Taylor Swift

[nobloodyname]

My copy of Fearless (Taylor's Version) arrived an hour ago. Just ripping it. Very nice booklet with lyrics to all the songs including those from the 'vault'. Double CD, too!

[KevShmev]

My copy of Fearless (Taylor's Version) arrived an hour ago. Just ripping it. Very nice booklet with lyrics to all the songs including those from the 'vault'. Double CD, too!

The majority of this album likely won't get a lot of play with me past these initial listens, but there are a few here I like enough to endure the bits of country. 

I had never heard Forever and Always until yesterday, and the normal version is kinda nice, but the piano-only version is something special.

[KevShmev]

Nearly everyone I have spoken to in "real life" about my sudden fandom for Taylor has been shocked by it, and I always had the "yeah, but not the early stuff" disclaimer.  But it looks like that disclaimer is going away, as I am enjoying Fearless (Taylor's Version) way more than I thought I would.  Honestly, it doesn't even feel like a country album.  Feels more like a singer/songwriter album with some country elements and vibe at times.

Forever & Always (both versions) are just slaying me.  I literally cannot believe how good the hook is when she sings the below:

And I stare at the phone, he still hasn't called
And then you feel so low you can't feel nothing at all
And you flashback to when he said forever and always

Then again, I have reached the point where I love her singing voice so much now that she could sing the phone book and I'd eat it up with a spoon.  The rocker of 40+ years inside me is still wondering how this happened. 

[soupytwist]

As much as I enjoy her recent two albums I think 'Blank Space' is Satan's Asshole in song form! 

[Zook]

As much as I enjoy her recent two albums I think 'Blank Space' is Satan's Asshole in song form! 

You misspelled Bad Blood.

[KevShmev]

Yeah, Bad Blood feels like a misfire.  I like the pre-chorus "It's so sad to think about the good times...", and the video is kind of entertaining in a "enjoy the fighting and all of the cameos" kinda way, but it is pretty short on redeeming qualities.

I don't mind Blank Space, as it is a catchy little pop tune, and the satirical lyrics are a hoot, but I am much more likely to go for Wildest Dreams, Clean, Out of the Woods or Welcome to NY if I am randomly picking a 1989 song.  Oh, and Shake It Off of course.

[KevShmev]

I know the Billboard charts are like poison to many, but Taylor is making some major dents in some all-time records this year.

With Fearless (Taylor's Version) debuting at number 1, she now has nine consecutive number 1 studio albums (tied for 3rd all-time).  The record is 11 and she could tie or surpass that in the next year once the other re-releases get released.

She also has had nine consecutive studio albums debut at number 1.  The record is 10, which she would likely topple in the next 12 months.

The Monkees are the only band to ever have four number 1 albums in the same calendar year, and with two already this year (Evermore back in January, Fearless now), she is poised to tie the record if she does as expected and releases two more re-releases in 2021.  And if she would write, record and release a brand new album this year as well, she could end with five this year and get the record.

What's insane is the most cumulative weeks at number 1 on the album charts.  She is now tied with Garth Brooks for 3rd all-time with 52 weeks total, with Elvis in 2nd place at 67, and the Beatles still lapping the field with 132 ( ).  I don't see how anyone ever comes close to that Beatles total.  It feels like Gretzky's point total in hockey, where the lead is so insurmountable that the idea of anyone ever topping it is laughable.

[Zook]

I'm not just trying to be negative, but does it really count of she's releasing the same albums again? It's like Avatar and Avengers Endgame battling for highest box office gross when they keep rereleasing the movies.

[KevShmev]

It's cheating a little bit, yeah, but re-releases usually do not do that well if you look at past history (more have done it than I realized).  This new version of Fearless is the first re-release to ever hit number 1, and it did that in its first week.  That is a tribute of course to her large and insanely loyal fanbase who are eager to buy literally anything she does, but it's not like she's the first superstar artist/band to have a large, dedicated fanbase. 

[soupytwist]

Does anyone understand how the charts work these days with streaming?

[KevShmev]

Does anyone understand how the charts work these days with streaming?

Not really.  I was surprised earlier to read that YT streams now count towards the charts? I wonder how that works.  Does it only count as a view for the song if posted by the artist or their label? And what if there are two new ones for it, like how Taylor releases one of the song and then one as a lyric video, do both of those count or just one and if so which one?  So many questions...

[MoraWintersoul]

I don't know about videos, but every remix goes into the charts for the original song, that's why Taylor released so many versions of Willow last year.

[KevShmev]

Ah okay, that makes sense.  I think it's clear that chart success and winning awards is something she craves, but I think she manages to stay true to herself and makes the music she wants*...she just wants the massive success to go along with it.  And considering how well she has done, it's hard to argue with the end results at this point.  And let's face it, what music artist doesn't want massive success?  It harkens back to what Devin Townsend once said about how he wants his music to be heard by as many people as possible.

*Case in point, I remember a quote of hers about Folklore about how she had no idea how it would be received or if it would be radio-friendly, but she didn't care. 

[MoraWintersoul]

Oh I don't judge her for any of it, you have to play the game and she's doing a marvelous job at trying to break away from that a little bit. I think we're about 5-10 years away from her "don't give a fuck, will not even market anything I surprise-drop" era but I'm still enjoying her as a pop star.

[KevShmev]

Oh I don't judge her for any of it, you have to play the game and she's doing a marvelous job at trying to break away from that a little bit. I think we're about 5-10 years away from her "don't give a fuck, will not even market anything I surprise-drop" era but I'm still enjoying her as a pop star.

I think her 2020 albums showed her breaking away from pop quite a bit (the pop beats that were there at times were pretty subdued), but we'll see if her next new studio album reverts back to the overtly pop cosmetics found on 1989, Reputation and Lover. 

Can't recall if we talked about this already or not, but should be interesting to see when her next tour is and what she plays.  Looking at her past history of headlining, she always heavily features her newest album - even on the Reputation tour, when she had five prior albums to pull from as well, about 2/3 of the set list came from Reputation - but that will be hard to do the next time.  She now has three albums she has yet to tour, and who knows if another new one is coming before the eventual-next tour, so she will have some big decisions to make.  I always like debating what songs a band or artist will play on tours, so it's fun to think about.  Feels like Shake It Off, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together and Love Story are the songs likely to the "it is getting played on every tour going forward" treatment, and Blank Space might fall into that category as well.  I thought it was neat how on that last tour, she kept one spot open every night to play something different with just her and the acoustic, as it gave her the opportunity to play tons of songs that wouldn't have gotten played otherwise on the tour. 

[MirrorMask]

I have a selfish idea for her next tour:

Set 1:

Folklore in its entirety

Set 2:

Evermore in its entirety

encore:

Whatever her three biggest hits are


I'd go and see that 

[XeRocks81]

what I would love is a touring version what she did on the long pond sessions.  Just add a few more musicians and backup singers but build it around the core trio of Taylor, Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner.  A smaller scale live production than what what she did before because I don’t know how you can top that, better to go a different way. 

[Zook]

How 'bout a Metal album? If she's gonna genre hop every album, let's get heavy.

Imagine the outrage from her die-hard fans.

[KevShmev]

Yeah, I am not sure most of the Folklore and Evermore material is conducive to a stadium tour.  Good for a few songs as a comedown, similar to when she does songs by herself live (with an acoustic or on the piano), but not for songs like that to dominate a set list.  Feels like a more intimate setting would work, like a theater tour or something, but she might be too big for a tour like that now.  Ticket sales would be a cluster as well with so few and prices likely to be insane once the scalpers gets their mitts on many of them.

[soupytwist]

How 'bout a Metal album? If she's gonna genre hop every album, let's get heavy.

Imagine the outrage from her die-hard fans.

Pink should definitely do a hard rock/metal album - she's got the vocal chops and front woman attitude for it.

[MirrorMask]

How 'bout a Metal album? If she's gonna genre hop every album, let's get heavy.

Imagine the outrage from her die-hard fans.

Pink should definitely do a hard rock/metal album - she's got the vocal chops and front woman attitude for it.

Also Lady Gaga! come on, she's a metalhead waiting to happen!

I would also love for Lady Gaga to do her own "folklore". Go find any performance of her with only vocals and piano for Bad Romance, The Edge of Glory or even Paparazzi, she could totally pull off an acoustic / intimate album (and in a sense she already did one, Joanne, which was kinda country-ish).

I mean, this is not official as far as I understood and it's just a fan remix, but a whole album like this? sign me in!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWAbtWU_GGY

(Well, not exactly all like that, but you get the gist of it, an album in the style of Folklore)

[KevShmev]

As wonderful as Taylor's natural singing voice is, I don't think she could do metal and pull it off.  I can't imagine that being a genre she'd want to try, anyway,

[Zook]

As wonderful as Taylor's natural singing voice is, I don't think she could do metal and pull it off.  I can't imagine that being a genre she'd want to try, anyway,

Could be something like Amaranthe but with only female vocals. I wish they'd do that now. Anything different would be welcome.

[Stadler]

Speaking of pop stars doing something heavier, I still think "Beautiful Dangerous" is one of  the best songs on the first Slash solo record (and I LOVE that record).  Her version of Paradise City from the bonus disk is solid too.

Remember too that Patty Smythe was asked by Ed to be the singer of Van Halen after Dave left the first time.

[KevShmev]

Remember too that Patty Smythe was asked by Ed to be the singer of Van Halen after Dave left the first time.

That still sounds so weird. Considering VH was total party rock, with lyrics usually about women and sex and drinking and partying, it is hard to imagine what they would have sounded like with a female singer. 

[Stadler]

Remember too that Patty Smythe was asked by Ed to be the singer of Van Halen after Dave left the first time.

That still sounds so weird. Considering VH was total party rock, with lyrics usually about women and sex and drinking and partying, it is hard to imagine what they would have sounded like with a female singer.

Especially one that came out of that New York punk-ish scene (Scandal wasn't punk at all, and Smythe came a little later, but she was married/partners with Richard Hell who was a big part of that NYC scene along with the other Patti Smith, The Ramones, The Talking Heads and Blondie).

[KevShmev]

I think Reputation was an interesting idea that failed in context. In my opinion her voice is not made for darker sounding music. That's why Lover and Folklore work for me. They play to her strengths.

Had to quote this to address Reputation which I have been listening to quite a bit lately...

I get the criticisms I have read about it.  It is a bit overproduced at times (her voice doesn't need to be soaked in effects that much), for one, and it probably could have lost a few songs and been better overall...and yet I keep coming back to it.  I love the sound and vibe of it.  While her other pop albums, 1989 and Lover, are brighter and shinier, Reputation is dirty and gritty and dark.  No, it doesn't always work, but it's one of those flawed albums that I can just turn on and enjoy for what it is, warts and all.

[HOF]

How 'bout a Metal album? If she's gonna genre hop every album, let's get heavy.

Imagine the outrage from her die-hard fans.

She did do that very awkward concert with Def Leppard way back...

[KevShmev]

I saw a few clips of that on YT.  Awkward is not the one word I would use for it, but I am not sure those songs best suited her vocal style, at the time anyway.  It did show that there is certainly a rocker in her.  She once called U2 her favorite band, that clip of her and Bryan Adams doing Summer of '69 with her out there rocking next to him with her electric guitar was very much a killer rock moment, and she did that rocked up version of We Are Never... on the 1989 tour, so I think there is still a full-on rock (not metal) album in her; it's just a matter of, will she ever do it? 

[HOF]

I saw a few clips of that on YT.  Awkward is not the one word I would use for it, but I am not sure those songs best suited her vocal style, at the time anyway.  It did show that there is certainly a rocker in her.  She once called U2 her favorite band, that clip of her and Bryan Adams doing Summer of '69 with her out there rocking next to him with her electric guitar was very much a killer rock moment, and she did that rocked up version of We Are Never... on the 1989 tour, so I think there is still a full-on rock (not metal) album in her; it's just a matter of, will she ever do it?

It wasn’t her performance so much as the age discrepancy. Not sure how old she was but it just seemed kind of icky. I definitely think she could pull off more of a rock thing if she wanted to. She’s done it with things like You Belong With Me before.

[KevShmev]

It wasn’t her performance so much as the age discrepancy. Not sure how old she was but it just seemed kind of icky. I definitely think she could pull off more of a rock thing if she wanted to. She’s done it with things like You Belong With Me before.

Red is the other album of hers I have been digging into quite a bit lately, and that one actually rocks a little at times.  It almost feels like she was working towards a rock album, with that album being the precursor to the full-blown one, but then she made the sudden turn and went full pop with 1989.  I can totally see why a lot of fans think that Red is her best album.  There is a little bit of everything on there, and the songwriting is really strong.

[MirrorMask]

So I created my "Folklore ultimate edition" combining my favorite versions of the original album, and the Lake Pond versions. Here's what will ultimately end on my playlists and muuuuusic playyeeeeers:

The 1   (original)
Cardigan   (original)
The Last Great American Dynasty (original)
Exile   (original)
My Tears Ricochet (original)
Mirrorball   (Long Pond version)
Seven   (Long Pond version)
August   (Long Pond version)
This Is Me Trying   (Long Pond version)
Illicit Affairs   (original)
Invisible String   (Long Pond version)
Mad Woman   (original)
Epiphany   (Long Pond version)
Betty   (original)
Peace   (Long Pond version)
Hoax    (original)
The Lakes (original)

[KevShmev]

Interesting. I literally never listen to August, Illicit Affairs or Exile from Folklore anymore.  I go for the Long Pond versions of each now instead.  The Lakes is a close call as well.

I also think her version that she did of Betty at the country music awards thing late last year (it's on YT) is the best version of that one, even with the clean lyric in the chorus.  It's just her, the acoustic and the harmonica, and her vocal performance there is just money.

[KevShmev]

Oops, I forgot to mention My Tears Ricochet. The Folklore version is nice, but the Long Pond version is heavenly. 

[MirrorMask]

Yeah, My Tears Ricochet was the one I was most undecided about, I still like enough the original to keep it but the Long Pond version is obviously cool.

Cardigan and Betty (because of the harmonica) were the ones I was mostly confident about in their original versions, and the group from Mirrorball to August is the one that I think improved the most on Long Pond. Also the LP version of This is Me Trying makes it more poignant and highlights more the lyrics.

The rest was basically a toss, with no major difference to make me clearly say "yeah, this version is better because of this".

I was also paying attention to the beautiful lyrics of The Lakes:

I'm not cut out for all these cynical clones
These hunters with cell phones...

I've come too far to watch some namedropping sleaze
Tell me what are my words worth...

I want auroras and sad prose
I want to watch wisteria grow right over my bare feet
'Cause I haven't moved in years
And I want you right here...

Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die
I don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you
Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry
I'm setting off, but not without my muse...


Basically this is a very elegant, poetic and sweet way to say "Yeah, I had enough of you annoying fuckers and all your shit, I'm a gonna leave you all behind and fuck off into the nature where I can get some peace of mind, so long losers"