Thoughts During TTPD Release Week

4/16/2024

I can’t believe The Tortured Poets Department release week is upon us. This is really the first album that I have been an active participant in the release week fanfare. I watched the Midnights Mayhem videos as they came out, but you would not find me speculating about upside down phones back then. This week, I am fully in it. I am playing the games, unscrambling the letters, refreshing Twitter constantly to see more updates. I am likely only hours away from trying to find easter eggs in source code again. 

Let me be vulnerable for a second and say that I am scared for this album. Obviously I am afraid of the potential emotional impact, but I am also terrified I won’t like it. The past couple albums have required some warming up to for me (not evermore. I have always loved evermore). Folklore and Midnights didn’t immediately jump into my regular rotation of songs. To be probably a tad bit too vulnerable, I listened to folklore the day it came out and probably only listened to a total of 12 streams from the album for the next 2 years. Midnights claimed a spot in my heart with the 3am edition songs, but the main album required some “fathoming.” Will this album be the same? Will I stream Fortnite at 11:00pm central time on April 18th and have a pause of worry that these songs are not going to immediately hit me? To be clear, I am not worried the songs will be bad because there are no bad Taylor Swift songs, but there is a possibility that I am not personally in a place to be appreciating these songs. This is my worst fear. Nonetheless I will listen to this album until my ears bleed if that is what it takes to fully absorb the wisdom and value and to build a new era of my life around this sound. That was quite dramatic, but the point is I will not be giving up on this album after one listen like I did folklore. I also believe her more recent music is meant to be lived with and not to be fully experienced the first time through. You have to sit with these new songs and go on a journey of evolving meaning and purpose to fully feel as if you know a song’s intention.

4/17/2024

I am obsessed with this QR code to YouTube Short typewriter letter game we have going on today. At the time of writing this we have O FORT I _ HT. I have been thinking the final phrase is “For A Fortnight” since we just had 3 letters so I’m thinking this might point towards Fortnight being the lead single. I honestly have no idea what anything means, and I am continually shocked at people who are able to find reason and abundant connections amongst this madness.Earlier today, I saw a tik tok that included connections between a woman who drowned in Serpentine lake, a British poet, and the author of Frankenstein. Those people were a man and his first and second wives. And somehow these people’s lives also intertwine within the world of The Tortured Poets Department. 

Spoiler alert: the final phrase was For A Fortnight and was the end of the link taylorswift.com/forafortnight which takes up to a timer for 2pm eastern tomorrow. Oh what could it be?

4/18/2024

Today is the day! I can’t believe tomorrow I will have heard TTPD. It is unexplainable how excited I am. I decided there is nothing to fear because how could I not love this album. I have a feeling the 2pm situation will be an important aspect of the album so I am trying to get my thoughts done before then. I want this post to reflect my feelings with no actual insight into what the songs sound like. 

I think this album will be emotional and devastating. I’m torn between thinking the songs will be slow and sad or have more heavy instrumentals and be angrier. I’m sure there will be a bit of both. I also am curious to know if a Travis song has made this album. I’m honestly not counting on it because I think the story of this album is so separate from her and Travis. I am also wondering how direct this album will be. Will she call out specific things that are obvious to us or will she speak more in metaphors? This album is poetry, but I can see her taking a blunt approach. No matter what she does Taylor is about to change our lives for the better. I’m not even sure what else I have to say besides I just can’t wait to hear it. I think I might film my first reaction.