Taylor Swift - Midnights

Xpost what do you think "Bad Blood" is about

Saw it last night! As someone who knows the 1989 album and maybe 6 other Swift songs, the movie was pretty good for being nearly three hours long. Although my ass was ready to leave before it was done. She’s a very good performer and I was impressed by how she balances the “acting” required to sell the songs while still letting the Taylor “aw shucks” thing slip out.

The smiling wasn’t constant or inappropriate to the songs imho. There was certainly a LOT of smiling, and everyone seemed to be in character constantly which made sense, especially if they know it’s being filmed.

I would never watch it again and i’m not sold on the greatness of Taylor, but it was charming and i’m happy my kid likes her. I’m glad that Taylor is huge while pushing for diversity and seemingly being true to herself.

As someone who hasn’t seen a BIG show in…. well, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a show that big. But I had no idea the stage-as-screen technology had come so far. I’m pretty excited about the Beynce concert movie, which is more my thing.

Yeah, there's something to be said for the spectacle of some of these big shows. I saw a Madonna tour once, maybe behind American Life, that was so cool and literally so many moving parts that the music was almost ancillary.

Swift has released demos in at least some fore before, right? I'm always fascinated when artists give a glimpse of the whole start to finish process, but there are probably contractual/legal restrictions to doing that at this level. Like, what does Max Martin play an act to get their attention? How far along is it? There's that story of all the permutations of Rihanna's "Umbrella," I'd love to hear its step-by-step evolution. The closest I can think is that clip of Timbaland playing Jay-Z a bunch of loops, and seeing him light up when he hears what becomes "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" for the first time. But of course, that essentially *is* a loop, and musically what he hears is not that different from the final track.

Iirc there are some good glimpses of Swift's process in the "Miss Americana" doc. But the story Dessner has told of sending her some some fragments and getting back a completed song, I'd love to hear just what he sent her and just what she sent back.

i think the thing about most songs not moving very much beneath her vocal (beyond some textural stuff) is why "betty" is so clearly the best song from folklore & evermore, it really stands out because it's so much more dynamic. i want a whole album like that!

I bought my daughter a couple of the Taylor Swift official piano books, but she says they're really not much help, since in terms of chords and whatnot they're pretty simple, and even the melodies are often pretty static. I know my guitar teacher is not a big fan of her songwriting for the same reason; when kids bring her songs in there's just not much for him to teach. And that Rick Beato dude, he wasn't talking about Swift specifically, but he's one of many to point out the near-complete lack of key changes (and often dynamics) on the pop charts for years at this point, which restricts melody. To my ears the fact that Swift is so successful (artistically) *despite* this is a selling point and a sign of her talent/vision and some kind of minor miracle, but it's probably also why her music has never really clicked for me, or why I get tired of a lot of her tropes (which seemed less prominent on the most recent records); the big held note at the end of the final chorus of many of her songs is the musical equivalent of the choreographed smile, or, before that, the "surprise face" she kept making at awards shows.

"The 1" was the one song that was new to me that made me pay close attention. I liked that one.

yes that is a very impressively arranged tune

Does she perform many “Evermore” songs in the film? Those are so so good.

Swift isn't Joni Mitchell, but she's also not writing drone music. Which is to say, her chord progressions don't strike me as any less complex than most other songwriters working in a pop idiom. What does it mean that the sheet music isn't much help or that there's not much to teach? If you want to learn how to play a Swift song, you learn the 3-5 chords you need and the order they go in, just as you would if you were playing something by Bob Dylan or Phoebe Bridgers or Olivia Rodrigo.

most of the songs on folklore and evermore don't strike me as static loops, they're all pretty dynamic, e.g. the song-bursts-open codas of "ivy" and "august", the shapeshifting emphasis in "cowboy like me"

whereas if most of the songs on midnights develop at all, i'm not aware of it

What does it mean that the sheet music isn't much help or that there's not much to teach?

Just because, as you said, they're no less complex than most pop music, so you don't really need a piano book or teacher at all, you just need to know those handful of chords and you're more or less all set. You don't really need either for, say, the Ramones, either. But books and lessons are for sure more helpful for, I dunno, the Beatles, or the Stones, or ABBA or whatever, which can be more complex or involved without going full Joni.

ivy OTM

also

If you want to learn how to play a Swift song, you learn the 3-5 chords you need and the order they go in, just as you would if you were playing something by Bob Dylan or Phoebe Bridgers or Olivia Rodrigo.

or bruce springsteen!!!

i've probably brought him up as a point of comparison before but that's the main guy i think of in terms of being able to spin new songs out of the same old chord progressions

i'm not surprised a taylor swift piano book doesn't have much chordal intrigue bc i can't think of a single song of hers that's anchored by a sick piano part, the ones that come to mind are "cardigan," "exile," and "champagne problems," all of which do not seem complex at all, though "exile" sounds fun to play, idk

Yeah I was thinking the same thing (and wondered if it’s disfavored for being a duet).

Now Springsteen, there's a piano book for you. The guitar is the easy part!

My fav quote from a one man show I saw once

"What's wrong with G? Just play G! If your chord has a number in it, you're an asshole!"

Ha. I think I saw somebody joke once that nothing good ever happened above the 7th fret. Might have just been talking about bass, though.

Just because, as you said, they're no less complex than most pop music, so you don't really need a piano book or teacher at all, you just need to know those handful of chords and you're more or less all set. You don't really need either for, say, the Ramones, either. But books and lessons are for sure more helpful for, I dunno, the Beatles, or the Stones, or ABBA or whatever, which can be more complex or involved without going full Joni.

Gotcha. I play piano but am mostly self-taught and rarely do much more than plunk out chords and melodies. I can play melodies by ear, so I usually just need to figure out or track daown chord progressions, and then I can play something that's sort of rudimentary but nonetheless satisfying to me. So I forget that people use sheet music for more than just fake-book chord symbols.

lol I was just listening to LP5 by Autechre, and my daughter came in and asked what year the track was from. I said 1998, why? And she said it reminded her of "Midnights." And ... I didn't know what to say.

Xp “going full Joni”

Once you learn the open tunings Joni uses, the songs aren’t too hard to play on guitar.

But there are like 30 tunings, right?

I've often wondered about people trying to play Stones songs in the '70s, not knowing they're often open G, sometimes with a capo, too. Once you know, the songs aren't that bad, but you need to know!

Joni puts the number at 51.

High enough to play a dumbass looking guitar synth.

I’ve already seen kids dressed as S/T, Red, and Midnights (…and trick-or-treating hasn’t even officially started yet).

I saw a Speak Now purple dress/hat and multiple Red costumes (block letter tees w/black hats). What other musicians have recently inspired Halloween costumes?

Too cold out for someone dressing like a lot of other pop stars, lol ...

Put on a cardigan

xxpost https://www.vogue.com/article/doja-cat-transformation-halloween

omg. Also, this is wild!

https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/meet-the-argentine-taylor-swift-fans-who-have-been-camping-out-for-the-eras-tour-since-june/

you know it smell crazy in there, etc.

Was listening to the Wedding Present and it struck me how funny it would have been had Taylor Swift not collaborated with Aaron Dessner but with David Gedge. And then I kept thinking of other people she could collaborate with, from Johnny Marr to Dave Mustaine, and I found it really amusing. For about two minutes.

There should be a general Taylor Swift thread. But anyway, this is very important:

Gannett’s Taylor Swift Reporter, Revealed: Meet Bryan West, the First Full-Time Swiftie Journalist (EXCLUSIVE) https://t.co/tRxld7ySjs via @variety

— Nick Penzenstadler (@npenzenstadler) November 6, 2023

How many days until a Swiftie murders this guy?

https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-rio-fan-dies-water-b69ad355301a7ae6edebd3255c94a167

Taylor's instagram post says the fan died before the show, which is untrue (maybe she didn't have all the info when she wrote it)

and people are asking for the 2nd concert to be postponed, as today has also a huge heatwave affecting temperatures in Rio, higher than yesterday even

https://gshow.globo.com/tudo-mais/pop/noticia/fas-pedem-adiamento-do-segundo-dia-de-show-da-taylor-swift-no-rio-de-janeiro.ghtml

Swift is handling the tragedy right. And Christ the Redeemer is wearing a Swift shirt for charity.

"Cristo Redentor (Taylor's Version)"

She wears short skirts, I wear T-shirts
She's Cheer Captain, and I'm the Redeemer

"You're Losing Me" is a pretty good song; probably better than anything else on Midnights. But it still has that dull, flat sound and vocal affectations (which I don't care for) that are typical of the album...

chubble chubble chubble

'state of grace' is such an incredible opener, honestly. discovered the acoustic version this week. those bass notes, god damn.