Continuing my countdown of 2024 notable album releases by women…
The Ladies of 2024
#6 – Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department
I spent 12 days last month walking through my preferred version of this album, so I won’t go too deep into the official release now.
Swift is a talented enough songwriter and performer to guarantee anything she releases will be at least good and often great. And Tortured Poets has plenty of great moments. The problem is that this is truly a case of “less is more.”
The number of mediocre songs here, and the sheer volume of tracks overall (when you factor in the “surprise” second disc), is simply overwhelming. I can’t give my assessment of the album as a whole because I haven’t had the stamina to get through the whole thing more than once.
It’s hard not to subscribe to the theory that Swift is playing a volume game to juice her stats. A 31-track album means that many more songs on the Hot 100, and that many more streams to land your album at #1. In the two months since Tortured Poets dropped, Swift has released acoustic and demo versions of these songs every week, successfully boxing out any other artist from dethroning her.
Her rabid fan base will buy up extra copies of songs they already own and help her hang on to #1, but it’s an illusory victory. This album hasn’t put a stamp on the culture the way her best work has, no matter how many records it sets.
I hope Swift’s next era finds her caring more about the craft and less about the history and the commerce. She’s already a legend, and already a billionaire. It’s time for her to be an artist again.
I was supposed to be sent away
But they forgot to come and get me
I was a functioning alcoholic
‘Til nobody noticed my new aesthetic
All of this to say I hope you’re okay
But you’re the reason
And no one here’s to blame
But what about your quiet treason?
[Chorus]
And for a fortnight there, we were forever
Run into you sometimes, ask about the weather
Now you’re in my backyard, turned into good neighbors
Your wife waters flowers, I wanna kill her
[Verse 2]
All my mornings are Mondays stuck in an endless February
I took the miracle move-on drug, the effects were temporary
And I love you, it’s ruining my life
I love you, it’s ruining my life
I touched you for only a fortnight
I touched you, but I touched you
[Chorus]
And for a fortnight there, we were forever
Run into you sometimes, ask about the weather
Now you’re in my backyard, turned into good neighbors
Your wife waters flowers, I wanna kill her
And for a fortnight there, we were together
Run into you sometimes, comment on my sweater
Now you’re at the mailbox, turned into good neighbors
My husband is cheating, I wanna kill him
[Bridge]
I love you, it’s ruining my life
I love you, it’s ruining my life
I touched you for only a fortnight
I touched you, I touched you
I love you, it’s ruining my life
I love you, it’s ruining my life
I touched you for only a fortnight
I touched you, I touched you
[Outro]
Thought of callin’ ya, but you won’t pick up
‘Nother fortnight lost in America
Move to Florida, buy the car you want
But it won’t start up ’til you touch, touch, touch me
Thought of calling ya, but you won’t pick up
‘Nother fortnight lost in America
Move to Florida, buy the car you wantBut it won’t start up ’til I touch, touch, touch you
Meet Me In Montauk 
I actually draw the exact opposite conclusion from Swift’s volume of new material. I really think it’s far less about achieving greater commercial success or boxing others out of the top spots on the chart, and far more about her being an incredibly prolific artist who can write and release good to great music at a pace few others can accomplish.
Indeed, in some ways she is the Bob Dylan of this generation as a prolific songwriter, only with a far better voice. I certainly don’t recall a single complaint from you over the years as Dylan released box set after box set of material. Rather, as a loyal fan, you gobbled it all up and praised, not criticized, Dylan for inundating the world with voluminous material.
Frankly, despite your professed fandom, and in line with your previous criticism of Swift being too autobiographical in her work, I see this as yet another example of you imposing a double standard and being far harsher on Swift than you are on other artists. Really not sure what that’s about…
Oh come on, the Dylan comparison is silly. Releasing alternate versions of the same songs week after week is clearly a ploy to remain high on the charts. Even her biggest fans have been rolling their eyes about it these past several weeks.
I don’t have the same criticism about her releasing vault tracks, which is more akin to the Dylan bootleg releases. That is a case, as you say, of her being prolific.
I think she was upset about the so-so reviews of Tortured Poets and decided that its commercial success would be her best revenge. How could it be her worst album if it spent two months at #1?
I really think you are cynically ascribing motives to Swift that she doesn’t really seem to have. If she were aspiring for greater commercial success and chart topping material, why release an album that has zero pop radio appeal? And she released the extra material hours after the album was released, before so-so reviews came out. Almost every song on that album leaped onto the charts, so she certainly didn’t need to release alternate versions to chart. The charting, as you know, is a product of the changed system of counting streaming, YouTube, etc. Meanwhile, all of the charting and record sales translate to almost no real money nowadays, and I doubt songs from the new album, alternate or otherwise, will make it into her next far more lucrative concert tour.
This is not to suggest that your initial criticism of the album needing an editor is not valid, but to ascribe motives of wanting to box out other artists is like saying Martin Scorsese releasing a 3 1/2 hour movie is because he wants to box out screen time for other movies. In both cases, the material is being released based on art, not commercialism or competition.
I’m not referring to the bonus album, I’m referring to the “voice memo” and other tracks that she has trickled out week after week since the initial album’s release. That extra sales push guarantees that the album remains at #1, especially because actual $$ sales count more than streams.
She did this week after week, as albums by other artists hit the market, making sure she wasn’t overtaken at #1.
Don’t get me wrong… it’s a brilliant strategy, and one only an artist of Swift’s popularity could pull off. Honestly, I don’t know if it would work for anybody else.
I just find the whole thing crass, and it gives the impression that she is as invested in marketing as she is in songwriting and performing. Maybe that’s true of all artists and she’s just better at it?
I understand the effect of these alternate version releases, but I don’t buy that Swift’s motivation in releasing them is to make more money, maintain her position on the charts or box out other artists who have recently released new albums. The additional money being made is a drop in the bucket compared to what she made from touring and the billion she already has.
I think Taylor simply wants to give those fans with an insatiable appetite for her music (of which there are clearly many and far more than any other artist) a lot of content. She likely had made this decision long before knowing which artists might be releasing new material after her album release and, frankly, may not have even been aware of the other artists she was “boxing out” over the past several weeks.
While some, clearly including you, may roll their eyes, there are obviously far more fans who are gobbling up the new stuff, which is why she remains so high on the charts.
If that were the case, she would make those new releases available for streaming, where any fan can get them. By charging several dollars for each, she ensures they will receive extra weight for charting purposes. As you say, the money means nothing to her, so why make them paid if not to pad the stats?
This isn’t some conspiracy theory. It’s an industry practice that has been used, with various levels of success, by plenty of artists. She is more successful at it than the rest because of her massive and eager fan base.
I suspect the extra weight for charting purposes is offset by all the streams she would be getting if she did release without charge.
Maybe so, but she didn’t want to take any chances!
Even in your very charitable reading of this release strategy, you have to admit that she might have at least thought that it would LOOK bad for her to do this as week after week of other women artists were trying to score their own #1 hits, many for the first time.
I just don’t see Taylor as so Machiavellian or competitive. Also, given that this seems to be an industry practice, perhaps much of this was done by the record company without direction from Taylor. Could/should she have stopped it after seeing it block other female artists from charting higher? Probably, but that is quite different than assigning a sinister motivation.
Happy it was such a great year for women that a Swift release isn’t even in your top 5!
I’m somewhat notorious for clinging so passionately to the first album I fell in love with from an artist that I give far less due to the rest of their output. Until this album, and likely because I was discovering each alongside my children, especially Maddie, I actually grew to know and love each of TS’s albums as well, if not better, than her first few albums.
While this one has grown on me, I’ve not yet wanted to devote as much time to it becoming second nature. Meanwhile, without guilt, I opted to listen to Midnights in its entirety earlier this week. Folklore and Lover are the two I most frequently will play when I’m driving.
I tend to agree with Dana’s assessment that Taylor is simply that prolific a songwriter and has the team to support her getting the music out while it’s still relevant. She cares deeply about the art, which is, of course, linked first and foremost to her songwriting. She has an audience with the appetite for it, as her tour boosts the economy in city after city, so why hold back.
That said, I also agree with Clay that some of that audience may reach a point of fatigue. Still, if I never listened to another of her new releases, I would have a deeper familiarity with her catalogue than that of any other artist I adore, so… that’s not nothing.
I don’t care what she does so long as she continues to register young Democrats and they vote in November!
It’s tricky to weigh in much on the motivation and decision making behind either the quantity of material release or the bonus versions of songs that ultimately do expand the reign of this album at the top of the charts. I do believe Swift is a savvy business women and has the desire to reach and maintain those numbers. Sometimes I am the fan who rolls my eyes because I did always love when Swift would use her platforms to expose and boost other artists that she admired, so it sometimes does make me a little sad not to see that happening as frequently (particularly with the number of women who are kicking butt right now – as your blog is showing).
Still, aside from all of that, I do believe TTPD is an amazing achievement. Her writing is on point and there’s more to love and discover with each listen. I recommend diving back in because it certainly rewards that.