Taylor Swift - The Tortured Poets Department (April 19, 2024) Album • Page 76

I really think the Aaron Dessner produced songs ended up getting short shrift with how she chose to release this. The strange and still sorta unexplained nature of them kinda leaves them out in the wind, and as it stands now they're basically tacked onto the end of an album that is already 16 tracks & over an hour long, and one that already features a few of the very strong examples of this sound in loml & Clara Bow.

I guess an insane amount of songs helps with streaming numbers and "sales" nowadays, and that is really the only explanation that makes any sense for releasing it this way. I think the two options that would have probably still accomplished most of her goals and felt less crappy would have been:
1) Just announcing what all of the different versions were ahead of time and letting people choose what and how much they wanted to buy with the knowledge of all of the other stuff.
or
2) Just completely surprise dropping the entire project without any advance notice whatsoever.

I do see that she'd take a hit on certain "numbers" with both of those options, but I'm sure she would still do insanely good by any and all metrics used to keep track of this kind of stuff, and it would feel a little less like a weird trick.

There are so many good songs on the second part of the album that I think are being criminally overlooked with the way things stand now.

 

I didn't like the first disc of this much at all but I really like the second. the three song run it ends on is really fantastic. The Bolter is probably the closest thing to a classically catchy/single-sounding (I'm very tired idk) Taylor song on here

 

After spending a good deal of time with this, while there are a handful of good songs, I think this is ultimately a collection of lesser versions of some of her best work with both Jack and Aaron.

 

The Bolter - Robin - The Manuscript is a hell of a run of songs

 

Speak Now isn't perfect, but for me, it's ambitious and uniquely sincere in a way that some of her newer material isn't.

 

Is it fair to say the reaction to the surprise double album is probably not what she hoped? I’m sure it will work for goosing the playcounts and payout, but I have to imagine the relatively negative reaction to the length is a disappointment to her. Much different than w Midnights 3AM, at least in how I’m perceiving the reception.

 

Look, I enjoy alot of Taylor swift songs. Her albums from Red to Midnights are all great. This though…I don’t think I’ll finish the double album. The lyrics on this album are the worst she’s written by far. Huge downgrade in that department.

 

I don't think it helps that arguably the best song/definite fan favorite on Midnights is one of the 3am tracks (Would've Could've Should've). I don't think you can say that about a single song on disc two here.

 

The Prophecy is the only disc 2 track that made me think "it's a damn shame this wasn't on the album proper"

 

"The Black Dog" is right up there with the best stuff on disc 1. There are a few really great standouts on the second disc, a lot of it just blends together.

 

Honestly don't understand this at all. I think this has a lot of the best lyrics she's ever written.

 

It sounds like they went to ChatGPT for some of the lines imo. The way they're phrased just seems like these lines weren't written by a real person.

"You smoked and ate 3 bars of chocolate
We declared charlie puth should be a bigger artist"

The entire chorus for alchemy

"You know how to ball, I know aristotle
Touch me while your bros play grand theft auto"

"I'd say the 1830s but without all the racists"

Those are just a few lines that are unfortunately stuck in my mind right now.

 

I strongly disagree - I really think The Manuscript, Robin, The Black Dog, The Albatross, Cassandra, The Prophecy are all way up there. The Bolter is a great mix of her older sound and her newer lyrics / subject matter. So High School is also a blast too, though it kinda sticks out on side 2 a little bit.

The first album is probably more fun but the second album is actually very strong too. Both halves or sides or whatever we are calling them could have and should have been trimmed by a few songs each though.

 

Yeah a few lines out of context from a 31 song album. You can pick lines that sound weird out of context so easily from pretty much any artist including Taylor's older stuff. All of these fit those songs imo and there's so many great verses and bridges on here it's sad that a few lines get most of the attention.

 

The grand theft auto line is great. Does nobody have a sense of humor anymore?

 

Taylor's lyrics can genuinely be funny, but that one just sticks out like a sore thumb. i know the song isn't supposed to be that serious, but it sounds like something she'd want listeners to take more seriously than it is. it's just not good, although i definitely think some fans are gonna latch onto it and love singing it back to her live.

 

I personally love it haha.

 

The only lyric on this entire thing that even struck me as odd enough to even think about it was the line about the 1830's but without the racists, but I am not critical of lyrics much at all.

I feel like anyone is gonna have some lyrics that people make fun of and consider sub par when you put out 31 songs that run over two hours.

 

In what way does it sound like something she wants taken seriously? That whole section feels very in on the high school joke.

 

Plus, right after the smoking, eating chocolate, Charlie Puth thing she talks about scratching the guy's head like a tattooed golden retriever. I actually really like the sorta silly weird lyrics playing in contrast to the actual heartbreak and torment the song is about.

 

The problem with half the internet hyper focusing on the one line of the 1830s bit is they miss the actual message which is glaringly obvious if they use a singular ounce of thought and listened for 7 more seconds.

I'd say the 1830s but without all the racists
And getting married off for the highest bid
Everyone would look down 'cause it wasn't fun now
Seems like it was never even fun back then
Nostalgia is a mind's trick
If I'd been there, I'd hate it
it was freezing in the palace

Is it clunky and corny a bit? Absolutely, but have you listened to Taylor?

 

Didn’t see this mentioned in here lol

The London QR Code For ‘Tortured Poets’ Is On A Building With The Same Name As Matty Healy’s IG

 

Yeah it's a song about hating the real world and that section is to point out how the past is intrinsically tied to awful things and shouldn't be romanticised in favour of the current moment.

 

this is true - I only pointed that line out because on my first listen thru it stuck me as a little weird and I had to kinda go back and listen to what she was saying

I do think I was zoning out a little bit after 22 songs though