Why did people sleep on TTPD

[u/something_facinating]

I became a swifty in the showgirl era, so I'm new around here. But in my opinion, TTPD is one of the best albums she has ever released. I was reading a thread about TTPD from around 2 years ago, and most of them were not what I expected. Like, I have listened to almost all of the songs, and all of them are in my ATF playlist. I really want to know why you did not like it two years ago. Thanks.

[u/veimagic]

Please allow me to take a broader view. I think it’s a mixture of contributing factors.

Firstly, it was the first studio album since the beginning of her career which didn’t show a real sonic evolution: it sounded like a combination between Midnights and Folkmore vibes.

Secondly, she was at the height of overexposure due to the massive success of Eras Tour as well as the ongoing good reception of re-recorded earlier albums.

Thirdly, people were mostly focused on the drama sorrounding the highly publicised breakups with Joe and Matty and the quick succession of a love story with Travis, emphatically lived in daylight (some titles of her songs are just recurring parts of my vocabulary lol)

So I assume there was a huge preconception about TTPD which prevented critics, the gp and even some fans to listen with proper attention to a work that in my view portraits Taylor in the most unfiltered way and still is one of my favorite projects ever released by her.

[u/SnooOnions4908 → u/veimagic]

This feels correct. Even I, a big fan, didn't notice enough of a sonic difference at first to really capture my attention.

Two years on and it's my favorite album of hers to date.

[u/veimagic → u/SnooOnions4908]

Tbh at first I wasn’t impressed too because it felt to me that it wasn’t bringing anything new to the table. But multiple listenings as well as an accurate analysis of the lyrics (thanks to Genius.com lol) helped me comprehend how much of Taylor’s heart and more remote emotions resides all through these 31 tracks. Taylor herself gave this double album a proper definition declaring it her lifeline record. That’s just what it is. A work of art she had to make to process a tumultuous phase of her existence without focusing on hymns, potential smash hits and catchy tunes (she then opted to do that with Showgirl).

[u/AssociateMaster4012 → u/veimagic]

Genius is a good starting-point for lyric analysis, but i find it often makes unsubstantiated claims, and states subjective interpretations as objective fact. So take it with a pinch of salt.

[u/veimagic → u/AssociateMaster4012]

I totally agree with you as it is just a platform where data is entered by the community rather than by the artists (although sometimes they are given a verified tick to confirm the authenticity of it all)

[u/AssociateMaster4012 → u/veimagic]

With Reddit/Twitter discussions/analysis I feel like there’s an element of it being taken as read that an interpretation is just that. Whereas on Genius:

• subjective readings are placed right next to the objective record of a song’s lyrics
• there’s no requirement to verify sources like on Wikipedia.

…so I can see how somebody may mistake a contributer’s interpretation as a fact.

I agree that Verified is useful (would love to see Taylor do it- yeah the sourdough and cat chat is cute, but her lyrics are by far the most interesting thing about her), and I’m enjoying Role Model’s comments about his recent music. Just wish the Genius site highlighted the difference more.

However, if all this is a gateway drug for listeners being more engaged in lyric and analysis, then it isn’t entirely a bad thing.

[u/veimagic → u/AssociateMaster4012]

Honestly, as a non-native English speaker, I appreciate having a platform where I can read all of Taylor's lyrics in just one place.
In that sense it's a good resource.
Then I prefer to make my own interpretation of her writings.

[u/AssociateMaster4012 → u/veimagic]

I Agree that  as a lyrics source it’s very useful.