It’s no secret that I am a HUGE Taylor Swift fan. My mom got us tickets to see her Speak Now show in Nashville when I was in middle school, and I have been hooked ever since. As I get older, I appreciate her for new reasons. Her longevity, her business savvy, her ability to completely reinvent herself when needed. I think there’e just so much to unpack from her career and learn from her.
Besides loving her as a person, she is easily my favorite musician and the music I can always put on no matter what activity I am doing, what mood I am in, etc. I always celebrate her albums coming out in a pretty big way, but this release was so different from her past. My friend Alyson even recounted what album releases have been like with me from a casual fan perspective. She literally announced she was releasing an entire album, music video, multiple editions of the CD and vinyl and an entire merch line less than 24 hours before it all dropped. For any seasoned Taylor fan, this came as a huge surprise. She usually teases and gives tiny hints that only mega-fans would really notice, for MONTHS, then announces the album at least a few weeks, sometimes even months, before anything is going to come out. There’s always one or two singles before the album, she hosts secret listening sessions for dedicated fans at her houses all across the globe- you get the picture. Her album releases and era changes are usually a big deal.
This time, though, everything had changed ;), and she just released it. I found this so ironic, because this release felt so much more mature and it’s also the first album where I am married, have my own house, graduated from college, in the real world. Before this, Her album “Lover,” probably her most dreamy, in love album, came out during my most gushy season of life- during the height of my engagement and right before my wedding. It’s like her music literally follows me through life, and I know I am not the only person who feels this way.
Even though this is by far her saddest album, I feel like I can still relate to the tones of growing up, melancholy, angst, coziness. It’s just the perfect album to put on a record player on a rainy, overcast fall day. It also works for an upstate road trip in the middle of summer. I have also been working with it in the background for DAYS. This album is just so permanently fixed in me, I don’t know how long it will be until I go more than a few hours without turning it on.
I also love that we (as her fan base) aren’t really supposed to interpret this album further than surface level. She just wants it to be a group of songs similar to folklore- the stories pass on and no one really knows where they came from or who they are specifically about, but there’s a greater theme and story involved. That’s exactly how these songs are- don’t read too far into them.
My wonderful photographer friend Katie came over to hang out, and we couldn’t help but throw in a little folklore themed photo shoot. It was pretty funny to try and act serious when that is just so not me. I have an entirely new appreciation for Taylor’s ability to look morose in her album photoshoot!
Before I hop off, I wanted to document my current thoughts on the album, songs, etc so I can look back on this in years and see how my opinions have stayed the same/changed.
My favorite song on the first listen and since has remained “seven.” It’s just everything I love about relaxing music in one package. I also love peace, hoax and invisible string. I honestly just love all of them! If I had to pick the ones at the bottom of my list, it’s probably Last Great American Dynasty and Betty. I know those are necessary on the album as the convey the storytelling component the most, but those are just always my least favorite types of her songs! The song that has grown on me the most since the first few days is definitely Mirrorball. Tell me what your favorite song is by commenting on my Instagram post!
