ttpd part 4
I'm starting to get tired of myself so this will be the last part. Anthology time.
I really like the Anthology. It gets a little emotionally draining towards the end, especially if you’re listening to the entire album in one go, but I’m not going to complain about it.
I love Aaron’s work with Taylor, but I find his songs on the standard are more ~interesting~ than the Anthology. This back half definitely just feels like an extension of folklore and evermore, but it’s fine with me. And I like Jack’s couple of songs on the Anthology a lot. Leave it to Taylor to be the first person to pit two men together.
I have less to say about these songs just because I think they kinda speak for themselves. In general, I like songs that delve into her psyche because they’re just more relatable, to me, than her loved up ones. And again, I like the track listing a lot. I think it was very nicely ordered.
The Black Dog
Very beautiful and very sad. I’m mourning people and relationships I haven’t even lost yet.
I think it’s fun the real bar is starting to sell merch and also the idea of sharing your location with Taylor Swift is very fun to me.
This reminds me; I have to check Find Friends to keep track of my lil Sims for the evening.
I just love songs laced with melancholia. The switch from “magic fabric” to “tragic fabric” mmm mwah sublime.
Favorite lyric: And I hope it’s shitty in the Black Dog
imgonnagetyouback
SO much fun.
Not that I really care about who these songs are about because it’s one of three guys and two of them I don’t like but like…the amount of people online I’ve seen say this is about Joe is crazy.
This song is literally giving John Mayer-esque guitar on “Dear John” like what are we doing here?
I understand the Olivia comparisons, and even I made one, but neither own the concept. “get him back” is overall catchier and cleverer but this bridge cannot be denied.
I did Google whether Matty knows how to drive (he does).
Favorite lyric: Even if it’s handcuffed, I’m leaving here with you / Bygones will be bygone, eras fading into grey
The Albatross
I understand what this song is saying but I also still don’t really understand it.
It’s really nice, though. I just don’t have much to say about it.
Favorite lyric: Wise men once read fake news and they believed it
Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus
Matty lore is insane.
Implying that Travis would have bullied him in school is very, very, very funny.
I don’t really know what’s going on here but it’s really beautiful regardless.
Favorite lyric: If you wanna break my cold, cold heart just say, “I love you the way that you were”
How Did It End?
This is so saaaaad, but what a wonderful commentary on like. Gossip. Because it’s never about caring who you’re talking about; you just want to know what happened.
Giving her track 5s to Joe were a nice send off.
Favorite lyric: The deflation of our dreaming leaving me bereft and reeling / My beloved ghost and me, sitting in a tree
So High School
This is really cute. Jarring for sure to go from that to this but very much her M.O.
I expect to see this in a rom com at some point in the near future.
Reminiscent of “Gorgeous” to me.
I like “The Alchemy” better.
Favorite lyric: ‘Cause I feel so high school when I look at you, but look at you
I Hate It Here
I really like this and find it very relatable, as someone who generally is like. Not very happy.
I can get really, really, really nostalgic about things and it’s nice to be reminded that nostalgia is a mindfuck sometimes.
Favorite lyric: 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
This is an all-timer for me.
thanK you aIMee
She’s a comedian.
As someone who doesn’t (really) forgive and never (ever) forgets, I completely understand this and listen, if I could monetize my trauma from third grade, you bet your ass I would still be doing so.
I don’t care about the North West mention at all, and I don’t like the people who pretend like it’s a big deal.
Also moms should all wish their child’s bullies were dead.
The bridge sounds exactly like “Foolish One.”
Favorite lyric: I built a legacy that you can’t undo
I Look In People’s Windows
I always forget about this one but it’s nice.
I think by virtue of everything being better, she’s last but I don’t dislike her at all.
Favorite lyric: What if your eyes looked up and met mine one more time?
The Prophecy
One day we’ll get wine-drunk and then we can talk about it.
Favorite lyric: I guess a lesser woman would’ve lost hope / A greater woman wouldn’t beg / But I looked to the sky and said “please”
Cassandra
Placing this after “The Prophecy” is good work.
A pretentious intellectual’s “Karma.”
As someone who loves a good “I told ya so” moment, I get this completely. Especially when I’m right about someone.
Favorite lyric: Blood’s thick but nothing like a payroll / Bet they never spared a prayer for my soul
Peter
The blows just keep coming. This song is really sad. Peter losing Wendy, indeed.
One of my favorite bridges.
I cannot stress how insane the Matty lore is to me.
I really liked being 25.
Favorite lyric: ‘Cause love’s never lost when perspective is earned
The Bolter
A fun ditty.
I remember listening to this the first time and being like “I have no idea what she’s saying but it sounds so nice and peaceful—oh wait she just said ‘whore.’”
Favorite lyric: Splendidly selfish, charmingly helpless / Excellent fun ‘til you get to know her
Robin
I really liked Aileen’s thing about this. It helped me understand the song better for sure.
I’m definitely guilty of wishing I was a kid again.
And then you look at people younger than you who are trying so hard to grow up so fast and it bums me out.
Favorite lyric: You look ridiculous and you have no idea
The Manuscript
Jake Gyllenhaal can never die and that’s good news for me, personally.
Just a really beautiful song and a lovely way to end this entire project and kinda sign off on these eras.
The callback to “All Too Well” and just the constant reframing of songs her fans must do for her is really comforting. It’s a really nice sentiment that you can move on from things that suck.
Wait I just realized. First lyric reference to being 30!
Favorite lyric: The only thing that’s left is the manuscript / One last souvenir from my trip to your shores
In summation,
TTPD is one of my favorite things she’s ever done. It’s funny because she’s arguably at her most unrelatable time in her life but a lot of these songs really speak to me. I’m not going to wax poetic about it but yeah. I just love it very much. This album feels like an open wound. I really could not have asked for TTPD and Funny Story to come at a better time.
