By In the opening poem of tortured poet sectionOn her 11th studio album, Taylor Swift sings that she was an alcoholic until no one noticed her new aesthetic.
Now it is.
On an album of 31 songs (this is her signature backward 13), Swift is her most unmasked (and turned on) yet. She was done impressing her “wine moms” (even though her fermented fruit blood was her favorite medicine). Her first 16 songs on TPD, sung in the lower register, are mostly dark, shimmering synth-pop tunes, mostly of longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff and The National’s Aaron Dessner. Written with assistance. Dessner’s collaboration with Swift leans more toward folk music and indie, and mainly covers the latter half. Tortured Poets: Anthologya surprise bonus album was dropped right after listeners finished streaming the original album at midnight (shout out to everyone else who got a notification from Spotify saying they were in the first 10 percent of streams).
TPD racked up 891 million streams in its first week in the U.S., setting a new record, surpassing Drake’s previous record of 746 million streams for 25 tracks. scorpion In 2018.
In the title track, “The Tortured Poets Department,” Swift sings about a lover who “smoked cigarettes and ate seven chocolate bars.” Even though she admits this person is no Dylan Thomas and no Patti Smith (“This isn’t the Chelsea Hotel, we’re modern idiots”), Swift isn’t shy. is fascinated by. On the anthology side of her album, she realized that this person needed her, but she needed more drugs.
If tabloid reports are to be believed, the “tattooed golden retriever” in question is Matty Healy, the troubled charismatic character from The 1975. Openly discussing the search for a cure for heroin addiction. In “The Alchemy,” she finds a new lover in heroin, but this time with an “e” (for heroine). It would be easy to simply say she sings about drugs on TPD because she was in a relationship with Healy in 2023, when this song was primarily written, but to explain the songwriting decision It would be very unreasonable to pay attention to tabloid reports about her dating history. tired. Additionally, while their recent “situation” has captivated TikTok, the pair have at least known each other and have supported each other’s work for a decade.
So why is Swift getting so real now, singing about munchies and balancing love and addiction? Does that mean the weed that’s about to be declassified won’t be as shocking as her first interaction with the bad guys?
This is actually not the first time she has addressed substance use disorders. For her 2020 “This Is Me Trying”: Folklore: Long Pond Studio Sessions; That’s about it. However, no one noticed her new aesthetic. And now she’s completely fuck-free, even though she’s dropping f-bombs more regularly than ever. It’s not just drugs. TPD is do not have As many reviews believe, love songs about ex-lovers just come out one after another. Line after line dissects religion. She is, perhaps most shockingly, critical of her picture-perfect family and even her fans.
She levitates down the street in “Aren’t You Afraid of Little Old Me?” Like a vampire decapitated to perform in a circus (The internet wants to know: Is she fighting with Olivia Rodrigo? What about that alleged diss track about Kim Kardashian? If anything, you idiot, she’s adding to the drama.) Reputation: Taylor’s version!). She’s very excited about “Guilty As Sin?” The album continues to explore sex and religion.she is watching american pie Garage rock “So High School”. Post Malone provided smoky vocals on “Fortnite.” video, you can see what Swift looks like with a face tattoo. Honestly, it’s all a stoner’s delight. This is definitely an album for people in their 30s. About “Florida!!!” Featuring Florence Welch, the film is basically about fleeing to the states to dispose of the body that was on top of her, and Swift says that her friends are ” “They all smell like weed or little babies,” and in the gorgeous “Robin,” she laughs, “That’s ridiculous,” and begs her lover to take her higher, like she’s from Alabama. as if it had come true love The scene where she uses hairspray to kill James Gandolfini. “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart” is perfect pop, and Swift couldn’t be more on-brand as she sings about being productive and having a good cry. This song will definitely be played on the remaining 2024 Eras tour dates.
Plus, you can hear Swift sing the word “daddy” again. The content about ex-lovers is of great interest to Easter egg-obsessed fans (tortured poet section The book was released on April 19th, the day before April 20th, which also marks the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 when the United States declared its intention to secede from Great Britain. Apparently, her ex-lover wanted to leave. She is British). “So Long London” brings Miss Americana back to her hometown. Critics and fans want to know what happens next. After seeing a video on IG of her singing along to Garth Brooks’ iconic “I’ve Got Friends in Low Places” at a football game, she decided to give it a try, as the country genre has gotten surprisingly cool in recent years. , personally I’m scratching my head at her. They sing about cannabis a lot, thanks to stars like Kacey Musgraves, and of course Beyoncé as well. cowboy carter and Swift collaborator Lana Del Rey’s next country album. lasso, Tay Tay would return to his Tim McGraw-loving roots and end up getting another country album. 13/10 stars tortured poet section.
