betty (Explicit)
To begin - a confession - I am an unabashed Taylor Swift fan.
Swift is 30 years-old and worth a purported $US360 million. She has won 10 Grammy Awards, 29 American Music Awards, and 23 Billboard Music Awards. Some of her music and song writing achievements are only surpassed by the likes of The Beatles and Bob Dylan.
And while I have not done the penance required to be considered a member of the “Swifties”, my fandom can be traced back to 2014 and the Grammy Award winning album 1989 and the travesty of the hit single, Shake It Off being omitted from the Triple J Hottest 100 in 2015.
Swift’s eighth studio album, folklore, was released at 2pm (AEST) a week ago last Friday with just a few hours’ notice.
The first single, cardigan, again turns Swift producer like she was for The Man on the 2019 release, Lover.
Swift is smart. She finds herself comfortable and compelled to broadcast views on a range of social issues. Nonetheless, she is also an astute, confident, and an extremely successful businesswoman.
The theme of an ageing cardigan is woven through the album and commercially supported by merchandise including a $75.54 acrylic yarn cable knit…cardigan.
folklore is also available with eight different CD and vinyl sleeves, an exclusive bonus track, and even on cassette tape for the most dedicated Walkman carrying fans.
Anecdotal evidence harvested from social media suggests that Swift’s unlikely pairing with indie folk outfit Bon Iver in the reflective lament, exile is most likely to have you scrolling for the repeat function on streaming services.
But I have fallen for betty. With its strong acoustic guitar flow and harmonica accompaniment, the track has you yearning for Taylor Swift’s 2006 self-titled debut album which included breakthrough country hits like Tim McGrath and Our Song.
However, it is not that straightforward. betty is sophisticated, multi-layered, and clearly linked to other songs on the album. It shares the conflict experienced in a high school relationship breakup between Betty, James, and Inez. A strongly engineered bridge section adds punch to the country feel.
Yet not everyone is a fan. For instance, music’s harshest critic, Mrs W. turned the volume down so low that it was inaudible. Her rationale: “All the songs sound the same and I can’t decipher the lyrics.”
Interestingly, she tuned in to the surprising use of explicit material that adds intent and adult themes, making some of the lyrics inappropriate for younger ears.
Compositions such as mad woman, illicit affair, and the last great american dynasty are raw and build on topics from the 2017 album reputation, Lover, and the 2020 Netflix documentary Miss Americana.
There is a rhyming stream of consciousness which perhaps makes the songs sound similar although they are clearly separated and distinguishable by their choruses.
Predictably, since releasing the album, Swift has been accused of all manner of evils including revealing the name of Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ yet to be born daughter and breaking up from long-time boyfriend, the English actor, Joe Alwyn.
folklore has already been critiqued ad nauseum and I am simply adding to that body of work.
Therefore, I conclude with one word in review: Stunning!