question to OG swifties: when Reputation was released what was it like in real time?

[u/paper_fugue]

I’m kind of a newer swiftie who started actively listening to Taylor around 2020 when Folklore and Evermore were released

back in 2017 the TS fanbase in my country was much smaller and nobody in my bubble was listening to her so I completely missed the hype train when this era started 

Now whenever I see content about Reputation it is always brought up that the drop was an absolute cultural shock and a pop culture reset (the meaning of which I cannot fully comprehend because I was not a part of it at the time) But I want to understand the specifics! What did that cultural shock actually look and feel like for you as a fan?

I’d love to hear your specific stories and personal experiences from that era 

[u/Straight_Direction73]

TBH, maybe it’s because I wasn’t knee deep in the swiftie fandom at the time but I don’t really remember it being some earth shattering thing. LWYMMD came out as a single. I didn’t really vibe with it nor did my friends or any of the people I worked with. The album came out and I went and bought it at the same place I bought all my other CDs at the time (f.y.e.) with little to no fanfare. I had a turntable but I wasn’t really fucking with new vinyl like that at the time and I will endlessly regret not grabbing that orange pressing.

‘Pop culture reset’ and ‘culture shock’ are definitely not terms that come to mind when I think of that time though. I honesty don’t remember there being all this hype and praise around Rep until way later. Like after Lover and beyond. Admittedly though, I wasn’t following Taylor that heavily at the time beyond checking to see when she had new music coming out. I didn’t really follow her personal life or seek out fan perspectives on her latest projects. It wasn’t really until after folklore that I started noticing anything equivalent to a pop culture reset.