#swiftology

[cureforbedbugs]

13EATS: A MIXTAYPE

I've been writing about Taylor Swift's melodic strategies for a long time now. I compared her to a melodic rapping style that I call "modal rap" back in 2023, but I always wondered what would happen if you actually combined her (mostly major key) melodies with (mostly minor key) production from rap of the past decade.

This is the result -- my attempt to dabble in Swiftological experimental physics after spending so much time as a theoretician. This is the first mash-up album I've made in 15 years, after my TEENPOP, LOCK, AND DROP series (which you can still find if you click through to the SoundCloud). Enjoy!

[nifty-swifty]

one thing I love about evermore as an album is the recurring theme of feeling destabilized/unmoored and finding stable ground to hold onto, often depicted through the metaphor of waves ("I'm on the waves, out being tossed"). so while she was still feeling unmoored, completely at the mercy of the current and being tossed out on the waves, she ends up shipwrecked on a shore ("when I was shipwrecked, I thought of you // lost in your current like a priceless wine"). the shore she ends up in is where she ends up getting the space to stabilize. and repeatedly, the narrator anchors herself to the one thing that shined, brought glimmer of hope when she felt hopeless...her lover. so when she was forced to let go of the illusion of control, she found true happiness. and I think there's something so beautiful and romantic about that.

@taylorswift @taylornation

[brealityswift13]

I’m a tide pod and @taylorswift is golden like daylight ... seems accurate 🤣 What are you?

[nifty-swifty]

seven touches on so many important themes and it’s so hard to summarize the genius of this song. 

most of all, seven points to how sad, beautiful, and tragic adulthood can be when compared to the innocence, freedom, and hope of childhood.  the freedom of being able to scream ferociously anytime before being socialized to feel ashamed for feeling fully and playing passionately (”before I learned civility”). I mean, can you guys remember a time when you felt absolutely free of social norms?

it also describes how resourceful and resilient children are. the lines “house is haunted, your dad is always mad” and “then you won’t have to cry or hide in the closet” seem to refer to childhood abuse, and how make-believe and diving into a fantasy world can help you cope with the cruelty of the real world (“we can be pirates // pack your dolls and a sweater, we’ll move to India forever”)

through folklore, @taylorswift reminds us that we can always use fantasy and imagination to go back to those magical, mystical, safe places when we need to hide from reality. no matter our age, we are free. 

[nifty-swifty]

"after giving you the best I had, tell me what to give after that?" shatters my heart every time I hear it. the way @taylorswift sings the words in a low voice emphasizes the low of realizing your best wasn't good enough. and at the same time, you can only do your best.

the line about being unable to face reinvention in the face of divorce is so profound because you're left trying to make sense of not being good enough as you are, and also, not being able to give more than you already have. you'd be frozen while you grieve.

"I haven't met the new me yet" has multiple meanings. it talks about the process of moving forward and establishing who you are outside of this relationship that has "failed." but I think it also speaks to the desire to make sure the "new you" won't face this sort of loss and heart break again. and given that the narrator feels their best wasn't good enough to make the marraige work, it implies she'd feel the need to create a new her that is good enough to be loved, to have long-term happiness. and that is absolutely devastating and heart wrenching

[nifty-swifty]

i frequently think about "guess i'm feeling unmoored". the fact it starts with a qualifier ("I guess")... like you're not even certain about how you feel, let alone who you are. the thing about being unmoored is that you are more vulnerable to the waves rocking you. the more ungrounded you are, the more you are at the mercy of the current, the wind, the wildest winter

@taylorswift @taylornation

[nifty-swifty]

just thinking about the connection between "guilty guilty, reaching out across the seat hat you put between you and me" and "across our great divide," how about you

[nifty-swifty]

GETTING MARRIED

EEKKKKKK our wedding is only 19 days away and I’m so jittery & excited to marry this magnetic force of a man!! @taylorswift thank you for the release of your most romantic album yet -- it’s the perfect soundtrack as I prepare for the wedding! 

One of the things I love most about my fiance (and I am literally commenting on this in the vows) is how he embraces my immense love and respect for you, Taylor! When a new song comes out, he’s the first to ask me my thoughts and then we listen to it together. When Lover came out, he asked me if we were changing our first dance song to Lover.  He has quickly become so knowledgeable in #swiftology that he could basically have his masters in it.

Find you a man who says “It makes me so happy to see how happy you are when you talk about Taylor Swift.”  

Of course, you are invited to the wedding, Taylor! We are getting married September 29th, 2019 in Princeton, Massachusetts at a lovely place called Harrington Farms. @taylornation We understand you have such an incredibly busy schedule, but would love if you’re able to make it. I totally understand if you can’t.