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footprint-in-the-snow · 8 months

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I actually desperately want someone to explain every reference in the SATVB art please <3

okay so i havent figured out Everything but this is most of what i can gather. sorry there arent links to specific references im not supposed to be doing this i need to be packing for uni 😭 but this is everything off the top of my head !

starting from the left wall theres the peep show poster which matty has said to be his favourite show in a reddit comment, idk what the streets poster is a reference to, the ghost on an island is an antichrist reference 'theres a ghost on this island' and then the petrol can is an its not living reference as 'danny works in a petrol station'

so the back wall obviously the cancelled banner for lols, 4 days since last incident as a general meme reference?, do not use emergency only is likely a reference to mattys abstinence from social media and being a bit OTG, flushed away poster is obvious, the fake matty quote which he never said and was on the problematic, oasis poster as they need to stop marding and get back together!!! from Q with Tom Powell and various other Oasis call outs, Maroon 5 as problemattic beef, Newcastle United as duh, Frozen as he referenced liking frozen in a couple 2014 interviews particularly the moshcam (?) one, idk about the IDs and then the box from the philharmonic orchestra album, the icon from the mind shower detox thing they did for notes which was a 3d tour thing that's still up and then the height chart as matty is short <3 and the good boy points which i dont know what it is referring to specifically but i think its funny

now the window/right wall has la poesie est dans la rue is etched into the tree and is an easter egg in quite a few music videos and is a reference to love it if we made it, the minion i assume is a reference to the deuxmoi thing of matty sending minion memes to a girl, and then a camera i assume is a general comment on the lack of privacy you get as a celebrity and 'house with just three walls' etc

the couch and table has matty smoking and chained to the couch as a reference to the consumption bit and could be reference to the idea that he is stuck in a position of his own doing, hann is a wizard i presume as a hobbit reference? and then the dubai and malaysia flags as he got banned,oxygen tank from consumption, cross due to the religious signposting on his ig story and a juxtaposition to his atheism, thesaurus for those big words, infinite jest as its referenced in sincerity is scary, wine, cigarettes, xanax as a reference to 'Xanax and a newport' in part of the band, i live cum mug from the problemattic, american flag as a lot of their music is informed by Americana especially on notes(? maybe also just because america)

then on the floor here theres the coke bottles as matty cannot be seen without one, the piss/apple juice from when he was spotted with gabbriette, the fox i saw on twitter means temptation so could be a very subtle hint towards temptation from porn and the right and so on, raw meat from consumption and its being 'swept under the rug' so could be a metaphor for matty being problematic and it being glossed over by him, hairdye as there was twitter rumour he dyed his grays and matty has previously said he would not, flame and wok box as the boys used to work there, typewriter from the typed up letters he used to do but u dont know what 'im not a beatnik im a catholic' is a reference to, true romance is one of mattys favourites and was a key inspiration for the robbers video

i have no clue what this is other than human blunt? and seeds and beans? as a gyat reference? help?

this corner has the married computer so man who married a robot, lotion and tissues for activities, cow with glassjaw hoodie as a nod to when we are together and also the nme interview where he mentions that hoodie as the one he put on at 13 and took off at 19 if im correct, grass block from satvb promo, tent could be a nod to reading and leeds? then skeleton with the lab coat i dont know exactly but i think it could be another problemattic reference with me on the brain, and then 2013 george with his blue gatorade as in most gigs you can see his blue gatorade with its own stand!! (though i watched trsmnt the other day and it was orange) and he is producing i think it could have been drawn from a photo but i cba to find it

and last but not least, ross!!! who is also jesus as there were lots of memes surrounding him looking like jesus or being a personal jesus and so on, also could be to do with the problemattic post of ricky gervais on the cross for being an atheist, penguin!! because ross likes penguins, bees are a manchester symbol, beer, robber with the iconic 2014 shirt, greggs sausage roll i presume from when one got thrown onstage but also the twitter meme of 'i saw matty crying in x greggs' and then i think the last on is a mortal kombat character and nearly forgot but ross also has a lamp as he turned off the lamps at the end of when we are together during atvb on stage

#sorry if this is really messy and jumbled #but hopefully its a good overview!!#ethan goes off on one again #the 1975 #matty healy #ross macdonald #adam hann #george daniel #at their very best #asks

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wearelatinamericanrockers · 6 months

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Soda Stereo is an Argentine Rock Band formed in 1982 and considered the most important, popular and influential band in Spanish rock and a legend of Latin American music.

They were the first Spanish-speaking group to achieve massive success in Latin America and played a very important role in the development and dissemination of Latin American rock and rock in Spanish during the 1980s and 1990s. During their career, they were avant-garde and marked trend in Latin America, in which they starred in various genres such as the fun music of their beginnings, the new wave, the dark wave, hard rock, alternative rock and the electronic rock of their ends.

Soda Stereo has topped the all-time charts in the world, where several records for record sales and concert attendance were established. Until 2007, the band's sales were estimated at more than seven million copies sold of its albums.

Their most famous songs are "De Música ligera", "Persiana Americana" and "En la Ciudad de la Furia".

Virus is an Argentine pop rock band made in 1980. Virus had a fundamental role in the new wave movement of the '80s in Argentina along with other musical groups such as Los Abuelos de la Nada, Soda Stereo and Sumo.

Since their beginnings as one of the most emblematic numbers of the new wave in Argentina in the early '80s, they starred in the Argentine musical renewal that occurred with the end of the dictatorship and the return to democracy in 1983.

Their most famous songs are "Imágenes Paganas", "Encuentro en el Rio" and "Luna de Miel En la Mano". submitted propaganda below;

"Es Virus" "Escuchá Pronta Entrega, o Luna de Miel en la Mano y decime que no tiene que ganar"

#soda stereo #Latino rock tournament #round 2 #polls #VIRUS band #virus banda #virus

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bananaofswifts · 1 year

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HOW DO WE measure the impact of a musician in 2023? Streams can be bought. Awards can be finessed. Is it when demand for show tickets leads to a congressional hearing about Ticketmaster’s policies? Or when flight attendants shout out a fanbase making a pilgrimage to see a tour opener? Or when TikToks of merch inspirations and setlist predictions rack up millions of views? Nearly a decade ago, a headline ran declaring ‘Taylor Swift Is The Music Industry’ and those with even the slightest pulse on pop culture can tell she’s only grown more omnipresent since. It all led to a warm evening in Glendale, Arizona where months after delivering her most commercially-successful album to date, Midnights, Swift debuted a discography-spanning setlist that lasted over three hours and kicked off an aptly-named stadium run. The Eras Tour has arrived.

The sheer length of the set is a feat, but not completely surprising considering the breadth of catalog at Swift’s disposal. Watching the 12-time Grammy winner take the stage right at 8pm, and continue past 11pm triggers the often overused cliché: Who’s doing it like her?

After night had fallen and GAYLE and Paramore revved the crowd up with a mix of recent chart-toppers (GAYLE’s “abcdefu”) and cultural anthems (Paramore’s “Misery Business”), it was time for the main event. At 7:57pm, a timer appeared on a massive screen prompting screams from all corners of State Farm Stadium. Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me” played as fans braced themselves for the arrival of Swift. When the timer hit 0:00, the house we’d seen in the “Lover” music video assembled on the screen, indicating that this evening was first and foremost about reviving the feelings each era evoked.

“So tonight, we’re going to be going through an adventure, one era at a time,” Swift said. “We’re going to be exploring the last seventeen years of music that I’ve been lucky enough to make and you’ve been kind enough to care about.”

It’s easy to compare one of Swift’s stadium shows to something you’d see on Broadway — never has that been more true than for The Eras Tour. The setlist is cut up into acts, grouped together by eras for each of Swift’s ten studio albums. For each era/act, Swift went full-send into that album’s look, feel, costume, color blocking, and more.

Many eras got a few songs. At one moment, it seemed like Swift’s soft spot for Folklore would mean we’d hear the entire album. On the opposite end, Speak Now’s part of the show was short but impactful. Swift played only one song from her third studio album, “Enchanted,” while wearing a stunning floor-length ballroom gown designed by Nicole + Derr. Hopping from act to act, Swift made it extremely clear when she’s taking the audience out of one era and into another. This isn’t a hastily put together setlist with a vague thread of connective tissue — Swift is taking her audience on a nostalgic extravaganza.

For both Swift and her fans, it’s been a long road to get to The Eras Tour kickoff. Friday night’s opener was four projects, millions of record sales, and over 1,500 days removed from the last tour stop on the Reputation stadium tour in 2018. Plus, who can forget the Ticketmaster fiasco in handling the sale of The Eras Tour tickets, which not only prompted an apology to Swift from the ticketing monopoly but also for Congress to investigate.

In perhaps a sympathetic nod to the canceled Lover Fest, Swift began the festivities with the Lover era. Wearing a jaw-dropping Versace bodysuit, Swift launched into “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince” for the opening number. Swifties eager to see “Cruel Summer” live weren’t disappointed, as Swift strutted down the catwalk towards the stadium’s center, belting out the fast-paced bridge eager to deliver what stans had snatched away from them due to pandemic-related cancellations.

For “The Man,” Swift completed her Versace look with a blazer and made sure everyone could see the red bottoms when she kicked her feet up on a conference room table as she delivered the masterfully written and scathing assessment of gender inequality in pop culture. Swift closed out the Lover era act with “You Need to Calm Down” and “The Archer,” the latter getting a beautifully stripped down rendition so Swift’s vocals echoed across the stadium: “Because all of my enemies started out friends / Help me hold onto you.”

At one point, as Swift ran through hits from her Fearless era, she flashed a smile and announced to the crowd that she was taking us back to high school with her. The nostalgia seeped into the show, resulting in some of the loudest crowd participation yet, especially from those old enough to have grown up with Swift and were in high school at the same time she was. The singer ran through “Fearless,” “You Belong With Me,” and “Love Story,” reminding us of a time when we discovered the pop phenomenon unbeknownst to the level of celebrity she’d achieve.

Something about Swift — she’s online. If the fact that she decided to end last night with the TikTok-friendly “Karma” doesn’t make that obvious enough, her joke about disliking Evermore hammers home the point.

“We’re currently in the middle of the Evermore album, which is an album I absolutely love despite what some of you say on TikTok,” Swift said with a grin.

Later on in the act reserved for her ninth studio album, in line with how theatrical the event was, Swift set up a beautiful dinner setting only to deliver a heart-wrenching rendition of “Tolerate It.” She also performed “Tis the Damn Season,” “Willow,” “Marjorie,” and “Champagne Problems,” giving fans a sizable taste of the Evermore live experience they weren’t able to receive when the project came out in 2020.

For the acts dedicated to Reputation and Red, fans were treated to a masterclass in visuals and hitmaking, two key elements that has assured Swift prolonged success for as long as she’s had it. The powerful, striking, snake motifs were an awesome callback for fans who attended the Reputation tour.

For Red, Swift went through “22,” “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” and “I Knew You Were Trouble. She closed out the act with a beautiful performance of the 10-minute “Taylor’s Version” of “All Too Well.” In the evening’s most ethereal moment, small white confetti made to look like snow blanketed the State Farm Stadium as she neared the end of her magnum opus, singing “Because in this city’s barren cold/I still remember the first fall of snow/And how it glistened how it fell/I remember it all too well.” Not only is Swift a savant for world-building, but she’s perfected the ability to translate those worlds into the live experience.

Swift wasn’t shy about making sure people got the full Folklore live experience. A makeshift cabin, not unlike the one made during Swift’s 2021 Grammys performance, sat on the stage with Swift perched on it during “Invisible String.” The star also discussed how she finally got comfortable crafting narratives for purely fictional characters, rather than ripping them from the headlines about her life.

“Folklore was such a different album for me. I start writing it about two seconds into the pandemic. I was just so very aware of how much time I was going to have to spend away from you,” Swift explained before launching into “Betty,” “The Last Great American Dynasty,” “August,” “Illicit Affairs,” “My Tears Ricochet,” and “Cardigan.” “With this album, I thought it would be so fun to create characters, and storylines, and they can live in different times, and then can do all of these things, and they could fall in love and hurt each other and go to war…”

1989’s era act turned the party up and restored the energy, with Swift donning a Roberto Cavalli top and skirt and going through “Style,” “Blank Space,” “Shake It Off,” “Wildest Dreams,” and “Bad Blood.”

To cap off the evening, Swift returned to Midnights, performing album highlights “Lavender Haze,” “Mastermind,” and more. It was hard to ignore the immense gratitude the singer continued to exude throughout the evening, with the “thank yous” coming more and more often the closer she got to the end.

Eventually, the singer asked the crowd if they had time for one more and launched into her finale, “Karma,” a track with a passionate chorus that’s begging to be scream-sung in a room of about 60,000 who’ve been waiting for this exact moment for years. Maybe it’s fitting that an artist who’s had more than her fair share of ups and downs, and at times has been the most polarizing musician alive, ends her stadium tour opener with a song about how she can finally protect her peace. Karma’s a relaxing thought, indeed.

The Eras Tour is a feat. It’s live music at its highest spectacle and greatest excess. And for most, without the catalog and showmanship of Swift, it’d be too much. But 17 years into her career, maybe we ought to stop being surprised when she finds a way to top her own efforts year after year. Towards the end of Paramore’s set, Swift’s good friend Hayley Williams said we had gathered that evening to celebrate Swift’s incredible career. There’s something funny about a greatest hits concert for someone who’s never been more in her prime, isn’t there?

#taylor swift #the eras tour review #the eras tour

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cozyaliensuperstar7 · 1 month

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Beyoncé 👑 🐝 🤠

bypnetwork:

Beyonce has become the first black artist ever to hit number one with a country album in the UK, topping the chart with her eighth record, Cowboy Carter. Not only that, but the star has done the double - with the album's lead single, Texas Hold 'Em, returning to the top spot in the singles chart for a fifth non-consecutive week.

Yes 🙌🏾 Queen 🐝

essence:

American Requiem! Beyoncé has made history by becoming the first Black woman to earn a number one country album in Billboard history with “Cowboy Carter.” Cowboy Carter debuted selling 407,000 units, topping the Top Country Albums, Americana/Folk Albums, and Top Album Sales charts. This history-making moment comes a month after Beyoncé became the first Black woman with a number-one country single for “Texas Hold ‘Em.” Congratulations Beyonce! We tip our hats to you!

beyhive.b:

numbers haven't a lot of importance to represent the quality of an artist but can we talk about it anyway? after 27 years of career she still broking records, she is insane❤️‍🔥#beyonce #beyoncé #beyhive #bey #queenbey #queenb #sashafierce #singer #dance #shows #thecarters #jayz #blueivy #rumicarter #sircarter #knowles #tinaknwoles #solangeknowles #tinaknowles #mathewknowles #lemonade #dangerouslyinlove #renaissance #4 #thelionking #everythingislove #iamsashafierce #worldtour #beyonceactii #cowboycarter @mstinaknowles @mrmathewknowles

beybluebleed:

SmokeyRobinson is the latest legend to show Beyonce some support during her Country era 🐎 Speaking with Fox 5 DC, the ‘Crusin’ singer showed his love for Queen Bey and her latest output. He also showed loved for artists who venture out and try other genres. What are your thoughts on artists exploring and trying genres of music that aren’t their specialty? Let us know!

#beyoncé #cowboy carter #act ii #sugarland #smokey robinson

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scotianostra · 17 days

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youtube

The singer Lonnie Donegan was born on April 29th 1931 in Bridgeton Glasgow.

Donegan was born Anthony James Donegan, the son of a Scottish father and Irish mother. His father was a professional violinist who had played with the Scottish National Orchestra.

He moved with his mother to London at an early age, after his parents divorced. Inspired by blues music and New Orleans jazz bands he heard on the radio, he resolved to learn the guitar, and bought his first at the age of fourteen. He took his first name after a New Orleans blues singer he admired called Lonnie Johnson.

The first band he ever played in was the trad jazz band led by Chris Barber, who approached him on a train asking him if he wanted to audition for his group. Barber had heard that Donegan was a good banjo player; in fact, Donegan had never played the banjo at this point, but he bought one and managed to bluff his way through the audition. His stint in this group was interrupted, however, when he was called up for National Service in 1949.

In 1952, he formed his first own group, the Tony Donegan Jazzband, which found some work around London. On one occasion they opened for the blues musician Lonnie Johnson at the Royal Festival Hall. Donegan was a big fan of Johnson, and took his first name as a tribute to him. The story goes that the host at the concert got the musicians’ names confused, calling them “Tony Johnson” and “Lonnie Donegan”, and Donegan was happy to keep the name.

Donegan recorded a reworking of an American folk tune, Rock Island Line. Decca released the song in 1956, billed by the Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Group. The record, with its talking sequences, homage to Americana, and fast train shuffle climax, became a major hit in Britain and America. Because he was paid a flat fee for the session, Donegan didn’t receive any royalty payments for his most popular and influential song until the label struck a new deal for him 40 years later. However, Rock Island Line made him a star in his own right and would remain his signature song throughout his career.

From 1956 through 1962, he enjoyed a string of 34 British hits including Puttin’ on the Style and Cumberland Gap, which hit number one in 1957, Don’t You Rock Me Daddy-O, which reached number four in the same year, and the raucous sing-along My Old Man’s a Dustman which climbed to the top of the charts in 1960. It’s not hard to see why Lonnie is regarded as the first real pop star, his fans included the likes of Lennon and McCartney, who’s first group, The Quarrymen were a skiffle group. he Shadows, the Searchers, the Hollies, Herman’s Hermits, Gerry & the Pacemakers, and Cliff Richard all began their musical lives doing skiffle.

As the swinging sixties rolled on Donegans hits dried up but he was always in demand for gigs at home and across the world, he also dabbled in a wee bit acting and his own song publishing business, his most popular song he bought the rights for being Nights in white Satin. In the 70’s he popped upon the occasional TV shows during breaks from touring, in 1972 Tom Jones covered one of Lonnie’s songs and it went top 5 on both sides of the Atlantic. As a performer he continued to record and lease unsuccessful sides to Pye, Decca, Black Lion, and RCA.

A 1976 heart attack forced Donegan into an uneasy semi-retirement in California. Two years later, Chrysalis Records organized an all-star recreation of his early hits Puttin’ on the Style. Produced by former British teen idol Adam Faith and boasting duets with Ringo Starr, Elton John, and Rory Gallagher, it was his last major-selling album. Follow-ups with respected session ace Albert Lee and Cajun-fiddler Doug Kershaw seemed to point him towards country music, but a series of heart attacks in 1979 ended his full-time career.

In later years Donegan made a series of guest appearances with old friend Chris Barber including a featured spot on Van Morrison’s Skiffle Sessions: Live in Belfast 1998. Just before his death, he returned to touring full time, exhibiting much of his classic verve and humour before standing-room-only crowds. Donegan died on November 3rd, 2002, in Peterborough.

#scotland #scottish #history #singer songwriter #skiffle music #Youtube

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justinsentertainmentcorner · 22 days

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Miles Klee at Rolling Stone:

YOU CAN’T PLEASE all the people all of the time — even if you’re as popular as Taylor Swift. Having attained a somehow higher level of mega-celebrity with her record-breaking Eras Tour and a closely followed romance with Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs (who are headed back to the Super Bowl as the defending NFL champs), the singer now faces the perplexing wrath of MAGA conspiracy theorists who have decided the league and the relationship are rigged to help Joe Biden’s chances in the 2024 presidential election. The premise is as disconnected from reality as it sounds, but it’s all the stranger given that this courtship between a pop icon and football star — both white, Christian, good-looking, wholesome public figures — should fit the all-American conservative ideal. And Swift herself long retained her mass appeal with a mostly apolitical presence on the world stage, only voicing liberal positions and endorsing a select few Democrats from 2018 onward. But it was, in part, this late entry into civic discourse that allowed right-wingers to sell themselves a narrative of Swift as a propaganda puppet, after years in which some ardently worshiped her as a blonde, blue-eyed avatar for white supremacy. Here’s the complete timeline of how the far right fell in, and out of, love with Taylor Swift.

Pre-2016: Country Roots

Swift came up in the Nashville scene, from the age of 14, as a country singer-songwriter inspired by the likes of Dolly Parton and Shania Twain. Her debut single, “Tim McGraw,” alluded to her love of another country legend — and her early hits climbed the genre’s charts along with heartland tunes full of cowboy twang and pickup trucks. Whatever the identities of individual performers, this music has always been conservative-coded, and its biggest names have rarely shied away from an aggressive style of red-meat patriotism. Swift, of course, was a teenager singing about innocent young love: She only happened to suit the fantasy of a small-town girl next door that informs so much Americana. (And she certainly didn’t have Parental Advisory stickers on her CDs.) It was when she started to drift from these roots on Red (2012), and fully embraced electronic pop with 1989 (2014), that fans could begin to think of her as totally distinct from the traditionalist milieu of her early career. The latter’s “Welcome to New York” signaled a new, cosmopolitan life far from the backroads of country radio. In fact, a civilian Donald Trump was blasting the album’s second single, “Blank Space,” while driving around with wife Melania and son Barron, as seen in a 2014 video Melania shared on her Facebook page [...]

The ascendant alt-right, shitposters by nature, saw a chance to disingenuously claim Swift for their own, as both a secret Trump supporter and neo-Nazi. (It didn’t seem to matter that she had previously expressed her happiness at Barack Obama taking the White House in 2008, her first election.) The attempt to rebrand her had older, murky origins, including 4chan in-jokes and a Pinterest user who in 2013 went viral for images falsely attributing Hitler quotes to Swift, but picked up steam as Trump did. Andrew Anglin, founder of the white supremacist website the Daily Stormer, declared her an “aryan goddess,” while Milo Yiannopoulos, in a column for Breitbart, explained why she was an “alt-right pop icon,” noting her whiteness, blondeness, unrevealing clothes, lack of piercings, and occasional mini-scandals over music videos accused of racist undertones. It probably didn’t help that Swift endorsed neither Hillary Clinton nor Trump, leaving room for misinformation about how she secretly voted for the GOP candidate. Following Trump’s victory, some Democrats vented their frustration at Swift’s silence during the campaign, believing she could have moved the needle for Clinton. [...]

In the following months, the #MeToo movement shed light on how often sexual misconduct is dismissed or covered up to the perpetrator’s benefit, and Swift became one of the founding signatories of Time’s Up, an advocacy group for survivors, and donated to its legal defense fund. None of this was likely to endear Swift to conservatives who had already begun to argue that #MeToo had “gone too far,” yet she continued to press the issue, gracing the cover of Time’s Person of the Year issue along with fellow “silence breakers.” And the next year, she finally waded into electoral politics, sharing on Instagram that she would be backing Democratic congressional candidates in Tennessee for the 2018 midterms. [...]

2019-2020: The Activist

By 2019, Swift’s politics were no mystery. She was openly in favor of gun-control reform, took a pro-choice stance against government attempts to crack down on abortion, gave a surprise performance at New York’s Stonewall Inn for that year’s Pride celebration, and urged the senate to pass anti-discrimination laws. Any far-right fan clinging to the notion that she harbored extremist views would’ve been in clinical denial. For the most part, conservative commentators got in the habit of attacking her as they would any other liberal entertainer with a massive platform. Ben Shapiro, for one, complained of her “abrupt and obviously pandering shift into a political wokescold.” At last, Swift also formally denounced any admiration from the racist far right in a cover story interview with Rolling Stone. “There’s literally nothing worse than white supremacy,” she said. “It’s repulsive. There should be no place for it.” She explained that she feared a 2016 endorsement of Hillary Clinton could have backfired, since Clinton’s celebrity support was “used against her in a lot of ways.” As for conservatives who had once assumed she was on their side, she quipped, “I don’t think they do anymore.” [...]

2021-2024: Taylor Derangement Syndrome

The “aryan goddess” interpretation of Swift had been more or less put to bed by the time Biden assumed office. But the reorganizing MAGA right had little reason to single her out among the legions of professional entertainers who express their distaste for Trump here and there. She didn’t endorse candidates in the 2022 midterms, either, though she did communicate her dismay at the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Conservatives who bothered to take a swipe at her tended toward lazy outrage bait: calling her boring, overrated, or a lonely cat lady (mind you, she was in a long-term relationship with actor Joe Alwyn that was heavily covered by the tabloids). In 2021, Swift embarked on the formidable project of rerecording her first six studio albums after the rights to that catalog were sold to a company run by controversial music mogul Scooter Braun, and released the hit record Midnights in 2022.

It was in 2023 that American conservatism launched into an enduring freakout about Swift, her cultural dominance, and her potential influence on voters. Anyone dimly aware of the Eras Tour — an unprecedented run of sold-out stadium shows — could see she had reached another pinnacle of success, and amassed a near-cultish audience of millions who hung on her every utterance. We got plenty of think pieces on whether this was a good or bad phenomenon, with varied musings on how Swift had created her own monoculture. The sheer saturation of Taylor content was enough to irk those less disposed to her vibe — and there were gripes about that, too.

[...] The release of The Tortured Poets Departmentlast Friday, April 19, inevitably (and unfortunately) brought a new round of grousing. Sean Feucht, the far-right “MAGA Pastor,” raised the alarm on social media, saying “half the songs” on the album “contain explicit lyrics (E), make fun of Christians, and straight up blaspheme God.” And lest you think he’s “just being religious & overreacting,” Feucht shared several apparently offending lyrics that certainly dabble in classic religious imagery, but in the most basic, writerly way imaginable. Among the most harrowing lines, to Feucht: “I would’ve died for your sins, instead I just died inside” (from “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived”); “What If I roll the stone away / They’re gonna crucify me anyway” (“Guilty as Sin”); and “God save the most judgmental creeps / Who say they want what’s best for me / Sanctimoniously performing soliloquies I’ll never see,” from “But Daddy I Love Him,” which definitely seems more critical of Swift’s own fans than an entire religion. And, of course, Shapiro got back in on the action as well with a YouTube video dubbed, “Taylor Swift’s New Album Is GARBAGE” and nuanced opinions like, “Can we stop pretending she’s high art?” and, “She’s so tortured that she’s worth billions of dollars for singing songs that are most appropriately sung by 16 and 17 year old girls.”

Rolling Stone has an in-depth report on the timeline of Taylor Swift's career that led to the eventual right-wing sour grapes-fueled culture war against her, especially in the last few years or so.

#Taylor Swift #The Tortured Poets Department #Donald Trump #4chan #Milo Yiannopoulos #MeToo #Ben Shapiro #Sean Feucht

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lialovestayswift · 6 months

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Taylor Swift, The Music Industry

Hi! I'm Lia! My favorite artist is Taylor Swift. I admire her for her talent in songwriting and singing. She has been part of my childhood since I learned to talk. Her songs have impacted my life, helping me stay calm during challenges and difficulties. I hope reading this blog will inspire you to listen to her music!

Starting her songwriting career at 14, Taylor signed with Big Machine Records in 2005, launching her journey as a country artist. Over six studio albums with the label, her self-titled debut album in 2006 introduced her to country music. Followed by the country-pop blend of "Fearless" (2008) with chart-toppers like "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me." She then released "Speak Now" (2010), embracing rock influences, while "Red" (2012) experimented with electronic sounds and delivered her first Billboard Hot 100 number-one track, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together."

Moving from her country roots, "1989" (2014) showcased synth-pop hits such as "Shake It Off," "Blank Space," and "Bad Blood." The later released a Media scrutiny influenced the hip-hop-inspired "Reputation" (2017) featuring the chart-topper "Look What You Made Me Do." She then signed with Republic Records, releasing her album "Lover"(2019) and the personal documentary "Miss Americana" (2020). She explored indie folk and alternative rock in 2020 with "Folklore" and "Evermore" and ventured into chill-out styles with "Midnights" (2022). Then, she re-recorded four albums as Taylor's Version after a problem with Big Machine. Her tracks like "Cruel Summer," "Cardigan," "Willow," "Anti-Hero," "All Too Well," and "Is It Over Now?"(one of my personal favorites) soared to number-one spots. She went on a tour called The Eras Tour and released its accompanying film.

Taylor's music connects with people because it speaks to common feelings and experiences, making it relatable. Fans like me love Taylor's honesty about her life, making her relatable and genuine, which builds a strong bond with her fans. Her ability to explore different music styles keeps her music fresh and appealing to an audience. I admire Taylor's strength, advocacy, and empowering messages in her music.

In conclusion, being a Swiftie is about more than just enjoying Taylor Swift's music; it's about feeling a deep connection to her as an artist and a person. Each fan has unique reasons for admiring her, but this combination of relatability, talent, and authenticity makes me love her.

#taylor swift #swifties #taylornation #the music industry #1989 taylor's version #red taylor’s version #speak now taylor’s version #the eras tour

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allamericansbitch · 1 month

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This has bothered me for a while and I’ll randomly think about it but I obviously don’t wanna post it on my blog lest the Swifties come for me.

Something that rubbed me the wrong way in the Miss Americana documentary was when Taylor got the call from her publicist (I believe) who told her that Reputation wasn’t nominated for a Grammy and Taylor’s response was “I just have to make a better album” or something along those lines.

Shouldn’t she (and other artists!) put out songs/albums because that’s what they want to do, because they want to share their art/sound with the world, not because they want to win awards? Like I get it, being nominated for a Grammy is an honor, but like the way she responded just sounded like she was only concerned with the awards. At that point she already won 2. It shouldn’t matter whether she’s nominated or wins an award or not; what should matter is that she likes making the music, she herself thinks the album is good, and that her fans like the album. I get she was disappointed but I think she ties too much of her self worth into what the industry thinks of her (which I guess all artists do to some extent).

Oh yeah, she’s always been way too concerned about charts, breaking records and winning awards in my opinion. This can go back into my theory that she’s still very much obsessed with the idea of being in high school and wanting to be popular because all those things are status symbols (at least in my eyes). Breaking records is how much people love you and winning awards are like good grades. And obviously I disagree because some of the best things are ignored by the academy and the charts and it’s sad to see her place so much of her arts worth on frivolous awards and records to me.

#anonymous #answered #this is also the leading cause of the decisions she makes like the multiple vinyl variants and all the remixes no one likes lol

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jamieroxxartist · 1 month

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youtube

✔ Mark Your Calendars: Wed Apr 10, 2024 on 🎨#JamieRoxx’s Pop Roxx Radio 🎙️#TalkShow and 🎧#Podcast w/ Featured Guest:

Pam Ross Music (#Americana)

☎ Lines will be open (347) 850.8598 Call in with your Questions and Comments Live on the Air.

● Click here to Set a Reminder: http://tobtr.com/12328197

Pop Art Painter Jamie Roxx (www.JamieRoxx.us) welcomes Pam Ross (Americana) to the Show!

● WEB: pamrossmusic.com ● IG: @pamrossmusic ● FB: @pamrossmusic ● YT: @pamross5567

Pam Ross Releases Debut Album “When Therapy Fails” The album featuring 4 Top 20 international ITunes charting singles, including a #1, dropped on April 2, 2024.

Pam Ross, the award-winning musician known for her unique blend of rock, Americana, and country, affectionately known as “PamMusic” has released her highly anticipated debut album, “When Therapy Fails.” The album features nine tracks that showcase Pam’s powerful vocals, impassioned guitar playing, and soulful songwriting.

Pam Ross has garnered attention for her music, winning Musician of the Year at the 2023 Whos Hoo Country Music Awards and being named a 2023 Independent Music Network Awards winner for Fan Favorite. Her music has been streamed over 350K times on Spotify, solidifying her position as a rising star in the music industry.

● Media Inquiries: MTS Management Group/MTS Records www.mtsmanagementgroup.com

#Youtube

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groovesnjams · 3 months

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youtube

"Texas Hold 'Em" by Beyoncé

DV:

Conceptually I love the idea of Beyoncé making a country album - it's seemed like one was just around the corner ever since her CMAs performance with The Chicks eight(!) years ago. And making this Act II of the Renaissance project, reclaiming country music as Black music, makes perfect sense. I just wish the songs themselves didn't leave me so underwhelmed. "Texas Hold 'Em" is cute, don't get me wrong! It's catchy and memorable and fantastically produced - immaculate without being overpolished. It features some incredible artists who have been in the country/Americana space for years and deserve the bigger spotlight. I like it. But I also remember the first time I heard both "Break My Soul" and "Formation", and how both of those songs sounded like absolute revelations - lightning bolts in pop wrappers. "Texas Hold 'Em" sounds like a country song and feels like a country song, which is not an easy thing to pull off. But that's about as far as it goes - and it's not really fair to Bey, but I was expecting something more. I'm curious to see where the rest of the album lands, and I'm even more curious to see how country radio treats this - "Daddy Lessons" didn't even appear on the airplay charts.

MG:

The fact that "Texas Hold 'Em" was preceded by the return of Beyoncé's silly side via a Verizon Super Bowl commercial was, I think, a big clue about where along the spectrum of radio friendliness this first country single would fall. Before that commercial I, too, expected a more searing, rootsy, and avant-electronic exploration of the genre -- the kind of single that makes a case for Gil Scott Heron as a country artist. But I have to say, I'm actually delighted she swerved and I think it's classic Beyoncé to upend our desires, to challenge us in this way. As the introduction to the second act of Renaissance, "Texas Hold 'Em" clarifies the project's purpose a step further: it's an exploration of dance music foremost. This means it's not high concept art, not a history lesson, and not an autobiography even as it continues to use those creative lenses. On the Monday post-Super Bowl DV lamented to me that this song isn't forward enough, that it was written six years ago and it sounds like it, that it isn't breaking new ground in country music. This is all true, and I think it's the best criticism of this single, but neither then nor now is the charting country music suitable for line dancing. "Texas Hold 'Em" with its driving rhythm and bouncy swing just about demands you rock on your boot heel or slap your knee at the bar counter. The premise is uncomplicated and Beyoncé delivers -- whether or not "Texas Hold 'Em" gets airplay is kind of irrelevant, this is a song that belongs on the dancefloor.

#beyonce #texas hold em #music #dixie chicks

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wearelatinamericanrockers · 6 months

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Marilina Bertoldi is an Argentine Rock musician since 2010

She began her career as the vocalist and main composer of the alternative rock group Connor Questa, from 2010 until their separation in 2015, after which she began a career as a soloist with which she established herself as one of the great figures of Argentine rock that emerged in the decade of the 2010s.

In 2019 she became the first female rocker in the entire history of the Gardel Awards to win the Gardel de Oro Award. For these reasons, Bertoldi earned the nickname "the queen of rock."

She was apart of the Eruca Sativa band, her most famous songs are "fumar de día", "RACAT" and "y deshacer".

Soda Stereo is an Argentine Rock Band formed in 1982 and considered the most important, popular and influential band in Spanish rock and a legend of Latin American music.

Their most famous songs are "De Música ligera", "Persiana Americana" and "En la Ciudad de la Furia".

#marilina bertoldi #soda stereo #Latino rock tournament #round 3 #polls #mientras estaba buscando fotos para poner para marilina alv vi un monton de ella siendo una chingona que ahora quiero que ella gana

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septembersghost · 2 years

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Do you have a list of songs Taylor has written about she and Joe 😍

the easiest answer is any love song from reputation forward, but that's a little simplistic too, so! (hopefully this is everything, and also LOOK AT THIS?! she has been so creatively prolific, and it makes me so happy she found that while being loved and fulfilled and in a good place! the harmful idea that art and inspiration can only come from hurt and misery is not ever true. proof positive that being loved and supported and having joy in your life never excludes creativity, and actually causes it to flourish, and gives you the safety to explore the darker aspects without them causing you undue harm, while simultaneously celebrating the light!)

a really beautiful and fun/captivating thing in this is following the way she tells the stories so consistently even as they transform and grow, and the specific imagery and metaphors she relies on (which i could write an essay about) <3 we have such a clear and emotional picture because she's chosen to share it.

💙reputation: ...ready for it?, end game, don't blame me, delicate, so it goes..., gorgeous, king of my heart, dancing with our hands tied, dress, call it what you want, new year's day, (and in this is why we can't have nice things: here's to my baby, he ain't reading what they call me lately)

💛lover: cruel summer, lover, i think he knows, miss americana and the heartbreak prince, paper rings, cornelia street, london boy, false god, afterglow, daylight. there are also little pieces in me! and it's nice to have a friend, and the archer exists in a category that is about taylor herself, but specifically addresses/references him (help me hold on to you)

💙folklore: invisible string, peace, the lakes, parts of hoax, and mirrorball lives in the same category as the archer (shining just for you)

💛evermore: willow, gold rush, cowboy like me, long story short, and evermore joins the archer/mirrorball (in the cracks of light, i dreamed of you)

💙midnights: lavender haze, snow on the beach, labyrinth, karma, sweet nothing, mastermind, the great war, glitch, paris, hits different, high infidelity mentions him (do i really have to chart the constellations in his eyes? do i really have to tell you how he brought me back to life?), and in our archer/mirrorball/evermore category goes anti-hero (i wake up screaming from dreaming one day i'll watch as you're leaving 'cause you got tired of my scheming/and life will lose all its meaning for the last time)

and, separate from her albums, renegade and christmas tree farm ✨

#anonymous #letterbox #taylor swift #joe alwyn #sorry for tag invading it's just for my filing system

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fvrsaeken · 6 months

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ALL STUDIO ALBUMS RELEASED BY JUDITH GRIMES

goddess (Released: July 6, 2019) - Judith's breakout album with it's lead single the man debuted at number 12 on the Billboard New Music charts and in the following weeks climbed to the 10th spot where it remained for a month before falling back down in the charts. Judith, while grateful that the album did well, especially with her lead single going gold it's very rare she performs any songs from it. She's been quoted as saying in an interview with Vanity Fair: "The only songs I'll ever perform from that album are the man, i did something bad and probably looking at me. Those were the most fun to write and record." While the album's release was overshadowed by the tragedy surrounding it, Judith remains grateful for it getting her foot in the door. "I think another reason I don't perform a lot from that album is because of what happened after the album release party. It's just kind of become something that's just mine and I'm okay with that."

delicate (Released: November 5, 2021) - Judith's sophomore album was met with an almost record breaking first week, debuting at number 2 on the charts, and quickly climbed up to number 1 where it stayed for seven weeks, earning Judith her first triple platinum album at just nineteen. Her lead single nonsense and second single the archer both went viral on Tik Tok gaining the singer even more notoriety as more and more people discovered her music through the app. Her Spotify monthly listeners climbed from 3.3 million to 26.3 million after delicate was released. "I was blown away by the response I got from this album, it was truly unexpected after the year that I've had. There is a lot of heartache around recording it, but there is also so much hope because of everyone who loves this record as much as I do."

afterglow (Released: July 7, 2022) - Judith often accredits this album as well as some of her previous album as her finally finding her sound. She stated in many interviews that writing this album was the quickest she had ever written and recorded any of her music, given that she had written most of the songs during the making of delicate. "It was a very quick process recording and releasing this album because I had already written most of the songs. The only ones that I wrote completely and didn't just edit for this album were miss americana, and dear reader. I was really happy that in finding my sound I was able to pretty much make two albums out of it. Because of delicate and afterglow, I feel more confident in my abilities as both a performer and as a songwriter."

something to remember (Released: June 20, 2023) - something to remember is the album Judith released on her birthday and is a collection of songs that she had written or partially recorded during her last three albums that ended up getting cut. Judith was quoted as saying: "There have been a lot of songs that I've had to leave behind over the years so when I wanted to release something like this I knew that I had to take my time. This album has quite a few songs that not even my family have heard but I'm excited for them to hear. Pretty much everyone has a song on this album and using where you belong as the lead single was a no brainer because that was one I wrote for Carl who is featured a couple times on this album so it all tied together nicely. I'm really excited for everyone to hear this album."

(inspired by & credit to: @carltongrimes from this post)

#&.* j.g. | a. miss americana #( too much fun )#( i'm having too much fun )

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hiitsdifferent · 8 months

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I Love Taylor Swift....

But I feel like we can be fans of her without believing she is the epitome of perfection and pushing that mentality on other people. She is talented. She is hardworking. She is influential. But the stans have to learn to lay off. The behavior this summer is straight-up annoying, and honestly, we need to learn to acknowledge the mistakes she's made too.

Going to the Eras Tour Movie is not about us having or reliving the concert experience. We can't go in inconveniencing movie theatre employees and other theatres around us with noise complaints. It's great she made a movie. Let's dress up and given out friendship bracelets. But let's not cause a scene because we want to poorly scream shout songs. This reminds me of when newer or other artists release music around when she has a release, and they end up getting buried on social media or streaming. Like other people can prosper on the charts too. Like we don't have to keep proving to her how much we love her. She should know by now.

Taylor's dancers, back-up singers, and fans going to see Beyonce did not betray Taylor and deserve to be fired or aren't real fans. Stop trying to cancel everyone who varies outside of Taylor's circle. We can support more than one artist.

As a fandom we are more than aware that Taylor's had to repeatedly show her songwriting abilities so she isn't discredited. Why can't we show Olivia Rodrigo the same courtesy and understanding? Her whole career shouldn't be taken down because her team admitted that two songs were 'inspired' by Taylor (whether Deja Vu actually sounds like Cruel Summer is open to your ears interpretation). The appropriate credit was given as well as 50% royalties (which is just insane). That doesn't mean root through every album Olivia makes and try to tie to other songs. It's disappointing that Jack had to get out and explain what was going on, and Taylor hasn't said a peep yet.

Taylor has a weak history working with women in music. She's worked very little with female producers as consistently as Aaron and Jack, and female artists have been used as back-up vocals more compared to male artists who are featured on the actual track. And she has publicly supported younger rising artists very prominently during a promo tour of sorts and then goes completely silent - Olivia Rodrigo, IceSpice during the whole ratty situation, Hayley Kiyoko for reputation/allyship promo tour, etc. She is a force of nature in the music industry, but I do think she could publicly clean up her image supporting female artists and not when it's to her own benefit.

Miss Americana did not age well at all. Instead of letting reputation exist without an explanation, she was a part of an entire documentary of how she was cancelled (and wrongfully so), but then turned it into her becoming an activist that went nowhere. Sitting on your couch with your publicist in a huge mansion toasting the resistance with champagne over a social media post, and then never following up on it, is completely peak white feminism. Some celebs are not cut out for adding activism into the career. Okay. But she should've done the work before stepping into the arena using the LGBTQ+ community in a music video to prove that she's always been an ally because Todrick didn't know how she'd react to having a gay kid is not it.

GrammyGate. Joe was listed as William Bowery for two songs on Folklore. After it won Album of the Year, he was changed to a producer to six songs and that qualified him to win a Grammy. She did reveal that he was William in the long pond sessions but the proper paperwork wasn't submitted/finalized until eight months after the album came out - where he could've been properly credited as a collaborator. And now with the Eras Tour and Joe/Taylor has broken up, she switches back and forth to say she wrote Betty on her own, and everything came out of her imagination. Why all of the shenanigans for a bright shiny award??

I know all of this makes it sound like I hate Taylor, but I don't. I'm practically known as the resident Swiftie everywhere I hang out/work because I'm always bringing her up in one way or another. But she's not perfect, and I'm super freaking tired of being in a fandom that refuses to not acknowledge anything slightly questionable that's she done. We're canceling her or dragging her down - it just means we're able to see she's not infallible and love her despite of her mistakes.

#taylor swift #And please for the love of god stop calling her mother it's creepy as fuck #especially if you are the same age as her

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popentertainmentconcertreviews · 1 year

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Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers & Gayle – Lincoln Financial Field – Philadelphia, PA – May 12, 2023

In the words of Miss Taylor Swift, “It’s been a long time coming.” On May 12th, Taylor performed on the stage of Philadelphia’s own Lincoln Financial Field, her 20th stop on the Eras Tour. The last time Swift graced this stage with her ethereal presence was back in 2018 on the Reputation Stadium Tour. With this being Swift’s hometown show, I could tell that it was a special one for her. In the words of Swift, “Whether or not you intended to, you’ve ended up at my hometown show. I grew up right down the road.” It was a pleasure to be in attendance at such a highly anticipated event. I feel so lucky to have been a part of that night, considering it was a war (or as Swift would say, a Great War) on Ticketmaster to secure tickets.

Now why is this tour called the Eras Tour, and not the Midnights Tour? In 2019, the masters of Swift’s first six albums were sold for a whopping $300 million. Fortunately, the “mastermind” announced in August 2019 that she would be re-recording those albums in the coming years. This means that she will once again own her original songs, but this time they’ll be “Taylor’s Version.” Fans were ecstatic to hear about the re-recordings, feeling all of the nostalgia while listening to their favorite high school albums for the first time again. Rather than solely highlighting the Midnights portion of her discography, Swift decided to bring tour attendees through all of her “eras.”

As soon as I arrived at the stadium, I felt an overwhelming energy buzzing around the stadium. Swifties in attendance were dressed head-to-toe in T-Swift gear, including moms, dads, and grandparents! Swift’s fans don’t play around when it comes to their Eras tour outfits; some even spent DAYS on their final looks! Fans were dressed for every era, from Taylor Swift to Midnights, and more.

The first act of the night was singer-songwriter Gayle. She became extremely popular in 2021 after the release of the hit single “abcdefu”, which was awesome to hear live! Gayle played tracks from her newest EP titled hi this is my setlist right now, which funny enough, is her setlist for the Eras tour! Her performance included hit singles “don’t call me pretty,” “luv starved,” and of course, “abcdefu.” Gayle was the perfect opener for the Eras Tour. Everyone was on their feet, which is rare for an opening act.

Up next was the incredible Phoebe Bridgers. Swift and Bridgers have been friends for some time now and even released a song together called “Nothing New,” which is featured on Red (Taylor’s Version). Bridgers kicked off her set with the popular hit “Motion Sickness,” followed by “DVD Menu,” “Garden Song,” and “Kyoto.” Joining Bridgers on stage playing guitar was The 1975’s lead singer, Matty Healy. As a fan of Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers, and The 1975, this was a surreal experience. Bridgers then went on to play several more tracks including “Scott Street,” “Graceland Too,” and finally “I Know The End.” After Phoebe’s performance, the energy went from excited to off the charts. It was finally time to start the countdown until Swift took the stage.

Promptly at 8 PM, the lights went down, and the Eras tour intro began playing over the speakers – a mashup of songs of Swift’s all throughout her albums. As the audio montage of her musical history played over the speakers, beautiful sunset-colored Cirque du Soleil-esque billowing fans held by dancers gracefully waltzed across the stage. The colors of the fans matched the sunset that painted the sky behind the stage, which was beautiful. The dancers then piled the fans on top of one another in the middle of the stage. The next thing I knew, Swift popped up from beneath the fans singing, “It’s been a long time coming,” the first line she sang from the chorus of “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince” from her 2019 album Lover. Her choice of using a Lover song was very special, since her tour accompanying the album, Loverfest, was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From Lover, Taylor also played “The Man,” fan-favorite “Cruel Summer,” “You Need To Calm Down,” “Lover” and “The Archer.”

Soon Swift disappeared into the stage. The display screens were then enveloped in shimmering sparkles, introducing us to the Fearless era. I was overwhelmed with nostalgia when the first notes of “Fearless,” the title track of her sophomore album Fearless. As the chorus of the song says, “I don’t know how it gets better than this,” I wholeheartedly agree. Up next was “You Belong With Me” followed by one of Swift’s first huge hits “Love Story.” Though I was sad to see the Fearless era come to an end, I could not wait for what was next.

Before I knew it, visuals of freshly fallen snow in the woods were shown on the display screens. Evergreen trees then arose from the stage, and Swift began singing “Tis the Damn Season” as she welcomed us to the evermore era. As Swift started singing the chorus of the song, the entire audience chimed in “it always leads to you in my hometown,” with an emphasis on “my hometown,” since Swift is from nearby Wyomissing, Pennsylvania! What makes her concerts so fun is not only the music itself but the captivating visuals and Broadway-quality performance that come along with it. Seeing Swift’s songs come to life on stage gives audiences a whole new insight into her brain, helping us further encode her profound lyrics.

Swift then went on to play “willow,” followed by “Marjorie” which she wrote for her late grandmother Marjorie Finlay. Hearing “Marjorie” live was a heartwarming experience, as Swift honored her grandmother by having a recording of Marjorie’s opera singing mixed in with the instrumental of the track. Swift sang “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were singing to me now” and Marjorie’s mesmerizing voice filled Lincoln Financial Field. Swift then played “champagne problems” on the piano after expressing her extreme gratitude to the audience. After a beautiful performance of “Tolerate It,” Swift once again disappeared from the stage, and we were transported to the Reputation era.

The last time fans saw Swift perform these songs was the last time she performed in Philly on her 2018 reputation Stadium Tour. Swift’s powerhouse vocals have only gotten stronger since then, making the reputation era one to remember. With striking visuals of snakes slithering across the stage, Swift kicked off this part of the set with “...Ready for It?” and that, I was! She then played fan-favorites “Delicate,” “Don’t Blame Me” (you know, the one with the insane high note), and finally “Look What You Made Me Do.” Before I could even catch my breath from the previous eras, it was time for the highly anticipated Speak Now era.

The reputation snake made its way to the end of the over 150-foot stage as the display screens turned a familiar shade of purple. The opening notes of “Enchanted” began playing and the audience lost their minds. Swift announced Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) on May 5th during her show in Nashville, only one week before Philly night one, which made the Speak Now era even more thrilling for the audience. It was a surreal feeling hearing Swift’s mature voice singing songs I listened to throughout my years in school. Though the Speak Now segment of the show was only one song long, that did not stop fans from having performances of their own in the audience. Swift didn’t go through the eras in chronological order throughout the show, but she did with the transition from Speak Now to Red.

As we entered the Red era, the vibes in the stadium were immaculate. Red is one of Swift’s albums that seemingly makes most Swifties’ top three album list, so the anticipation for this segment of the show was off the charts. Swift took the stage after a short montage of songs on the album was played, and the introduction to “22” blasted through the speakers. At the end of the song, Swift made her way to the end of the stage and handed off her hat to a lucky fan who got to take it home as the greatest souvenir of all time. Next, she played “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “I Knew You Were Trouble,” and even Red (Taylor’s Version) from the vault track “Nothing New.” Finally, it was time for the song fans had been waiting for, “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version).” Ever since Swift announced that the original version of the song was 10 minutes long in 2012, fans had been pleading for her to release it. Fortunately for them, she did on her first re-recorded album Red (Taylor’s Version).

We were then welcomed to the folklore era with a spoken word poem by Swift containing lyrics from folklore’s “seven” and 1989’s “Wildest Dreams.” The folklore era included “the 1”, “the last great American dynasty”, “august”, “illicit affairs”, “my tears ricochet”, and “cardigan.” When introducing “betty,” Swift shared that while most of her songs are based on real people, some are characters that she made up including James, Inez, and of course, Betty. Swift explained to the the buzzing crowd, “Fun fact: I named the characters after real people in my life, who I love. Their names are James, Inez, and Betty.” What makes this even more special is that these are the names of Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ children, whom Swift is very close with. Lively and the kids were even in attendance at the show!

After the performance straight out of a fairytale book that was the folklore era, fans were pumped to see the 1989 era begin with one of the album's biggest hits “Style.” Swift then performed “Blank Space,” “Shake It Off” (even the stadium was shaking!), “Wildest Dreams,” and “Bad Blood.” The performance of “Bad Blood” came complete with a pyrotechnic display, perfectly accompanying the fiery vibe of the song. I could feel the flames from my seat! The choreography during this era was absolutely unmatched. Swift’s extremely talented band and dancers made the show that much better.

Up next was many fans’ favorite time of the night – surprise song time. On almost every tour Swift has done, she has played an acoustic song of two that are a complete surprise to the audience. One song is on the guitar and the other on the piano. While introducing the first song, Swift shared that there is a great online debate surrounding a specific lyric in the song. Fans caught on immediately that she would be playing evermore’s “gold rush.” The debate in question refers to the verse “What must it be like to grow up that beautiful? / With your hair falling into place like dominoes / I see me padding across your wooden floors / With my Eagles T-shirt hanging from the door.” Is she referring to the band or our hometown Philadelphia Eagles? Swift promptly answered sharing “I love the band Eagles. But guys come on, I’m from Philly. Of course, it’s the team.” The stadium erupted with cheers before she could finish her sentence. After playing the unofficial Swiftie Eagles fight song, Swift walked over to the piano to play the next surprise song. She explained that she does take polite requests for songs in this segment, and tonight’s was suggested by none other than Phoebe Bridgers. The song was revealed to be “Come Back, Be Here” (one of my personal favorites since 2012.) Swift had never performed this live before, so fans were extremely excited.

The era up next was the most recent member of Swift’s ever-growing catalog, Midnights. She kicked off the final portion of the show with the first track on the album “Lavender Haze” followed by “Anti-Hero,” “Midnight Rain,” “Vigilante Shit,” and “Mastermind.” The production value all throughout the Midnights era was incredible, complete with screen visual colors of clues, purples, and pinks to match the tone of the album. Next, Swift played “Bejeweled,” which recently became very popular on TikTok. As the song goes, Swift really made “the whole place shimmer.” The final song of the 3-hour and 15-minute show was an electric performance was “Karma.” It was a Taylor Swift show, so of course mass amounts of confetti were released into the crowd and a beautiful array of fireworks were shown in the sky over the Linc. After Swift, her band, and her dancers did their final bows, the lights went back on, and “You’re On Your Own, Kid” began playing over the speakers. A specific line in the song was special to hear in the stadium, that being, “So make the friendship bracelets / Take the moment and taste it / You've got no reason to be afraid.” As we entered the stadium, everyone was handed a Bluetooth-powered LED bracelet that created an interactive light show throughout the audience during and after the show. These bracelets were like Swifties’ friendship bracelets with Swift as well as among each other, which is such a special thing to now be a part of.

If you ever have the chance to see Swift in concert, do it. Not only will she give the performance of a lifetime, but you’ll make memories you will never forget.

Kayla Marra

#taylor swift #Phoebe Bridgers #Gayle #2023 #Concert Review #Lincoln Financial Field #Philadelphia #Kayla Marra

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