*Sorry, there was a problem signing you up. Or does she mouth, ‘Fuck you forever?’” This is one of Swift’s best songs and a literal misandrist anthem, but my fear is this: remember when we found out “You Oughta Know” was about … Joey from Full House? I’d moved permanently into the woods to stream Taylor Swift’s eighth studio album folklore where it deserved to be streamed: in the wilderness. I awakened screaming and panting, only to realize — it wasn’t a dream. A lowercase girl album, like a lowercase girl, signifies ambivalence, nonchalance, and unfortunately, a Trojan horse of emotional terrorism. Okay, what’s weird to me is that the “B” and the “I” are still capitalized in “feat. In a note to her fans, the inventor of forests wrote that folklore is a storytelling album for which she allowed her imagination to run wild while in isolation. Zooey Deschanel Plays Katy Perry in Music Video, Culminating a 13-Year-Old Joke. You can feel Swift’s low-burbling fury leaking through her teeth when she sings, “What do you sing on your drive home? As a lowercase swiftie, this is displeasing to me. 2020 Looked Bleak. “this is me trying” has swirling strings, subtle horns, and — not an instrument— but can I just say, Taylor is becoming a reverb bitch. We open with an emotionally devastating blast to the face. Taylor Swift's second isolation album, "Evermore," is a breathtaking companion to this summer's "Folklore" that puts her songwriting front and center. ً … And confuses some Perry-obsessed aliens along the way. Still, the vibe of the album is notably different. Bon Iver) Okay, what’s weird to me is that the “B” and the “I” are still capitalized in “feat. Rachael Dowd - December 15, 2020 [Photo via Spotify] There’s also this lyric, “Rebekah gave up on the Rhode Island set forever / flew in all her Bitch Pack friends from the city / filled the pool with champagne and swam with the big names,” inspired by St. Louis-born debutante Rebekah Harkness, who married the heir to Standard Oil. Metaphorically unmasking the DJ whose viral videos soundtracked this year. Cut to: me in a ball on my floor, emotionally mangled, happy-sobbing about how grateful I am that the Swiftian String brought me and my girlfriend together. For my full thoughts on “betty” please check out my book “betty” which will be released in 70 volumes over the course of the next 40 years. Here is our humble, preliminary opinion on the best songs on Taylor Swift’s Folklore-- all 16 tracks, plus the bonus track, “The Lakes.” 17. Why Are Megan Thee Stallion, City Girls, and Asian Doll Fighting? Taylor Swift isn't the type to really talk at all about her boyfriend of four years, Joe Alwyn, but she opened up to Zane Lowe about her experience writing songs for folklore … Released with a music video at midnight Friday, “cardigan” is adorable, and yet, again, hurtful to specifically me: “And when I felt like I was an old cardigan, under someone’s bed, you put me on and said I was your favorite.” Here’s what I believe: I believe that “cardigan” is not just about hurting me personally but is also a lesbian answer to Chris Evans’s cable-knit sweater in Knives Out. You’re better than all lowercase girls??? Critics mostly describe the album as indie folk, alternative rock, and electro-folk, while a few classify it as pop. Now, one TikTok user may have just proved Swift could make another genre-switch in the future. Last night I dreamt I was dashing through thorny brush in a black forest, bloodying my legs in desperate search of a clearing in the trees. It’s getting dark out and my meat supply ran out three days ago. Taylor Swift has surprised fans with the release of her 8th studio album, Folklore. A Timeline of Ariana Grande’s Expedited Relationship With Dalton Gomez, Step Forward and Watch This Sneak Peak of, Peter Jackson unveiled five minutes of cheery footage, giving us a sense of “the spirit of the film.”. The singer, 30, only released her seventh studio album Lover last year on August 23, 2019. Fuck Marsha Blackburn! Thursday morning, July 23, Swift announced a surprise album and music video were set to drop that Friday at midnight. It was a surprise album, released through Republic Records on July 24, 2020, eleven months after its predecessor, Lover (2019). While we’re all stuck in weird, dark apartments (Swift not included), the only vacations we’re afforded are the ones where we leave our bodies and live in stories, old journals, happy memories of beaches and sun-kissed romance and getting summertime wine-drunk. If “my tears ricochet” is to folklore what “Delicate” was to reputation, then “epiphany” is to folklore what “It’s Nice to Have a Friend” was to Lover, in that it’s the haunted doll hiding in your closet of the album. Back in July, Taylor Swift dropped her surprise eighth studio album folklore. Then, DJ iMarkkeyz Remixed It. “the 1” is a playful yet melancholic doom fantasy of what could’ve been, in which Swift muses, “it would’ve been fun, if you were the one.” Personally, I believe folklore is a PsyOp, and “the 1” is the first blow of a 16-piece psychological attack intended to break every last person who hasn’t yet been broken by quarantine. The PsyOp is working — and I’m not gonna lie— being isolated in the woods without internet or any real life skills for the past 24 hours … isn’t helping either. Ed Sheeran Returns to Strum Us Into 2021 With ‘Afterglow’. Here’s what I care about: You know what’s gay? "Cardigan," "Illicit Affairs," and "Betty" are all the same story from three different perspectives. Some have noted that Swift used the names of her friend Blake Lively’s kids, James and Inez, who are both girls, for this song. It’s what “All Too Well” is to Red. https://www.republicworld.com/.../taylor-swifts-folklore-explained.html IMO “peace” is about feeling like you’re simultaneously too much and never enough and wanting to be with somebody but knowing you’ll ruin their life by self-sabotaging and it’s also about romanticizing toxic and messy relationships and creating fantasies out of doom and gloom and heartbreak. Also: The most Christmas songs in the top ten ever! Dessner's presence is a signal that folklore represents a shift for Taylor Swift, moving her away from the glittering pop mainstream and into gloomier territory. You’re better than her album theme, her artistic vision, her ten Grammys? You\'ll receive the next newsletter in your inbox. Or sorry that happened.”. But sure, let’s pretend for a second that “betty” is from “James’s” POV. After the high-octane Kids Bop feel of Lover, it’s relieving to hear Swift return to more haunting instrumentations. “hoax” is a song about heartbreak that rips your guts out, sort of like when you rip the guts out of a bear, clearing space in its body so you can sleep between its ribs because you’re trapped in an icy tundra without shelter. Now, after a grueling night of listening, weeping, memeing, and baring my teeth at a puma that got into my meat supply, I’m ready to discuss. Bon Iver,” despite every other letter on the album being lowercase. As a lesbian with zero interest in Chris Evans, I felt very left out of the sweater discourse last year, and no queer woman should EVER be left out of sweater discourse. S… Bon Iver),” track four. I, however, cannot read, and thus do not have to accept this as canon (more on why, and more on “betty,” in a bit). The LP was quickly classified as alternative, making it the third genre classification in her career. “Exile (feat. Guy Fieri Is America’s Most Misunderstood Chef. “seven” is about the pureness of childhood friendship: “I think your house is haunted / your dad is always mad and that must be why / and I think you should come live with me / and we can be pirates, / then you won’t have to cry / or hide in the closet.” Like, I don’t need this right now. Betty. The wintry love song marks his first release in over a year. Taylor Swift Told The Stories Behind Writing The "Love Triangle" Songs From "Folklore" And It's Kinda Surprising "It would be safe to assume that 'Cardigan' would be first, but it wasn't." The record went on to earn six Grammy nominations , including Album of the Year and Song of the Year. Creating a fictional male character and wearing him like an outfit to sing a song about kissing a girl. This one goes out to all the reverb lesbians — I know you’re out there. Anyway, “illicit affairs” is about how having an affair and lying kills you “a million little times.” But as the meme goes, “I ain’t reading all that. Swift hauls out her old high-school-romance-songs vocal tone to reminisce about “skipping the prom/ just to piss off your mom,” very much in the vein of Folklore’s teen-love-triangle trilogy. Stream songs including "the 1", "cardigan" and more. “cardigan” is not only the official sweater of bisexuality (they’re versatile) but the first of many queer-coded songs on folklore. Taylor Swift has also debunked those 'woodvale' rumors. Sweetness has ripened into bittersweet beauty, regret has mellowed into a wistful sigh, the melodies don't clamor for attention but seep their way into the subconscious. A trip to the ranch with the morale-boosting Mayor of Flavortown. In many ways, folklore is the Taylor Swift’s rawest and chillest piece of work. So, there is a theory, one that’s probably correct, that “illicit affairs” is one of three songs Swift referred to in a YouTube comment as “The Teenage Love Triangle.” All three songs are written from each person in the love triangle’s POV: “illicit affairs” being from the POV of girl who the boy cheated with, “betty” being from the POV of the boy, and “cardigan” being from the POV of Betty. Or, at least, it’s her most gothic record. In November, Swift released a documentary on Disney+ that chronicles the making of “folklore” and features her first performances with with Antonoff, Dessner and Vernon. And while the movie doesn’t always work, that part is kind of nice. The trailer features Samuel L. Jackson, Leslie Jones, and more. Aaron Dessner confirms: folklore is Taylor Swift’s goth record. “august” is that fugue state: It’s beautiful, evocative, a successful astral projection. © 2020 Vox Media, LLC. Do you see my face in the neighbor’s lawn? However, Swift and Stone saw each other at the premiere. Once she started the project, Swift turned to her longtime colleague Jack Antonoff for some input, but she also contacted an unexpected new collaborator: Aaron Dessner, the driving force behind the acclaimed indie rock band the National. There is just “my tears ricochet.”. Everything You Need to Know About the Heiress Who Inspired a Taylor Swift Song, Taylor Swift and Bon Iver Find Perfect Harmony on ‘exile’, How to Gird Your Loins for Taylor Swift’s. … “exile” is weepy and cinematic in all the right ways. “my tears ricochet” is everything. A lowercase girl album, like a lowercase girl, signifies ambivalence, nonchalance, and unfortunately, a Trojan horse of emotional terrorism. This is what happens in The Revenant, I think — as far as folklore aesthetics go, I identify as more of a Nell bitch than a Revenant slut. “epiphany” sounds like a choral arrangement of hexed porcelain dolls and is about witnessing trauma. Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, regular press tours are not held. Praying it’s not. The National’s Dessner lends a significant amount of indie music … But for me, the most interesting thing about this song is Swift’s refusal to capitalize “american” in the title, which is explicit proof that Taylor Swift is a communist. The singer’s cozy eighth studio is a far cry from her perfect h by Natalie Morin Knowing that, let’s talk about every song on folklore. Taylor Swift surprised-released a new album called Folklore on Friday, and like all her albums, it’s bound to be a hit. These texts, these films, these heirlooms? August. I’m good. Mirrorball. Female rage anthems like Alanis’s “You Oughta Know” and the Chicks’ “Goodbye Earl” blazed the scorched-earth trail for a song like “mad woman” to exist. 1 Debut. When Taylor said, “And if I’m dead to you, why are you at the wake?” I threw my copy of The Bell Jar in the trash. I don’t ever want to hear a woman singing about another woman, only to feel duped, like I’m waking up in Black Swan and have hallucinated all of the steamy lesbianism. This song is beautiful — but I’m good. The Shondaland Netflix series will make you want to whisper obscene gossip, pop Champagne, and run giddily through a hedge maze. One of the songs on Folklore that caught the most early attention online is “Betty,” a late-album track that sees Swift return most directly to her country roots. Carey Mulligan is outrageously great as a Me Too vigilante in an unsettling first film from Emerald Fennell. Possibly. Stone Says Her Favorite Folklore Song. bon iver: Do you think you’re better than Taylor? Does she smile? "My Tears Ricochet" I don’t care about that. When Taylor said, “You wear the same jewels that I gave you, as you bury me,” I launched my great-great-grandmother’s jewels into the sea. When Taylor said, “You know I didn’t want to have to haunt you, but what a ghostly scene,” I wrote a scathing review of The Poltergeist on Amazon. Already a subscriber? Combined, the moodier, contemplative tone and the emphasis on songs that can't be parsed as autobiography make folklore feel not like a momentary diversion inspired by isolation but rather the first chapter of Swift's mature second act. Folklore, the singer-songwriter's eighth studio album, features 16 new songs that Swift says she poured her "whims, dreams, fears, and musings" into. Featuring production from Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff, Folklore eschews the upbeat pop production of Swift's previous albums for mellow ballads driven by piano and guitar. Both “this is me trying” and “The Archer” from Lover sound like they were recorded in a musty locker room. (Cue the plaintive harmonica.) The PsyOp of incepting people on the brink of madness comes to a sweeping close in “hoax,” in which Swift finally punted me off the bridge of sanity. But first, some housekeeping: It must be noted that each song on folklore and the album title are stylized in lowercase letters. Log in or link your magazine subscription. The added blow of bon iver’s blatant disrespect for lowercaseists (also known as anti-capitalists) is enough to push me over the edge. The 16 songs on folklore are recognizably her work, bearing telltale melodic phrases and a … The result of her introspection was folklore, an album whose hushed atmosphere belies the speed of its composition and recording. BETTY. They’re no use to me now. 26 Notable New Releases Over the Next Two Weeks. In November 2020, Stone returned for the animated sequel, The Croods: New Age. By. The other two songs that mirror each other are folklore's "epiphany" and evermore's "marjorie," both track 13 (which Swift considers her lucky number) on … Faced with some unexpected free time due to a lockdown inspired by a global pandemic, Taylor Swift turned inward. This is everything I want out of a Taylor Swift song: strings being plucked, colors being painted, and the saccharine imagery of an “invisible string” pulling two unwitting strangers together. Swift is known for always placing her most emotional song as the fifth track on her albums — including "All Too Well," which many fans consider one of … I’m happy for u tho. By this point in the album, it’s clear that Swift is doing what many of has have done during pandemic: dissociating. The scars of my youth. Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn’s Relationship Timeline Read article In Swift’s liner notes, she wrote about her grandfather Dean “landing at Guadalcanal in 1942.” Fair warning: You only need to hear “epiphany” once for it to escape through a cracked mirror, stick to your skin, and sleep next to you in bed each night like an eldritch spirit. But Alwyn’s casting wasn’t reported until after he and Swift started dating. Taylor Swift confirmed that her boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, cowrote two songs on her latest album, Folklore, under a pseudonym. “the 1” is just oiling you up for your own annihilation. Folklore really feels like the debut album of a whole new Swift — her narrative scope has opened up, with a wide-ranging cast of characters for 17 songs, without a … Taylor Swift invented String Theory, which if you didn’t know, is the scientific theory that soul mates are bound together by one invisible Swiftian String. Folklore (stylized in all lowercase) is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Woods-inspired art works best when helmed by queer (or queer-coded) women (@nobody in particular @Justin Timberlake). Yes, this song is likely about Swift feeling like she needs to mirror every version of herself that the public wants her to be, but it’s more likely about my own personal insecurities, my impostor syndrome, and my insatiable need for approval. I Don’t Make the Rules. It’s Christmas Morning for Everyone But Mom on, Michael Che Got Colin Jost to Roast Scarlett Johansson on Weekend Update, Kristen Wiig’s Pigeon Lady Turns Christmas Vigilante in, Taylor Swift Continues Her Record-Breaking Run With ‘willow’ No. In a year defined by fear and anxiety, these ten films managed to provide haunts and delights. I’m worried we’re going to find out “mad woman” is about, like … Rainn Wilson. There are so many … I don’t need to remember what it was like to have my youth ripped from my throat years ago or be to nostalgic for childhood emotional wounds. Some have theorized that “the last great american dynasty,” and its mention of a woman from St. Louis, is about Swift’s former BFF and rumored ex-girlfriend, Karlie Kloss, who was raised in St. Louis. None of these are precisely new tricks for Swift but her writing from the explicit vantage of other characters, as on the epic story-song "the last great american dynasty," is. The 16 songs on folklore are recognizably her work, bearing telltale melodic phrases and a reliance on finely honed narratives that turn on exquisitely rendered lyrical details. The emotional terrorism continues: “I’ve never been a natural, all I do is try, try, try, I’m still on that trapeze, I’m still trying everything to keep you looking at me, because I’m a mirrorball.” This was very hurtful to me, a mirrorball. The Best And Worst Songs On Taylor Swift's "Folklore" If "my tears ricochet" is not in your top five, you're wrong. It all started with Megan’s new song, “Do It on the Tip.”. Adam Brody and Leighton Meester Probably Won’t Binge the New, “I don’t think we’re the audience, but I’m sure we’ll dip our toes in.”. This was the standout on the first listen and it’s still up the top of the list. Sounding like it’s pulled straight … Taylor Swift’s ‘betty’ Is Queer Canon. You know what I didn’t need to stew about in my self-isolation echo chamber of trauma? Tarik really thought Hazel was going to lose her mind over a dishwasher and ignore the messy reality around her. This is just as shimmery and shiny as a mirrorball itself. 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