s being slut shamed to an insane degree, while also being dismissed as a goody-two-shoes

album: it’s designed so each song has the opposite emotions of the song before it. it’s dramatic and it’s heart wrenching and it portrays these relationships that were toxic and messy and captivating. has the last vestiges of country, some more rock, and the first pure Pop songs, all nestled against each other to give you the epic highs and lows of being 22

1989 (2014)

era: its the height of her stardom, and she’s more beloved then she’s ever been and (probably) will ever be again. she’s cut her hair and moved to New York, she’s wearing high waisted stuff and taking polaroids, and she’s been single for two years and it’s has given her the freedom to find a “tight” group of friends and herself. shes talking about third wave feminism all the time, she’s papped every day, and she started dating c*lvin h*rris; they date for a year, he was the first boyfriend to be posted on social media, and the one she was with the longest (until her current bf). publically, she’s the happiest and most successful she’s ever been. personally, it’s more complicated, especially by the last few months. “she lost him, but she found herself and somehow that was everything” and “from the girl who said she would never cut her hair or move to new york or find happiness in a world where she wasn't in love”

album: single handedly brings 80s pop into the mainstream. (like seriously, her only contemporary influence is lana del rey, and even that is only on a few tracks. listening to this when it came out was a religious experience). it sounds basic now but only because she influenced all of the pop music that came after her. its also her first sonically cohesive album since fearless. subject matter wise, its very 80s movie. it’s the first album without a break up song that ruins a man's whole career— no cold as you, dear john, or all too well type. the relationship is on and off again, but more muted and mature then the tumultuous ones portrayed on red. its very star crossed; two people who just can’t find the right time. she’s also writing about how fame has affected her— blank space, shake it off, and i know places all directly reference it, but the idea that the whole world is watching is woven all throughout the album

bleachella (2016) 

this isn't an album but its definitely an era

taylor has become so oversaturated that people are starting to turn on her, and her mental health is suffering. her relationship with c*lvin h*rris is falling apart, she's changing her hair every couple of moths (most notably she bleaches it, and goes to coachella. so like bleachella), and then all of a sudden The Phone Call happens. kim and kanye release edited footage of a phone call that makes it seem like taylor swift is a liar who intentionally plays the victim to stay in the public’s good graces, and the world pounces on it. between that and the idea that her friend group is super cliche-y and exclusionary, her reputation is ruined and she goes in hiding for months. before going into hiding though, she breaks it off with c*lvin (he throws a FIT on twitter) and starts a whirlwind romance with tom hiddleston that includes them flying all over the world on vacations and meeting each others parents super quickly. this all happens in one summer.

reputation (2017)

era: black and white and gold. very edgy, very rich, lots of snakes and casual wealth. there’s the aesthetic of her being very hurt and defensive and lashing out, but the reality of her being the happiest she’s ever been. she’s still famous, but she’s learned how to have a private life and healthy relationships. the tough times have shown her who and what’s important to her

album: pretty much that. the first half is brash and bombastic and playing off what people expect her to be like, how they expect her to fall in and out of love quickly and manipulate those around her to see her as a good person (while exploring sounds that no one expected her to explore) and the second half slows it down and shows her falling in love more explicitly and sweetly and under cover. “in the death of her reputation she felt truly alive” and “finding love through all the noise”

lover (2019)

era: bright pink and pastels and bright colors and happiness and butterflies!! she’s in love and beloved by the general public again, but all of her past albums have been stolen from her by a man she thought she could trust. sadly cut off short by covid. “step into the daylight and let it go”

album: her messiest album (sonically) since red. a popular saying when it first came out was that it had the writing of speak now but the sound of 1989, which is... understandable? its the kind of thing you have to form your own opinion on. it’s on the surface all bubblegum pop and being in love, but it has some of the absolute saddest songs of her entire discography. a 18 song long rollercoaster

folklore and evermore

preface: these are definitely two separate albums and there’s a definitely a difference but this girl has so many albums and it’s taken me an hour to answer this ask and it’s 1am right now so i’m gonna smush them together. go listen to them, and we’re in the era right now

eras: it been covid so all we’ve got are a couple performances and the album visuals. cottagecore, a return to the small town setting of her first two albums, very understated and timeless. one noteworthy element is that both albums were surprise releases (especially after lover had almost a year of build up that kinda worked against it). she’s reached a level of artistic respect that she’s never had

albums: folklore is a level of sonic and thematic cohesion comparable to 1989, as well as having a similar feeling of like. oh god we’ve been waiting for you to make an album like this for years and you’ve still exceeded every exception and made it surprising. evermore is mostly a continuation of its sound, though it’s a bit more experimental. both albums are incredibly mature, and move into non-autobiographical storytelling for most of the songs. it’s easy to build your own world based on one or both of the albums. their main themes are also mostly divorced from relationships, and more tied to personal identity and mental state (though there is quite a bit about divorce and heartbreak in both)

[alltoowell-taylorsversion]

My lyrical analysis of cardigan (Betty’s POV:)

“Vintage tee, brand new phone”

Juxtaposition of old vs. new. This is important throughout the song because being young people think you don’t know anything while the old are filled with wisdom

I’ve also seen that this line could be a callback to Red. As the aesthetic of the album was hipster, and Taylor’s Instagram was filled with photos of vintage and new (hipster) things.

“High heels on cobblestones”

Could be a reference to the 1989 era.

Parallels with “I was walking home on broken cobblestones” in betty —> so maybe James is meant to be a girl??

“When you are young, they assume you know nothing”

Directly parallels to Only the Young. Where Taylor shows that only the young can change the current political climate. And currently many older people think the younger generation is stupid, but in reality the generation knows a lot.

“Sequin smile, black lipstick”

Could be a reference to the reputation era, or her 2016 MET gala look (where she met Joe).

“Sensual politics”

Could be a reference to the Lover era. During the Lover era we heard more of Taylor’s political standpoints and she shared details of her love life.

“But I knew you”

Parallels with betty “I’m only seventeen, I don’t know anything”. The parallel in this lyric could mean a couple of things.

It shows that this is an older Betty reflecting on the relationship after years of distance from the relationship. The song cardigan seems more mature than betty.

This could be an unintentional reflection of the maturity of young men and woman. Men are aloud to maintain there youth, act out, and make stupid excuses and they are pardoned because they are a kid. But women are expected to act more mature even in their youth and are never defended due to their age.

“Dancin' in your Levi's/ Drunk under a streetlight, I”

I love the vocals in this lyric. It also reminds me of this gif of atom holland for some reason

“Hand under my sweatshirt/Baby kiss it better,I”

So this could either be a nice way of saying she was being felt up OR it is just a hind under her sweater on her back. So it’s either sexual or extremely soft.

Continuing with it just being a hand on her back it could be portraying the narrators being sick or in pain, and her lovers hand is on her back, like soaring her, and then that would tie in to the lyric “baby kiss it better”

“And when I felt like I was an old cardigan/Under someone's bed/You put me on and said I was your favorite”

Parallels with “Loves me like I’m brand new” in Call It What You Want. This is Taylor showing through the character of Betty.

The cardigan is also brought up again in betty, “wearing your cardigan”. This could just be to tie the two songs together and show that they are both meant to be a part of the love triangle.

“A friend to all is a friend to none”

Someone who tries to be a friend to all cannot truly be a friend to all because they won’t always be there or they will only be there when times are good. They are also the people that you can’t really tell secrets to because they might turn around and tell others

This could reference Taylor’s squad and how when she was trying to be friends with more people it turned out those people weren’t really her friends and they stabbed her in the back.

“Chase two girls, lose the one”

Obviously about the love triangle. And how she left James because he cheated on her or was trying to get with two people at once.

“Playing hide-and-seek and/Giving me your weekends, I”

This could connect to seven (which I’m starting to think is part of betty’s and James’ Story) and how James and Betty were childhood friends (kinda like the love story in Mary’s Song)

“Your heartbeat on the High Line/Once in twenty lifetimes, I”

I don’t know but I love this lyric

“To kiss in cars and downtown bars/Was all we needed”

This is brought up again in betty - “kissing in my car again”

Brings maturity to Betty because they are kissing in bars when they are only in high school. Also, could be Taylor peaking through in the lyrics.

“You drew stars around my scars/But now I'm bleedin'”

One of my favorite lyrics ever. How James helped heal her from her past trauma (or whatever it is that haunts her) and made her past better by allowing her to deal with and grow because of it. Then when James betrayed her it cut her back open so she is bleeding again because her scars have reopened.

“Steppin' on the last train/Marked me like a bloodstain, I”

Relates back to the last line. And how the relationship will forever mark Betty and change her

Parallels with “I’m a crumpled up piece of paper” cause Betty will never go back to how she was before their relationship. She will forever be changed, and that could be for better or for worse.

“I knew you/Tried to change the ending/Peter losing Wendy, I”

Compares James to Peter Pan a childish character that blames his youth in his mistakes, and shows the relationship would never have worked because James is to childish

Wendy is compared to Betty and shows the maturity of Betty.

“I knew you/Leavin' like a father/Running like water,I”

Brings up Taylor’s daddy issues

“But I knew you'd linger like a tattoo kiss”

Will forever mark her like a tattoo

“I knew you'd haunt all of my what-ifs”

He may have left a mark on her but she will also make a mark on him.

“The smell of smoke would hang around this long”

The relationship will linger as Betty tries to heal from the end of their relationship. When you smoke in a house or car the smell stains the place and lingers for years.

“‘Cause I knew everything when I was young”

Juxtaposes with “when you are young they assume you know nothing” and shows the duality of being you g when you both think you know everything and know you don’t truly know anything.

“Chasin' shadows in the grocery line”

This is so mundane, which makes it so relatable. It allows everyone to connect to the lyric and shows that when a relationship ends you look for them everywhere. And the pain follows you everywhere

It also connects to the lyric “I thought I saw you at the bus stop I didn’t though” in the 1

“I knew you'd miss me once the thrill expired”

This connects to betty as James realizes their mistake — he didn’t want to do this to Betty and wishes he could take it back. “A figment of my worst intentions”

“And you'd be standin' in my front porch light”

This lyric reminds me of Carrie Underwoods Backsliding — if you haven’t listened to it you definitely should

Also gives off This live vibes. A lost love coming back to you and trying to make things work out. Even if it doesn’t end up working out in the end.

“And I knew you'd come back to me/You'd come back to me/And you'd come back to me/And you'd come back”

Strong This Love vibes “and this live came back to me”

It shows Betty’s maturity and predicts James coming back like he does in betty (the song).

[dnpsuck]

once you get around to listening to lover what did you think !!! im v curious on your opinions about it heh

thank u for wanting my opinion. i thought i was gonna make it a brief review thingy but i cannot be brief for the life of me. i’m sorry. anyway,

i’mthankful it’s a long album because based on me! i knew i’d like it. not thatme! is a masterpiece or anything but it’s brighter and more fun than herprevious era which i Did Not like. i know reputation is, taylor swift history-wise, important. it’san album she did no press for and allowed the songs speak for themselves and i really like this idea and the sentiment behind it, i’m just Not A Fan of the execution. edgy taylor swift doesn’twork for me. don’t blame me slaps tho. i’ll probably compare these songs to alot of reputation, sorry.

anyway. loveris a more colorful album and probably my favorite pop album from ms. swift, i’m not good at like. Grading things so i won’t be like ‘this is a 8.5 kind of album’ cause like. i don’t know numbers? what you need to know is that it’s a good album. let’s gowith the tracks:

may i add that this is not coming from a taylor swift fan, however i have several friends who are into taylor swift so it’s hard not to get the slightest 2nd hand interest. 

i forgot that you existed: was excited as soon as it started! theproduction is lighter and less dramatic. i feel like contrary to reputationwhere she was kind of obsessed with the people who hurt her and betrayed her inthe previous years, this song is a nice way of letting go. a nicer, yet stillkind of shady, revenge by being like. Oh. You Mean Nothing To Me Anymore.

fave lyrics: “it isn’t love, it isn’thate, it’s just indifference so.. yeah.”

 cruel summer: the chorus…. amazing! i remember reallydisliking her reputation singles, especially “ready for it” because it was veryunnecessarily dark and, again – in my opinion – dark and edgy doesn’t work fortaylor swift.  BUT, rfi had that chorusthat escaped the intense beats and kind of went back a little to her 1989 eraand it’s the one thing from the song that i actually tolerated. and i feel likeall of cruel summer is song that fits the melody of the rfi chorus better thanrfi itself. does that make sense?

fave lyrics:the entire bridge but especially: “i don’twanna keep secrets just to keep you” and “i love you, ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard?”

lover: 11/10. fucked me the fuck up. it’s a song aboutlove that isn’t a still-too-fresh-and-uncertain love, or some angsty love. it’sjust love. she’s properly in love and is singing about it with somuch care and certainty. it’s a happy song about the one she loves and how could i hate it? bestsong in the entire album. probably my 2nd fave taylor swift song ofall time

favelyrics: “with every guitar string scar onmy hand” so much is being said in this one fucking line. i absolutelyfucking love it. the fact that this song was 100% written by her is a big plus.

the man: honestly was kinda stressed about the kind of discoursethis one could cause, especially cause of the lack of addressing the whitenessof it all but idk. this is her ownexperience so how much can we ask from her? and also in many ways this feels like 5years late but i’m not gonna complain about this. better late than never (andshe has addressed sexism in her songs before so it’s not like she’s just starting at feminism). she’s made severalpoints w this one and it sounds good. 

favelyrics: the part where she’s like “what if i was bragging about the models i’mfucking?” cause like. girl is aware of aspecific group in her fandom and i appreciate the little nod (it being real ornot)

archer: love the lyrics. this was like. the 3rdsong from this album that she released and i was So Relieved to actually SEEsongwriter taylor swift coming through. it’s a great song about self hatred andreflection, etc. but i’ve listened to it enough times to know i’m gonna be skippingthis one when i’m listening to this album. 

favelyrics: “screaming ‘who could ever leaveme darling?’ but who could stay?”

 i think he knows: the chorus and her vocals… *chef’s kiss*. loveit. cute crush song. more mature yet fun style that works for her. 

fave lyrics:all of the chorus.

miss americana: i get it, i see the politics of it all but. i’mgonna skip it. soz 

favelyrics: “my team is losing, battered andbruising i see the high fives between the bad guys”

 paper rings: YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSS. again, pure,happy, bubbly, unashamed love. a love bop that i adore. 

fave lyrics:“i like shiny things but i’d marry youwith paper rings / i hate accidents except when we went from friends to this”

corneliastreet: it’s a nostalgic song that i can’t decide if it’s exactly abreak-up song or not. i like to think the “sacrednew beginning / that became my religion” lyrics are a nod to her bestreputation song aka don’t blame me. i’m so-so on this one but it’s definitely notbad, don’t think i’ll be skipping it for now. 

favelyrics: “that’s the kinda heartbreak timecould never mend / (…) and baby i get mystified by how this city scream yourname”

 death by a thousand cuts: eh? it’s nice and soft and sad-ish but. idk.not right now - since the album is still pretty fresh to me - but i’ll probablystart skipping this one eventually. 

favelyrics: “you said it was a great love,one for the ages / but if the story’s over why am I still writing pages?”

 bondon boy: i am so sorry for every londoner that had tolisten to this one. i could hear it being offensive as soon as she startedsaying those words. it sounds nice and fun but jesus christ taylor. it’s likesomeone from her label said “you gottamake it clear you’re fucking that joe dude or your album won’t sell” andtaylor immediately googled ‘british slang’ and wrote this song. 

fave lyrics:“but something happened i heard himlaughing / i saw the dimples first and then i heard the accent” i’m asimple phannie. i hear the word dimples i think of dan

soon you’ll get better: bro. was not ready. you can hear thepain and fear in her voice. the chorus kind of reminds me of “never grow up”(aka my fave taylor swift song), etc. the sad, almost hopeless addition of “cause you have to” is so heartbreaking. it’sa personal and gorgeous yet sad song, and she goes back to her country roots for this one,so that’s nice. absolutely beautiful. 

fave lyrics:hard to choose but “you like the nicernurses you make the best of a bad deal / i just pretend it isn’t real / i’llpaint the kitchen neon, i’ll brighten up the sky / i know i’ll never get itthere’s not a day that i won’t try” i hate, hate, the notion ofromanticizing a sad and scary situation like this one, and i think i understandthis as less of romanticizing and more of sympathizing with, cause i’ve alsobee in this situation with my family – but because it was just a few days agothat phil revealed his father’s battle with cancer, i couldn’t help but thinkof him too and how much he must have feared for his dad while still trying to keep it together for everyone around him.

false god: love the sax. i know i will fully love thissong at some point. i know it. i’m just not there yet. i like the parts when she has torush her words. i’ll get there with this one. 

favelyrics: “they all warned us about timeslike this / they say the road gets hard and you get lost”

 you need to calm down: fun, boppy, cute. i get what shewas going for and appreciate it. it’s a more carefree pop song and i’m okaywith it. not unskippable though. 

fave lyrics:“and i ain’t tryna mess with your self expressionbut i’ve learned a lesson that stressing and obsessing bout somebody else is nofun”

 afterglow: i don’t know yet. probably one i’ll skip. notbad, i don’t think there’s a song in this album that is necessarily Bad, butthis one is just not really memorable. 

fave lyrics:don’t have one actually. soz

me!: definitely not a masterpiece BUT introduced usto this era which is probably her best pop era. i loved the absolute changefrom the reputation era, bringing back colors, bringing back fun, introducing amore politically active taylor swift, etc. i also like the idea that she knowsthat this is not her best work but she knew that if she was gonna make a catchyradio friendly pop song, she’d make one that’s about self love, etc. 

fave lyrics: i’m a simple girl, “me e e e, o o o oh”

 it’s nice to have a friend: this folk-y vibe? works? is thisfolk? sorry if im being dumb. but it has a lonely vibe, it’s kind of really sadin a way, but it’s lovely at the same time. 

fave lyrics:“something gave you the nerve / to touchmy hand”

 daylight: a song about letting go and forgiving herselffor her past mistakes and learning to focus on the good parts of her life, morespecifically her lover. like new year’s eve was to reputation, this is a nicesong to wrap this album. 

fave lyrics:“you are what you love”

[readingthelastpage]

Tay is still playing the game: it is too soon to do this yet

hate to be the bearer of bad news

warning: this is a looooong analysis of the Gaylor fandom, the Rep era and the new era.

so us Gaylors were kinda enamoured with the queer context of the beginning of the Rep era. she dropped a few tunes that had people who used to believe her man-crazy reputation googling Karlie Kloss, wrote a nice little declaration about how everyone looking for specific men in her new songs is wrong, changed from outfits designed for the male gaze into something more comfortable and had a British unknown with a wonky relationship timeline as the public muse of the album. All is well, we thought - she is literally burning her Reputation, she will let people come to their own conclusions, she will take the money, they will both ditch the boyfriends and come out.

And hey, maybe that was the planned narrative in the beginning. But both boyfriends are still here, and one has been updated into a husband (with two separate highly publicised wedding parties). Now the new narrative is that Taylor will let people figure out things more and more - which is inextricably linked to Karlie, whose boyfriend wanted the “het card” so bad that he has to marry Karlie twice before she is released. They all want to erase Kaylor so deeply that they have to spend years in these new golden cages, but at the same time, Karlie will not even block instagram comments that call out her marriage as fake and Taylor will not stop people from writing articles about her that keep referencing Karlie. Maybe their strategy really is to lay low in public for years while building full separate lives but still be linked even in places that they have full control over, but then I don’t think it really is a good strategy. I think the more likely thing is that we overestimated the honesty of the Rep era and the extent to which is was another performance.

Of course people acknowledge it was a performance. Everyone in this fandom acknowledges that it’s good business sense to stay in the closet and maximize your fanbase before you cut the cord. But then, I argue, Reputation was playing the game on hard mode, it was a bit of a flop (sorry!), she switched gears and started contemplating the next era very fast, and we are probably about to get another performance, another continuance of the game, with things being concealed from us just like they were in the previous era. Everyone always wants that candid, natural era from Taylor and we were so smug thinking we were the only ones getting it.

Let’s walk back a little. Taylor always, always responds to criticism. They doubted her songwriting credentials, so she wrote an album solo. They called her a sugary country princess so she lost the accent, wrote a few pop anthems for Red, just for kicks, and did highly glam performances of them with no guitar in sight. They called her conservative and unfeminist so for the next album she debuted a glam squad and her public narrative was about friendship, her against the world, her against the haters who don’t want her to write about her feelings. She wrote Blank Space as an indictment of her public image (and, as Gaylors have probably correctly read, the narrative she pulls transparently with all public boyfriends), and people freaking loved it, and part of the reason why she keeps referencing it even into the Lover era is because she has never been so loved and lauded. But make no mistake, I’ve been on Tumblr since 2010 and people wrote first posts about how they shouldn’t be called out for liking Taylor Swift long before Taylor Swift started writing about being called out for BEING Taylor Swift. She has always responded to what we want to hear. Yes, her art is for herself as well as for others but Taylor wants to be an iconic popstar. Art is just a part of being an iconic popstar.

Flash back to the Rep era. The media was bad, so they get nothing. People were mean and used things on her social media, boom, wiped. There is no explanation, just Reputation. The sound is dark and she’s an edgy princess and she admits her faults and candidly writes all about a broad-shouldered love that helps her hold on - but no juicy details and pap pics. Looks like an abject refusal to play the game. But if you look again, it just looks like a response to all the criticism. Taylor, stop calling all your friends and the paps every time you go out to get milk - fine, you get next to zero pics. Taylor, stop exploiting your dating life for fame and having pictures taken every time you fly a jet to a famous boyfriend to sit on his lap - fine, I’m dating an unknown, we only hold hands, and I have broken up with two boyfriends in the meantime but will only write one relationship narrative song for both of them. Taylor, don’t play the victim when we know you’re a powerful popstar who plays the feud game sometimes - Look At How You Made Me Do Something Bad. The old Taylor you hated is dead - the new Taylor is both edgy enough to kill her and conscious enough to write this line making fun of herself. And those are not the only lines where she’s sarcastic and high drama either.

She Did All Of That, created some iconic imagery, and pretty soon she was able to see that it wasn’t really landing the way 1989 did. She gambled everything on a carefully planned (but still abbreviated) tour, won the gamble, landed on her feet, pulled some other cool artistic and political moves, got bolder with the wlw messages... but she started conceptualizing the next era very early on, at least visually, and we keep getting visual proof of that. I think Taylor wanted to reframe who she was even back in 2018, as abbreviated as the era was it was a long time to keep playing the snake Taylor character. It was the last album she wouldn’t own full rights to. I also think that it was a long time to keep portraying a cohesive narrative that wasn’t really all that true anymore. I think Karlie and her broke up for good around the time of the release, and had some serious arguments probably around the time Taylor disappeared, but even if you don’t and think they are still together, one can argue that Rep didn’t have a lot of space for all the angst Taylor was feeling. People say there’s even too many songs about how she got cancelled - but they mostly focus on the media and the Kardashians, with some shoutouts to false friends, and all quickly erased by “I have a hot partner so F U”. There’s not a lot about the pain you feel when you get rejected like that, including by your own fans, not a lot about fears for her career, not a lot about other things we know she went through, like being stalked and her mom’s cancer. Rep conceals as much as it reveals, and she probably wanted to write about these emotions as soon as she processed them a little better - hence the “really sad songs” we will hear on Lover.

One of the reasons why Rep just didn’t land is because “pop is dead” and people look elsewhere but the big pure pop girls for popular music. Every big pop girls latest era is either years away in the past or her most recent phase is an experimental or edgy one. The new sounds flirt with rap and trap, productions are minimal. Taylor’s Rep phase is also a part of that. The big girls try to play the game, but no one wants to hear Katy or Taylor doing Lorde, people want to hear new artists. Even Ariana, an old school maximalist who only barely adapted to this new era by being close to r’n’b from the start, is wearing a cute minimal uniform, writing in low caps and putting out trap-inspired songs. But the pop press has been talking about being bored of it for a long time. I think Taylor is seeing this opportunity for the tide to turn, has seen it since 2018, wants to be ahead of the curve and will put out a colorful maxi pop album about unabashed positivity, being who you are and celebrating others being who they are (ME!, as a first single of this era, blatantly points in this direction, just like every other Taylor first single pointed at the rest of the era), fighting for what’s right, processing your unhealthy feelings.

But will she come out? I don’t know, because this is still playing the game - it’s just that the game and the cultural moment aligns with what Taylor wants to write right now. Listen, I’m an older millenial just like Taylor and I am tired of edgy characters, dark spaces and the color gray. Maybe she is too. Maybe this time we’re getting full radical honesty from her. But it is likely that it’s not, and that it’s too soon to unleash everything that Taylor is into the world. Get ready for that possibility as well. Maybe the rainbow messaging will only remain as what it is right now - activism for others, and a little wink.

[are-youreadyforit]

My Swiftie Story - it’s about time you all get to know me ❤

It started with Fearless for me. I got the deluxe album for Christmas and the rest is history. The End

Just kidding. I was 14 when I went to the Fearless Tour as my first concert in Sydney Australia. Mum bought us a ticket, and accidentally bought some kind of VIP package lol. It just meant we got pre-show canapes and a drink and early access to merch, and we had really great seats at side stage! I bought my first Taylor Swift merch; the Fearless T-shirt, brown wrist band and concert program.

I’m 16 now and I don’t know how but I got my learner’s licence. So when I was learning to drive with Mum, Fearless was in the car radio. Every time. Mum had her favourite songs and we’d sing along going for drives that had no purpose other than to get my learning hours up. We’d pick far away cafes to go to and have tea and scones hehe.

Speak Now came out later in the year that I went to the Fearless Tour. I was in year 9 at high school. I had my first boyfriend and liked trying to make Taylor’s songs relate to my relationship. But when we broke up (when he dumped me by text – yep @taylorswift I can relate), I remember posting a status of lyrics from Perfectly Good Heart 😂

I remember being so sad I couldn’t go to the Speak Now Tour because I also really liked Hot Chelle Rae and they were Taylor’s support for the Australian leg of the tour. I don’t remember now why I couldn’t go but I was sad haha

Then RED came out when I was in my second last year of high school. Mum loved the title track and would make me play it multiple times in a row, and I would always jokingly argue because I wanted to hear the whole album. 22 is still one of my anthems! And one of my biggest regrets is not making my own music video to it for my 22nd birthday 😂

The RED tour was right when I had booked my schoolies trip with my friends (in Australia this trip is a tradition for after graduating from high school). We were in Bilinga, Queensland Australia which is near(ish) Brisbane Australia. I was so desperate to go to the RED tour I hatched a plan to spend a day or two getting to Brisbane for the show and back and continuing my schoolies holiday after seeing Taylor. But mum wouldn’t let me because nobody wanted to come with me and she wouldn’t let me go by myself. I was 17 so kinda fair enough (especially being in another state) but also, god damn! This is the tour I’m MOST upset for missing; I love the RED album. Anyway, I’ve been to every tour since RED now so 🤷‍♀️.

When 1989 came out I listened to it in my car driving between mine and my boyfriend’s place basically every time I visited him. This boy became my man and we’re still together, going on 7 years in April next year! 😍❤

I actually WON my 1989 tour tickets from a local radio station!! I couldn’t afford the tickets and nobody understood that every Taylor concert is a new and wonderful experience, so they would say “you’ve already seen her before” 🤦‍♀️

I listened to the radio everywhere I drove (on my licence by myself now btw guys yay) and at home when I was studying. The competition was “Swiftie or 50”. One afternoon I rang like a million times and I GOT THROUGH. The competition was choosing between tickets to the 1989 World Tour or going in the draw for $50,000. And as I’m sure you fellow swifties can relate, I was not being convinced on anything other than the tickets. They played all these promo snippets of things you could do with the money but I was like “no I’m still going to take the tickets” HAHA. My heart rate was through the roof but I GOT THEM AND RAN AROUND THE HOUSE SCREAMING IN EXCITEMENT!! 😁😁 I took mum with me to the tour again since a love of Taylor and her music was something we continued to share. I bought a T-shirt and the concert program again. I wore and still wear this t-shirt to death! Lol

In 2017 I moved to Melbourne on my own to pursue a degree in osteopathy. I had roommates for the first time in my life and wasn’t sure what they would think of my love for Taylor. But thankfully they embrace it and one of them came along the ride that was Reputation era. Well the release of LWYMMD and everything leading up to the album. We lost our minds (well I did) at the mv for LWYMMD when we put it on the big tv in the lounge room haha. I took my cousin Lauren to the Reputation Stadium Tour tour with me. We saw Taylor in Melbourne and Lauren travelled down and we made a girls weekend out of it. This was the first concert I dressed up for and I freaking loved it. Although we got some looks and questions on the train to the city HAHA!

We had an absolutely amazing time together, memories neither of us will forget, probably my favourite tour so far!! It was also cool to see Charli XCX together again because we saw her in Sydney one time together. Oh and we we’re old enough to have a drink or two 😉🥂

That brings me to Lover, at 23 years old and having been with my boyfriend for nearly 7 years. He’s fully aware of my love for Taylor and her music. He was visiting (we are doing this relationship long distance whilst I study in Melbourne) when Me! came out. We were driving somewhere and I got the vid up on YT and listened and watched with my phone connected by Bluetooth to the car while he drive us around. Since then he’s been learning the Taylor songs quicker and messages me when he hears it a thousand times on the radio at work lol. YNTCD shook me in the best way possible, I love every bit of it! Lover (the song) came out and touched me immediately. I can truly relate to the love it conveys and it makes me feel so so nice, I think of my boyfriend all the time, and often when listening to Taylor songs hehe. Lover might even be my favourite track on the album because of these lovey feelings it gives me, and that’s saying something because I struggle to choose favourites. I really really love(r) all of Taylor’s songs!!

Okay if you’re still here, freaking well done and I appreciate you so much! Soz it’s a bit, okay a lot, long!! If you wanna help @taylorswift​ possibly see this that would be pretty amazing! 💕💕💕

Love, Tara

[vermontswift]

Hey guys!! I hope you’re doing well. I decided months after the concert, and years after my first, that it was time for me to make this post. When I was 8, I fell in love with the idea of falling in love. I became infatuated with the song, You Belong With Me, and I would sit with my younger brother for hours at his computer rewatching the music video. (The only reason I found the song in the first place was thanks to a talent show at my school where two girls sang it so hey thanks haha). Quickly, I think my parents could tell @taylorswift’s music brought a lot of joy into my life. Around that time was when my parents were starting to go through their divorce process. It was hard for my 3 siblings and I, as well as my mom. I didnt see my dad for months and I wasn’t sure if I ever would or wanted to again. But slowly, things got a little better piece by piece. For Christmas that year, I got (the infamous but not infamous) hello kitty boom box along with a fearless cd. From there was where my love truly sprouted. My mom would yell at me to turn down the boom box because it was always playing so loud. The year that the Fearless tour came around it was all I could talk about. But I knew, even from that young age, that we probably wouldn’t be able to afford to go, but I was wrong. One morning my mom told my brother and I we would be driving down to MA to see my aunt for her birthday. We drove past cars decorated in paint, but I had no idea why. See being only 9 I didn’t really have a good conception of what the date was or when the concert even was. We continued our drive, and drove past a car of teenage girls screaming about Justin Bieber holding a photo of them out their window (on the high way). My brother and I thought it was the funniest thing in the world but still had no idea. Pulling up to Gillette Stadium that day, I genuinely thought that we’d gotten lost. My mom started to get my brother and his wheelchair out of the car and I asked what we were doing. I believe I said something along the lines of-wait we aren’t going are we? And when she said we were I still couldn’t believe it and I screamed and cried. I kept asking and the entire night felt completely surreal. My mom was smart enough to have brought binoculars so we could see from our seats. It was truly amazing. My memories between fearless and speak now blur together. I think I remember starting to use TaylorSwift.com more to interact with other fans around this time. I also remember watching the Speak Now announcement livestream and being so excited. I got the album for my birthday in November, and I got concert tickets for Christmas. I remember they were in a shoe box and I was like oh cool shoes, but I opened it and the letter was inside and I sobbed. There’s probably a video somewhere but I don’t know where. I also made a poster for this tour back before there was a dimension limit. It was literally like a science poster board and it said “I want to be like you, you rock!” And I drew a 13 and arm lyrics on my arm. After the speak now era of things I had began middle school (it was around 5/6 grade). It was an especially hard time for me, I didn’t have a lot of friends anymore and since my class only had 33 kids it was hard to make new friends. Despite the cliqueyness of things, and my depression, I continued on. I remember the day that the RED album was announced so well. I had been waiting for weeks and couldn’t contain myself. At the time I had a mentor(kinda like a big sibling program) and I was to hang out with her. I had to explain to her how to get into YouTube and we almost missed the beginning but I was entranced by it. She kept urging me to get off the computer and that I could watch it later but I was so excited. The first song you played brought tears to my eyes. I remember the next year at school I got all folders colored red which was my moms idea and in hindsight made it super difficult to tell which had which stuff but it’s okay I got through it lol. The RED tour I also got tickets for during Christmas and again I was extremely excited. Wow this is getting super long but for the RED tour I spent hours making my poster (which you can see in the photo above). The security guard almost didn’t let me in but we promised not to hold it up and so she let it slide. We wore lights around our necks and I did around my hat and danced all night. At one point I saw Andrea on the jumbotron (did I mention this was my first time having floor seats ahhh). And my mom and I instantly had a game plan. When you came around the other side everyone would rush to be over there so we started walking the empty side and we ran into her. I yelled Hi Andrea! And the security tightened around her. She pushed through them and gave me the biggest hug. I handed her a letter and apologized for it being wet and she laughed and said it’s okay sweetie (wow I was so nervous and cute and 13 wow). I also took a photo with her and she was overall such a sweet person. (Thank you Andrea). For 1989 it was sort of the same shabang again. I watched the live stream in Cape Cod with my best friend and I cried. I couldn’t watch all of it because we had to leave to go somewhere but I was so excited. My first time watching the shake it off video I loved it but was also afraid of the shift in your music. Regardless I loved it and listened to it on repeat. I got tickets to the 1989 tour Christmas of my 8th grade year. This is where things really changed. I started using tumblr, and eventually came across @hellagoodfellas. She was surprised I actually live in VT and we clicked instantly. She introduced me to a new group chat of people who’d be seeing the 1989 concert at Gillette (hey I also met Scott this night he was so nice as well). We started with like 25 people and slowly it got smaller and smaller. We all have grown so incredibly close and I’m thankful to have those girls in my life to this day. We were actually able to meet at Gillette and we were awkward preteens but it’s okay it was still an amazing experience. The reputation era has brought so much empowerment into my life and without it I would be lost. I’ve been struggling a lot this year with my anxiety, I’ve always had it but being a senior in high school there’s just a lot of stress. When Rep came out the summer between my sophomore and junior years it was a god send. I danced and laughed and cried. I was finally started to be alive. Some of my best memories are just from this album and this era so thank you. I was lucky enough to go see 2 shows this year which is mind boggling. Both at Gillette (of course 😉) and I got to see my best friends both nights. Without being able to spend hours creating costumes and posters, or months spent listening to the music I don’t know who I’d be. No, you and your music doesn’t define who I am, but it has shaped me into the person I am today. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me (and my mom she’s the real MVP for going to all of these concerts with me) a creative outlet and something to look forward to. For the beautiful works of art you’ve created, and to the future of many more memories to come. Much love, xo, @vermontswift

[adelaideswift13]

I was this innocent 12 year old girl who herd Taylor on the radio, without hesitation or even a full clue who she was, sitting in the back set of the car and told her mum she wanted to go to Taylor Swift’s fearlessTour but sadly that didn’t happen but what did was I grew up listening to her music, singing dancing with my sisters especially my twin. As Speak Now came around I was in my early stages of high school, I had no care what people thought and madly wanted to go to Fearless but sadly that didn’t happen again since having a big family and low incoming parents it made things hard. I gradually started getting bullied, losing friends, feeling like the problem, having a rough life growing up things because hard, I started viewing myself as ugly or fat and that is why no one wanted to be my friend, looking myself away in my room 24/7, but Red era came around and helped me get through the non good. I started feeling different cause all the girls my age were partying, having boyfriends being all out there and I was hiding away, struggling with something no one knew off and I felt myself getting depressed so I joined Instagram aka @adelaideswift13 in December 2013, because I knew I belonged in this fandom an that Taylor has my back like I do hers sadly still I couldn’t see Taylor my mum would’ve taken me but she didn’t come to Adelaide and I was devastated because the red era was kinda sad like and I was that far into my depression I started harming my body, most of the friends I had were my twin sisters so she was closer to people then I was.

Then the 1989 era rolled around, I was in my last years of high school instantly falling more in love with the fact that there are songs I can listen to that helped me, that gave me purpose, at this stage I was alone on my own at school, not knowing who I was, but Taylor started noticing fans and she noticed me a few times and those times saved me, have me something to dream for an that was to meet her. My mum had bought me 1989 tickets for completing high school so that gave me the luck chance of finally seeing Taylor, I had good seats, it was amazing. Taylor even followed me on here which I’m truely thankful for because she saved me.

When I found out Taylor was taking a break from music it broke me, but I also knew she needed it, she’s done so many incredible things in her life so at that stage I was so god damn proud of how far she came in life over the courses of eras. I still had myself locked away, not wanting to leave me bed, not having the energy to find work or to study or even to live, I had my twin sister walk out of my life last year and it shattered me, it still breaks me now seeing how happy others and their twins are. I came out as being gay and still finding it hard living in a country were it’s still not legal but helping others to know that being gay ect is ok and that it’s who you are! But i knew if I wanted to meet Taylor I had to get back into reality I had to find work so I moved to a new town, almost finishing my course with this last semester left, I’m working and I’m happily living away from home in my own place with one of my younger sisters.. and now here we are in the reputation era hoping for nothing but the best experience, showing Taylor the well deserved love and standing by her 113% with a new Instagram @/ lesbianswift because that girl saved my life that girl is my hero and I’d be so damn lost with you @taylorswift x