Confessions of a Non-Swiftie: My Sprawling Personal History with America's Mirrorball Vol. II
Oh, here we go again...
Hi friends! Last May, I released a paid newsletter about Taylor Swift. I had a lot to say and knew that it would take a lot of effort to put together. Now, I am sitting here and realizing that not only do I want to make a cute little update, but that I want to share the full newsletter with everyone. I’m going to try and keep as much of the original newsletter in tact and provide additional thoughts where appropriate. And of course, I’ll provide an updated discography ranking since two Taylor’s Versions and an entire brand new album has dropped since I wrote this. So, without further ado, here is the “Taylor Swift” edition of my newsletter!
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Okay okay okay. I didn’t think we would get here on my second issue BUT if you paid attention I did give a hint at the end of my very first newsletter. If the title didn’t already clue you in, yes, I will be talking about blondie herself, Ms. Taylor Alison Swift. (That’s her middle name right? I definitely didn’t look it up to confirm. Oh well).
Note: I’ve been writing this issue for more than six weeks. A lot has happened since then. Taylor and Joe broke up. She embarked on her Eras Tour that I could not get tickets to (don’t even get me started…). She announced that she is releasing Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) in July. And, she started dating a seemingly awful human being and then made a song with one of the artists he made racist remarks toward. I would have totally resisted getting into the 1975’s music if I knew just how much of a classic racist Matty Healy is. Anyways, this issue will NOT address the Matty of it all, but I do want to say that the discourse surrounding her decision to associate with this man in the way that she is, is kind of at the core of why I have such a complicated relationship with this white woman. And hopefully, if you’re a white Swiftie, you’ll be more open to how honest I am as I discuss her public persona throughout her career. Other than that, I WILL briefly mention the Eras Tour and her breakup with Joe. So, buckle up!
Addition
Additional Note: The Eras Tour is currently on hiatus after she continued performances in Latin America, Asia and Europe. Thankfully, a terrorist attack was foiled in Vienna which unfortunately led to cancelled shows. I’m glad such catastrophic devastation was avoided, but I am unnerved that young, mostly female fans were targeted yet again on such a large scale.
Taylor is now dating a footballer and I promise you I actually do have zero thoughts about that relationship. I do think Swifties are wayyyy too weird about Joe Alwyn, like, give it a rest. She also released 1989 (Taylor’s Version) and The Tortured Poets Department which is undeniably an album! I am sure there are plenty of other things that I am missing but I think I got everything that matters to me! Be sure to buckle up again!
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I gave this newsletter a little bit more time after I heard that Joe Alwyn and Taylor Swift broke up after six years together. That’s so many years to be in a relationship with someone. And to know that so many of the songs she’s written from reputation to Midnights are about him… it is actually just devastating information to receive. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to LISTEN to Cornelia Street again: forget walking down it! Invisible string and peace are already difficult to hear - like what is going ON? Has love died? Songwriting is such a powerful tool because I thought I did NOT care about this couple until I went back and listened to the music. But, you know, it’s been over a month. I should be able to get over someone else’s breakup. Alexa, play Labyrinth!!!!!
Now, most people that know me are familiar with my tumultuous relationship with the country/pop/folk singer/songwriter extraordinaire. But, in case you don’t know… let’s start at the beginning, which, for me, unfortunately, will take us back to that fateful night. Yes. The 2009 VMA’s.
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, I fear I have more context to add about 2009 Chamari. In 2009, I turned 11 years old. I spent the beginning of the year in one school district and would end the year in another district as I switched schools between fifth and sixth grade. I had very few friends and when I attended after school activities, I spent most of my time by the radio, singing and rapping along to whatever came on. It was a bit of a parlor trick for me. I pretty much only listened to the local radio station for hip-hop and r&b, but would sometimes check out the top 40 radio station when I got bored of the hip-hop hits. Anytime a country or rock song came on, I would change the station. My claim to fame being that I knew every single lyric to “Live Your Life” by T.I. and Rihanna would embarrass me now, if I honestly didn’t find younger me so endearing. Aw. I was a good kid.
Anyways, when I wasn’t learning songs by listening to the radio or going to the library to print out lyrics from AZlyrics, I was either viciously defending Rihanna, my absolute favorite recording artist, from victim-blaming trolls on the internet and in real life, mourning the loss of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, or, unfortunately, learning songs on my flute. Boy, did I hate the flute. A certain blonde woman wasn’t even on my radar until the 2009 Video Music Awards.
Now, I could write a whole newsletter about the 2009 Video Music Awards, (don’t tempt me - they were ICONIC!) but we all know why I am deciding to head back in time to talk about this event. The category was Best Female Video. Kelly Clarkson was nominated for My Life Would Suck Without You. Lady Gaga was nominated for Poker Face. Katy Perry was nominated for Hot N’ Cold. P!nk was nominated for So What. Thee Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter was nominated for Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) and Taylor Swift was nominated for You Belong With Me. First and foremost, whoa - I did NOT remember how STACKED this category was. Anyone of these could have won. Retrospectively, I am still not familiar with the music video for My Life Would Suck Without You, but I am VERY familiar with the song. Every other video is lowkey iconic. Single Ladies obviously stands out for its simplicity and learnable choreography that was copied and parodied for the rest of that year. I had no idea at the time, but I would find Taylor Swift’s You Belong With Me as the second most memorable video in this category. How fitting!
I actually don’t remember if I was watching this live or if I had just convinced myself I was watching it live. It’s probable that I watched the entire thing on demand the next day. Either way, the winner of this award was Taylor Swift. It would be her very first Video Music Award and probably one of the first awards she’s ever won. The following year, she would win the Grammy for Album of the Year, so she was definitely on the up and up. You Belong With Me was a bonafide hit. The thing is… I had never heard of Taylor Swift. I’m sure it had everything to do with the fact that I completely blocked out country music in my youth. But surely, she would still be playing on pop radio back in 2009? Hm. Must have truly missed out. I remember being irritated at Beyoncé’s loss. She obviously had the better music video, I thought, despite not having seen Taylor’s music video. At 11 years old, I was watching yet another mediocre white woman win over a black woman. Tale as old as time, am I right?
But then, the unthinkable happened. Kanye West hopped up on the stage. And said, “Taylor, I’m happy for you, and I’ma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! Of all time!” And then the infamous shrug, as he handed the microphone back to Taylor Swift. I was shocked. Befuddled. Flabbergasted. GAGGED. Like, why would he go on the stage on LIVE TV and say all of that? It was so unthinkably rude and unfortunate… although, he was kind of right though? Like, right?! Beyoncé did have one of the best videos of all time! Single Ladies was RE-VO-LU-TION-ARY. And at this point, Kanye had sort of already been infamous for making controversial statements on live TV. I still remember the SHOCK of White America when Kanye said “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” on-air during a Hurricane Katrina relief program. Again - he wasn’t WRONG, but damn, did it take the world by storm. He, like, had to apologize and everything. Coupled that with the fact that he lost his mother in 2007, I kind of felt bad for Kanye… I had already been a huge fan of his - Jesus Walks, All Falls Down, Gold Digger, Can’t Tell Me Nothing, Stronger, Heartless… I mean the list goes on and on and on.
Kanye West had earned a place in my life and Taylor Swift had not. This wasn’t an UNPOPULAR opinion in the black community, or even unusual. Many black folk didn’t know who she was either at the time. But it almost feels strange to say that now because of what has happened with Kanye and Taylor since, and the general downfall of Mr. West. But for me, and many others, Kanye West was the reason I knew who Taylor Swift was! But, sure, he was the big bad wolf and Taylor was a little young lamb who had just received one of her first notable accomplishments. It was, of course, entirely shitty of him to ruin her moment like that. But, he did kind of introduce her to an entire new audience in a way! And of course, miss Beyoncé was class and grace by letting Taylor Swift finish her acceptance speech when Beyoncé won for Video of the Year, which REALLY made Kanye look dumb lol
The President of the United States even called Kanye a jackass. Looking back, it’s not surprising that Kanye West became the Godfather of all controversy. The enemy of the people - but in an insufferable way. All of this snowballed into him being a “free thinker,” so, I’m a little annoyed with myself that I ultimately sided with him. And we’ll get to 2016… don’t worry. The main point is, I was a consistent fan of Kanye West and I was just being introduced to the force that was Taylor Alison Swift. Sometime after the VMAS, I decided to jump into her discography. I had since listened to the award winning song, You Belong With Me, but I was so curious on what the overall appeal was. You Belong With Me was full of teenage charm and yearning, that I found very pleasant to enjoy and sing-along to. I ended up feeling the same way about Love Story.
After Love Story, I continued to listen to whatever music videos she had available on Music Choice On Demand. Fifteen, Change, I’m Only Me When I’m With You, Our Song, Picture To Burn and Teardrops on My Guitar. And well, ever since then, I sort of “kept up” with her music. This eventually brought me into the Speak Now album and the first song I truly connected with - “Back to December.” As long as we’re admitting to it, I did buy into a bit of the misogynistic media’s narrative when it came to Taylor Swift and her famous boyfriends. But honestly, I was like 13 and probably dealing with the fact that I didn’t feel like a “girl,” much less a white one, so I retroactively cut myself some slack. So, to me, Back to December was the first song where she took blame for the falling out of a relationship. I really liked the emotional maturity that must have taken and there was enough regret and shame in that song to last a lifetime. And that’s all I felt at the time, so I guess it makes sense why I gravitated to it. It still remains one of my favorite songs by her to date.
And, to be honest with you, I am still holding onto a bit of my former self. I always claimed to “not like” Taylor Swift, despite the concrete fact that I listen to her music. I loved the music, but disliked the person. Persona, really. I know I don’t know her. But hey, neither do Swifties! If they can do some next level projection about her life, then I should be able to cringe at her brand and the person I believe her to be. If you asked me at the time, I would probably say I was annoyed with her lack of responsibility for the failure of her romantic relationships and her status as America’s Sweetheart. It felt like she was milking that one moment with Kanye West for a few years and to be honest, milking a lot of her public relationships for record sales.
It certainly didn’t help that I thought she could not sing well and was convinced she was a secret Republican. At the time, to me, she was the very epitome of white mediocrity. Succeeding BECAUSE she was white and could appeal to the masses in a way my favorite black artists could never. My biggest criticism that I had about her still kind of stands. She endorses a certain brand of feminism that centers herself. It ended up feeling like that she only “stood” for issues when it was about her - the whole Katy Perry feud about tearing other women down, her slick one-liners towards the media questioning her relationships, the infamous Ginny and Georgia tweet, etc. She is really good at using her voice to speak up for herself. But I really don’t think she is interested in using her voice to speak up for others.
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I thought the above paragraph was initially too harsh but her silence on the current election as well as the Palestinian genocide really does confirm this for me. I understand she said that her silence is a tool to keep her fans and the people around her safe, but that doesn’t make much sense to me. The attacks were planned in the midst of your silence. Your fans were targeted for a more general insidious reason. Not speaking up about an atrocity won’t protect your fans from evil sources who wish to do them harm. Your silence only protects you.
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Generally, I recognize now that she harnessed an impressive power and intelligence to control the narrative of her career and her personal life and that she genuinely is a phenomenal songwriter, in a once-in-a-lifetime kind of way. But back then, I was just seething. And this feeling would then snowball into my reception of the whole Kimye vs. Taylor, Calvin vs. Taylor and Katy vs. Taylor feuds that came one after the other.
But first, Red.
Red was the first album I ever purchased by Taylor Swift. Matter of fact, it is still only one of two of hers I own (If you know me, the other album should be obvious). I still remember that it came with guitar picks, which were useless to me. It was a special edition that I just happened to see during my occasional trip to Target. Although I HATED We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, (I still do to be completely honest with you - the chorus IRKS me and I hate the sing-songy campfire nature of the song) I liked 22, Begin Again, Everything has Changed and I Knew You Were Trouble and I thought that was enough to be able to listen and enjoy the whole album. I can’t remember for the life of me whether I bought this before or after the release of 1989, but I was intrigued by the bridge between pop and country and the fact that she didn’t altogether abandon country just yet. I didn’t really “like” country music, but, at the time, I liked “authenticity” and I made the assumption that her country roots were what were most authentic to her. Of course, we now know, that’s not 100% true. She’s not Nashville-bred, the girl is from Pennsylvania. And authenticity has sort of ruined pop music anyways. But that’s another newsletter for another time.
But yes, Red. I heard the opening track, “State of Grace,” and was immediately taken. “Was this the greatest song I have ever heard?” Quite possibly! All Too Well, Holy Ground, Stay Stay Stay, I Almost Do, Starlight, The Last Time, I mean, how is Red NOT a classic in your book? I didn’t play through the album MUCH, but when I did… boy did I have a GRAND time. Especially with that opening track! Simply unforgettable! Let me know if you want me to do an entire newsletter on Red because I will CERTAINLY take you up on it. It’s still my favorite Taylor album to date. It’s just so big and messy and complicated, and very much evocative of the color red.
Addition
Red is no longer my favorite Taylor album. You’ll see what took its place.
The 1989 era came next. Taylor was basically inescapable. You literally had to be there. Even today, younger people lament about not being a teenager when this album came out. Well, one, it’s not all that it’s cracked up to me and, two, I never really loved 1989 to begin with.
I really do want to like 1989 more, and even though I wasn’t excited for Taylor’s Version, I secretly hoped I would be proved wrong and understand why everyone calls it one of the best pop albums ever released. But my gosh, I should have known. It only made it worse to me. Style and Shake It Off sound horrific on the new version although I do entertain Clean now more than I ever did. The vault tracks were also extremely underwhelming. I have never been more upset with Taylor in my life when she revealed it was between Slut! and Blank Space in terms of what was going on the album. I think she might have just said that to piss me off, because Slut! is positively the most boring song I have ever heard in my entire life. She could not have been serious. I almost believe that the vault songs are all just a ruse anyways, and that she writes them around the time she re-records them. I will say, however, that Is It Over Now, is certainly the stand-out among the riff-raff included.
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1989 didn’t feel “authentic” to me as a person who swore up and down they didn’t like Taylor Swift anyway. So, I was largely unimpressed with the era as a whole, although I did enjoy some of the music. The big-budget music videos were very pleasing to watch, however. We all know where we were when the Bad Blood music video dropped. That video further ignited her feud with Katy Perry, so much so that Katy sided with Nicki Minaj during the brief scuffle between Nicki and Taylor about Bad Blood taking Anaconda’s spot for Video of the Year at the Video Music Awards. (Taylor ended up being right. Bad Blood was a bad song, but an exciting video, albeit with thin, mostly white women, but it still deserved to be nominated. Anaconda could have taken Thinking Out Loud’s spot).
Regarding the other singles, Shake It Off was fun and I was #Obsessed with Blank Space. Wildest Dreams and Style were magical, but I didn’t connect at all with Out of the Woods. I wouldn’t fully listen to 1989 for another several years. And even after listening to it all the way through… it’s… fine. It’s fun, it’s flirty, it’s cute, it’s summer, it’s sweet bubblegum pop! And when I’m in a mood to feel nostalgic, it sort of works well by calling back memories I’ve never had! I Know Places and How You Get the Girl are the stand-out non-single tracks. Wildest Dreams and Blank Space are some of her best songs yet. I get our favorite songs are also not supposed to be among her most popular with the general public, but let me tell you something about Blank Space… It was such a ~ genius ~ way to spin her reputation. Shake it Off started it with the references to her dating life and her intellect, but Blank Space satirized the media’s perception of her love life to campy heights and set it to the tune of the most polished and clean pop track you will ever hear in your life.
It was also fun to see Taylor poke a little fun at herself in the process. She wasn’t the scorned one, or the broken-hearted one or even the one to be avenged in this track. But at the end of the day, she still came out on top, a winner, who boys never stood a chance with. I think what I was responding to in this moment was Taylor Swift being at her most powerful - spinning her public persona into a multi-platinum pop bop. Too bad that this didn’t happen for her next album. More on that later.
1989 also won Taylor her second Grammy for Album of the Year. I personally think she only deserved one of her awards. It definitely wasn’t Fearless (Gaga should’ve taken it home) and I’ve never seen an album more robbed than To Pimp A Butterfly. She used her acceptance speech to call out Kanye West in the most annoying way possible, when every Black person collectively felt like she shouldn’t have been accepting that award in the first place. And just like that. We’re in 2016. I’m 1000% sure that that speech at the Grammys snowballed into the mess that was the rest of the year for Ms. Swift.
2016 was a good year for my faves at the time. Rihanna, Frank Ocean, Drake, Beyoncé, Little Mix, Bruno Mars, Solange and more all released albums this year. And most people believed these albums to be their best work up until that point. Kanye West also released an album in 2016. The Life of Pablo. An album I was obsessed with by the way. The blend of rap/gospel was sort of perfect for where I was in my life at that moment. If you asked me then, Ultralight Beam was the greatest opener to an album ever. And on that album… was the track Famous. And well: “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex. Because I made that bitch famous. I made that bitch famous.” The lyric heard around the world. This angered Taylor deeply.
I’m not going to bother to look up the exact responses in the back and forth between Kim, Kanye and Taylor. I think Taylor initially responded with something like she did not approve of the song and she warned Kanye about sending out such a misogynistic message. I didn’t even believe this at the time. Taylor Swift scolding Kanye when she’s been a fan of his music all this time - I mean, the lyric is very much a Kanye lyric, but it’s just about her, rather than some other woman he wanted to demean. Then, Kim dropped the footage of the phone call after a Kardashian episode, maybe? (2016 was WILD) This “proved” that Kanye did call Taylor about the lyric and that Taylor at least sounded like she had “approved” or at least not minded it, saying something along the lines of “that was your experience” about the 2009 VMAs. That it didn’t matter how many albums she had sold of Fearless at the point (it was a lot). Now, the full footage of the phone call, which leaked in 2020, may tell a different story, especially something that accounts for Taylor’s tone throughout the phone call.
Either way, Taylor was not happy about being called “that bitch,” which wasn’t included in the lyrics that Kanye initially told her. It was a humiliating experience for her, as she tells it. Regardless, the snake emojis entered the chat and flooded her Instagram comments and her Twitter mentions. Ultimately, people called her a snake because she was upset about a lyric change. And because of the perception that she lied. Which, she sort of did. But also, not really. Kim Kardashian’s thread outlines the initial lie that she believes Taylor told. And look, at the time, it did seem like she was using her “good” reputation as a white woman to play the victim and make Kanye look worse than he already did. We do not need to get into the politics of white fragility and framing the big scary black man, but I think it is fair to admit that that was at least, partially responsible for how people generally perceived Taylor and Kanye’s feud. Even the song Innocent from all those years ago leaves a bad taste in my mouth - it kind of treated him like he committed a crime or something and it was infantilizing him in the weirdest of ways.
However, I think everyone has since learned that no one can make Kanye look worse than Kanye himself. There was no reason for him to include that lyric other than a twisted way of displaying power and ownership over one of the world’s most popular artists. And then to follow it up with THAT music video, was just the icing on the asshole cake. He was a weirdo who just wanted to bother her and get off on it is all. It was disgusting to include Taylor’s naked body in the video, but I have always thought the more disturbing thing was to put a wax model version of Rihanna next to her abuser. I’ve since deleted most of my tweets about that situation because I wasn’t kind to her then. It just felt like everything was coming to a head and all of my initial thoughts about Taylor Swift were confirmed.
The internet pile-on, however, was a bit ridiculous. Calvin Harris, maybe the most petty person to exist, and the only “real” celebrity to have responded to a tweet of mine, capitalized on this, because apparently, at some point, Calvin Harris and Taylor Swift dated? I forgot that THEY existed, as much as Taylor forgot that HE did. But yeah, he was salty and publicly feuded with her as well, even going as far to say that she was intentionally malicious and that she was the problem in her spat with Katy. I don’t care enough to actually look back on those tweets, but Calvin Harris talks about them here. Also, at some point, she dated Tom Hiddleston? Not sure what that was all about - Swifties explain? I only remember him wearing an I love T. Swift shirt and then disappearing shortly thereafter. I assume it was PR, but to what end? Hm. Eventually, the full video of her phone call with Kanye West was released, everyone turned against Kanye and the history books side with Taylor. She very much wants to be excluded from the narrative, so, it really does feel like a tiny blip in her career. But for her and her fans, it must have felt like a pretty big deal while it was happening.
Addition
After listening to Taylor’s album, it is quite clear that she doesn’t see it as a blip and her fans certainly don’t either. I don’t ~ really ~ understand the resentment she continues to harbor for Kim Kardashian, but that’s another story for another time. I get that Taylor holds grudges, but the one against Kim feels a little shaky to me.
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All of this spiraled into Reputation, which for a lot of Swifties, is in their top five of their favorite albums by her. Some even cite it as their FAVORITE Taylor Swift album. Me? Well, I have been very vocal about my hatred for this album. Mostly because it sucks. It genuinely does not sound good. I am convinced that everyone who likes this album has access to a completely different album that I have not heard yet. And before you get down on me, I like a FEW songs, but it is far less than I think you should generally like off an album. (less than half of the tracks are listenable to me).
There was a clear sonic direction to mimic what the black music soundscape was doing at that moment in time with no attempt to collaborate with black artists or producers, but instead, make watered down versions of their production. Even in songs like …ready for it, …So It Goes, Gorgeous, and end game, Taylor puts on this weird blaccent. …ready for it in particular sounds like a weird attempt at a vaguely Caribbean accent and ultimately, throughout the album, she’s just trying on sounds across the diaspora. I, of course, was looked at like a crazy person when I said this for the first time in a public forum, but I am definitely going to stand by it. It also isn’t lost on me that she chose to dip into this sound in response to feeling villainized by a black man. Even with the first few seconds of …ready for it, a lot of folks were saying that it sounded like a Yeezus reject. Delicate, New Year’s Day, and Don’t Blame are standouts. I also like Dancing With Our Hands Tied and This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things. Call It What You Want and Dress are tolerable. The rest are terrible.
The most infuriating thing about Reputation is that it is a conceptual failure. Do you remember all of my praise for Blank Space? I thought at least, a full album titled reputation, would be a smart satirical album about her newfound reputation. She started using snake and newspaper imagery to promote the album and I was really interested in seeing Taylor Swift as the “villain.” Instead, we got a bunch of wishy-washy songs about other people being responsible for her actions, which I found extremely tiring. She needed to commit to the bit, instead it felt like a bunch of half-assed nonsense.
And I know most of the album just ended up being about finding love in an unfortunate time in one’s life, but gosh, she didn’t even pretend to do anything scandalous or controversial to make the newspaper motifs make any sense. Playing the antagonist was the way to go, but it ended up still being a little bit akin to a lamb being attacked by the big bad wolf. It’s just that this time, the lamb was salty in the aftermath. She was again the wronged and scorned and nothing about the album was even a little devious or playing into being manipulative… which is… kind of the entire point of the cultural/biblical reference to a snake.
Addition
I will admit that it seems like she’s having a fun time performing a ~ seductress ~ role on the Eras Tour, but nothing makes up for the lack of that energy in the actual album.
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I don’t know if it was Taylor’s worst performing- album commercially since her debut, but Taylor’s worst is often nobody else’s best. The album still sold a shit-ton and once it got put on streaming, it did well and continues to do well.
Oh. Taylor Swift removed her stuff from streaming. I am not going to pretend I have any idea when this happened and I am not going to find out now. She put it back and continues to break Spotify records and the like. Just goes to show her power in the music industry and that she basically runs it at this point.
I pretty much ignored Lover like the rest of the world did. Me! confused me and You Need To Calm Down exhausted me. The latter was at least fun to listen to ironically. “And I’m just like damn! It’s 7 am” will be a line that I remember forever. There are some truly beautiful tracks on there - Cornelia Street, Afterglow, Death by a Thousand Cuts, Lover and some absolutely gloriously fun tracks like Cruel Summer, Paper Rings and Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince. She really could have kept the rest. Also, the era made no sense. I guess she was in love with Joe Alwyn or something, so everything was bright and colorful and obnoxious. I’m sure it was also at this point that she publicly talked about her intention to re-release her music so that she could own it. But, I wasn’t paying much attention to her then. So, when she started announcing the re-releases, it was a fun surprise for me. Speaking of surprises…
The pandemic was a dark time, where everyone was making very inspired music, a la Ungodly Hour, Future Nostalgia, Sawayama, how i’m feeling now and more. Well, I mean, some people were making reductive albums like Chromatica and Smile, but we all lived through it in spite of it. Folklore and evermore were both surprise drops in 2020. I don’t remember the exact moment I chose to listen to folklore, but I do remember I was skeptical. “I don’t even like folk music… or even know what it is.” I remember saying. But also, when I hear the word, folklore, I think about sitting down and telling enchanting, majestic stories and tales that have the potential to be fantastical or just a simple fable. The essence of the album title made me feel like I should be listening to it. I had always heard how great of a songwriter Taylor Swift is, but I’ll admit, I really didn’t understand it until I sat down and listened to this album in full. It was absolutely stunning. I loved all the stories she was telling so much and although there were some things vocally I wasn’t thrilled about, I really did fall in love with the album. My tears ricochet became my favorite song immediately and mirrorball made me feel as if I was levitating on a spinning platform in an empty club full of balloons. (oxymoronic, but very descriptive nevertheless). Exile and peace still make me feel all the feelings and it just feels like her most complete album to date.
I ended up watching the long pond sessions on Disney+ and almost completely ignored everything she said about the stories behind the songs. It was almost as if listening and enjoying folklore was like reading a novel. I wanted my own imagination behind the songs. Like, to me, my tears ricochet is about a devastating break-up between two people who used to love each other and are now using that passion to hurt each other. Betty is a gay love story. I know the entire love triangle now that it has been painstakingly explained to me by Swifties, and it’s really fun thinking about it all, but what’s even more fun for me is putting my own stories to the tune of her music. It’s the creative in me. I had an epiphany (hehe) that I could also be doing that with all of her other music, and all of a sudden, I was connecting the dots. It became a game to me, to link Taylor’s songs to fictional characters and situationships. That’s the beauty of her songwriting.
Evermore is the ugly stepsister of folklore in the best way. I remember thinking that it was boring and less imaginative than folklore. I was ultimately wrong. There are some things about evermore that seem even more expansive than what she wrote on folklore. Champagne problems, gold rush and tolerate it have actually altered my brain chemistry. However, it did initially feel less engaging than folklore did, despite it being more sonically and conceptually cohesive. I know a lot of people out there are evermore girlies, and I really do enjoy the first half of the album. But, the album does continue, and even if many of those songs are fine… I don’t listen to it frequently enough to justify it being a better album than the album-of-the-year-winning masterpiece that was folklore.
After she released two surprise albums, she began churning out the re-releases. Fearless (Taylor’s Version) came first. I’ll admit it was exciting to hear the evolved vocals on all of the songs but the vault tracks left something to be desired. Except for Mr. Perfectly Fine. That’s a bonafide hit. Fearless didn’t feel like as much as a moment like Red (Taylor’s Version). For Red, fans got the long awaited All Too Well (10 Min Version) which I have decided is now the quintessential version of the song. The stolen version now feels vocally underwhelming and the original length of the song feels like it is missing something. The ten minute version, recorded by a woman in her 30’s about a relationship when she was 20, is a really amazing thing to listen to, that only reinforces the power and message of the song. I Bet You Think About Me also came around and it was just the red icing on the cake. Actually, most of the vault tracks are listenable! I personally love Babe, Forever Winter, and The Very First Night. State of Grace (Acoustic) has never sounded better. The only downside to Red (Taylor’s Version) are that the pop tracks don’t sound very good. They sound controlled and hollowed out, so in several cases, I do prefer the stolen versions of tracks like 22 or I Knew You Were Trouble. And the drums on the original State of Grace hit harder.
Everyone assumed what was coming next would be Speak Now TV or 1989 TV. She had released the TV versions of Wildest Dreams and This Love (which sound GREAT by the way). But then… in 2022, she dropped Midnights! An album I did NOT get into on first listen. There was the standard edition and then the 3am tracks she dropped at 3am because she’s insane. Everyone said the 3am tracks were much better. I think they were lying. Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve and Dear Reader carry them, but I much prefer the tracks on the standard edition. Vigilante Shit is possibly the worst song I have ever heard but Karma, Question..?, Midnight Rain, Hits Different, Lavender Haze and Anti-Hero are HITS. The songs/lyrics were definitely not as serious as Taylor made them out to be in that dramatic ass announcement, but hey, she was in a silly goofy mood. She likes to play games and she is SO enthusiastic about dropping hints and leaving clues!
Addition
Speak Now and 1989 followed. I was ultimately disappointed in Speak Now. While it did re-introduce me to Dear John and made Better than Revenge NOT sound like it was made in a garbage can, the raw emotion that existed on the original was just absent. It really sounded like a by-the-numbers billionaire re-recording stuff she could no longer relate to. Red genuinely felt like a more mature woman looking back and reminiscing over what she went through when she was younger, but there’s something about Speak Now TV that feels particularly vacant. I was most disappointed in Haunted, Back to December and Enchanted, which normally are some of her best songs! The vault songs were okay. Timeless is the best one, but otherwise, not much to write home about! I really don’t want to spend more time on 1989 since I already covered it in an addition above. I think Rolling Stone was maybe bullied to write that review of Taylor’s Version, because there is simply no way.
Oh. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Midnights somehow won Album of the Year at this year’s Grammy ceremony… She broke the record for most album of the year wins and people were mad that she reportedly ignored Celine, who was making a huge comeback at the time. She brought Lana on the stage with her because she worked on the album, but it was kind of awkward since Lana was also nominated for the award. I think this is one of the first times that even the most loyal of pop music fans got really tired of her. Midnights just wasn’t a well-received enough album to even be in the conversation to win, so it really just felt like they gave it to her so she could break the record. When she was accepting a previous award, is when she announced The Tortured Poets Department. So, it was all just a lot. But anytime you say anything remotely not positive, trust that a Swiftie will quote tweet you and attempt to ruin your life.
Original Text
She’s been able to cultivate a very loyal, incredibly intense fanbase. She’s a very specific type of songwriter with a very specific talent and people adore her for it. Her songwriting seems to imply, at least some of the time, that she has a high level of emotional intelligence and clarity when writing about her thoughts and feelings, something even evident in her fictionalized songs. She appeals to the masses, but is still able to use the most basic principles of #WhiteFeminism to her benefit. Even with her documentary and the You Need To Calm Down music video, she still really doesn’t isolate conservatives since her music as a whole isn’t very political and her social media is very neutral as well. Her brand has become the biggest thing in the world at this point. The demand for the Eras Tour was unprecedented and I think everyone, including her, knows that she is the biggest artist in the world. It was always her end goal.
Addition
My biggest reason why I still cannot call myself a Swiftie is I just don’t think she’s a very interesting person. I think she makes interesting music, does fun performances, but I am actually not quite sure why the media obsesses over her personal life. The best answer to this question will always just be misogyny, but in my near proximity to Swifties, I also see just how invested they are in the clues and Easter eggs and her relationship to Travis and her possible queerness. I just simply do not care. I can make perfect sense of her music without the context of her romantic relationships. I can *gasp* even enjoy it! I know that I had an entire meltdown after Joe and Taylor broke up, but that felt bigger than Taylor since much of her recent music had seemed to be defined or informed by that relationship. Eh, maybe I am a hypocrite for caring about Joe and Taylor, but also, let the record reflect, that I said I was surprised by it!
After the release of The Tortured Poets Department, I have realized that the entire theorizing of her romantic life, at least as it’s happening, has made the experience of listening to her music even worse. Because if you’re telling me that a lot of the songs are about Matty Healey, I could never take that woman seriously again. Like what do you mean you were waiting to date a racist all this time and then got mad when people rightfully were like “…why are you dating a racist?” So, I have to believe these songs are not about that man. However, this doesn’t mean I believe in the Gaylor universe because that doesn’t make much sense to me either. I actually think we’d need to really admit Taylor into an asylum if HALF of those theories are true.
thanK you aIMee being about Kim Kardashian makes no sense but because Taylor purposefully wrote the title like that, people ran with it although the song clearly states that the public will never know who this person she is referring to is. And well, we all know all the other embarrassing moments of TTPD. I find some of these songs actively repulsive (I Hate It Here, So High School. the title track, I Can Fix Him, etc.) and I even would throw away I Can Do It With A Broken Heart and Fortnight, if I could. Her multiple editions of this album are finally getting a negative reaction. Some people even think she does it on purpose to block other younger female artists. I just think she likes being number one and she likes taking up the public’s consciousness.
Original Text
Taylor Swift has become the ultimate capitalist. Even though her re-releases aren’t just cash grabs, the story behind them is marketed in JUST the right way, where it will always sell millions of copies. She sells a million versions of each song and album so her fans can feel like they are creating a collection of her stuff. She is always selling herself in quite a marvelous way if you ask me. She is constantly putting on a show and making a true performance out of making and releasing music.
At the end of the day, as she is happy to tell us, she is a mirrorball. I can’t tell you what my experience was when I first listened to that song, or even what my experience is now. I think I said to one of my friends that “I think the Lover era makes so much sense now,” after ruminating on the lyrics to the song. Throughout this issue, I hope it is obvious that I have an appreciation for Taylor’s craftsmanship, business acumen and dedication to her fans. Ultimately though, as she herself admits, she is a try-hard. It seems to be a part of her personality. And it’s awesome that she has learned to see that as a strength rather than a weakness, at least, generally speaking. But, it also makes her career and public persona an exhausting one to follow. She aims to please, but she is also self-righteous as all hell. She is always performing, always furthering her brand, always ready to take center stage and spin and sparkle for all to see. And I think that’s a very difficult place to be in, and an easy place to lose morals, (or never develop them in the first place) become self-centered and, unfortunately, never be able to tell when the gig is up. This makes Taylor Swift a very fascinating, but utterly frustrating artist and person to support. I’ll always, at least, be taking sips of the kool-aid. But, I’m more comfortable, at this moment in time, standing by the punch bowl, waiting and watching for what’s to come next.
As if this issue wasn’t long enough, I have decided to include my personal ranking of her albums, as well as a ranking of my favorite songs. Before you say something about any of my rankings, just remember that you’re wrong and I’m right!
Updated Ranking - in this instance, I kept the original ranking of songs next to or under the new ranking. Originals have a strikethrough.
Album Ranking Album Ranking
11. Reputation
10. Taylor Swift 10. Reputation
9. The Tortured Poets Department 9. Taylor Swift
8. 1989 (Taylor’s Version) 8. Lover
7. Lover 7. 1989
6. Fearless (Taylor’s Version) 6. Fearless (Taylor’s Version)
5. Midnights 5. evermore
4. evermore 4. Midnights
3. Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) 3. Speak Now
2. Red (Taylor’s Version) 2. folklore
1. folklore 1. Red (Taylor’s Version)
Top 100 Discography Ranking
Babe (Taylor’s Version {Red}
Better Than Revenge (Speak Now)
Should’ve Said No (Debut)
I Wish You Would (1989)
Tim McGraw (Debut)
Last Kiss (Speak Now)
Guilty as Sin? (The Tortured Poets Department)
Crazier
the last great american dynasty (folklore)
Never Grow Up (Speak Now)
Paper Rings (Lover)
Bigger than the Whole Sky (Midnights)
I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version) {Red}
Snow on the Beach (feat. More Lana del Rey) {Midnights}
willow (evermore)
Better Man (Taylor’s Version) {Red}
Lover (Lover)
illicit affairs (folklore)
Maroon (Midnights)
The Lucky One (Taylor’s Version) {Red}
marjorie (evermore)
Babe (Taylor’s Version) {Red}
Dear John (Taylor’s Version) {Speak Now}
Should’ve Said No (Debut)
evermore (evermore)
Tim McGraw (Debut)
Love Story (Taylor’s Version) {Fearless}
I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version) {Red}
I Know Places (1989)
seven (folklore)
Breathe (Taylor’s Version) {Fearless}
Dear John (Speak Now)
Sweeter Than Fiction
Paper Rings (Lover)
no body, no crime (evermore)
Superman (Speak Now)
How You Get The Girl (Taylor’s Version) {1989}
willow (evermore)
happiness (evermore)
Lover (Lover)
tis the damn season (evermore)
Maroon (Midnights)
Dear Reader (Midnights)
marjorie (evermore)
Better Than Revenge (Taylor’s Version) {Speak Now}
evermore (evermore)
long story short (evermore)
If This Was A Movie (Speak Now)
The Best Day (Taylor’s Version) {Fearless}
Love Story (Taylor’s Version) {Fearless}
Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince (Lover)
I Know Places (1989)
The Very First Night (Taylor’s Version) {Red}
Breathe (Taylor’s Version) {Fearless}
The Story of Us (Taylor’s Version) {Speak Now}
Sweeter Than Fiction
Starlight (Red)
How You Get The Girl (1989)
Holy Ground (Red)
no body, no crime (evermore)
Teardrops on my Guitar (Debut)
happiness (evermore)
If This Was A Movie (Taylor’s Version)
tis the damn season (evermore)
Forever Winter (Taylor’s Version) (Red)
Dear Reader (Midnights)
The Way I Loved You (Taylor’s Version) {Fearless}
long story short (evermore)
Superman (Taylor’s Version {Speak Now}
The Best Day (Taylor’s Version) {Fearless}
The Manuscript (The Tortured Poets Department) 22 (Red)
Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince (Lover)
22 (Red)
The Very First Night (Taylor’s Version) {Red}
This Love (Taylor’s Version {1989}
The Story of Us (Speak Now)
The Prophecy (The Tortured Poets Department)
Starlight (Red)
Delicate (Reputation)
Holy Ground (Taylor’s Version) {Red}
Cruel Summer (Lover)
Teardrops on my Guitar (Debut)
Cornelia Street (Lover)
Forever Winter (Taylor’s Version) (Red)
Lavender Haze (Midnights)
The Way I Loved You (Taylor’s Version) {Fearless}
Hits Different (Midnights)
22 (Red)
loml (The Tortured Poets Department)
This Love (Taylor’s Version) {1989}
this is me trying (folklore)
Delicate (reputation)
Invisible (Debut)
Cruel Summer (Lover)
Florida!!! (The Tortured Poets Department)
Style (1989)
invisible string (folklore)
Cornelia Street (Lover)
Midnight Rain (Midnights)
Lavender Haze (Midnights)
cardigan (folklore)
Hits Different (Midnights)
Question…? (Midnights)
this is me trying (folklore)
Everything Has Changed (Taylor’s Version) {Red}
Invisible (Debut)
the 1 (folklore)
invisible string (folklore)
Haunted (Taylor’s Version) {Speak Now}
Midnight Rain (Midnights)
Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) {Speak Now}
cardigan (folklore)
Mr. Perfectly Fine (Taylor's Version) {Fearless}
Question…? (Midnights)
Fifteen (Taylor's Version) {Fearless}
Everything Has Changed (Taylor’s Version) {Red}
Stay Stay Stay (Red)
the 1 (folklore)
august (folklore)
Haunted (Speak Now)
the lakes (folklore)
Speak Now (Speak Now)
White Horse (Taylor’s Version) {Fearless}
Mr. Perfectly Fine (Taylor's Version) (Fearless)
Don’t Blame Me (Reputation)
Fifteen (Taylor's Version) (Fearless)
You Belong With Me (Taylor’s Version) {Fearless}
august (folklore)
Forever & Always (Piano Version) (Taylor’s Version) {Fearless}
the lakes (folklore)
You’re Not Sorry (Taylor’s Version) {Fearless}
Stay Stay Stay (Red)
Karma (Midnights)
Don’t Blame Me (Reputation)
Style (1989)
You Belong With Me (Taylor’s Version) {Fearless}
I Knew You Were Trouble (Red)
Forever & Always (Piano Version) (Taylor’s Version) {Fearless}
Sweet Nothing (Midnights)
You’re Not Sorry (Taylor’s Version) {Fearless}
Anti-Hero (Midnights)
Karma (Midnights)
Afterglow (Lover)
I Knew You Were Trouble (Red)
Death by a Thousand Cuts (Lover)
Sweet Nothing (Midnights)
I Almost Do (Taylor’s Version) {Red}
Afterglow (Lover)
Betty (folklore)
Death by a Thousand Cuts (Lover)
So Long, London (The Tortured Poets Department)
I Almost Do (Taylor’s Version) {Red}
Mine (Taylor’s Version) {Speak Now}
Betty (folklore)
peace (folklore)
Mine (Speak Now)
The Black Dog (The Tortured Poets Department)
White Horse (Taylor’s Version) {Fearless}
right where you left me (evermore)
Anti-Hero (Midnights)
I’m Only Me When I’m With You (Debut)
peace (folklore)
But Daddy, I Love Him (The Tortured Poets Department)
right where you left me (evermore)
Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve (Midnights)
I’m Only Me When I’m With You (Debut)
champagne problems (evermore)
Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve (Midnights)
tolerate it (evermore)
champagne problems (evermore)
Begin Again (Taylor’s Version) {Red}
tolerate it (evermore)
gold rush (evermore)
Begin Again (Taylor’s Version) {Red}
Honorable Mention
The Lucky One (Taylor’s Version {Red}
Illicit Affairs (folklore)
Better Man (Taylor’s Version) {Red}
Timeless (Taylor’s Version) {Speak Now}
Peter (The Tortured Poets Department)
Snow on the Beach (Midnights)
Sparks Fly (Taylor’s Version) {Speak Now}
Bigger than the Whole Sky (Midnights)
Crazier
I Wish You Would (Taylor’s Version) {1989}
13. exile (folklore)gold rush (evermore)
12. Mirrorball (Folklore)exile (folklore)
11. Wildest Dreams (Taylor’s Version) {1989}mirrorball (Folklore)
10. Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? (The Tortured Poets Department)Wildest Dreams (Taylor’s Version) {1989}
9. Enchanted (Taylor’s Version) {Speak Now}
8. State of Grace (Taylor’s Version) {Red}
7. All Too Well (Taylor’s Version) {Red}
6. Red (Taylor’s Version) {Red}
5. Blank Space (Taylor’s Version) {1989}
4. State of Grace (Acoustic Version) (Taylor’s Version) {Red}
3. All Too Well (10 Minute Version) {Red}
2. Back To December (Taylor’s Version) {Speak Now}
1. my tears ricochet (Folklore)
And back to my regularly scheduled programming…
Things I am Into:
Music: Tinashe’s “Quantum Baby” has been on heavy rotation since its release! With the success of Nasty, it seems like she is going to show no sign of slowing down! We love a three-act project. And although I prefer BB/ANG3L, this one really helped solidify Tinashe as the best artist out now.
Film: Somehow the latest great movie I have watched in theaters is M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap. It’s one of my favorite watches of the year so far. Incredibly funny, singular and keeps you on your toes. It takes what can be a formulaic genre and really turns it on its head in such a fun way. Josh Hartnett ate this role up!
Television: Contrary to popular opinion, EYE thought that The Bear Season 3 was quite lovely. It took on an entirely different tone and structure (which I thought was obvious when they switched up the branding for the show but I digress) and while sometimes it didn’t pay off as much as I was hoping to, other times, it hit the ball out of the park. The first episode is simply a top five episode of the series to me, while I’m sure my rewatch of Napkins and Ice Chips will certainly solidify at least 3 episodes from Season 3 being in my top ten. Very much looking forward to Season 4 based off what they built and established this season. Its lead character is at a standstill and so is the show, and honestly, I really think they found an exciting way to show that.
New Clients: While Leigh-Anne was always my favorite member of Little Mix, I always loved Jade too. Her first solo song is stellar and I will be riding for her from here on out!
Things I am NOT Into:
Music: I already should have known but Ice Spice’s Y2K is trash. Some of it is fun, but a lot of it is just embarrassing. It’s not exactly… worse than what I was expecting but you know, it would have been nice if it was better.
Film: It Ends With Us is 100% a movie that I watched! Can confirm!
Television: I am currently watching Season 2 of Love, Victor. Is it going to get… better?
Clients I Fired: The number of people that have profoundly disappointed me can only increase really. Marvin Gaye is dead so he can’t be my client, but I just learned (re-learned) that he had a child with his wife’s niece when she was like, 16. Gross. I should probably talk about someone who is alive... Kehlani and Victoria Monet are the latest that I really fully supported that disappointed me.
Things I am Catching Up On:
Music: Trying to catch up on all the rap girlies who released albums this year. You know what I thought about Ice Spice’s but I really enjoyed JT’s album and Megan’s of course. Hope to hear Glorilla, Latto and Flo Milli’s new work!
Movies: I am still notoriously bad at watching movies. What’s on the list currently is Inside Out 2, Twisters, Cuckoo, Blink Twice, Didi, Sing Sing, and Longlegs.
Television: I am all caught up on Only Murders in the Building but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the fourth season is upcoming and I am actually super excited about it!
Clients I Need To Get to Know More: Tom Hardy. The Bikeriders made me so curious about him and his filmography.