The Taylor Swift Thread

[Maxim]

I listened to the whole album yesterday.

A masterpiece. Her best work till now.

I am not overstating it.

She is growing so much as an artist.

[Toups]

Nice! Glad you enjoyed it!  I'll have my thoughts about it soon.   I need a whole a week to process it.  LOL

[Maxim]

I am listening to it right now again, drinking some gin and tonic and ready to cry.

[Maxim]

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LOVE. 

[Toups]

After one week, it's my favourite.  

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  It's really catchy, especially the chorus.  It's a sad song yet you can dance to it.  It's also a bit weird with the "alien abduction" sounds.   I hope she adds this era to the tour and this song will be on the set list.     It should be the next single, or at least one of the singles off this album. 

[Maxim]

 I didn't know it was your favorite! We think alike, haha! I LOVE IT. Not ashamed to say It makes me feel so many emotions and brings me back to places only Taylor can bring me back.

 

[Maxim]

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Masterpiece 

 

[Toups]

First week numbers are in and she set a new career high!   2.61 million in units for second best all time.  And 1.91 million in pure copies for third best all time.   It's Taylor's third straight album (Midnights, 1989TV, TTPD) over 1 million in sales.   If you told me this two years ago, I wouldn't have believed you.  LOL   She made her debut in June of 2006 and 18 years later, she's never been bigger.  For this to happen in year 18 and mind-boggling.  And who knows, she could even get bigger which is hard to imagine. 

 

Billboard article: Taylor Swift Makes Historic Debut at No. 1 on Billboard 200 With ‘The Tortured Poets Department’

 

Most #1s on the Billboard 200:

19, The Beatles
14, Jay-Z
14, Taylor Swift
13, Drake
11, Bruce Springsteen
11, Barbra Streisand
11, Ye (formerly Kanye West)
10, Eminem
10, Future
10, Elvis Presley

 

Largest Streaming Week Ever:

1, Taylor Swift, The Tortured Poets Department, 891.37 million, May 4, 2024
2, Drake, Scorpion, 745.92 million, July 14, 2018
3, Drake, Certified Lover Boy, 743.67 million, Sept. 18, 2021
4, Taylor Swift, Midnights, 549.26 million, Nov. 5, 2022
5, Drake, For All the Dogs, 514.01 million, Oct. 21, 2023
6, Drake & 21 Savage, Her Loss, 513.56 million, Nov. 19, 2022
7, Morgan Wallen, One Thing at a Time, 498.28 million, March 18, 2023
8, Lil Wayne, Tha Carter V, 433.02 million, Oct. 13, 2018
9, Post Malone, beerbongs & bentleys, 431.34 million, May 12, 2018
10, Juice WRLD, Legends Never Die, 422.63 million, July 25, 2020

 

Equivalent Album Units Earned

1, Adele, 25, 3.482 million, Dec. 12, 2015
2, Taylor Swift, The Tortured Poets Department, 2.61 million, May 4, 2024
3, Taylor Swift, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), 1.653 million, Nov. 11, 2023
4, Taylor Swift, Midnights, 1.578 million, Nov. 5, 2022
5, Taylor Swift, reputation, 1.238 million, Dec. 2, 2017
6, Adele, 25, 1.193 million, Jan. 9, 2016*
7, Adele, 25, 1.162 million, Dec. 19, 2015*
8, Drake, Views, 1.039 million, May 21, 2016
9, Taylor Swift, Lover, 867,000, Sept. 7, 2019
10, Taylor Swift, Folklore, 846,000, Aug. 8, 2020

 

Pure Sales Week in Modern Era

1, Adele, 25, 3.378 million, Dec. 12, 2015
2, *NSYNC, No Strings Attached, 2.416 million, April 8, 2000
3, Taylor Swift, The Tortured Poets Department, 1.914 million, May 4, 2024
4, *NSYNC, Celebrity, 1.88 million, Aug. 11, 2001
5, Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP, 1.76 million, June 10, 2000
6, Backstreet Boys, Black & Blue, 1.591 million, Dec. 9, 2000
7, Taylor Swift, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), 1.359 million, Nov. 11, 2023
8, Eminem, The Eminem Show, 1.322 million, June 15, 2002*
9, Britney Spears, Oops! …I Did It Again, 1.319 million, June 3, 2000
10, Taylor Swift, 1989, 1.287 million, Nov. 15, 2014

 

Biggest Sales Week for a Vinyl Album in Modern Era

1, Taylor Swift, The Tortured Poets Department, 859,000, May 4, 2024
2, Taylor Swift, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), 693,000, Nov. 11, 2023
3, Taylor Swift, Midnights, 575,000, Nov. 5, 2022
4, Taylor Swift, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), 268,000, July 22, 2023
5, Harry Styles, Harry’s House, 182,000, June 4, 2022
6, Taylor Swift, Red (Taylor’s Version), 114,000, Nov. 27, 2021
7, Adele, 30, 108,000, Dec. 4, 2021
8, Taylor Swift, Evermore, 102,000, June 12, 2021
9, Olivia Rodrigo, Guts, 94,000, Sept. 23, 2023
10, Travis Scott, Utopia, 93,000, Aug. 26, 2023

[Maxim]

She did it.

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[Toups]

Here are my thoughts on the album.

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  I loved it (of course).  LOL   I definitely liked album 1 more than album 2.    Album 1 is more poppy, has singable choruses, has better melodies.  I’m a pure-pop guy so album 2 was a bit slow for my taste.  I don’t mind slow songs, but I need something to connect to…..I need some sort of hook or melody.  I’m definitely going to listen to those songs if they come up in a shuffle, but I doubt I will intentionally play those songs.  But there are three songs I really liked on album 2: So High School, thank you Aimee, The Bolter. 

 

On album 1, I pretty much love every song except for I Can Fix Him.  This song just went nowhere, unlike The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived where it started out really slow and then it slowly builds up to probably the best the bridge (at the 2:25 mark) on the album. 

 

 

My Tier 1 songs:

- Down Bad: After 1 week it’s my favourite.  I already posted about it above. 

 

- But Daddy I Love Him: In this song she puts her parasocial fans on blast.  LOL  I love the lyrics!  The chorus just makes you want to run and shout those lyrics out.   It can definitely see it being an anthem for those in relationships that people don’t approve of.  LOL 

 

I'll tell you something right now
I'd rather burn my whole life down
Than listen to one more second of all this bitching and moaning
I'll tell you something about my good name
It's mine alone to disgrace
I don't cater to all these vipers dressed in empath's clothing

God save the most judgmental creeps
Who say they want what's best for me
Sanctimoniously performing soliloquies I'll never see
Thinking it can change the beat
Of my heart when he touches me
And counteract the chemistry
And undo the destiny
You ain't gotta pray for me
Me and my wild boy
And all this wild joy
If all you want is gray for me
Then it's just white noise
And it's just my choice

 

 

- Guilty as Sin?:  Who knew a song about masturbation could be kind of romantic?  

 

What if he's written 'mine' on my upper thigh
Only in my mind?
One slip and falling back into the hedge maze
Oh what a way to die
My bedsheets are ablaze
I've screamed his name
Building up like waves
Crashing over my grave
Without ever touching his skin
How can I be guilty as sin?

 

Oh Taylor.  LOL

 

 

- I Can Do It With a Broken Heart: It’s about Taylor having to perform on the tour during one of the toughest times in her career – going through two breakups in a short period of time and with guys she’s known for a long time (6-7 years in a romantic relationship with Joe.  Then over 10 years of friendship to on-and-off to officially dating with Matty).  

 

I'm so depressed, I act like it's my birthday every day
I'm so obsessed with him but he avoids me like the plague (he avoids me)
I cry a lot but I am so productive, it's an art
You know you're good when you can even do it
With a broken heart

You know you're good when you can even do it
With a broken heart
You know you're good, I'm good
'Cause I'm miserable
And nobody even knows
Try and come for my job

 It’s a sad song set to upbeat/bubble-gum pop that’s also funny.  It has Taylor’s classic spoken-word parts.

 

- loml: The saddest song on the album.

 

Tier 2 songs: Fortnight, The Tortured Poets Department, My Boy Only Breaks His Favourite Toys, Fresh Out Of The Slammer, Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?, The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived, The Alchemy, Clara Bow, So High School, The Bolter, thank you aimee (this song is also pretty funny). 

 

Tier 3 songs: Florida!!!, The Black Dog, So Long, London, imgonnagetyouback

 

Over both albums, there was definitely more instrument based (drums, piano, guitars) songs than on Midnights.  A lot of songs could’ve been on folklore.  Taylor is someone who uses songwriting as coping mechanism.  She was going through so much during the biggest tour of her life and she need to get these songs out of her.  So, it wasn’t a surprise she stuck with Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner as her two main collaborators on such a raw and emotional album.  She trusts them and is very comfortable with them.   

For her next album, I think she’ll have more time (once the tour ends) to experiment more a bit, and to try and find other collaborators.   I’m still waiting for my pop-rock/stadium-rock album.    I hope it’s next, her 12^th album, because I think album 13 will be her going back to her pop-country roots. 

[Maxim]

YES! This sums up my dreams too!

[Taoboi]

So worth the wait, Toups.

Thank you.

 

 

[Maxim]

https://guitar.com/features/opinion-analysis/how-taylor-swift-is-rewriting-contemporary-guitar-music/

How Taylor Swift is rewriting contemporary guitar music – and making herself a modern guitar icon

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[Maxim]

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[Maxim]

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