Taylor Swift - The Tortured Poets Department (out April 19th)

She's trying to break records with this War and Peace album isn't she? Can you imagine the state of the Billboard Top 100 next week when a third of the chart is one artist? That's a way to make the rest of the music industry love you!

Anyway I'm listening to the album (on fast forward because there are only so many decades left of my life) and it sounds a lot like a compilation of songs sung by a singer who is singing.
 
I still haven't fucking heard everything on this. It's just TOO LONG :D

I start over each time. Not a critique as I keep going back to "So Long London", "Guilty as Sin", "My Boy", "Fortnite".
 
Oh it's down to that bloody game, Fortnite, isn't it. Everyone young [or older but weird] has been rotted by it.

Re: this album - I firmly believe that no album needs to be longer than 10 songs, but I am persevering for our Taylor. My first listen was long and not especially pleasant, but I'm sure a few 10/10 gems will emerge in the coming days
 
The second half, admittedly, is a bit of a slog. But the first half is pretty stellar.
 
It feels like too much of a time investment to me at the moment. I like to properly give myself to a first listen of an album, and finding two empty hours to do that when there's always something else to do isn't happening right now.
 
lolly said:
It feels like too much of a time investment to me at the moment. I like to properly give myself to a first listen of an album, and finding two empty hours to do that when there's always something else to do isn't happening right now.
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You could clean out the fridge like @Tisch I suppose
 
lolly said:
I fear what I'd find in jars at the back of it would be too engrossing.
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That reminds me - I got one of those 'product recall' notifications from Waitrose for my jar of Queen Spanish olives or whatever which I use in martinis. But I don't want to throw it away and I can't be bothered to go back and get it replaced. Apparently there was possible glass contamination?!
 
lolly said:
I fear what I'd find in jars at the back of it would be too engrossing.
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We always have one of those Garlic Farm chutneys in the back that's well past its date but I can't deal with Mr Suede because I know the minute I get rid of it he'll be all "Oh where was that..?" Ugh
 
lolly said:
I fear what I'd find in jars at the back of it would be too engrossing.
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I was slightly disappointed to not find more in mine tbh. I must be better at keeping it rotated than I realised. A half eaten bottle of brown sauce, some pickle (both exp. 2022) and some cat eyedrops was the extent of my chuck out haul.

(Oh yeah also, I really liked I Can Do It With a Broken Heart :))
 
Suedehead said:
That reminds me - I got one of those 'product recall' notifications from Waitrose for my jar of Queen Spanish olives or whatever which I use in martinis. But I don't want to throw it away and I can't be bothered to go back and get it replaced. Apparently there was possible glass contamination?!
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Try it! Consider it a free toy with your drink.
 
Suedehead said:
That reminds me - I got one of those 'product recall' notifications from Waitrose for my jar of Queen Spanish olives or whatever which I use in martinis. But I don't want to throw it away and I can't be bothered to go back and get it replaced. Apparently there was possible glass contamination?!
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Well this is the exact problem. When you're over ninety minutes into an album and something like this comes up, how can you pay full attention?
 
Global Spotify debut:

#1 Fortnight 25.2M
#2 The Tortured Poets Department 19.09M
#3 Down Bad 17.43M
#4 So Long, London 17.18M
#5 My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys 17.1M
#6 But Daddy I Love Him 15.54M
#7 Florida!!! 14.46M
#8 I Can Do It With a Broken Heart 13.65M
#9 Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? 12.97M
#10 Fresh Out The Slammer 12.76M
#11 Guilty as Sin? 12.65M
#12 loml 12.08M
#13 I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can) 11.13M
#14 The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived 10.82M
#15 The Alchemy 10.64M
#16 Clara Bow 9.56M
#20 The Black Dog 7.01M
#21 imgonnagetyouback 6.76M
#22 thanK you aIMee 6.65M
#25 So High School 6.25M
#26 The Albatross 6.15M
#28 Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus 5.86M
#29 How Did It End? 5.77M
#31 I Hate It Here 5.39M
#32 The Prophecy 5.15M
#33 I Look in People's Windows 5.08M
#35 Cassandra 4.67M
#36 Peter 4.5M
#39 The Bolter 4.25M
#41 The Manuscript 4.14M
#42 Robin 3.85M

Biggest first day album debuts by female artists in Spotify history:

#1 THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT 314M
#2 Midnights 186M
#3 1989 (Taylor’s Version) 176M
#4 Speak Now (Taylor's Version) 126M
#5 Red (TV) 91M
#6 folklore 81M
#7 COWBOY CARTER 76M
#8 thank u, next 70M
#9 SOS 69M
#10 evermore 67M
#11 SOUR 63M
#12 30 61M
#13 GUTS 60.9M
#14 eternal sunshine 59.3M
 
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Is this woman not going to have a year off? I don’t get it?

Why is she such a workhorse?
 
I mean she doesn’t need the money?

Can someone give me the TRUTH
 
I was feeling tired, tetchy and sad last night so I decided to get some sleep and hit the new music pile today instead.

I'm up to Fresh Out Of The Slammer and the tempo change just hit me right in the feels. Such a simple device but almost never used in pop music and she just deployed it like an Exocet.

I think whoever caught this as folklore/evermore but with the production of Midnights was spot on.
 
untilted said:
Is this woman not going to have a year off? I don’t get it?

Why is she such a workhorse?
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Because it's what she does. She writes songs, records them and sings them. It's hard to stop when that is basically who you are and what your brain gives you. She's prolific only by modern standards; she'd have been right at home in the 60s, even the early 80s.

That said, I do think she's naff off for a bit after the second leg of the tour and the last two TVs.
 
OK, the 'album proper' pretty much shot past. Maybe if I was trying all 31 in a row, I may feel different but that run of 16 and a bonus didn't drag at all.

That said (there's always a "that said"...), I can see why some people are ripping this apart. It's very wordy - she barely stops singing for the whole album and I can see why someone might find that exhausting. It's as if she's following Wire's early edict of "the song stops when the words run out", expect that gave Wire songs that lasted a minute or so, not 4 or 5. This makes it an album that will need a few listens to truly land; my second listen is already making it stick (Down Bad and So Long London, especially). This has the potential to be the 'fan favourite' album of this period - the one that's a bit too much for some but the hardcore love it.

"The Bolter" is the bonus on this CD - it's brilliant!
 
SystemAddict said:
Is there anything on this musical bloatware as good as Jacqline's Effortless?
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Of course not!

Imagine if she actually released a song as good as THAT. Get Cazzi on the phone Taylor.

(I do quite like Taylor nonetheless so hope this is good when I have the energy to listen - which isn’t now)
 
the spotty numbers are INSANE - the 15th most popular song getting above 10m streams? I...

it's scary - even as a minor backlash threatens to brew, her actual popularity/commercial success keeps increasing
 
I put this on when working yesterday but properly listened to the first half today and much more registered. The 16 tracks already felt a little too long though.

I'm a sucker for that hazy synth sound Jack does for her, so the opening two songs are right on the money for me, then My Boy... has a familiar touch of Getaway Car. I Can Do It With a Broken Heart pops.

I'll do the second half tomorrow.
 
I played this at work yesterday a few times and while I love her, that 2 hour version is a chore to get through in one setting. This wi definitely be a case of making a playlist with a smaller tracklist once I decide my favorites.
 
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the chorus on But Daddy... SOARS. that having a baby line is unhinged :D
 
Jark said:
the spotty numbers are INSANE - the 15th most popular song getting above 10m streams? I...
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the average is 10m, which is the highest average ever. doing it with 31 tracks (!) makes it all more insane.
 
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