Five on Friday - An Ode to The Tortured Poets Department

*This post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Happy Friday, y’all!  Well, as much as I’ve talked about it on Instagram this week, you probably all knew it was coming… Taylor Swift’s new album, The Tortured Poets Department, is my #1 favorite thing from the entire week.  Y’all.  I could go on all day about this album, and so, upon realizing that I had so much to say about it, I decided to dedicate today’s entire post to it. 

Originally, I was just going to put it in my number one spot for the week, but then I kept writing and writing… and writing, and it became too much for just one segment.  And so, here’s an entire blog post about an album that Taylor Swift wrote. 

Have I ever dedicated an entire blog post to an album before?  Nope.  Did I see this coming?  Honestly?  Nope.  But here we are.

And if you’re not a TS fan, please feel free to check out now and come back Monday.  Haha.

With regard to all of the questions about whether or not we are letting Olivia listen to it, the answer is yes.  She is a diehard Swiftie, and I couldn't bear to keep it from her.  However, much of the content on the album is explicit and/or about various life experiences that she doesn't quite understand.  So, she will not have access to the full version... instead, we downloaded the clean version for her.  

I chatted with a few of my friends who have daughters in Olivia's class at school, and they all said that they were downloading the clean versions for their daughters, too, so I know she'd hear it eventually since she hangs out/sleeps over at friends' houses often.  Not to mention it's all over the radio. 

The clean version removes all of the explicit words (Down Bad, I'm looking at you - F-Bombs galore!), and most of the rest of the album is okay except for a few select songs that have questionable content besides curse words.  I have been listening to it with her, and I told her if she has any questions she can ask, and so far, all she has asked about is what "petulance" means.  Hahahaha.  Most of the content is honestly going right over her head.  

We have also used the album for teachable moments, as I explained to her the other day that when Taylor says, "Your wife waters flowers.  I want to kill her." in the song "Fortnight" that she is obviously using hyperbole.  She understands that Taylor Swift does not actually want to kill someone's wife, and she also knows that it is not acceptable to say that we want to kill someone.    

With all that said, we are HUGE music fans in our house, and I have always been a big believer in the art of songwriting and music and self expression, and I was raised in a house where we were welcome to listen to every genre under the sun.  And that's why I think I appreciate music so much.  I also believe that our kids are mature enough to discern right from wrong, and I'm not concerned about Olivia being influenced negatively by this album in the least.  

I also believe that it's important for my little girl to see that it's okay for girls to be strong and powerful and creative and expressive and messy and vulnerable, and Taylor Swift is the epitome of all of those things.

I do also understand that many people have concerns about their girls listening to this new album, and that's okay, too!  You have to do what's best for you and your family.  <3

So those are my thoughts about the "momming" side of navigating the album for those of you who are asking.  Thank you for coming to my TED talk.  Hahahaha.

O N E – My Random Thoughts About It

For starters, not only did she release a new album, but she also surprised us with a double album, so instead of 16 songs at 1 hour and 5 minutes, we got 31 songs at 2 hours and 2 minutes.  Bravo, Taylor, bravo.  I did not see that coming.  What a gift.

From start to finish, this album is a masterpiece.  The lyrics to every single song are heartbreaking, relatable, PURE GENIUS, and I believe that this is absolutely her most vulnerable album yet.  She lays it all out there.

While Folklore is also heartbreaking, relatable, and genius, the vulnerability aspect wasn’t there for her personally because she claimed from the start that all of the lyrics on that album are… folklore.  So, while Folklore will always have my heart (it’s her magnum opus in my opinion), I do feel like TTPD has that extra layer of vulnerability that almost puts it in the top spot of Taylor Swift albums for me.  Almost. 

But Folklore remains my #1.

I have loved Folklore so much for so long (it’s in my top three favorite albums of all-time by any artist ever) that I didn’t think this album would come anywhere close to being in its league.  I’m so thrilled that it did.  She truly delivered. 

She does not hold back on this album, and parts of it are a bit unhinged (hello, I Can Do it With a Broken Heart and Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?), but I LOVE unhinged Taylor and I believe that this is some of her best work yet.  I’ve said it a million times, and I’ll say it again, she is a lyrical genius… one of the best lyricists of all-time, and most definitely the greatest of our current time. 

I have listened to this album on repeat all week, and I just cannot get enough.  I want to crawl inside of it and stay there until I can sing every single word of every single song by heart.  It is that good.

 

T W O – Target Exclusive Vinyl

Not me buying the exclusive Phantom Clear vinyl from Target even though I don’t have a record player… 

But seriously, I couldn’t resist buying it, and I’m so glad I did.  There’s a 24-page book jacket inside and it is gorgeous.  And the summary poem that Taylor wrote at the end of the book.  Oh. My. Word.

I guess I need to buy a record player now.

 

T H R E E – My Favorite Songs/Lyrics on the Album

I have received no less than 30 DMs from y’all on Instagram asking what my favorite songs on the album are so far, so I finally took the time to put a list together.  I was originally going to share my Top 5, but that was impossible, so then I decided to share my Top 10.  There were still a few that I just couldn’t not have on my list, so I ended up making a Top 13, and that in itself should make all of you true Taylor Swift fans proud.  IYKYK. 

Without further ado, my Top 13 favorite songs on the album and my favorite lyrics from each…

 

1. loml – "You lowdown boy, you stand up guy, Holy Ghost, you told me I'm the love of your life.  You said I'm the love of our life, about a million times." // When your impressionist paintings of Heaven turned out to be fakes, well, you took me to hell, too." // “But I felt a hole like this never before, and ever since.” // "Our field of dreams, engulfed in fire, your arson's match, your somber eyes, and I'll still see it until the day I die.  You're the loss of my life."
2. Guilty as Sin? – “If it’s make believe why does it feel like a vow we’ll both uphold somehow?” // “What if the way you hold me is actually what’s holy?”
3. Fortnight – “I love you; it’s ruining my life.”
4. I Can Do It with a Broken Heart – “I cry a lot but I am so productive, it’s an art.”
5. I Look in People’s Windows – “Does it feel alright to not know me?  I’m addicted to the if only.” // “I look in people’s windows in case you’re at their table.  What if your eyes looked up and met mine one more time.”
6. Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? – “So, I leap from the gallows, and I levitate down your street, crash the party like a record scratch as I scream who’s afraid of little old me?  You should be.”
7. The Black Dog – "That was intertwined in the magic fabric of our dreaming, old habits die screaming." // “I move through the world with the heartbroken, my longings stay unspoken.”
8. The Alchemy – “Cause the sign on your heart said it’s still reserved for me, honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy?”
9. I Hate it Here – “I hate it here so I will go to secret gardens in my mind, people need a key to get to, the only one is mine.” // “I’m lonely but I’m good, I’m bitter but I swear I’m fine, I’ll save all my romanticism for my inner life, and I’ll get lost on purpose.”
10. So High School – “And in the blink of a crinkling eye I’m sinking, our fingers entwined, cheeks pink in the twinkling lights.” // “I’m watching American Pie with you on a Saturday night, your friends are around, so be quiet.”
11. Down Bad – “Did you really beam me up in a cloud of sparkling dust just to do experiments on, tell me I was the chosen one, show me this world is bigger than us, then send me back where I came from.  For a moment I knew cosmic love.”
12. The Manuscript – “The only thing that’s left is the manuscript, one last souvenir from my trip to your shores, now and then I reread the manuscript, but the story isn’t mine anymore.”
13. thanK you aiMee – “I don’t think you’ve changed much and so I changed your name and any real defining clues, and one day, your kid comes home singin’ a song that only us two is gonna know is about you.”

 

EEEEK!  She is seriously just the best.  I would give anything to be able to write as well as she writes.

F O U R – Threads Posts from Fans That I Loved

In the days after the album came out, I was browsing Threads, and my entire feed was full of TTPD stuff because, of course.  Several comments from random fans stood out to me, so I screenshotted them because I agree whole-heartedly.

F I V E – Brands Jumping on Board the TTPD Train

And finally, did y’all see all of the big brands jumping on board the TTPD train?!  So good, y’all!  I screenshotted several of those to share, too.  

Friday Funnies

On the Blog This Week

 Our 2024 Disney World Vacation, Day 3 – Epcot

Our Week – The One with Kindness from a Stranger, New Plant Babies, TTPD, Pressure Washing, and Two Birthday Parties

Our 2024 Disney World Vacation, Day 4 – Animal Kingdom and Pool Day

 

Happy Friday, y’all!

*Linking up with A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites.