HEAR ME OUT - THE COLOR OF HER CATS FUR ARE THE INSPIRATION FOR THE TTPD ALBUMS COLOR SCHEME/AESTHETIC OF THIS ERA because who better to work at The Tortured Poets Department then the Itty Bitty Pretty Kitty Committee. Can't Spell Cats without TS.

"A committee is a select group of people who work together to complete a project. A department is the name given to an office or building where a specific type of work is done."

@taylorswift @taylornation

theory posted feb 29 2024

taylor announcing something on the eras tour will always be my favorite thing!!!

THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT

We’re unsealing THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT files for one last chance to pre-order your favorite special edition vinyl, deluxe CDs, and cassettes before publication on April 19. 🗃️

As the old simile goes, move swift af boi, because the special editions are available for 48 hours, and all editions have limited supply. 🤍

the tortured poets department ♡

me since april 19th

THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT + all editions

Something that stood out to me a lot from this album is the intentional de-personalization of extremely personal feelings and stories. She seems to have decided for this project that in order to be free to be completely honest in her art (which tbf she always has been but never as much as this album), she needs to visualize herself, and thus her stories, as a third party, an external entity on which she's conducting a post-mortem examination. Her 2016 self and the hate train she suffered after Snakegate is reimagined as Cassandra, a character from Greek mythology who had visions in her dreams but no one believed her and instead she was punished. Her anxiety of holding her lover's career back is instead described as The Albatross, this girl who everyone has been warned to stay away from bc she causes problems and is a liability. Her sweet, innocent childhood self is depicted as a robin, a feisty little bird full of life, dreams, and potential who has yet no clue of the cruelty of the world.

Consequently, the characters in her life are, too, bestowed upon fictional characters from stories that have been told before and/or are familiar in some way to the listener (aIMee the girl from this allegorical high school which is actually Kim Kardashian, Peter the boy who never grew up and stayed forever in Neverland who actually is her long-term ex partner, both her and her lover's separate romantic involvements imagined as Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus, her real life therapist referred to as The Professor etc). By using the representation of well-known characters from widely popular stories and myths with names and all, she creates an even deeper line of emotional connection with the listener. Then, the 4th wall is delightfully broken in Clara Bow, where she refers to Clara Bow and Stevie Nicks as the inherent precedents to Taylor Swift. But what's even more brilliant about this is that in this way, she is making Taylor Swift into a character in and of itself. She is actually attempting to externalize Taylor Swift from Taylor the real-life woman. By narrating her stories through tangible entities presented as completely external to herself, she is inhibited by the safety of this fictional/allegorical lense through which she's allowing her stories to be consumed, and as a result, she has unlimited freedom to be more personal than she has ever been in her art before.

The Tortured Poets Department (Art History Version) – The Complete Collection

i think the albatross on TTPD makes so much sense. we saw taylor talking about feeling like a burden and that she can’t bring peace in the last couple of albums, and then with matty, she saw how much backlash there was because she put him in the light (the fact that people are valid in their criticism of him is a different topic). she’s the devil, but she talks about also being an angel because she will stand by you throughout it and rescue you. and her head-on taking the full responsibility of being the destroyer and the savior simultaneously is her saying “at least im self-aware about the storm i bring.” i think 2023 really brought forth all this dark perception she has of herself (we also see this in how she talks about her being fucked up in the same way as matty), and maybe writing and talking about it is the first step to deconstructing that.

LETS DISCUSS THE ALBATROSS

heres the albatross poem by  Charles Baudelaire translated to English

Often, for fun, the crewmen Take albatrosses, vast birds of the seas, Who follow, indolent traveling companions, The ship sliding across bitter chasms. As soon as they placed them on the boards, May these kings of the azure, clumsy and ashamed, Pitifully leave their large white wings Like oars dragging next to them. This winged traveler, how clumsy and spineless he is! He, once so handsome, how comical and ugly he is! One teases its beak with a burner, The other mimes, while limping, the cripple who was flying! The Poet is like the prince of the clouds Who haunts the storm and laughs at the archer; Exiled to the ground amid boos, His giant wings prevent him from walking.

It's like she says in Anti hero shes too big to hang out slowly lurking to your favorite city -- Shes Dragging her large white wings because shes been "caught"

She might be talking about during reputation, how she used to be handsome (loved by everyone)-- and how people betrayed her and the media calling her a liar "being comical and ugly" ( the butt of the joke, daylight) or maybe from the rumours of him cheating she felt so beautiful with him but then he made her feel "comical and ugly"

"one teases, the other mimes" - in reference to how he had that secret text message tortured club. hes miming and teasing her for being who she is, a poet, a songwriter a genius

"the poet" - TAYLOR

"who haunts the storm" - Every mornin', I glared at you with storms in my eyes

"laughs at the archer" - is she laughing at herself for her own archer song on lover thinking that he could stay, now she laughs because he couldn't??

"Exiled to the ground" - she cant spread her wings and fly and be herself when shes been shot out of the sky by this person. Shes Exiled to being in hiding, wishing she hadnt lost those years

"his giant wings prevent him from walking" - because shes so famous and so well loved, it prevents her from going outside otherwise they will be seen together, she will be in the public eye , again "TOO BIG TO HANG OUT" from anti hero

ALSO, Exile from Folklore - Laughin', but the joke's not funny at all. You're not my homeland anymore. So what am I defending now?

This is all a theory, not based on any facts, just rumours. I dot not claim to know about their relationship.

feb 23 2024

the tortured poets department wallpapers

part 1 | part 2

The Tortured Poet Department Variants

Are we allowed to cry about the new album edition of THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT? 🥲 Add new file and bonus track The Albatross to your collection. Pre-order before Feb 26 at 2pm ET or while supplies last. 🤍

Taylor Swift announces a new edition of her new album "THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT" with new exclusive bonus track "The Albatross"

why isn’t anyone talking about the albatross? you’re told to stay away from her, but she keeps haunting you. she’s the mastermind who anoints you with liquor. you can try to lock her up, but she’s the poison you picked. you cannot cage her. she is compared to the devil for being cautious. she ultimately still flies free and takes you with her to protect you. it’s like imgonnagetyouback meets cassandra, guilty as sin meets but daddy I love him, because she’s felt equally caged by love and fame.