I find Taylor's decision to work with the photographers who did reputation for the showgirl album shoot and the very slight sense of darkness or even sleaze I'm getting from the images thus far very, very interesting. She stressed on the podcast that the record is more about her life off-stage last year, so it seems like there will be plenty of joy and sexy love songs, but I'm looking forward to the contrast and dissonance of internal life vs external life, and maybe some Clara Bow themes coming from a happier overall perspective. Brands clout-chasing is annoying, but luckily I am no longer on the apps (except for this one - and Tumblr in mobile browser) so I don't see most of it.
Algorithms being what they are now, you are going to drown in it more than the average person. But even besides that, it is pretty incredible that we just reduced pop down to a single impenetrable mountain citadel-queen and just some sad little tents along the base. There are so many factors. You already know them though. The decline of the global strength of American culture is a big one, the splintering of experience, the atomization of daily life, the elimination of human DJ choice on radios, our broken brain chemistry from the distraction rectangles, the invasion of capitalism into every cubic millimeter of existence... you know how clouds won't form without nucleating non-water particles floating around, it seems like that, you can't have overwhelming cult audiences form without some kind of clumping mechanism, but culture is too algorithmically smoothed out. We have to be forced into experiencing stuff we would have otherwise expected to dislike, but that would cause friction. That might lose someone a few cents.
So I guess what I'm saying is, first Butlerian Jihad, then new pop superstars.
On some level I’m probably also dealing with my incompatible desires for (1) Taylor to continue to be God Empress of the Universe (2) people not to drag her into shit (3) for there to be other people on her level so that her ultimate triumphs over them are more fun.
been dating a true Swiftie so i've been getting all the updates in real time.
i'm not big on TTPD and pretty pop-sympathizing (1989 is generally my second-favorite), so i'm excited for a lot of TS12 songs to live in my head. i think we're more likely to get a "Taylor is BACK" cycle than a "Taylor is OVER" cycle out of a new pop-centric album, though of course we'll get some of both.
(admittedly, i did recently watch Miss Americana and got sad that we never got the folky Dylan-esque version of "Reputation" that it seemed like she thought she was making during the filming.)
my first response to my girlfriend sending me the cover was to instantly reply "in her Getting Laid era" and the fact that one of the songs is (feat. Sabrina Carpenter), in addition to the photos, suggests to me this is going to be a more horny-forward album (complimentary) than we've come to expect.
the clips i've seen of her on the New Heights podcast (and the details the GF essentially live-blogged for me over text while she was watching it) are very endearing. we love for her the level of comfort she's showing (regardless of where one judges it falls on the earnest-to-performative scale).
I only read one summary of the podcast, but it looks like this next album is going to be the last move in the TS total victory over pop culture. She did the biggest tour in history, she got her masters back, and the star quarterback is doing goofy things to prove his love for her. It sounds like this upcoming album will be a collection of extremely catchy songs that make clear to us in no uncertain terms, setting forth the good and the bad, what it's like to perfectly achieve your teenage dreams. It will be a huge hit, because it's something that almost no one knows, but everyone wonders about. I think all of you who love her work will be very happy with it, because it's actually one of the least difficult things she's done in the last few years.
It's what she does after releasing that album that's the big question. I'm sure she has a lot of ideas, but it's likely that whichever ones she chooses will be disappointing to a portion of her fans, which, given her fame, means a lot of unhappy people.
logging on briefly to say it’s been a bit w TS on here but convos about her private life are one thing I try to avoid on here—obviously not always possible but it’s the ideal! (back to the archives now…)
I do think TTPD was the first time in a long while she definitively lost the pop cultural conversation, not just in that people thought it kinda sucked (as was the case with Lover and Reputation), but because people mostly stopped talking about it in favor of Charli, Chappell, and SabCarp.
Now, I'm sure it still made a ton of money, but mega brands can still rake money in even as the foundations are crumbling (cf. the Star Wars sequels or post-Endgame Marvel or post-Black Album Metallica). Maybe those examples are cherry-picking; there are certainly examples of people righting the ship, but then the Chiefs did get thwacked in the Super Bowl, and sometimes you lose the Mandate of Heaven.
i’m no swiftie, a little to my chagrin. but i’m honestly loosely excited for this one, i think it could be her righting the ship! i have learned from previous issues of tss that she has a longstanding interest in showgirls, and as ms. mcclay has said she’s not super interested in a specifically verbal excellence, so i think the showgirl branding suits her better than the poet branding lmao
“eldest daughter” as a song title is hilarious to me, 12 songs is a good length, what’s not to love
My recollection is that people could not shut up about ttpd, mostly in annoying ways. It’s fine. I’ve put them all on a list in a little book and in ten years when the album is getting its critical reevaluation I will simply call them all up on their personal telephone numbers.
I find Taylor's decision to work with the photographers who did reputation for the showgirl album shoot and the very slight sense of darkness or even sleaze I'm getting from the images thus far very, very interesting. She stressed on the podcast that the record is more about her life off-stage last year, so it seems like there will be plenty of joy and sexy love songs, but I'm looking forward to the contrast and dissonance of internal life vs external life, and maybe some Clara Bow themes coming from a happier overall perspective. Brands clout-chasing is annoying, but luckily I am no longer on the apps (except for this one - and Tumblr in mobile browser) so I don't see most of it.
Je SUIS calme!! Oh that wasn't your question.
Algorithms being what they are now, you are going to drown in it more than the average person. But even besides that, it is pretty incredible that we just reduced pop down to a single impenetrable mountain citadel-queen and just some sad little tents along the base. There are so many factors. You already know them though. The decline of the global strength of American culture is a big one, the splintering of experience, the atomization of daily life, the elimination of human DJ choice on radios, our broken brain chemistry from the distraction rectangles, the invasion of capitalism into every cubic millimeter of existence... you know how clouds won't form without nucleating non-water particles floating around, it seems like that, you can't have overwhelming cult audiences form without some kind of clumping mechanism, but culture is too algorithmically smoothed out. We have to be forced into experiencing stuff we would have otherwise expected to dislike, but that would cause friction. That might lose someone a few cents.
So I guess what I'm saying is, first Butlerian Jihad, then new pop superstars.
like if Eva was just the kids smashing up UN boats that wouldn’t be fun at all
On some level I’m probably also dealing with my incompatible desires for (1) Taylor to continue to be God Empress of the Universe (2) people not to drag her into shit (3) for there to be other people on her level so that her ultimate triumphs over them are more fun.
Everyone is like orange man bad but oh when a woman is orange I see
been dating a true Swiftie so i've been getting all the updates in real time.
i'm not big on TTPD and pretty pop-sympathizing (1989 is generally my second-favorite), so i'm excited for a lot of TS12 songs to live in my head. i think we're more likely to get a "Taylor is BACK" cycle than a "Taylor is OVER" cycle out of a new pop-centric album, though of course we'll get some of both.
(admittedly, i did recently watch Miss Americana and got sad that we never got the folky Dylan-esque version of "Reputation" that it seemed like she thought she was making during the filming.)
my first response to my girlfriend sending me the cover was to instantly reply "in her Getting Laid era" and the fact that one of the songs is (feat. Sabrina Carpenter), in addition to the photos, suggests to me this is going to be a more horny-forward album (complimentary) than we've come to expect.
the clips i've seen of her on the New Heights podcast (and the details the GF essentially live-blogged for me over text while she was watching it) are very endearing. we love for her the level of comfort she's showing (regardless of where one judges it falls on the earnest-to-performative scale).
Travis Michael Kelce assured me this album is “12 bangers.”
I only read one summary of the podcast, but it looks like this next album is going to be the last move in the TS total victory over pop culture. She did the biggest tour in history, she got her masters back, and the star quarterback is doing goofy things to prove his love for her. It sounds like this upcoming album will be a collection of extremely catchy songs that make clear to us in no uncertain terms, setting forth the good and the bad, what it's like to perfectly achieve your teenage dreams. It will be a huge hit, because it's something that almost no one knows, but everyone wonders about. I think all of you who love her work will be very happy with it, because it's actually one of the least difficult things she's done in the last few years.
It's what she does after releasing that album that's the big question. I'm sure she has a lot of ideas, but it's likely that whichever ones she chooses will be disappointing to a portion of her fans, which, given her fame, means a lot of unhappy people.
Tight end.
Of course this raises the question - would TS trade up to a quarterback if she gets the chance, or will she make do?
logging on briefly to say it’s been a bit w TS on here but convos about her private life are one thing I try to avoid on here—obviously not always possible but it’s the ideal! (back to the archives now…)
My bad. Sportsball not my strong suit.
I do think TTPD was the first time in a long while she definitively lost the pop cultural conversation, not just in that people thought it kinda sucked (as was the case with Lover and Reputation), but because people mostly stopped talking about it in favor of Charli, Chappell, and SabCarp.
Now, I'm sure it still made a ton of money, but mega brands can still rake money in even as the foundations are crumbling (cf. the Star Wars sequels or post-Endgame Marvel or post-Black Album Metallica). Maybe those examples are cherry-picking; there are certainly examples of people righting the ship, but then the Chiefs did get thwacked in the Super Bowl, and sometimes you lose the Mandate of Heaven.
i’m no swiftie, a little to my chagrin. but i’m honestly loosely excited for this one, i think it could be her righting the ship! i have learned from previous issues of tss that she has a longstanding interest in showgirls, and as ms. mcclay has said she’s not super interested in a specifically verbal excellence, so i think the showgirl branding suits her better than the poet branding lmao
“eldest daughter” as a song title is hilarious to me, 12 songs is a good length, what’s not to love
Also Kendrick vs. Drake, but that's not a direct pop-to-pop comparison.
My recollection is that people could not shut up about ttpd, mostly in annoying ways. It’s fine. I’ve put them all on a list in a little book and in ten years when the album is getting its critical reevaluation I will simply call them all up on their personal telephone numbers.
How could she do this to us when the damn president is already orange! Sorry I’m trying to delete it