#the song is a fucking bop and taylor took the emotion of the experience at the time and made a ton of art from it she is proud of

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

Hi! do you have an analysis of cowboy like me and how you interpreted it?. After ttpd many people tried to connect a certain muse to that song and it's one of my faves and i don't want to be it ruined so i would love to read your thoughts!

Hi anon, firstly I want to say: IMO, stop reading into what other people are saying and just enjoy the music. (Which includes whatever I have to say, I'm just a person like anyone else lol.) What makes Taylor's music resonate with people are the emotions behind them, and they're valid to her and to listeners no matter what inspired them. People never worry about the muses behind any other artists' songs and enjoy them for their own sake, so why should Taylor's music be any different? Trying to moralize the music because of its inspiration is going to be a really unsatisfying experience, so may as well just keep enjoying the music you enjoy! Art enhances your life so much that way. Don't let social media ruin it for you!

So that being said, to me it's obviously about her time with Joe. It's a fountain pen retelling of songs like "Delicate" and "Cruel Summer" and "Glitch". It's a metaphor for a situationship that unexpectedly turned into the real deal and (at the time) everlasting love. I haven't done any analysis of it (mostly because it's pretty straightforward to me lol) but I did find this post though it's not likely what you're looking for.

[taetaespeaches]

favorite albums of twenty-twenty:

I’m indecisive, so disclaimer lol. But I wanted to be self-indulgent for a moment and share my very favorite albums of 2020. In a year where I felt both alone and lonely, music was massively important to me. I tried to limit this to my top ten but I’m too indecisive and a lot of amazing music came out this year so there’s eighteen albums lol. Why not. So yeah, enjoy or ignore, I just had the urge to do this. (This isn’t in order except BE, D-2, Maria, and Map of the Soul: 7 are all definitely in the top five.)

Also, if you see this and want to do your own, tag me! I’d love to see your top albums <3 

↬ BE — BTS

⟶ Top tracks: Telepathy, Blue & Grey, Fly To My Room, Disease, Life Goes On

I mean come on. This was the pandemic album we all needed and I will forever be grateful for this masterpiece. I think this is an album that will grow with me and will kind of act as a companion throughout my life. The musicality, the lyrics, the variety, all of it, it’s just perfection. It feels like a friend who gives you comfort but also makes you confront your emotions, and that was everything I needed this year. I will forever be obsessed with this one. BE is my friend. 

↬ D-2 — Agust D

⟶ Top Tracks: People, Moonlight, Daechwita, What do you think?, Dear my friend

Agust D came back and he fucking owned it. The amount of pure talent and passion in this mixtape is un-fucking-real. Yoongi is just unbelievably talented and this album perfectly displays that. Plus, these songs have been my ride or die since May, like, there isn’t a week that goes by that I don’t listen to this album in full at least once. Just incredible. 

↬ María — Hwasa

⟶ Top Tracks: LMM, Maria, Intro: Nobody Else, WHY, I’m bad too

This album is so connected to my fucking soul. I swear, Ahn Hyejin and I’s emotions are so similar and the way we process them is soooo similar, this album just honestly means the world to me. Plus, it’s amazing. Every song is a masterpiece. Obsessed. Much like D-2, I listen to this album at least once a week. And the number of times I have cried listening to it is unreal. Intro: Nobody Else is very much how I felt this year and LMM has made me cry more times than I care to admit. This album makes me feel what I’m feeling, gives me comfort, and helps me pick myself back up again. Another one that will grow with me. This year through the loneliness and in times that I felt I had no one, this was my companion.  

↬ MAP OF THE SOUL: 7 — BTS

⟶ Top tracks: Black Swan, Interlude : Shadow, My Time, ON, Friends, Moon, We are Bulletproof: the Eternal, Outro : Ego

Come onnnnnn. Perfection!!!! Quite literally the album that has been there with me through every step of this pandemic. I still cry watching the Ego mv. Why? No clue, just makes me sob tears of happiness. Black Swan? Possibly one of my very favorite songs EVER. OF ALL TIME. My Time? Relatable as fuck. Friends? The cutest thing I’ve ever heard. Moon? I’m sobbing again, that’s my emotional support Seokjinnie. Just, the album is a goddamn masterpiece, I don’t care who disagrees, my opinion is fact on this one.

↬ love is not dying — Jeremy Zucker

⟶ Top tracks: full stop, oh, mexico, hell or flying, lakehouse

Jeremy is another one that I just feel emotionally related too. Like I just get what he says and means and it hits me right in the heart and mind and gut. Another companion album. I think full stop is one of the most relatable songs I’ve ever heard- lyrically and the way it builds and becomes a bit chaotic… like whoah. I feel that in my chest. Also, oh, mexico is another song I related to so hard this year. This album has just made a massive impact on me and I love it.

↬ folklore — Taylor Swift

⟶ Top tracks: seven, peace, the lakes, the 1

So Taylor surprised everyone with an album. What the fuck, ma’am? This is my second favorite Taylor album to date, second to only her second surprise album of the year. Like what? I’ve cried listening to this album and absolutely sobbed listening to seven. She just really popped off with this one and I don’t think I need to explain to you all why this album is so good. If you’ve heard it, you know.

↬ evermore — Taylor Swift

⟶ Top tracks: ivy, cowboy like me, long story short, coney island, gold rush

Oh here we have another surprise album, and now my favorite album by Taylor. I think this album perfectly displays Taylor’s insane lyricism better than any of her works. This album just hit really different for me, every song was my favorite on first listen and I still have the hardest time picking favorite tracks. It’s just beautiful and it’s great and I love it a lot.

↬ SAWAYAMA — Rina Sawayama

⟶ Top tracks: Fuck This World (Interlude), Tokyo Love Hotel, Bad Friend, Comme Des Garçons (Like The Boys)

Have you heard it? If so, you know why it’s on this list. Pop perfection. Rina is a goddess. That’s that. It’s just amazing. Rina is a visionary and this album displays that perfectly. Comme Des Garçons was the first song of hers I ever heard and I was immediately obsessed. Next level, this woman. A queen.

↬ Petals For Armor — Hayley Williams

⟶ Top tracks: Crystal Clear, Why We Ever, Over Yet

Wow. Just, bless Hayley for this. Crystal Clear has quickly become one of my very favorite songs ever and Why We Ever is a little too relatable. And I distinctly remember hearing Over Yet for the first time in May and feeling joy for the first time since the pandemic started. This album is one to listen to when you’re mad, sad, when you need comfort, or when you’re ready to heal. Honestly, another companion.

↬ Nectar — Joji

⟶ Top tracks: Like You Do, Your Man, Sanctuary, MODUS, Run, Mr. Hollywood

I could honestly list nearly every song on this as a top song. Holy shit. Joji is another visionary. He’s insane and I’m obsessed with this album. I swear, every time I listen a new song jumps out as a favorite. Like You Do is a song that just means so much to me. A masterpiece. This album is my go to when I’m looking to get into my feels. Also Daylight isn’t listed in the top tracks but what a fucking bop. I’m just in love with this album. For real, obsessed.

↬ Plastic Hearts — Miley Cyrus

⟶ Top tracks: Angels Like You, High, WTF Do I Know, Midnight Sky, Never Be Me, Plastic Hearts

I’ve never been like an avid listener of Miley, just a few tracks, but this year I got more into her. And this album, goddamn. Every song is a contender for top track. How does that happen? Midnight Sky? Huge for me this year. Like I cannot tell you how massive of an impact this song made on me. Angels Like You is such a perfect song. High is a little too relatable. Just seriously, wow. Kind of speechless, I just adore this album.

↬ Positions — Ariana Grande

⟶ Top tracks: pov, obvious, 34+35

The way I cried my first time hearing pov. Ari what are you doing to me? That song is just such a beautiful way to look at love and this whole album is just so healing. A happy spot on this whole year. 34+35 is a thot anthem and I’m obsessed. This album is just another example of Ariana’s talent and we were all blessed to be able to hear it.

↬ CALM — 5 Seconds of Summer

⟶ Top tracks: Wildflower, Lover of Mine, Best Years, Teeth, High

I don’t care if y’all think it’s cool to like 5sos or not, this album is so fucking good. It far exceeded my expectations. Some of these songs are some of my favorites for the year. Wildflower is a fucking happy pill and Best Years makes me fucking cry. High is too relatable, and Teeth may as well have been written about me. And Lover of Mine perfectly relates to the most important relationship of my entire life. I’m gonna say it, Luke Hemmings is such an underappreciated lyricist. The man is good. I love this album a lot. 

↬ Manic — Halsey

⟶ Top tracks: Finally // beautiful stranger, SUGA’s Interlude, Forever … (is a long time), 3am

I never really listen to Halsey so it took me a long time to give this album a try and wow I’m so glad I finally did. It became an instant fav. Honesty, anything Yoongi touches is a favorite for me so obviously that song would be in my tops, but Forever … (is a long time) is so relatable and just so fucking good. And Finally // beautiful stranger is honestly my favorite Halsey song ever. It’s stunning. This album is amazing. Period.

↬ Future Nostalgia — Dua Lipa

⟶ Top tracks: Pretty Please, Cool, Don’t Start Now

This album is just disco pop perfection and I’ve been obsessed all year. It’s the perfect album to listen to when you just wanna fucking dance and forget about all the shit that 2020 gave us. The perfect escape and it’s so so fun and the songs are just bops. I’ve probably listened to this album a hundred times because it’s just the perfect escape. If I wanna let go for a bit, this is my go to.

↬ Punisher — Phoebe Bridgers

⟶ Top tracks: I Know The End, Chinese Satellite, Garden Song

This album makes me feel some shit. Like holy hell we are in our feels. Phoebe’s songwriting is superb and these songs just hit. I honestly only listen to this album when I really need to get in touch with myself because it literally doesn’t allow me to avoid my feelings. But it’s pretty much perfection and I think it’s going to grow with me throughout the years. I just love it. I remember being blown away on my first listen, it’s just unbelievably good.

↬ Ungodly Hour — Chloe and Halle

⟶ Top tracks: Tipsy, Baby girl, Ungodly Hour

I don’t even know how to explain how good this album is. Like, have you heard it? You get it. These girls went the fuck off and all we can do is thank them for it. Thank you for your service ladies. This album is just a vibe from start to finish. And Ungodly Hour is one of the best title tracks of the year. That’s just that on that. Give them all the awards.

↬ IS ANYBODY OUT THERE? — DPR LIVE

⟶ Top tracks: OH GIRL, NO RESCUE NEEDED, KISS ME

This album isn’t just an album, it’s an experience. This man takes you on a musical journey. It’s a story. It’s flawless. I adore it. DPR LIVE is so underrated and I can’t wait for him to get the hype he deserves. This was the most surprising find this year and I’m so thankful I found it. Just so god. From start to finish, you just get sucked in and then it ends and you’re just left like, whoah. Amazing. 

[longlivetv]

It makes me so angry to see people disrespecting Taylor’s previous work just because something new and shiny came along. As a fandom, we do the same thing to her albums that she talked about the public doing to women in music.

Debut? She wrote some of those songs in MIDDLE SCHOOL. She had her first number one hit on a song she sang at her high school talent show. Those lyrics? Already show the intricate turns of phrase we all loved in later albums. And some of them hit harder now, as a full adult, than they did when I heard them thirteen years ago.

Fearless? First of all, she won the Grammy for album of the year. Album of the fucking year. There are flat bops and country ballads and somehow she made high school English class into one of the most iconic songs of all time. Had she stopped here, people would call this album a masterpiece, and no one would disagree with them.

Speak Now? Every. Single. Song. Is. 100%. Taylor. From the cheeky title song to the haunting portrayal of someone too young escaping a damaging relationship, she wrote it all, on her own, and the songs on that album are the ones that took me from casual fan to hardcore stan. She didn’t get much critical love, but she has some fan favorites and enduring themes.

Red? Red deserved a Grammy. We’ve said that since the moment the Grammy voters snubbed her. Fuck a sonically cohesive, her rollercoaster of emotions perfectly captured being 22, being an adult but feeling like you don’t belong there. Having deep meaningful love and watching it end, quietly and desperately and learning that sometimes it isn’t a clean break, it’s the back and forth and begging and wishing and saying goodbye. But there is also joy and celebration and self-reflection. There are also new beginnings.

1989? Proved that one woman in her early twenties could be so strategic in her songwriting, she could set out to write the perfect pop album with the Grammy for Album of the Year in her sights and get it. And she could do that without sacrificing the heart and soul of her work or the lyrical twists that the fans love. 1989 catapulted her into legendary status.

Reputation? This was a record she NEEDED to make. The emotional catharsis of angry rock anthems and the delicate undertone of new love and finding the quiet moments amidst the chaos show incredible strength AND vulnerability and show that the two don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Her tour sold out stadiums, some for multiple nights. She signaled a resurgence and most importantly, she is an album about healing.

Lover? She’s the new kid on the block. The adored one because she’s new and glittery. But she’ll stand the test of time when I pull this back out when TS8 is getting all the love and the old albums are getting dumped on because she shows the truth of love. That it isn’t just happily ever after. There are fights and flaws and moonlight swims and outsiders who try to tear you down and family members you NEED in your life and rights you support and that’s all part of loving and being loved. There are sonic experiments on the album, and each experiment leads to growth. Which is why I know the same cycle will happen again, a few years from now.

We can love the new album, and the growth it shows, without losing our love for the albums that came before. The beautiful thing about love is that it is endless. You can love them all, always. You can feel one more strongly than another because of the place you are in on your life. But the growth on the new album doesn’t negate all of the reasons you loved the old one. They ALL stand the test of time.

[mosaicbroknhearts]

Emily, I'm here to talk you about Red. Seeing as that I've come to the realization that Red is my favorite Taylor record, I've pretty much figured out why it's her best album. First off, it's the album I listen to the most, especially when I'm in the mood to listen to her earlier music. It gets more plays than Speak Now, tbh, and that's saying something. Second, 60% of my top 5 Taylor songs are from Red (All Too Well, The Last Time and Everything Has Changed are the ones)

Third, because I’m older now and have gotten used to her changing her sound, I love the versatility that RED has. Besides, I understand now that artists need to take risks at some point in their career. The fact that Taylor did that is something I can respect. Fourth, the lyrical content of this album is not only strong and cathartic, but more mature too. Even though I love the other 3 albums, and the lyrics were still great, but they had a fairytale/movie trope mindset to it. The notion of love that she portrays on Red shows you that love isn’t all fairytales, and that allows her to be more raw and vulnerable. Fifth, she explores different concepts and perspectives, but still maintains her sense of self. She sang those catchy pop songs (WANEGBT, IKYWT, 22), but also maintained that confessional songwriting she was known for. She explored genres like pop, rock, and folk, but still kept the country roots. She was maturing on this album, but still maintained her youth. I also love how on RED, she explored a wide array of different emotions and they were all on the extreme ends of the positive/negative spectrum. I really feel like the lyrics “we are alone with our changing minds” and “we’re happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time” sum up the album as a collective whole. I realize I flooded your ask with so many questions, but I needed to get this all out of my system. RED is flawless.

Ohhh my god why is this the most perfect description of red I’ve ever seen?!?! Like, yes! This is it exactly! I don’t even know how to respond because you’ve done such a good job putting it into words. I’ve always viewed Red as the “I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but I just went through a breakup and I’m in my 20′s and these are all of my feelings” and she somehow took that exact place in life and turned it into a musical masterpiece. People always praise 1989 as her riskiest album because it was her first time going full pop, and it was a huge risk, but people forget that she started really getting into the pop charts during the red era, somehow she was capable of jumping from songs like all to well and treacherous to 22 and we are never ever getting back together. It’s just such an emotional album, even on the less lyric heavy pop tracks. It has everything I love about Taylor, beautiful lyrics, real and raw emotions straight from her heart, iconic bops and a deep meaning to every single little piece of it. Speak now and red both are albums that she put together simply because it was the way she wanted it, she experimented and tried new things and didn’t care about fucking sonic cohesion, she just poured her heart out and gave us what she wanted to give us and that’s what makes them such special albums, but for me Red is like a much more mature and realistic speak now. It’s like you said, she realized that fairytales and love aren’t always what they seem and life is weird and complicated and not everything is black and white and that’s what I love about it. Taylor’s always had a way of using her albums as a form of storytelling, depicting exactly what she’s going through at that time in her life, but I think Red is her last album that fully and completely did that without glossing over things. 1989 was the clean, pop perfection people wanted from her where she wrote about her experiences, but kept things neat and clean, with a pretty little bow tied around them. She’s dropped that slightly with reputation and she’s opening up more than she did with 1989, but even now she tends to be less specific and less  like “here’s exactly what happened word for word” and even when she does start to go down that road now there’s this air of mystery around it (hence the lack of secret messages). Anyways, yes, red is her best album and I loved every word of this. I’m still waiting for another album as raw and beautiful as it was and I’m really hoping she goes back to that type of storytelling in her music with her next album. Now that she’s released her “fuck ya’ll” album I’m hoping she goes back to her roots with TS7.