#folklore & evermore writing challenge

[madwomansapologist]

send me a Taylor Swift song + a character or ships that I write for = a drabble or oneshot (depends on my creativity)

[coqxettee]

How to be Coquette:

IN AUTUMN ( a guide)

🍂˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚☕️

🍂˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚☕️ ⋆｡˚ 🍁🎃🍂

It’s the best time of year (in my opinion) and dressing Coquette/embracing the Coquette lifestyle in the colder months is one of the best things about this aesthetic.

Here’s how to be coquette in Autumn/Fall: ♡

˖⁺.🎧🍂☕️🎃🕸️˙⊹🤎🧸 ˖⁺.

THE COQUETTE FALL WARDROBE: (I’m doing a desperate blog post on this but here are some essentials to get your wardrobe going) Oversized sweaters, long sleeved tops, oversized cardigans, pleated skirts, jeans, long skirts, tights, leg warmers D.M’s or Mary Janes, a tote bag.

Try and ROMANTICISE SCHOOL. We’re now officially in “back to school” season, and romanticising school is a great way to get through it (I have a separate blog post on this coming soon and have also made videos about it!) but just think… Early morning’s, drinking coffee in bed and reading, getting up early to study when it’s still dark outside and everyone’s still asleep, reading on your breaks in school, listening to music on the way to and from school… ahhhhh perfect <3

Drink Coffee! (If you don’t like Coffee, drink warm drinks like Tea, Hot Chocolate etc) in pretty mugs and coffee cups. Try and start a mug collection!

Study more. This time of year seem so much more motivational to be studying in. Every night, set aside a designated time. Light some candles, make a snack, get a warm drink, put your headphones on, get a blanket and get studying <3

Start an “Autumn Journal” fill it with beautiful pictures of Autumn, leaves, doodles, pictures of you and your friends from this fall. Then decorate the front of it with Autumn leaves, ribbons, bows and lace <3

Bake! Baking is such a coquette activity especially this time of year. Invest in an apron, & try baking some really Autumnal treats, such as cinnamon rolls, pumpkin pie and heart jam cookies! (There are LOADS of recipes online for loads of cute Autumn baking treats)

Watch Autumn movies and shows to get you in the mood! Gilmore girls (ofc), over the garden wall, You’ve got mail, when Harry met Sally, Dead poets society & Harry Potter are some of my faves <3

Make a “Coquette Autumn” playlist and fill it with Lana (ofc) Taylor Swift (Folklore & Evermore are on top) and beautiful classical music you can listen to when studying. I actually have my own “Coquette Fall” playlist that I will link and you can listen to right here!

Decorate your bedroom/space for Autumn. Invest in some light Autumnal bedsheets, pink brown & beige blankets and throws, fairy-lights, candles, pillows, a bed canopy, seasonal garlands. Anything that is going to make your room feel like an Autumnal Coquette Princess sanctuary <3

READ. Read every chance you get. Reading more books this time of year is just so much more magical for some reason. You want to be that person who is always seen reading, beauty & brains. Read whatever you like! Try and pick up some classics if you want to challenge yourself or something with Autumnal cozy feels. You could even try the “Rory Gilmore reading challenge” but this might take a while…

Use “Rory Gilmore” as inspiration for this time of year! Rory is such a good role model (in some aspects) she’s comfy, but cozy and cute with her fashion, she’s incredibly intelligent and knowledgeable and always pushes herself to exceed. Try doing your homework or assignments as soon as you get them, drink coffee and wear oversized cable-knit sweaters, then take an Autumnal walk to feel like Rory

Keep an “Autumn Diary” and every night before bed, kiss the pages and write/reflect upon the day you have had. (Listen to classical music whilst you write, it’s so relaxing!)

Create COZY Morning & Night routines. This way you will be motivated when you wake up, and relaxed/happy when you go to sleep. Getting into a routine is so important for a productive day <3

Go to a coffee shop, get a coffee or hot drink, listen to classical music in your headphones and read/study! (Bonus points if your wearing an oversized sweater)

Try out some new Autumn hairstyles for school. Adorn your hair with Autumn coloured ribbons and bows

Look into some “Autumnal self care” activities. This could be as simple as purchasing a new pumpkin hand cream or updating your entire skincare/beauty care routine with new Autumn scents, colours and products. Now we are coming into the colder months, our skin and body’s “well being” is so important!

Take up some Autumn hobbies. (Crocheting, painting, flower pressing, baking etc) all are such beautiful and sweet hobby’s, very cozy and perfect for this season!

Take LOADS of Autumnal walks. Around your city, your school, where you live. Collect Autumn leaves and flowers when your walking to later press into an old book on your vanity, and use them in your journal <3

Try a new Autumn makeup look. The coquette “Doe” eye makeup is so perfect or this time of year, and experiment with Browns, Beige’s and coppers in your eyeshadow

Drink Pumpkin spice latte’s from Starbucks and read whilst your getting your coffee

Keep applying lipgloss/lip balm throughout the day, hand cream and moisturiser of an evening, this weather makes your lips and skin dry-up like crazy!

Invest in some new pink or brown, cozy Autumn pyjamas (make sure they are warm and cozy!)

Have a signature Autumn scent (Miss Dior, Chanel?) something deep and dark for the colder months <3

Update your Autumn handbag/purse/schoolbag and fill it with all of your cold weather, studying, school and Autumn essentials! (I’m making a separate post on this soon)

Eat soups, Pumpkin pancakes, oatmeal, hot- chocolate’s, homemade cookies and bread! All are such Autumnal foods <3

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･🍂๋࣭ ⭑⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

I hope this helped some of you Romanticise (what I now consider to be the best time of year) and make it the most Coquette Fall you’ve ever had, I love you all and will see you tomorrow (I’m going to try and blog everyday throughout Autumn)

Sending you all my love… - (@coqxette)

[emmalovesfitzloved]

Can you tell me about Fitzloved?

"OH MY GOSH, AM I ABOUT TO INTRODUCE YOU TAYLOR SWIFT?!"

that's what i first meme when i saw your lovely ask! hahahah

Introductions

So its a fandom based on the epic fantasy series that follows for the most part, 2 soulmates, from their childhood all the way to their older years as they grow from friendship, partners to lovers. And I have to admit, the way it's written is almost euphoric. It's utterly lyrical.

So introductions now put aside, 'Fitzloved' is the ship name for "Beloved" (one of his many names) name of the characters and "Fitz". They are the two ongoing protagonists in one of the most respect and wonderful high fantasy series ever created, Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb. They are the main couple shall we say that span the 16 book series. I think a lot describe it as the "mona lisa of fantasy series" within the genre. It's aesthetic is very much evermore meets folklore meets Merlin. Its veryyyyy cozy fantasy and perfect for the season but also the Fall/winter.

The big 5 writers of fantasy rn i have been told are: Brandon's, Robin Hobb's, GRRM (Although he's lost a lot of respect in the community because of his insane hiatus!), Steven Erickson's (Malazan series) and Joe Abercrombie. While you will see with the Cosmere, Brandon is very much straight to the point, prioritises fights, magic system building and very cohesive ensamble casts. Unlike her peers, Robin Hobb on the other hand, is a delicacy. A slowly made dessert that has sweet and salty tastes if you will. And another defining feature is that her series does not involve a massive war at the epicentre of the fantasy plot, which ironically is rare in high fantasy now a days.

Of Cats and Closed Doors by @tragediegh

HOWEVER. The WAY in which i was introduced to this series is kind of dumb and silly, i.e. very me lol. i stumbled across a fiction on ao3 under 'in a the cabin era way' tag and stumbled across @tragediegh's soul-binding, amazing wonderful fiction called Of Cats and Closed Doors that is still ongoing and she updates mostly weekly! At first, not joking i thought it was an original work, but only well into crying, loving, reading, laughing, did i realise when i looked better at the tags it was actually based on ROTE lol. I was new to ao3 that's my only defence :P

And what @tragediegh and Hobb are doing probably tell from my handle, is make literally my roman empire. Like I reread chapters everyday before going to sleep. It's fr fr my safe space. and what i love is the maturity in which they both write, as they create stakes in different ways. She creates a very tangible atmosphere, a world you can touch, the foods cooked, how they smell, and what the character's rely on. From banquet halls, to the wood carvings the Fool leaves behind, the well lit fireplaces, mugs of ale and coffee on the table, through jewels adorned, to how the dragons gleaming like jewels in the sky… it's simply amazing. You get me. There is NEVER a moment where you feel like it's a slog or dull moment. Like I did sometimes while reading the Stormlight Archive or Outlander (those books in their defence, are longer individually).

And like I said, the thing I LOVE the most with how they make us and fall in love with Fool (one of the protagonists) through the eyes of naive and a socially sometimes challenged Fitz. Fitz himself, is the most passionate, handsome, humble hero i've ever read. He is a bastard prince who from day 0 was neglected, abused, unwanted, un-named, manipulated, gaslit just all around most traumatised character one could read. Which most people end up overlooking and resenting bc he is riddled with insecurities (despite him being a hotttie hot chiseled smokie pie that everyone wants to cuffff) and developed unhealthy copying mechanisms that can effect the readability of the main series. Which is entirely relatable. I strongly believe the hero of Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson that everybody loves, is heavily inspired by Fitz in ROTE. In fact I think Brandon said it was one of his fav series.

But really, the masterpiece of this world is obviously the Fool. When I look at the other characters, its a bit like watching a glorious puppet show - I can see how the strings are moving and what the puppets are made of…But not so with the Fool, he is an infinite mystery and creating a character like that is something I`ll never be able to get out of my head. he is other worldly. Put Tolkien fae and beautiful faeries to shame with his grace, elegance, mysticism. His story with Fitz (the other main character) with that @tragediegh and Hobb are doing imo is one of the greatest love stories of all time.

Gender Identity

And I think also, Fool (also known as Beloved to a special someone 😉) is a lgbtq+ individual, and their identity and how they chose to present and address themselves daily (and not address it!) plays a massive role in the ROTE/OCACD overall. It extremely realistic, how it's writen, where for the most part some characters are confused, don't know how to navigate the topic. Which isn't helped by how private and mysterious the Fool remains. But for the most part, is heart warming, as the gender fluidity of the Fool is openly accepted by his mate (YES MATE) with open arms as he accepts it, and it's got me CRYINGGGG as i type this fr....! These characters were created pre-2000's, which just goes to show how timeless these gender questions and acceptances really are i think!

Music

CANON FOR ME swiftie songs that are FOR fitzloved to get a feel r:

ur loosing me

my tears ricochet

invisible string

stay don't go

the lakes

mastermind (YASSS beloved go manipulate ur boy fitzieee ily)

dress (as of chapter 48 and beyond hopefully alkdfjalkdjfj)

and Fitz's song for me for ever will be:

i see fire live and in session by ed sherran (i just feel the literal passion that fitz has through this song not to mention the howl XD)

Conclusion

So yeah, I cannot recommend enough this ongoing story and series to you.

TLDR: Fitzloved is a ship i read myself to sleep every night and cry about how amazing they are XD

Feel free to ask any more questions about them or even my favourite artists that do ROTE work bc ngl this post was 2x as long as i included artistic work but it was getting too long so i decided to leave that for a more specific ask :)) As you can tell i can just dedicate entire evenings singing from the top of these crusty english rooftops how amazing and life changing these two silly beans are. I hope this was enough of a good overview of my love for them and why! :)) Hopefully one day you will give it a go, and i swear your life will be changed for ever ! <333

[emilyhufflepufftlk]

Em's 500 Followers Challenge

Thank you again for the 500 followers, it means a lot. This is a fun challenge to celebrate and to hopefully get everyone's creative juices flowing. This is a Taylor Swift inspired challenge because I love her music and I find her lyrics make great prompts.

Rules:

It's open to anyone whether you follow me or not.

You are welcome to create whatever you like - fics, headcanons, gif sets, edits, fanart, moodboards etc.

What you create should be for/inspired by The Last Kingdom/Seven Kings Must Die but can feature any character/ship/topic you like.

For fics, you can write anything you like (angst, smut, fluff, whatever you fancy) but please tag appropriately and use readmore if it's long.

Pick a prompt from below - you can either use the song title itself as a prompt, a lyric from that song or the whole song; likewise for the albums you can use the title itself as a prompt or create something off the general vibe/colour/theme of the album (which I've included in brackets).

Please let me know which prompt you would like to use. You can have as many as you like but only two people can have the same prompt (I will cross prompts off once two people have picked them).

Soft Deadline: 1st July

Album prompts:

Debut (green, coming of age, innocence)

Fearless (yellow/gold, fairytales, teen love, first heartbreak)

Speak Now (purple, regrets, toxic relationships, growing up) @persephones-journey @mirandahamilton

Red (red, autumn, heartbreak, 'happy, free, confused and lonely')

1989 (blue, neon, new love, finding yourself, starting afresh) @geekandbooknerd

Reputation (black, revenge, secret relationships) @itbmojojoejo

Lover (pink, established relationship, love, happiness, romance) @axe-does-writing @lonnson

Folklore (grey/silver, summer, stories, forests, nature) @errruvande

Evermore (orange/brown, winter, stories, cosy cottage)

Midnights (navy blue, self reflection, late nights, past regrets) @persephones-journey @arcielee

Song Prompts:

Picture to Burn

A Place In This World @ errruvande

Cold As You

I'm Only Me When I'm With You

A Perfectly Good Heart

Fifteen

You Belong With Me

You're Not Sorry

The Other Side Of The Door

Mine @persephones-journey

Sparks Fly

Never Grow Up @ errruvande

Enchanted

Better Than Revenge

Haunted

Last Kiss

Treacherous

I Knew You Were Trouble @persephones-journey

All Too Well

The Last Time

Everything Has Changed

Begin Again @geekandbooknerd

The Moment I Knew @magravenwrites

Better Man

All You Had To Do Was Stay @ persephones-journey

I Wish You Would

Wildest Dreams @morosemagick @ persephones-journey

How You Get The Girl

This Love

I Did Something Bad

Don't Blame Me @ itbmojojoejo

Delicate

Getaway Car

Dancing With Our Hands Tied

Call It What You Want

Cruel Summer @finanmoghra

Death By A Thousand Cuts @princess--of--the--dragonstone

Soon You'll Get Better @ princess—of—the—dragonstone

Afterglow

It's Nice To Have A Friend @ persephones-journey

Daylight @ errruvande

the 1

exile @volvaaslaug

this is me trying @ princess--of--the—dragonstone

illicit affairs @ persephones-journey

invisible string

peace

champagne problems

'tis the damn season @finanmoghra

tolerate it

no body, no crime

long story short

right where you left me @ persephones-journey

Anti-Hero

You're On Your Own, Kid @ mirandahamilton

Vigilante Shit @princess--of--the--dragonstone

Sweet Nothing @timetravelingpenguin1066

The Great War

Bigger Than The Whole Sky @solinarimoon

Would've, Could've, Shoud've @arcielee

Tagging mutuals who might be interested (no pressure): @lauwrite1225 @93xdiagonxalley @trenko-heart @medievalfangirl @muddleofnervouswords @anotherwinchesterfangirl @blah-blah-blah-bla @aelswiths @eretriahs @finantheagile @halfmylife @mommytauriel @agreyraincloudd @dailytlk @chaoticdumbassary @pupzbitez @onesaltyhunter @moonlight-rider25 @charming-merlin @aadmelioraa @nanahachikyuu @lazypeachsoul @cheerylogan @mrsalwayswrite @for-bebbanburg @wildwren @naps4bats @cibs

[thegreatimpersonator]

honestly completely agree that she should work with more new people, I maintain that glitch was the most interesting song on midnights and imo that was because it wasn’t just her and jack. I also just think she does her best work when she challenges herself to do something new, like the crazy amount of collaborators on red after writing speak now by herself, going full pop with 1989 or the creative challenge of writing folklore and evermore during lockdown. and that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have good songs on the other albums or that the albums aren’t good but I feel like those are her best albums as a whole

Complete agree with all of this. Some of her best work is when she’s going something completely new because she’s said herself it’s really rewarding to challenge herself and come out with a good product, but it’s also just refreshing for the audience to hear.

[oh-cramity-its-amity]

real! I used to love her (ts) but she feels very different than she used to. I’ve listened to phoebe bridgers a bit, she was good just not the type of music I usually listen to. Boy genius and Lucy Dacus are both amazing tho. They for sure deserved to win Aoty, or sia

sorry for how long this got??? i just started writing and oh whoops....

anyway- THATS what ive been saying about her unfortunately. its like after folklore/evermore things genuinely changed because of all the fame and popularity. people werent criticizing her anymore and instead overly praising her.

which isnt bad! i do think she deserves praise over folklore. the marketing of it being a suprise album was very clever too. but i think before those folklore there was a sense of criticism that people had with her music that kept her wanting to innovate it.

i have a strong believe that social media's algorithms are failing artists to innovate pop music in the same way than 00's pop music did just because of how much less artists have to lose now with their brandings. i once again bring up artpop by lady gaga and how much she lost for her idea???? and now??? gaga was really fucking killing it. her music had such creativity and passion put into it that you can SEE her drive in that. (also to know i didnt understand artpop as an album until MUCH later in my life)

but taylors lack of needing to innovate her sound due to her popularity and lack of criticism really has just shown how much her music has come to decline in quality. if you see the transition between fearless and speak now. those two albums. she TOOK the criticism that she "couldnt write her own songs" and literally flipped that narrative to write that entire album herself. and to me? arguably speak now is MY favorite taylor album.

and the transition between speak now to red to 1989 to reputation. theres SO much that happened in that sense of time. theres different sounds that make those albums what they are. 1989 was such a creative endeavor for her because it was her first step into pop music. i think was also her first time working with jack? now people say her decline on music is his fault as a producer but i dont believe his role had gotten bad until midnights. (i saw people discussing clairo's sling album because he produced it. but THEYRE WRONG. SLING IS GOOD AND HIS ERA OF BAD PRODUCING HAPPENED IN 2023(?) i forget when midnights came out ugh thats how many taylor albums we have gotten ffs)

but the breakaway and challenge 1989 gave really set up for reputation. she disappeared because of all the hate. and i think while I DONT SUPPORT that type of treatment because no one should go through that type of mental low... that really set her into a space to create more fluidly and with more passion?

lover- people will say was a flop.. and ill admit too... cruel summer?? shouldve never ever became a single. it was better as a hidden gem. but lover was good for the majority of songs!! there's still passion in it.

it was just that after folklore/evermore it felt very.... underwhelming and not like her at all. the quality slipped so so off the page. it just feels very recycled and unnecessary. especially like i said the fandom doesnt help with overconsumtion and she really truly should use her platform for more. the economy being in shambles and yet she wants to charge $700 for a concert ticket. (nothing bad if like someone WANTS to go but its genuinely ridiculous because inflation shouldnt BE like that).

not to even cover merch??? why is it so high?? shouldnt you want it to be accessible to your fans since you have so many?? vinyl prices are ridiculous but WHY is a hoodie almost $100. im sorry but like why 😭. cant we just charge $60 again?????

anyway all that to say that after the evermore era her music genuinely slipped off. im just thankful that the speak now rerecord didnt get BOTCHED as high hell. i have opinions about the vault tracks because the entire reason was to include tracks from that era and yet its like your smearing shit onto a perfectly wonderful painting and saying "look yall!! i added to this!!" wrong. wrong wrong wrong. idk. 1989's vault tracks just made me mad. it felt so unlike the vibe of what 1989 was???? and slut was NOT written at the time of 1989. come on.

timeless though off of the rerecord for speak now.... i will defend that one with my honor. i genuinely am glad speak now's vault tracks didnt get horrible treatment. i like that she kept the solo writing with the entire album. adding on fob and hayley's collabs as a callback because i really remember seeing videos of her singing sugar were going down and thats what you get during the speak now tour. it just felt like a full circle moment for that. fob's collab couldve been better but im glad it wasnt like... bad.

stilllll think matty's collab couldve been iconic on slut. even if i hate 1989's vault tracks as a whole... the 1975 does have good music. I KNOW. controversial yeah. anyway. hes got talent tho.

i found phoebe during 2020 when i was listening to a bunchhh of different artists (the 1975 too yeah). but punisher found me and i used to not be able to sleep due to anxiety/insomnia back then and i would listen to that album for months to just SLEEP.

i have a closeee bond with it. its like my favorite if not a close second of my favorite album of all time. its just really interesting?? also really valid that its not your type of music either. i just hold her stuff close. also did a english assignment on smoke signals' lyrics. i remember that. i got to say "fuck the cops" in the assignment and felt very proud of myself LMAO.

in terms of lucy- i for some reason never have gotten around to listening to her stuff?? even though i know i need to and should?? i just always somehow forget. many people have told me to but oh man i forget.

glad we can agree that they deserved album of the year btw.

sorry for the LENGTHY reply but yeah!! i might be forgetting to talk about something but askinf about my special interests (music) will always give you a lengthy answer.

[monvante]

let's see who are your all time top artists and top tracks! go here and show us.

@vrainydays tagged me for this challenge. thank you! for someone who is hiiiiiighly critical of taylor swift, i really do adore folklore + evermore. not my fault it's so great for writing angst.

tagging: @vknq @sailoryooons @daechwitatamic @jinstronaut @axialitae @park-jimin-isnt-real @effortandmore and anyone who wants to do it! ♡

[bi-bard]

Album Writing Challenge Masterlist

Here you will find a list of every writing challenge that I have done so far.

These writing challenges involve me taking an album and writing a story for every song on that album.

What originally started as a silly idea to get me through the pandemic has become a collection of projects that have become very dear to me. I hope that you enjoy reading them as much as I did writing them.

Currently in Progress: Noah Kahan - Stick Season [We'll All Be Here Forever] Bonus Tracks, Sleeping at Last - Yearbook Series

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Conan Gray

Superache

Release Date: June 24th, 2022 Start + End Date of the Challenge: July 10th, 2022 - August 13th, 2022 Number of Tracks [stories]: 12 Album Run Time: 40 min, 22 sec Some Featured Shows/Movies: Hannibal, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Death Stranding

Hozier

Hozier

Release Date: September 19, 2014 Start + End Date of the Challenge: January 9th, 2023 - February 12th, 2023 Number of Tracks [stories]: 15 Album Run Time: 1 hr, 3 min Some Featured Shows/Movies: The Invitation, Hannibal, The Flash

Wasteland, Baby!

Release Date: March 1st, 2019 Start + End Date of the Challenge: February 21st, 2023 - May 1st, 2023 Number of Tracks [stories]: 14 Album Run Time: 57 min, 27 sec Some Featured Shows/Movies: Supernatural, Titans, Chicago Med

Unreal Unearth

Release Date: August 18th, 2023 Start + End Date of the Challenge: August 26th, 2023 - ??? Number of Tracks [stories]: 20 Album Run Time: 1 hr, 16 min Some Featured Shows/Movies: Merlin, Hannibal, The Last of Us

Lizzy McAlpine

five seconds flat

Release Date: April 8th, 2022 Start + End Date of the Challenge: April 10th, 2022 - April 18th, 2022 Number of Tracks [stories]: 14 Album Run Time: 45 min, 5 sec Some Featured Shows/Movies: Arrow, Gilmore Girls, House MD

Maisie Peters

You Signed Up For This

Release Date: August 27th, 2021 Start + End Date of the Challenge: February 9th, 2022 - March 5th, 2022 Number of Tracks [stories]: 14 Album Run Time: 46 min, 1 sec Some Featured Shows/Movies: Gilmore Girls, Gotham, Teen Wolf

Noah Kahan

Stick Season

Release Date: October 14th, 2022 Start + End Date of the Challenge: October 18th, 2022 - October 30th, 2022 Number of Tracks [stories]: 14 Album Run Time: 55 min, 28 sec Some Featured Shows/Movies: Hannibal, Haven, Prodigal Son

Stick Season [We'll All Be Here Forever] Bonus Tracks

Release Date: June 9th, 2023 Start + End Date of the Challenge: June 14th, 2023 - August 15, 2023 Number of Tracks [stories]: 21 total [7 new stories] Album Run Time: 1 hr, 23 min Some Featured Shows/Movies: Doctor Who, Supernatural, Good Omens

Sleeping At Last

Yearbook Series

Release Date: November 8th, 2011 Start + End Date of the Challenge: February 20th, 2023 - TBD [not completed] Number of Tracks [stories]: 36 Album Run Time: 2 hr, 10 min Some Featured Shows/Movies: Peaky Blinders, Doctor Who, Shadow & Bone

Taylor Swift

folklore & evermore

Release Date: August 18th, 2020 & January 7th, 2021 Start + End Date of the Challenge: January 21st, 2021 - January 31st, 2022 Number of Tracks [stories]: 34 Album Run Time: 1 hr, 7 min & 1 hr, 9 min Some Featured Shows/Movies: Supernatural, Bones, Doctor Who

From the Vault

Release Date: N/A (all re-recordings) Start + End Date of the Challenge: April 27th, 2022 - ??? Number of Tracks [stories]: 15 (written for) Album Run Time: N/A (all re-recordings) Some Featured Shows/Movies: House MD, Supernatural, The Resident

Midnights

Release Date: October 22nd, 2022 Start + End Date of the Challenge: October 30th, 2022 - January 2nd, 2023 Number of Tracks [stories]: 20 Album Run Time: 1 hr, 9 min Some Featured Shows/Movies: DC's Birds of Prey, Hannibal, Mr. Robot

The Wrecks

Sonder

Release Date: June 10th, 2022 Start + End Date of the Challenge: June 16th, 2022 - July 4th, 2022 Number of Tracks [stories]: 11 Album Run Time: 35 min, 41 sec Some Featured Shows/Movies: The Flash, Supernatural, The Path

Yungblud

YUNGBLUD

Release Date: September 2nd, 2022 Start + End Date of the Challenge: September 5th, 2022 - October 14th, 2022 Number of Tracks [stories]: 13Album Run Time: 36 min, 1 sec Some Featured Shows/Movies: The Sandman, Chicago Med, Doctor Who

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[maddy011901]

hi 🍂🩷🌙🧣

(previously known as omfgdany)

ao3

sims 4 gallary id: maddy011901

💌 a list of things you might see on my blog (this is a fandom blog, first and foremost)

sims 4 posting (builds, cas, challenges, legacy, etc...)

tubbo

hex haywire 🖤❗️

redacted audio (gavin is my favorite)

hermitcraft!!!

aesthetic posts

yuurivoice (alphonse, by beloved)

hermitcraft (season 9 is defiantly my fave lol but 7 and 8 will always hold special places in my heart)

traffic life series (scar, my beloved &lt;;3)

the last of us (ellie is my ride or die)

genshin impact (only got into it bc of venti, he's my baby)

anime (my current top 5: banana fish, fruits basket, psycho-pass, black butler, & )

other mcyt (it is still mostly tubbo)

one direction (I'm not a larrie anymore but my faves are harry & louis)

taylor swift (die hard swiftie since debut ~ top five albums in no peticular order: evermore, speaknow, ttpd, reputation & folklore)

high fantasy books (idk how to read /j)

fnaf (I've been a fan since around fnaf 2! freddy is my fave)

stim boards

barbie movies

bratz dolls (I've had a fixation on them since i was a kid)

obey me (I'm in love with asmodeus and beelzebub)

music & musicians (i'm not particularly picky about music so expect all kinds of stuff)

the scream movies (HUGE fan of the 1st 4...i feel realty neutral about 5 and 6)

sanrio (i like cute, sweet things)

pokemon (i like fairy and grass types but my favorite pokemon is Ditto lol)

birds (one of my special interests from when I was a kid that has recently resurfaced lol)

game of thrones & house of the dragon (i have complicated feelings)

good omens

the narnia movies (idk how to feel about the remakes but i am hopeful!)

resident evil games (i like the stage plays too!)

the mcu (loki stan, bucky stan, wanda stan, peter stan)

other roleplay asmr (this is something very personal to me so i don't really talk about it lol)

2000s and 2010s "nostalgia"

dragon ball (the og anime, my bf introduced me to it and I fell in love)

anime tiddies

fanart (i love reblogging fanart)

fanfic (i write & reblog fanfic!)

🐰 about me 🌷

i don't really retire from fandoms (unless i have a negative experience) so i blog about an endless number of fandoms

all pronouns means i am comfortable with any and/or all pronouns being used for me!! (i think i'm agender?)

Dany is not my real name, i started going by it online in 2019/2020 :) my real name is Maddy, idc which i am called ~ i have also gone by the names Kitty, Raye, & Bambi online

my favorite color is #f3859f

my special interest is a fantasy world i created when i was a little kid and i am currently writing a fantasy book series based on it

I'm a capricorn

I am in a relationship <3

my favorite characters are almost always "the blonde one" (they're at least "blonde coded")

my favorite number is 19

i'm a tumblr veteran (my first ever tumblr account was made in 2013/2014)

I've been writing fanfiction since i was 10 (i was writing it before i even knew it was a thing lol) my first fanfic was a walking dead fanfic i also made edit tv/movie trailers for lol

age regressor but I don't really post about it online

I am active on other social media (Instagram, tiktok, Twitter, reddit, pinterest, etc...)

My blog speaks for itself for the most part. I'm a chronic reblogger

i've been writing as a hobby since childhood, including original fiction/fantasy works and fanfic and poetry

🎀 other info 🧸

i was diagnosed with "level 1 autism" in 2020 but i think i am actually more like level 2 tbh

i use my queue for reblogs (most of the time) so i don't clog up feeds and stuff :)

if you feel the need to block me, for whatever reason, that is okay

if you appear to be a bot (no pfp, no posts/reblogs, no bio, no recent activity, etc) i WILL block you

my asks are closed because they make me anxious

i don't have a dni list because if i dont want you to interact with me i will just block you

i am not comfortable sharing much about my personal life. that being said might reblog/like/follow things related to myself or my personal life

i am queer (for now I'm going with agender bisexual, but that is subject to change)

i frequently use tone indicators

💘 tags 💭

tags stayed the same post name change lol

dany rambles - exactly what it sounds like, just rambles

dany's diary - personal posts (this is a more recent tag, older posts won't have it)

dany vents - vent posts (i also tags these as "vent" and "vent post")

dany writes - posts about my writing but not my wips/fics/etc themselves

dany's q - posts from my queue

simming with dany (sims 4 posting lol)

💬 socials 🍓

tiktok (shitposting&theonlyglimpsyougetintomypersonalife)

twitter (taylorswiftstanaccount)

pinterest (fandomfaves&myaesthetic)

spotify (music!!!)

[marniescorner]

Taylor Swift's Music For All

Over the years Taylor Swift has faced much controversy. Many don't like her music and believe she has only written about the men in her life. I believe that Taylor has written something for everyone, and not just centered her songs about break ups. 

Taylor Swift started her career with country music. If you enjoy country music, then songs like Picture to Burn, Tim Mcgraw, and Our Song from her Debut album are for you. If you prefer pop songs then I Forgot That You Existed, Paper Rings, and ME! From her album Lover would be a good pick. Recently, Taylor Swift came out with two sister records Folklore and Evermore. These contain folk and indie inspired songs like Mirrorball, The Last Great American Dynasty, and Willow. Taylor Swift has explored many genres since her start in 2006.

One thing many people say is Taylor Swift only writes songs about breakups. Taylor has written about many other things than the men in her life. Taylor Swift wrote a song called the Best Day about her relationship with her mom. Never Grow Up was written about her feelings of moving away from her parents. The Man was written about how she feels being a woman in the music industry and the double standards that come with it. Epiphany was written about the people serving on the front lines fighting Covid-19 and how it parallels fighting a war. The Archer was written about anxiety and insecurities.  Tied Together with a Smile was written about a friend of Taylor´s who suffered from an eating disorder. 

In fifteen years and over two hundred songs, Taylor Swift has faced highs and lows while continuing to release beautiful songs.  Taylor has written about a broad range of topics and all types of challenges people face. Not only has Taylor Swift written about past relationships but also things important to her and her family. There is definitely something for everyone created by the wonderful artist Taylor Swift.

[thegreatimpersonator]

Can you maybe (only if you want to) rank Taylor’s albums and maybe also explain why you’d rank them like that?

oh okay ill try

evermore - my beloved, i love how every single song has such a strong identity if that makes sense. like there's this common debate that evermore is the better album but folklore has better songs? i think folklore has a strong identity as an album but the songs dont as much as evermore. every song is so unique and lives in it's own world and i LOVE taylors voice with real instruments and her storytelling is peaked here.

folklore - everything that i said about evermore basically but slightly less. i love the vibes she was able to capture and the whole album paints such a picture- i've always felt like taylor is at her strongest when she's doing something new and this being such a new place for her (genre and writing wise) shows how refreshed she must have felt.

speak now - the most dramatic, messy and honest album in my opinion. its so late teens/early 20s to me in terms of subject matter and i love when she uses some rock influence in her songs and theres so much guitar in this album i love it. also the fact that it's entirely self written insane.

1989 - a modern classic. this also strengthens my theory that taylor is at her strongest when she's doing something new and challenging. i cant believe the first time she tried pop she came out with style, ootw, blank space, etc.... like wtf. the lyrics arent as poetic as one would hope but there still good and very impressive.

fearless - my baby. there's just something so bittersweet about this album and it's so solid. there's not a lot i would cut (from the standard version... vault tracks are different) and its so wholesome and full of whimsy. i love the production on it too, i think it works with her voice so so well and it's aged beautifully.

midnights - okay heres the thing, every criticism ive seen about this album makes sense and i agree but for some reason after seeing it live... idk i like it a lot. there definitely are skips and i get why people were just unimpressed truly... but some of the songs are so insanely catchy and i like the way her voice sounds... cant explain it.

red - i think this album is really good when you're in a certain place in your life or a certain mood, it's not an everyday album for me. i think it has some of her best ballads/slow songs but the upbeat ones lack for me. the best ones are holy ground and state of grace tbh. plus with how long red tv is... it's a bit overwhelming.

debut - she's cute but she could be improved upon and it's her first album so we can cut her some slack, i love iomwiwy, tim mcgraw, picture to burn, should've said no, our song, etc. she has standouts she's nice.

reputation - this is where we go into the negatives outway the positives. this production is way too much for me, like i said her voice sounds it's best with real instruments underneath is to me- so this really fake manufactured production just doesnt work. it also aged sooo badly to me. this album live is a different story tbh but recorded it's just not my fav. when she's performing it live she adds real instruments and im praying that she does that with the rerecording because it helps so much. the only songs i would literally die for her not to change is lwymmd, dress, so it does, and ready for it. i think dont blame me is so overrated and dont understand why people love it.... im sorry. it's so basic to me... we've seen the whole 'your live is my drug' this so often and the production is basic too... i feel like anyone could be singing it.

lover - my god what this album could have been. this has some of her best and some of her worst. my list of complaints is long. i dont like the production- same reasons as reputation, way too fake and clunky. some of the lyrics are.... wild. the setlist is strange, i would cut like 4 songs tbh. i love cruel summer, inthaf, sygb, lover, london boy and false god.

[chickawah23]

Thought Trail: Midnights in Paris

Karlie has been mentioning Paris a lot and now that we know the title of TS10 (or TS12 depending on your preference) it makes me think there is a Midnight in Paris connection worth exploring here

Below are the the konnections I see to support this clownery 🤡🤡 bare with me…

In 2022 alone Karlie has just not let up on Paris references and posts like yes to me it feels more than usual

Examples:

Karlie’s Eiffel Tower joke made three separate times

Via ig story ig post and tiktok

Karlie posting a tiktok the same day Taylor posted about the VMA nominations throwing it back to this smoking hot look from Paris back in July

Karlie doing the teenage dirtbag tiktok challenge specifically focusing on her time in Paris at 15

Karlie doing a tiktok sharing 5 things about herself and saying she speaks French really well then mispronounces Français lol

And then I thought back to the old IG posts from 2012 and 2013 where she used the caption Midnight in Paris

For the September 2013 post she included a clock 🕰

And we know she was there that night to do a shoot for the VS Holiday Commercial in Paris

This was shortly before Taylor and Karlie fully met at the VSFS on 11/13/13

Also I dare someone to tell me the “wan wan wan” in Don’t Blame Me doesn’t sound like the “wan wan wan” in Waiting Game by Banks (the song in the 2013 VS holiday commercial)

Then I thought about Taylor doing the City of Lover concert in Paris that was filmed in September 2019 and making Paris and French like the focal point of Me! And some of the Lover album rollout:

And the collage art murals with the Eiffel Tower and the locket (I can’t add anymore pictures to this post lol)

And then most recently Jack wearing a Paris tshirt on 8/31 in his ig story when we kinda know he likely produced some tracks on Midnights

This theory all came together based on my vague memory of this old Vogue Model Wall interview Karlie did in 2012 where she said she was excited to see Midnight in Paris

Summation

I just feel like Midnight in Paris is a thing. I know Karlie goes to Paris Fashion week every year and is always working with French designers so some will say it’s not that deep. And maybe its not but I just feel like this was a fun trail to travel down.

How does this tie into Midnight in Paris the film:

The movie is all about a screenwriter who hallucinates that he goes back in time to the 1920s every night where he meets and hangs out with all these famous artists, musicians and writers from back in that time. And his fiancé name is Inez (remember betty) in the movie (played by Rachel McAdams). He meets Zelda and F Scott Fitzgerald (the Great Gatsby - there were plenty analyses about folklore/evermore and gatsby), Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali (TLGAD), Ernest Hemingway (the Sun Also Rises - someone can do a whole analysis on this novel) and others.

I just feel like there is something here with Taylor using escapism in folklore and evermore that was inspired by books and stories and now Midnights that is her late night writings that just feels connected.

This is just my clownery 🤡🤡

[bi-bard]

What Would I Change About My folklore & evermore Writing Challenge

My first ever writing challenge was dedicated to "folklore" and "evermore" by Taylor Swift.

While I am proud of the stories that I wrote, I am a different person now than I was when I did that challenge, so I decided to go back and see what I would have done differently if I were to embark on that same challenge now. I personally think this is a healthy thing to do as a writer to see how much I have grown.

-----------------------

IN GENERAL:

I would've just listed the damn songs in order.

This one is self-explanatory. I would not have gone through the trouble of randomly organizing those songs.

2. I wouldn't have used a random number generator; I would have just written them in order.

I am so happy that I didn't keep doing this with my later writing challenges. What a pain that was.

3. I would have planned it out beforehand.

A lot of that particular challenge was made as I went along, unlike my current challenges that are planned well before I post about them. There were only a few imagines that I knew were going to be for particular characters. For example, I always knew "tolerate it" was going to be for Hotch (Criminal Minds) and I always knew that "peace" was going to be for Sam Winchester (Supernatural).

FOR PARTICULAR IMAGINES:

4. I would have made 'long story short' a longer story.

That is such a funny sentence to type, but truly, the length of that story does not do the idea justice. If I did it now, I would have fleshed it out a bit more. Showed more of Hodgins and the Reader together.

5. 'it's time to go' would probably have a completely different story.

I truly think I could write a much better story for that song now. I don't dislike this story. It just has always felt rushed and like I was skating around the true meaning of the lyrics and how much they impacted me.

6. ''tis the damn season' would be about a completely different character.

I truly don't think that song fit Sara. I think I just wanted to write about her, so I did. I would spend a lot more time with that song now.

7. 'august' would have been reworked.

I was committed to a lot of the original story I was told about this song and not the meaning that I got from the song. It was an injustice to the story in the long run. It may have still been about Dean, but I can't promise that.

8. 'mad woman' would be longer.

This would just be to make the story more impactful. To show the true push for this "madness" in the story.

9. 'mirrorball' would be nothing like it currently is.

I don't know what I was thinking at the time because I missed the whole point of the song. I think it could still work for Charlie, but it doesn't fit the lyrics at all.

10. 'cardigan' needed a longer story and a different character.

I don't think this character or this story fit with the lyrics. I think I just wanted to write the story.

11. 'illicit affairs' would not have been about Sam.

I had no idea what I was doing with that story. I would have written it for a lot of other characters before choosing Sam, if I were to write it now.

12. 'this is me trying' needed a longer story.

I would have dedicated more time to the past and future in this story. It was necessary for the song.

13. 'evermore' would have a different plot but would definitely be for the same character.

Another song that I think I missed the point of. A lot of these songs hurt me more than I wanted to accept, and I think that led to a lot of avoidance for some of the stories. To this day, I feel guilty about that. I don't know why I was so scared of you all knowing that certain songs hit me so hard.

-----------------------

There is plenty of other picky things that I would mess with. These are the big things though. Thank you for reading my little rambling session about all of this.

Should I do another part about some of my favorite things from this writing challenge?

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Navigation Guide

What I Write For

Some Original Characters

[startreatment]

i feel like i can say this here so i’m just gonna let loose but i think jack doesn’t challenge taylor and that’s why midnights is so…. i hate to say uninspired but that’s how it feels. like, maybe if we weren’t rehashing similar themes in previous albums over and over again with some pretty mediocre beats in the background it’d be fine but someone needs to light a fire under taylor or something, im not even saying this in a “she’s a horrible songwriter” type of way… it just feels like she’s gotten too comfortable and has become maybe stagnant in a way?? like i enjoy karma and sweet nothing is cute but when you look at the lyricism on this album vs her recent work it doesn’t feel cohesive. like she could do better. i’ve seen the argument that people “just hate fun” but that isn’t the truth, we can have fun with taylor… literally look at lover & 1989, it’s just so like “that’s it?”.

first of all, i am so flattered that you came in my inbox to bitch, love you for that <3 second of all, YES!!! COULDN'T FUCKING AGREE MORE!!!!!!! i couldn't put my thoughts into words, but you said it perfectly! yeah, she's fucking rehashing the same themes and i'm sick of it. folklore and evermore are outliers in this, because she very masterfully mixed up her own stories and stories she made up, which is one of the reasons they felt so fresh and exciting, despite both having jack in the credits. i don't want to be an asshole and say that artists are only good when they struggle and suffer, but how many times can you tell the same falling-in-love story? sure, having new perspective can be fun, especially when it's a retrospective/reflective thing, but at this point it just feels... reductive? idk. like, the fact that it's a popular thing for swifties to be like "false god belongs on reputation", or "high infidelity is so evermore!", or "paris sounds like something off 1989" is not good. doesn't necessarily mean she's constantly writing the same song (even though it feels like it sometimes, especially if you rearrange them a bit), it just shows that all three of those pop records are not entirely, and i'm sorry to say this, sonically cohesive. lately, it feels like she just puts most of the songs make it onto her records and very little gets left on the cutting floor or whatever. i do not think songs like mastermind/vigilante shit/paris belong on an album like midnights, purely because i don't think they fit the ~vibe. and that's a problem, at least to me! when i first saw the tracklist, i was So Excited. a 13 track album?? finally, she's gonna pick the very best songs instead of making a bloated 16+ track mess (looking at you, lover)!! oh, wait.. there are 8 more tracks? yeah, that's taylor alright.

i know nothing about music industry, but what i do know is that the most exciting music taylor swift has ever made was heavily influenced by

a) working with a new producer, stepping out of her comfort zone (1989, folklore)

b) going through a horrible break up (red)

c) having Shit to prove to losers and people who doubted her abilities (speak now and 1989)

so yeah, i also agree that she needs to be challenged, needs to try something she hasn't done before. she's incredibly talented and hard-working, to see her waste her time/money/mental resources on shit like midnights when i KNOW she can make shit like 1989, red and folklore, is upsetting.

[notanalienindisguiseblink]

🪩

send me a Taylor Swift song + a character or ships that I write for = a drabble or oneshot (depends on my creativity)

[bananaofswifts]

By Paul Tingen

From sketches to final mixes, engineer Jonathan Low spent 2020 overseeing Taylor Swift’s hit lockdown albums folklore and evermore.

“I think the theme of a lot of my work nowadays, and especially with these two records, is that everything is getting mixed all the time. I always try to get the songs to sound as finalised as they can be. Obviously that’s hard when you’re not sure yet what all the elements will be. Tracks morph all the time, and yet everything is always moving forwards towards completion in some way. Everything should sound fun and inspiring to listen to all the time.”

Speaking is Jonathan Low, and the two records he refers to are, of course, Taylor Swift’s 2020 albums folklore and evermore, both of which reached number one in the UK and the US. Swift’s main producer and co‑writer on the two albums was the National’s Aaron Dessner, also interviewed in this issue. Low is the engineer, mixer and general right‑hand man at Long Pond Studios in upstate New York, where he and Dessner spent most of 2020 working on folklore and evermore, with Swift in Los Angeles for much of the time.

“In the beginning it did not feel real,” recalls Low. “There was this brand‑new collaboration, and it was amazing how quickly Aaron made these instrumental sketches and Taylor wrote lyrics and melodies to them, which she initially sent to us as iPhone voice memos. During our nightly family dinners in lockdown, Aaron would regularly pull up his phone and say, ‘Listen to this!’ and there would be another voice memo from Taylor with this beautiful song that she had written over a sketch of Aaron’s in a matter of hours. The rate at which it was happening was mind‑blowing. There was constant elevation, inspiration and just wanting to continue the momentum.

“We put her voice memos straight into Pro Tools. They had tons of character, because of the weird phone compression and cutting midrange quality you just would not get when you put someone in front of a pristine recording chain. Plus there was all this bleed. It’s interesting how that dictates the attitude of the vocal and of the song. Even though none of the original voice memos ended up on the albums, they often gave us unexpected hints. These voice memos were such on‑a‑whim things, they were really telling. Taylor had certain phrasings and inflections that we often returned to later on. They became our reference points.”

Sketching Sessions

“The instrumental sketches Aaron makes come into being in different ways,” elaborates Low. “Sometimes they are more fleshed‑out ideas, sometimes they are less formed. But normally Aaron will set himself up in the studio, surrounded by instruments and synths, and he’ll construct a track. Once he feels it makes some kind of sense I’ll come in and take a listen and then we together develop what’s there.

“I don’t call his sketches demos, because while many instruments are added and replaced later on, most of the original parts end up in the final version of the song. We try to get the sketches to a place where they are already very engaging as instrumental tracks. Aaron and I are always obsessively listening, because we constantly want to hear things that feel inspiring and musical, not just a bed of music in the background. It takes longer to create, but in this case also gave Taylor more to latch onto, both emotionally and in terms of musical inspiration. Hearing melodies woven in the music triggered new melodies.”

Not long after Dessner and Low sent each sketch to Swift, they would receive her voice memos in return, and they’d load them into the Pro Tools session of the sketch in question. Dessner and Low then continued to develop the songs, in close collaboration with Swift. “Taylor’s voice memos often came with suggestions for how to edit the sketches: maybe throw in a bridge somewhere, shorten a section, change the chords or arrangement somewhere, and so on. Aaron would have similar ideas, and he then developed the arrangements, often with his brother Bryce, adding or replacing instruments. This happened fast, and became very interactive between us and Taylor, even though we were working remotely. When we added instruments, we were reacting to the way my rough mixes felt at the very beginning. Of course, it was also dictated by how Taylor wrote and sang to the tracks.”

Dessner supplied sketches for nine and produced 10 of folklore’s 16 songs, playing many different types of guitars, keyboards and synths as well as percusion and programmed drums. Instruments that were added later include live strings, drums, trombone, accordion, clarinet, harpsichord and more, with his brother Bryce doing many of the orchestrations. Most overdubs by other musicians were done remotely as well. Throughout, Low was keeping an overview of everything that was going on and mixing the material, so it was as presentable and inspiring as possible.

Mixing folklore

Although Dessner has called folklore an “anti‑pop album”, the world’s number‑one pop mixer Serban Ghenea was drafted in to mix seven tracks, while Low did the remainder.

“It was exciting to have Serban involved,” explains Low, “because he did things I’d never do or be able to do. The way the vocal sits always at the forefront, along with the clarity he gets in his mixes, is remarkable. A great example of this is on the song ‘epiphany’. There is so much beautiful space and the vocal feels effortlessly placed. It was really interesting to hear where he took things, because we were so close to the entire process in every way. Hearing a totally new perspective was eye‑opening and refreshing.

“Throughout the entire process we were trying to maintain the original feel. Sometimes this was hard, because that initial rawness would get lost in large arrangements and additional layering. With revisions of folklore in particular we sometimes were losing the emotional weight from earlier more casual mixes. Because I was always mixing, there was also always the danger of over‑mixing.

“We were trying to get the best of each mix version, and sometimes that meant stepping backwards, and grabbing a piano chain from an earlier mix, or going three versions back to before we added orchestration. There were definitely moments of thinking, ‘Is this going to compete sonically? Is this loud enough?’ We knew we loved the way the songs sounded as we were building them, so we stuck with what we knew. There were times where I tried to keep pushing a mix forward but it didn’t improve the song — ‘cardigan’ is an example of a song where we ended up choosing a very early mix.”

Onward & Upward

folklore was finished and released in July 2020. In a normal world everyone might have gone on to do other things, but without the option of touring, they simply continued writing songs, with Low holding the fort. In September, many of the musicians who played on the album gathered at Long Pond for the shooting of a making‑of documentary, folklore: the long pond studio sessions, which is streamed on Disney+.

The temporary presence of Swift at Long Pond changed the working methods somewhat, as she could work with Dessner in the room, and Low was able record her vocals. After Swift left again, sessions continued until December, when evermore was released, with Dessner producing or co‑producing all tracks, apart from ‘gold rush’ which was co‑written and co‑produced by Swift and Antonoff. Low recorded many of Swift’s vocals for evermore, and mixed the entire album. The lead single ‘willow’ became the biggest hit from the album, reaching number one in the US and number three in the UK.

“Before Taylor came to Long Pond,” remembers Low, “she had always recorded her vocals for folklore remotely in Los Angeles or Nashville. When I recorded, I used a modern Telefunken U47, which is our go‑to vocal mic — we record all the National stuff with that — going straight into the Siemens desk, and then into a Lisson Grove AR‑1 tube compressor, and via a Burl A‑D converter into Pro Tools. Taylor creates and lays down her vocal arrangements very quickly, and it sounds like a finished record in very few takes.”

Devils In The Detail

In his mixes, Low wanted listeners to share his own initial response to these vocal performances. “The element that draws me in is always Taylor’s vocals. The first time I received files with her properly recorded but premixed vocals I was just floored. They sounded great, even with minimal EQ and compression. They were not the way I’m used to hearing her voice in her pop songs, with the vocal soaring and sitting at the very front edge of the soundscape. In these raw performances, I heard so much more intimacy and interaction with the music. It was wonderful to hear her voice with tons of detail and nuances in place: her phrasing, her tonality, her pitch, all very deliberate. We wanted to maintain that. It’s more emotional, and it sounds so much more personal to me. Then there was the music...”

The arrangements on evermore are even more ‘chamber pop’ than on folklore, with instruments like glockenspiel, crotales, flute, French horn, celeste and harmonium in evidence. “As listeners of the National may know, Aaron’s and Bryce’s arrangements can be quite dense. They love lush orchestration, all sorts of percusion, synths and other electronic sounds. The challenge was trying to get them to speak, without getting in the way of the vocals. I want a casual listener to be drawn in by the vocal, but sense that something special is happening in the music as well. At the same time, someone who really is digging in can fully immerse themselves and take in all the beauty deeper in the details of the sound and arrangement. Finding the balance between presenting all the musical elements that were happening in the arrangement and this really beautiful, upfront, real‑sounding vocal was the ticket.

“A particular challenge is that a lot of the detail that Aaron gravitates towards happens in the low mids, which is a very warm part of our hearing spectrum that can quickly become too muddy or too woolly. A lot of the tonal and musical information lives in the low mids, and then the vocal sits more in the midrange and high mids. There’s not too much in the higher frequency range, except the top of the guitars, and some elements like a shaker and the higher buzzy parts of the synths. Maintaining clarity and separation in those often complex arrangements was a major challenge.”