Reading Negative Reviews of The Tortured Poets Department
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- Опубліковано 20 сер 2024
- It's been an interesting ride analyzing the onslaught of mixed reviews immediately following the release of Taylor Swift's 11th studio album "The Tortured Poets Department" and the 15 additional songs with the surprise drop of "The Anthology." With publications like Billboard referring to it as "messy, unguarded, and undeniably triumphant," The Sunday Times calling it a "five-star pleasure," Variety viewing it as "audacious and transfixing," and Rolling Stone's cleverly titling its headline, "Come for the Torture, Stay for the Poetry," it may seem like Taylor only had positive reviews to choose from for her social media sharing pleasure.
However, several not-so-aggrandizing reviews didn't make it onto Swift's social media feed. Two of these regurgitated lukewarm reviews were from The New York Times -- one claiming that Taylor Swift's album could use an editor and the other saying, "Taylor Swift Has Given Fans A Lot. Is It Finally Too Much?"
Amidst all this noise, I decided to focus on one specific review that wasn't singing praises for Tortured Poets but wasn't unnecessarily critical for the sake of being relevant. Please enjoy my unbridled passion and hour-long ramblings. :))
At the end of the video (around the 41-minute mark), I read you guys my own little review that I wrote for my blog. Here it is if you prefer to read it:
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You’re fighting windmills just like Don Quichot. After all the praise for Midnights, the unbelievable success of the Tour and the movie, the time has come to collectively criticize the “monster that was created“.
TTPD is a body of work that needs time to fully understand the depth.
As for the music, I think it’s the perfect amalgamation of her discography. The songs found inspiration in Red, Fearless, Speak Now, Lover and 1989 in sound and themes. And yes there are hints of Midnights (Jack’s sounds) and Evermore, but it’s not copying (Coldplay, U2, Michael Jackson anyone?).
I have spent the last 5 weeks of my life with TTPD, and it changed my view on my favorite music. My Top 3 albums had’t changed since 1980 (Queen, Pink Floyd, The Clash), but here we are. TTPD for me is the best body of music ever made.
🙌🙌🙌 all the more reason to keep studying it. It just keeps on giving
In regard to her reaching billionaire status base on her music alone I do think that a huge part of it is that she is able to manage her finances extremely well. She has talked in interview that her father thought her from a young age to save her money and invest. I do think a major reason for her success is because of the support of her family whether it’s financially or emotionally. Remember her father is a stockbroker and her mother was a marketing executive.
Definitely! She was well versed in finances from a young age, when investing and saving are so important. However I also feel like she’s soooo creative in how she markets her music through merch and the eras tour movie.
I have listened to nothing but TTPD for since it came out… love it!!! You did a great video
Well done breakdown. Thanks!
I loved your review, including all the Swiftian references.
Thank you so much 🥰❤️
You review was faaaaar better than stupid Pitchfork’s, this album is 10/10 for me - I just think they don’t understand music like Billie and Ariana kinda got bad reviews as well for great albums
I think the problem really is the need to rush and publish something in a day. Albums need to sit with people so they can connect to the songs. Plus with the risk of leaks, artists are hesitant to give publications early access.
To my surprise, I somewhat enjoyed TTPD a lot more than Midnights on first listen. Even though I still love that album, it didn't really grab me as much the first time.
For me personally, Midnights was a bit too concise and simple, calculated you might say given the short runtime. But, the album has done its job as a pop album with a bit of experimentation here and there, and managed to show some evolution to her writing by using more flowery and poetic prose, which is still the right direction for her.
TTPD on the other hand is way denser and messier, almost to the point of rambling. That, in my opinion, is the core strength of the album. I've always wondered in the back of my head whether this is Taylor at her most self-indulgent, which is partially true, but it's also her most cathartic and unfiltered, more so than any of her others. To me, it shows willingness to not compromise with her artistry and listening to what others think is good for her.
Given the somewhat harsh criticisms published online, it is quite frustrating how Midnights got the better end of the stick compared to this, which is way more fascinating of a project in my eyes. I'm sensing a retrospective for the years to come, 'cause I do believe that this body of work has accomplished something more than just being a commercial pop record and has more replay value than expected, especially when there's a lot to chew on with 31 tracks. And with more listens, I stand by my opinion that this has got to be one of her best outputs.
Edit: Also the criticisms of her working with the same producers is such a dumb argument, like a lot of artists work with the same producers for a very long time, and they still managed to put some of their best work. I'm truly sensing some dog piling going on here.
Thanks for the comment! I agree with a lot of what you said. After first listen of midnights I thought it was good and I was obsessed with a few songs but the 3am additions were gold. Tbh I think having this new realization of what was going on in her life at this time, sooo many songs need to be relistened to in order to be properly understood (which is why I love diving deep into the music, context, lyrics etc) I find new meanings all the time and am just like wow her mind 🤯 TTPD overwhelmed critics but those that take their time to move through it will realize how insanely good it is
@@ThePoeticApothecary Yes took the words right out of my mouth. I also find the standard edition of Midnights more samey towards the end (which the 3am improves upon), which DOES NOT APPLY to TTPD. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills, especially when you go to websites like AOTY or RYM which praises folklore and evermore to high heavens but TRASHED this (and I mean really trashed it for unfounded reasons). Glad somebody's appreciating this album for what it is.
@@MisterKS7643 it’s frustratingly inevitable in my opinion. Surprise releasing an album during a pandemic was so unhinged that I think people were in a better place to receive it. Taylor was there for us when we all had to isolate. The rerelease of Red was so huge especially with the atw10 music video and midnights road that positive wave and was her going back to being autobiographical which was a return to form and an easy talking point for reviewers. However, I do think the “13 sleepless nights” was a bit of a red herring. Would’ve could’ve should’ve being about John Mayer and high infidelity likely being about Calvin Harris helped to grow us off the fact that much of it was about a deteriorating long term relationship and a possible glitch with an old muse
@@ThePoeticApothecary Yeah, her recent upward trajectory just triggers this craving to see her downfall, especially with all the headlines and the overexposure. Given the reactions, it's almost impossible for them to judge this album as it is because of it. At least Taylor's laughing all the way to the bank. She's critic-proof at this point, and she's earned it.
@@MisterKS7643 Yeah the streams speak for themselves and hopefully with time and perspective, ttpd will get the critical acclaim it deserves.
Yes! Thank you for this! 👏👏👏🤍💯
I was watching The NY Times podcast where the one reviewer admitted he didn’t like the folklore or midnights albums and didn’t like TTPD either. I was like OK. You just don’t like Taylor Swift. Both those albums won her Grammys for album of the year. I’m like Taylor don’t listen to these dudes. They will literally ruin your career. Bottom line is TTPD is a great album. It’s not for everybody. But few artists out there could ever put out an album like this. ❤
That’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately - should these publications be forcing writers to create critical reviews of music they don’t like and would never listen to? Like, is that the point? Or should there be a base understanding and appreciation for that artists music in order to create a fair review?
I loved your article. I hear your writing chops as well. TTPD is full of depth and people definitely need more time to understand it. It's so blatantly honest and deep, I have no idea how the current society of the ADHD - type tic tok world would have the attention span to get what she is writing. That seems to come from the Swifties (thank God). Your article incapsulated much of what she was saying and was well written.. So, I want to thank you for writing it. I wish your review was out there with the other reviews who didn't get it. Their reviews seem to mirror each other. Did they have a meeting where they all had the same talking points?
Thank you so much! Unfortunately only a few publications seem to pump out opinionated reviews that hold weight and then all the others use those as primary material for their articles. Like certain people are likely assigned to write the TTPD review piece ahead of time and then other publications want to capitalize on the buzz when they come out but they don’t need a Swiftie to write it because they’re just collecting primary source material and regurgitating opinions. That’s why I think the original reviews are so important because they set the landscape. However, seeing as the New York Times got the name of her album wrong they clearly were not the right writers for the job.
I am not a Swiftie, i knew nothing about her music after debut until i came with Travis in here after he went to Argentina. Me being me i dove into this new thing and listened and watched a lot of her music and her fans reactions (so much that UA-cam is begging me to start watching some of my old content again) because even more then Taylor and her music I find the whole fandom interesting.
I saw a clip from Taylor where she was talking about her music and casual listeners but if you wanted to go into the rabbit hole with her you were more then welcome. I found that a very funny clip. I myself are somewhat in between those two options.
Most of the reviews are not written for the fans, they are more broadly aimed at the casual listener. So ask yourself what track is the standout to lure them into the rabbit hole or at least stay close to it? I do not see it. Does it have a lot for the rabbit hole people, yes and that is what a lot of the bad reviews forget to mention.
On first listen TTPD felt flat (and depressing) compared to previous albums. Flat in a sense of production and delivery. On first listen of the standard album only 2 tracks stood out to me, So long London and Broken Heart. The Anthology i liked better with the Black dog, The albatros, How Did It End and The Prophecy being my standouts there with either better/interesting production or better delivery. Overall the album has grown on me but still it starts with So Long, London and ends with The Prophecy with aimee as a skip. The first 4 songs i found boring and confusing and the end of the Anthology was not interesting at all for me, it was as if she added tracks to get to 31.
I think the album suffered from word vomit, being overcomplex and it lacked a story arc. I agree with people who say that she could use an editor to make the song and the story lines more cohesive. From what i have seen Taylor writes most of the lyrics and Jack (i havent really seen a lot of Aaron) helps finding sentences and words that fit but he seems to be less concerned with meaning or literary cohesiveness.
Production and delivery wise Taylor kinde showed herself that it is flat. Just look at the magnificent TTPD set on the Eras tour, the bombastic delivery of some of the songs, how the use of live instruments brought them to life. To me it shows how much better the album could have been. Try this out, look up the Fortnight song here on UA-cam and set the playback speed to 1.75. See how much more interesting that track suddenly becomes. That might be my gripe with the album, it feels as if it has the handbrake on.
Ooo thank you so much for all your thoughts. It's really interesting to hear this perspective and I love what you added about going down the rabbit hole with her. I loved that interview haha When I try to look at it from your perspective, I can start to see how this album could be polarizing for the average listener. Some of the songs would feel wordy or not make much sense without a bit of context but one of the most powerful things about Taylor's music is that once it clicks it CLICKS and it hits really hard.
That's one of the reasons I love making these videos because if I could try to explain certain songs and help others connect with them, it would mean so much to me. Are there any songs specifically that you would want me to break down or make sense of in a video?
I agree that fortnight and even the title track are a little slow sonically. I feel like they set up the story of the album more than the vibe. Unfortunately, I feel like sadness is apart of the theme on this one haha so it makes sense that there are some emotional hitters. Listen to Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus and tell me you didn't cry!! I love the black dog and honestly may gravitate toward the anthology a bit more too. I actually haven't really analyzed that. I could totally make a video redoing the tracklist into a single album. I'm not sure what I would cut though! haha
@@ThePoeticApothecary Why cut? Why not mash up into a new song. Let's face it most people listen to Taylor for the lyrics not the music. So be the editor and say what fits into 1 song and what fluff could be cut from the originals. Don't worry about the production, that's not your job :)
As an example could you mash loml and the smallest man together and make it cohesive? Or would it go better with my boy breaks toys?
What is the TTPD playlist that you would be able to lure new people towards the rabbit hole? Would it help for new people that there is less emphasis on ex boyfriends but more about the feeling they created? Would it make the album more accessible ( i think the first part of the Anthology does this)?
If i would start from TTPD i would probably not start with the album but i would show them the TTPD part of the tour.
For me personally the click that you talked about did not come from a song. It came from youtubes like the making off, the grammy museum listening session, the longpond sessions. That is where she went from a 13 in a dozen country/pop girlie to an artist that i can support and enjoy.
Could you maybe do a video where you deep dive into some lyrical connections between TTPD and Taylor’s other albums?
Yes! That’s definitely on my list. I’m thinking I might need to break down each song on TTPD first and then maybe make a spreadsheet of all the connections 😂
I do agree that she could use an editor sometimes. Not even necessarily saying 31 songs are too much or anything. "Whos afraid of little old me" as an example. Do i enjoy the song? Yes. Could it have used quite some editing? Absolutely! Her best writing is concise. I looove a rambling song, so long it stays in one thought. In Whos afraid she is "a lion in the circus", she talks about an asylum, she was inspired by the witch trials etc. Too many concepts imo.
That’s so interesting because to me that song would be in an untouchable category 😂 it’s funny that she said in her first voice memo that she might cut it down to avoid repetition but I think the production really keeps it fresh.