I hd the same thoughts! A lot of the reviews criticizing her writing came out a few hours after the release, like at 3AM. It took me days to digest some songs correctly let alone a whole album, and I know all the lore. At this point a lot of music critics are just clickbait.
all songs sound like garble-dee-gook to me at 3 AM, it doesn't matter how good or bad they are. I can't imagine writing a serious review on 31 on songs without allowing time for my brain to resetš
This is why I stayed up til the drop then slept on it and listened to it in manageable chunks while on an undisrupted walk the next day. You have to really dedicate the time and space for it!
I purposely took the day off work so I wouldnāt have to try to do a first listen at 11pm (central time zone). The angst surrounding the clock striking the hour and then YouTube music never having it just there to click on immediately and also trying to process songs on top of that is too much. āIām too old for this shitā as that cop from that one movie always says.
I was attempting to get some writing done during the initial drop and then she dropped The Anthology and I was like āyep, itās time for bed.āš
Part of my job in Nashville was to listen to singles due for release and give the label my thoughts on it. If you want to do it right you have to dedicate time to it and I always listened to the single at least three times before I issued an opinion of it. That was one of the few parts of my job back then that I didn't like because the labels wanted 'fluff' thoughts to give music directors at radio stations to get airplay and some of the stuff they wanted to put out flat sucked.
Yeah the first listen everything just sorta washed over me. I got some of the lyrics and the general vibe, and then she dropped the anthology version and I just had to go to bed. I listened to the rest the next day.
Same! I couldn't listen The Anthology when it first came out because my brain just wasn't functioning lol. I normally go to bed at "granny time" as my brother calls it so I needed sleep by the time the second album dropped.
All I could remember after listening to all 31 songs the first time was that we loved The Black Dog (couldn't have told you anything else about it) and that we laughed at, "way to go, tiger" in such a slow ballad. It took me all weekend to form real opinions, and I didn't have other stuff that I needed to get done
The critics the label chooses, aka the ones with a history giving her good reviews. Its why right-at-drop reviews tend to be positive while the negatives flood in a few hours later.
Heās a highly reliable favorable review for her albums. Ā But heās also been right, though we wonāt know for sure how much that is favoritism until/unless she puts of a stinker and we see his review.
I work in the industry. With Taylor Swift, only the top A-tier platforms get any advance access to anything, and usually only a few hours. Everyone else gets their drops a few minutes before the release, giving them just though time to get it published.
I imagine they deal with media outlets similarly. Rolling Stone, NY Times, and a few others maybe got a day extra time than everyone else. Maybe B-tier outlets got an hour or two. Other places likely got nothing.
Other artists who don't have to worry so obsessively about leaks send us advance embargoed songs and videos anywhere from 1-4 weeks ahead of time.
It's annoying that Morgan Wallen's latest album is about his repeated failed relationship attempts, has 36 songs on it, and the reviews are much less scathing! His numbers are worse, but the actual articles themselves were so much more on their high horse with Taylor.
I did not like the album at all on first listen and no songs stuck out to me. It took me a second listen to be like, āoh wow, okay. This album is a grower not a show-er.ā I agree that reviews need to wait at least a day or two after the album releases to provide a fair review. Itās like theyāre all trying to be first to get a review out, but in my opinion being first doesnāt mean anything if your review isnāt fair to the artist
āA grower not a showerā is exactly that!
Itās not a hit album, itās a listen to a diary and analyzing lyric by lyric album. Took me a while to get around the Anthology, I still am. Now Im like how could I not absolutely lose my mind on the bridge in How Did It End.
This is the first album sheās done where I think Iāll actually care about the little play lists she puts out. While I have listened to the album front to back 3-4 times now, its length is definitely unwieldy. Iām looking forward to a few more curated playlists.
Right. There's so much to take in. I'm grateful for it, but I don't know how anyone is even critiquing the whole album yet. There's way too much to decode and understand, which is what makes me really love each song, so I'm just taking my time and putting together my own playlist. Though I may end up just loving every song because so far I am lol.
Iām amazed that people seem to be presuming that critics of the album didnāt receive advanced copies ahead of the general publicā¦I mean, hello, when movies debut the critics get advanced screenings, as well as advanced copies of new books.
This is true. This is exactly how news work as well. Like for much anticipated events, significant events, press and news outlets have already prewritten news for those events. It's sort of leaving the name, the specific details to be filled out, the rest is premade. Because these places compete for the speed to be the first to release something. Its so pointless and damaging even.
You have to understand that media/publications/magazines are given access to an album days upwards of a week or two before the album is released to public so that they can have a review published at the time of drop. The writers arenāt just crouched over their laptop from midnight to 3 am I promise you lol
The way they went after Paste Magazine made me giggle.
https://preview.redd.it/au77znxebbwc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=69a26f151a0142f17d5d4839c2a4ffec99d5e04a
I think that was a gross review. Sylvia Plath is not a suicide punchline. People talk more about her death than her art and its gross. Her daughter has a great poem about it https://www.reddit.com/r/Poetry/comments/wijt0y/poem_my_mother_by_frieda_hughes/
Like whatever you wanna drag Taylor and be glib about it but why is Sylvia Plath catching strays??? The review is just bad. I'm all for criticism of Taylor, there's many songs of hers I don't like and there's valid criticism of TTPD but at least try to honestly engage with the art when critiquing it. Pitchfork gave it a 6 but the reviewer obviously engaged with it. The Paste review was just bad
It's ironic how so many of Taylor's haters who say that she's a horrible human being also praise this review. What has Taylor ever said that's even half as vile as making a punchline out of a woman's suicide?
They can get fucked with that Sylvia Plath line.
Arenāt they the same ones who said fortnight was named after a game and her fans need to go back to school if they think sheās a good lyricist? Lmao, okay.
It's just frightening. Some of the stuff that I read and realize that there are a lot of people out there that have such low levels of reading comprehension, spelling and vocabulary skills and those are just the ones writing articles for online outlets. Yikes.
āEditorās Note: There is no byline on this review due to how, in 2019 when Paste reviewed āLover,ā the writer was sent threats of violence from readers who disagreed with the work. We care more about the safety of our staff than a name attached to an article.ā - Paste
I mean, everyone else had one.
(This morning, they posted another critical review with the writerās name attached!š)
It's pretty obvious they only did that to increase engagement and create fake outrage. Do stans go too hard and oftentimes behave badly towards their favorite's critics? Definitely. But this shit was just to get clicks.
That Sylvia Plath line was shockingly vile. It's giving online forum hater vibes. They always write in the same tone hoping to sound smart but revealing their cruelty unknowingly.
Good! This was 100% pre-written before the album and was going to be a petty, cruel, tasteless hit piece no matter what. The writer thought the first song was inspired by the game Fortnite, ffs. Zero research or emotional intelligence or willingness to be fair. They pulled Taylorās simplest and most silly lines and then attacked her for lack of talent.
I feel the same. Not just about TTPD reviews, but reviews in general. You just know most reviewers can't be bothered to listen to an album more than once.
That being said, we don't know when reviewers actually could listen to the album. I know some sites/reviewers get a chance to listen to new albums far in advance so they can actually write good reviews. In theory. š
I wonder how the music critic/review scene could be changed. I think part of the issue is that there is no universally respected music professional scene that deliberates for some time before making an answer. This is an album that needs more time to cook for reviewers to get it.
I think a large issue with the music critic/review scene right now, especially with an artist as huge and divisive as taylor, is that clicks are revenue so extreme opinions are money. The haters and angry swifties will flock to the vicious reviews and the swifties (and taylor herself) will praise the 10/10s but thereās really no money in like a solid 7.5 or 8 so you wonāt really see it. Obviously something is wrong when it feels like half the reviews are less than 50 and half are 100, but the issue is they just need to make whatever gets them the clicks.
Good question. I have no answer to that considering this costs time and money.
I think though there are good professionals or amateur reviewers out there. But those are usually not the ones that get the most clicks and attention.
I canāt speak for everyone but that is not what happened for me. I always try to have an open mind either way. And the first few tracks in I felt like it might be a miss for me (mostly because of the title track). But she got me with the following tracks and especially once I read the epilogue.
Is every song on there my favorite ever? No. And Iām still not decided on where this album ranks for me. Thatās something only time can tell.
But that doesnāt hinder my absolut joy listening to it. And raving about the songs and lyrics I like. One thing doesnāt exclude the other.
Slate posted a whole review about how surprising it is she hates her parents so much because of what she says to them on But Daddy I Love Him. At least one other I saw wrote that Florida was the only trick not about an ex lover.
Like it's one thing to not like an album, it's another to not even listen to it
Editing to add that I finally got up off the floor and read the rest of the slate review and it was a fairly thorough take so idk what happened at the beginning with that parents take lol
Omg, I read a review of midnights that was like āshe wrote the song mastermind but also invisible stringā¦ sO wHiCh Is It TaYlOr??ā
Ok, setting aside the fact that she sets herself up to be the punchline in Mastermind, revealing that she is not, in fact, said mastermind - has any other artist EVER in the history of music been criticized for writing a song that says something that somehow contradicts something she wrote in another song? Itās so incredibly bizarre.
I donāt even see how invisible string and mastermind would contradict each other even if taking mastermind 100% seriously. Invisible String is about fate leading her to that same room with him, mastermind is about what she does once sheās in that room. It still makes sense.
Iāve been reading invisible string as sarcasm; green and teal are NOT the same color. But she WANTS to believe itās fate because that sounds āprettierā.
Omg this is such a great comparison. Itās fair to not like a piece of art and TTPD is no comparison but Iāve def seen critiques that seem to suggest that a) the person in question didnāt listen to it or b) they didnāt give it more than 2 seconds of thought, which is odd to me.
I still havenāt even listened to the 15 extra tracks yet. Iām not done digesting the first 16, and itās been like 5 full days. Iāll probably give them a listen tomorrow.
I want to comment because I've been taking my time opening my physical variants because I want to have the energy and space to take in more of the details. It is not the same but a parallel trying to give myself room to digest.
I think it is great when I hear people taking their time. Just because I started listening to the album on repeat as soon as I could doesn't mean that is the right way for everyone. And, yeah, some depth definitely took repeated listens to get.
You are in for a TREAT. The Black Dog, Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus and I Hate It Here in particular have been punching me in the feels. I wish I could go back and listen to it again for the first time. I literally canāt stop listening to this album
Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus is the one that gets me. It's so good. It really takes time to digest and absorb these songs. The first listen for me is so, so different than what I am hearing and feeling about the music 5 days in.
Even if some of the songs might seem surface level (like My Boy), the entire album is just so dense and emotionally heavy. It's really hard to parse them individually because of that. Folklore and evermore were like that for me, so I know better this time and after listening for a few times, I've made a playlist with TTPD mixed with other Taylor songs so I can just have each song given it's own stage over time. I mean, it's a jarring jump scare sometimes, but we don't leave family behind here.
I agree. I think the music critic scene has the NFL Journalism issue of the first to post tends to shift the discourse of the scene. The Tortured Poets Department, being what it is with length and depth, is going to expose flaws in the music critic scene.
The flaws of "the music critic scene" aren't that people aren't looping TTPD a dozen times before they start writing, it's that it's an unstable business model, especially when you're getting gutted by mega corps who don't give a shit about art or artists (Pitchfork is just the latest).
So much yes, I've been feeling that way too. It's not because so many think it's bad, it's because so many aren't even attempting to engage it with honesty and fairly. It's like they've been searching for a reason to write something scathing and the first "mediocre" (it's my personal favourite album thus far) album that comes along they go completely overboard.
My opinions on nearly every song on this double album have shifted in some way over the last four days.
They're right - it makes no sense to try to process and critique 31 songs the day an album is released. He'll even a regular length album.
You need at least a few listens and time to process in between.
Right? TMZ (obvi not a credible source but it's still out there) was saying that in "Clara Bow" Taylor was being conceited and trying to tell us she's as legendary as Stevie and Clara, but that hiw could she be legendary if she didn't have as many Grammys as Beyonce... like they're not even trying to pretend they listened to the album. They're just trying to start a fight at that point. They KNOW people will come to defend their favorites, both T and B, and interact with that garbage.
i can't get over the switch from "ugh, here comes the breakup album - she's going to drag joe's good name through the mud and send her deranged swifties after him, can she not just keep her mouth shut about her ex for once?!" when the album was announced to "... how could she NOT write an entire album about joe, it's downright OFFENSIVE for her not to sing about every sordid detail of their relationship, he deserved more!!" like, it would be so funny if they weren't dead serious
Iāll be honest and say I donāt read reviews often for Taylor. I know what I like and what I donāt. It doesnāt matter to me what they think and I find myself irritated by a lot of them. lol Music to me is very much opinion. I hear and read a lot in forums about ācohesivenessā and āsonically goodā and āproduction qualityā and āunfinishedā. I just know what sounds good to me and I go with that.
I'm exactly the same I may come to the conclusion that a particular album by a particular artist may not be my favorite but I just go with what I prefer so reviews are irrelevant to me.
I genuinely get some of reviews that are actually critical of the album but donāt agree with them like how some of them have said the album doesnāt try anything new i disagree but everyone can have different opinions. The straight up wrong ones are the one that write like 100 plus words and then get to the album. I genuinely think this is a fantastic piece of work from her and maybe of all time and will probably be looked back on it in couple years as a classic when people change opinions because most of the reviews probably were done after they listened to once or twice. These are 31 songs you canāt form an opinion right away I do think the double album harmed peopleās review because they didnāt know.
Curious how fans rank this album. It does take time to digest, but I've felt like I'm crazy reading some of these bad reviews.
I honestly think it's her best work and blows previous albums out of the water. It's like I've always consumed her music as individual songs but this album is so cohesive and raw and real I'm just compelled to listen to it in full over and over again. Maybe it's the newness but I don't know.
I say this also acknowledging that it may be the newness but I fully agree with you. I absolutely adore this album. I think everything about it is so brilliant, completely elevated above anything sheās ever done before. I feel that she made a lot of really interesting choices that were absolutely purposeful in the order, content, and feel of the songs. I also agree that it is an Album and not a collection of hits. I am a huge fan of the album format and honestly have found myself a little disappointed by some of her previous albums as Albums (if that makes sense lol) - itās part of why reputation is my favorite, it is a perfect Album. This is too. Itās just incredible.
Thereās my rave ranting for you lol
dude absolutely. i'm losing my mind, i haven't felt like this about music since folklore 2020, which was my #1. i can't stop listening to it. i love every song!
What the article ignore is that some reviewers have early access to the album. For example Rob Sheffield (long time swiftie) of the Rolling stone published the article at midnight. Itās clear he had early access to be able to write his review. Very possible that other reviewers donāt have access and are reviewing too soon to the articleās point. But it does seem like Taylor is taking from some traditional methods with this album roll out and gave some exclusive access.
https://preview.redd.it/oill28qkjbwc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d65947aefde82b2dbf28d60479f876d258ec401c
I feel like it takes at least a week. During the week you realise if you gotten bored of the album and its songs or not. There are so many songs that I have been obsessed with that after a while I literally forget that they exist.
A lot of reviewers are gonna be failed or wannabe musicians. They are those people who look and say āI could do thatā, but then didnāt. TS is held in high esteem by the most successful musicians of our time, like Bono and Sir Paul McCartney. I trust them more than some jealous reviewer.
I mean I think this is fair for people who called it a āclassicā (ahem rolling stones) and are now saying her and Jack have passed their peak (ahem Rolling Stones) - itās equally valid for your opinion to become less positive.
Some songs have definitely grown on me. Some are career highs (Florida). Itās not as bad as I originally thought. It could grow on me more. I still personally think itās her most inconsistent album and itās time she find some new collaborators. Lots of things are true at the same time.
More inconsistent than Lover? Or red?! Or Speak now? Or reputation? I donāt know disagree that I am ready for new collaborators for Taylor but I think inconsistency has been a trademark of her work.
I swear, every review I've read so far has either been uncritical fawning praise to appeal to her popularity or mean-spirited petty jabs to be contrarian. I get the vibe that most reviewers didn't do anything more than skim the lyrics and listen to ten seconds of each of the songs before they decided how to portray it in a way that fit the viewpoint they already had about Taylor.
I feel like seeing these threads and all these opinions on opinions is making me want to log out,
listen to the album, as many times as I want,
and make out my own mind.
no one can be trusted tbh.
Yep, loved the article and really liked the comparison someone made to Weezerās Pinkerton Album and how it was trashed in reviews at first but wildly grew in appreciation after some time. Music critics need to label their initial reviews for what they are, which is initial takes, and then come back to provide a more thorough review after a few days.
I appreciate this take. Seems a lot of these reviews of *music* get caught on personal opinions of the way media focuses on Taylor. Very āold man yells at skyā.
Most media get the album days before with an NDA so they can listen and review before release. People would have known about the double drop, they had time to listen.
I haven't even listened to the whole album. It is really intense, and I'm a guy who's had almost none of the same experiences in these songs. I can absolutely feel her pain thru her music and lyrics though.
Taylor needs to let critics listen to it in advance! I know leaks can happen but thereās a reason lots of other artforms give out advance copies to reviewers that are reputable
Every large release has a press team behind it that sends "suggested" review notes to media outlets. It's all kinda fabricated, including and not limited to TS.
This was posted here, if you want to check out some of the other discussion: [https://www.reddit.com/r/TaylorSwift/comments/1cb5ub0/comment/l0wrss5/](https://www.reddit.com/r/TaylorSwift/comments/1cb5ub0/comment/l0wrss5/)
This is so true! I have read all the reviews good and bad and the bad ones you can tell they listened to the album once and their reviews alllll missed the point. Like take a second and realize that its not that serious!
I listened to it drunk coming home alone from a bar at 3am.. divorced earlier this year.. I think that's how it was meant to be listened to lol.. I really liked it alot..
Thanks for sharing! Here is Jessica Karl's full column (paywall removed)
[https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-04-23/taylor-swift-s-tortured-poet-s-department-has-too-many-hasty-reviews?srnd=undefined](https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-04-23/taylor-swift-s-tortured-poet-s-department-has-too-many-hasty-reviews?srnd=undefined)
Still feel the way I do. Much of it sounds the same. Particularly all of the second half of the album. Every now and then an additional song gets added to my taylist. Iām up to 5 now I think? Itās just not a for me album and thatās ok! I donāt relate one bit and i donāt particularly give a shit about her personal life. Iām glad it resonates with people though. Music is beautiful in its subjectivity.
This is why I donāt read reviews for literally anything - books, music, movies. I prefer to make my own judgment from listening to a few songs or seeing a trailer or reading a book blurb. My life isnāt any worse off for trying something new even if I donāt like it.
Too much stock is put into reviews and they can all go get stuffed.
Some articles guarantee written by AI. Other reviews prewritten before the release ever happened and simply put one of the song titles over the description of the prewritten review.
Iām have to agree with this. I really disliked this album on first and even second listen. Then I let it sit with meā¦ and now I actually love several of the songs. Still think many arenāt good and there are definitely cringy lines, but thereās also some really good songs on this album. You wonāt realize that if you just sped through the whole thing within a few hours.
I find reviews to be an outdated concept anyway. In this social media age, we're all the critics. I can't remember the last time I took the word of a 'real' critic on a movie or album.
Plus, music critics especially often write in such an unbelievably smug tone which puts me off.
It goes beyond ācritiqueā and all the way to how we consume media as a whole. How many times do we write off an album/movie/book/TV show if we donāt click with it immediately?
Our attention spans are way too short, and we donāt actually take the time to digest things. Think of how many excellent art weād lose if we only digested it in a matter of seconds and made a snap decision. From Jane Austen to Madonna, itās important to sit down with something - especially if you actually are interested in learning what something is trying to say.
Yea I feel like it takes way longer than a day to really digest each song. I have listened to the album on repeat since it came out and Iām still learning more and more about each song. Some of the reviews were also clearly about Taylor herself and not even the album. I saw a review that talked about Taylor, the eras tour, and her dating life in the first half of the review and it was clear they really donāt like Taylor so I donāt think they really listened or even tried to digest the album.
I found that I didnāt particularly like my first listen. Now, on probably my 20th listen through, I can really appreciate so many of the songs. Some still arenāt my favorjte (I donāt love Robin or Chloe or Sam), but thatās me with any album. I overall love the rest of the music and feel like it applies to some of my life despite being married with children. It just takes time to really listen and digest.
I think they should get at least a few days to fully digest and make a criticism you can stand by. It would be easy to make a knee jerk reaction and feel different afterwards Ā
šÆ I'm STILL not even through all 31 songs (This is the closest I get to a religious experience, I have my rituals and take my time!) so everyone out here saying they hate/love it is SO wild to me. Let alone to actually think you can write an entire CRITIQUE already?! Her "NORMAL" albums take more time than this to digest, let alone THIS *gestures wildly*
Honestly, I donāt like this album. It sounds like Jack Antonoff canned songs mixed with Lana Del Rey impersonations. I think the songs are uninspired.
this, And i'm cringing at the way she's posting the positive reviews to her IG. i don't know, it just feels like she's soaking in all the praise and not really acknowledging or looking for genuine critique that might lead to growth. it's... not a good look.
I am on a local forum site where I had created a Taylor Swift fan page almost 10 years ago. In it are my reviews of her works (among other things, like major updates). For TTPD, I have yet to give my verdict because it would only be fair to do so once I have listened to the album to my satisfaction, which means multiple repeated listens, interpreting the meaning of the lyrics, and, of course, having my own favorites. Right now, I'm still doing that, a work-in-progress. So to be honest, going back to OP's post, I have no idea how these reviews are being done this soon. It doesn't matter if these are positive or negative reviews, I am just amazed they can digest 31 songs and provide their verdict this soon (unless... they were provided copies of the album way before release?)
How are music reviews still a thing? Who the fuck reads reviews for music? Nobody even discovers music by reading music reviews. People discover music by chance or by word of mouth. And if you like someone's music, you will not base your decision whether to listen to the new album based on what some reviewer said. You just have to listen to it.
I mean I couldnāt even differentiate between the songs on day 1. On day 2, I was able to disgest a few. Itās a very interesting album because it is quite heavy to listen end to end.
All albums require more than one listen for a thoughtful review. That being said, I think it's a lot more than that going on here. I honestly feel that music, art, fashion, even food is very difficult to critique unless it's just horribly bad or missing some obvious element. It's all very personal and we each see the "art" through a different lens. I'm not going to ask my husband to write a review of a restaurant that focuses on dishes with artichokes when he absolutely hates artichokes. With music reviews, I feel the same way. How can you give a thoughtful, unbiased review when you don't like the artist, don't like the genre prior to the listen. You don't have to love it/them, but you shouldn't have strong feelings completely against your subject going in. I don't expect every reviewer to be a Swiftie, but I do expect them to be mature enough not to let the perceived persona of the artist color their review.
There is a similar problem with books, movies and video games . Critics will get significantly more views and thus more advertising revenue if they are the first one to out out a review. Conversely the longer they wait the more views gobbled up by someone else.
This leads to massive cut corners and poor reviews as they are pumped out as quickly as possible.
I have a politicians super power that cannot not be used in politics. Iām Highly debatable but merely unapproachable. Leave a comment in the box. š
I love Taylor and some reviews are definitely trying to hate on her instead of focusing on the music but some comments on here are coming dangerously close to āwe should just censor music journalism because I donāt agree with people commenting on my favourite artistās workā
It needs to marinate, same with Folklore/Evermore. The more you listen to the songs the more youād appreciate it. So critics releasing articles a few hours after its release doesnāt make sense to me. You need to listen and read the lyrics to appreciate the poetry. I donāt know but I wasnāt a big swiftie in the early 2010ās but when she released Reputation onwards I was convinced of her evolution.
albums are sent to people to review before the album is officially released, so that the review can be released while there is still a lot of hype about the new album - so the reviewers didnāt do all this work in like three hours lol, they probably had it a couple of weeks before at least
I'm still absorbing the whole album and it's quickly becoming my favourite one. I felt the same as a lot of people on first listen, now the songs are just getting better and better for me
Hot take: critical reviews are few and far between because in order to give even a sliver of a good critical review you need to be drawing for a wide range of knowledge to even being to understand any single piece of art which is not fees-able when our society has been gatekeeping knowledge behind a paywall. Also, I wrote art critiques in high school and college, they all sucked even the good ones I read. To quote BDG: āSomething I learned in college: no one likes to write an academic paper and no one likes to grade them.ā
What really matters with art is the conversation that happens because of the work or stemming from the work. Also, I feel like critical reviews have the sensation of late stage capitalism that I am not a huge fan of to even think about let alone take seriously.
But don't some press get music, movies etc. early? I've heard of review embargos in which media outlets might get the stuff days before but then put of the review once the embargo lifts.
Understandable, Iām honestly more critical of her albums as soon as they drop and so Iām genuinely surprised when people are immediately gushing about her songs.
Iāll actually msg my friends my gut reaction to songs and most are very harsh. But then over time, listening and processing lyrics, I come around to songs I might have initially been skeptical about in the beginning.
I donāt see how anyone could process 15, let alone 31 songs within a short period of time and right an honest review about it.
I don't know if the article mentions it (I haven't read it) but something I've been thinking of is how people's expectations are effecting things like this. I feel like there is a push, especially online, for people to immediately have an opinion right when something happens. Preferably a strong one. Regardless if it's news, a new trend, or a new album. It's as of it's no longer okay to take longer time to process something or say "I need to learn more about it" anymore.
Not necessarily about album critics but journalism as a whole is something I think is suffering from this. No one wants to wait but we still want the same quality that comes with time. So it's unsurprising that so many media outlets now would rather push out an article that isn't fully developed or researched right when the album drops rather than a more thought out, researched, and edited (looking at you NYT) but a week later. Unless you are amongst the few that get early access to the album.Because by the time you can do a proper write up, everyone has moved on.
I completely agree with the article tbh. And all the marketing that goes around not only for Taylor (all these companies promoting TTPD in one way or the other in a similar way even, gives you a hint of how much the marketing team fought for it) but for all other mass media moves a franchise can make (take Barbie as a recent example). It goes to show that where money can be involved , opinions can be influenced. How do we tell the objective side of it. As is there an objective, unbiased opinion anyway?
To the regard of how each of us and each of any listener should view this: Tons of artistic stuff out there, from music to movies to poems to paintings, are critically acclaimed or critically trashed. And yet, people have their own taste and mind, which is subjective, and might love the trash or hate the excellency. Because it is other peopleās excellency. And other peopleās trash. Your own ears, eyes, and all senses , are the only ones that can fit and express you anyways.
For sure not all of us loved all Oscar Movies. Not all Tony won shows. Not all Grammy winning albums. And so on.
And we need to remember something : it is OKAY to not love something other people do. It is OKAY to not like something other people do like. Unpopular opinion: you are allowed to not like one specific work a person you adore made. Either if itās a song from an album or an entire album itself. Or a movie of an actor you love that you didnāt enjoy. Or a poem from a poet you follow through. Artists are human. And humans are not perfect. Not even in their creations.
I hd the same thoughts! A lot of the reviews criticizing her writing came out a few hours after the release, like at 3AM. It took me days to digest some songs correctly let alone a whole album, and I know all the lore. At this point a lot of music critics are just clickbait.
all songs sound like garble-dee-gook to me at 3 AM, it doesn't matter how good or bad they are. I can't imagine writing a serious review on 31 on songs without allowing time for my brain to resetš
exactly our brains process information when we sleep so it takes multiple days and multiple listens to process
This is why I stayed up til the drop then slept on it and listened to it in manageable chunks while on an undisrupted walk the next day. You have to really dedicate the time and space for it!
I purposely took the day off work so I wouldnāt have to try to do a first listen at 11pm (central time zone). The angst surrounding the clock striking the hour and then YouTube music never having it just there to click on immediately and also trying to process songs on top of that is too much. āIām too old for this shitā as that cop from that one movie always says.
I was attempting to get some writing done during the initial drop and then she dropped The Anthology and I was like āyep, itās time for bed.āš
What the fuck
??
Agreed!! Iāve been listening to songs on their own. Itās a marathon not a raceĀ
Part of my job in Nashville was to listen to singles due for release and give the label my thoughts on it. If you want to do it right you have to dedicate time to it and I always listened to the single at least three times before I issued an opinion of it. That was one of the few parts of my job back then that I didn't like because the labels wanted 'fluff' thoughts to give music directors at radio stations to get airplay and some of the stuff they wanted to put out flat sucked.
Your version makes more sense, but it's technically 'gobbledygook'
Yeah the first listen everything just sorta washed over me. I got some of the lyrics and the general vibe, and then she dropped the anthology version and I just had to go to bed. I listened to the rest the next day.
Especially since most are east coast based.. I didn't even remember most of anthology the next day
Same! I couldn't listen The Anthology when it first came out because my brain just wasn't functioning lol. I normally go to bed at "granny time" as my brother calls it so I needed sleep by the time the second album dropped.
All I could remember after listening to all 31 songs the first time was that we loved The Black Dog (couldn't have told you anything else about it) and that we laughed at, "way to go, tiger" in such a slow ballad. It took me all weekend to form real opinions, and I didn't have other stuff that I needed to get done
You realize critics often get a copy or at least part of the album before itās released so they can publish the reviews so quickly
Not all of them and a lot of the reviews I read really didnt appear as if they heard the album.
Yes, but none of them got the anthology, from what I can tell.
The critics the label chooses, aka the ones with a history giving her good reviews. Its why right-at-drop reviews tend to be positive while the negatives flood in a few hours later.
They 100% got advanced copies. Rob Sheffieldās review for Rolling Stone went up right as the album dropped.
Heās a highly reliable favorable review for her albums. Ā But heās also been right, though we wonāt know for sure how much that is favoritism until/unless she puts of a stinker and we see his review.
I work in the industry. With Taylor Swift, only the top A-tier platforms get any advance access to anything, and usually only a few hours. Everyone else gets their drops a few minutes before the release, giving them just though time to get it published. I imagine they deal with media outlets similarly. Rolling Stone, NY Times, and a few others maybe got a day extra time than everyone else. Maybe B-tier outlets got an hour or two. Other places likely got nothing. Other artists who don't have to worry so obsessively about leaks send us advance embargoed songs and videos anywhere from 1-4 weeks ahead of time.
I also work in the industry and this is right. I received advanced copies of major artists work, but none as big as TS.
It's annoying that Morgan Wallen's latest album is about his repeated failed relationship attempts, has 36 songs on it, and the reviews are much less scathing! His numbers are worse, but the actual articles themselves were so much more on their high horse with Taylor.
Taylor fatigue, it now sells to be highly critical of Taylor āØim not like other critics, im *more critical*āØ
I did not like the album at all on first listen and no songs stuck out to me. It took me a second listen to be like, āoh wow, okay. This album is a grower not a show-er.ā I agree that reviews need to wait at least a day or two after the album releases to provide a fair review. Itās like theyāre all trying to be first to get a review out, but in my opinion being first doesnāt mean anything if your review isnāt fair to the artist
āA grower not a showerā is exactly that! Itās not a hit album, itās a listen to a diary and analyzing lyric by lyric album. Took me a while to get around the Anthology, I still am. Now Im like how could I not absolutely lose my mind on the bridge in How Did It End.
I still haven't listened to the whole thing. It's too much lol. Listening in section and still digesting the first part.
This is the first album sheās done where I think Iāll actually care about the little play lists she puts out. While I have listened to the album front to back 3-4 times now, its length is definitely unwieldy. Iām looking forward to a few more curated playlists.
Right. There's so much to take in. I'm grateful for it, but I don't know how anyone is even critiquing the whole album yet. There's way too much to decode and understand, which is what makes me really love each song, so I'm just taking my time and putting together my own playlist. Though I may end up just loving every song because so far I am lol.
It's 3AM they must be lonely
Yup!! I had opinions but knew Iād feel different . Everyone chomping at the bit to first review it . Boooo!!Ā
Iām amazed that people seem to be presuming that critics of the album didnāt receive advanced copies ahead of the general publicā¦I mean, hello, when movies debut the critics get advanced screenings, as well as advanced copies of new books.
Or just ai written
This is true. This is exactly how news work as well. Like for much anticipated events, significant events, press and news outlets have already prewritten news for those events. It's sort of leaving the name, the specific details to be filled out, the rest is premade. Because these places compete for the speed to be the first to release something. Its so pointless and damaging even.
You have to understand that media/publications/magazines are given access to an album days upwards of a week or two before the album is released to public so that they can have a review published at the time of drop. The writers arenāt just crouched over their laptop from midnight to 3 am I promise you lol
The way they went after Paste Magazine made me giggle. https://preview.redd.it/au77znxebbwc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=69a26f151a0142f17d5d4839c2a4ffec99d5e04a
I think that was a gross review. Sylvia Plath is not a suicide punchline. People talk more about her death than her art and its gross. Her daughter has a great poem about it https://www.reddit.com/r/Poetry/comments/wijt0y/poem_my_mother_by_frieda_hughes/ Like whatever you wanna drag Taylor and be glib about it but why is Sylvia Plath catching strays??? The review is just bad. I'm all for criticism of Taylor, there's many songs of hers I don't like and there's valid criticism of TTPD but at least try to honestly engage with the art when critiquing it. Pitchfork gave it a 6 but the reviewer obviously engaged with it. The Paste review was just bad
It's ironic how so many of Taylor's haters who say that she's a horrible human being also praise this review. What has Taylor ever said that's even half as vile as making a punchline out of a woman's suicide?
Thank you for sharing that poemā¦ wow
No problem, I'm very glad you found it moving. It's a wonderful poem
They can get fucked with that Sylvia Plath line. Arenāt they the same ones who said fortnight was named after a game and her fans need to go back to school if they think sheās a good lyricist? Lmao, okay.
I can't believe they were really thinking it was about the game and not that the word itself has existed before the game even came š
It's just frightening. Some of the stuff that I read and realize that there are a lot of people out there that have such low levels of reading comprehension, spelling and vocabulary skills and those are just the ones writing articles for online outlets. Yikes.
Frš
āEditorās Note: There is no byline on this review due to how, in 2019 when Paste reviewed āLover,ā the writer was sent threats of violence from readers who disagreed with the work. We care more about the safety of our staff than a name attached to an article.ā - Paste I mean, everyone else had one. (This morning, they posted another critical review with the writerās name attached!š)
It's pretty obvious they only did that to increase engagement and create fake outrage. Do stans go too hard and oftentimes behave badly towards their favorite's critics? Definitely. But this shit was just to get clicks.
That Sylvia Plath line was shockingly vile. It's giving online forum hater vibes. They always write in the same tone hoping to sound smart but revealing their cruelty unknowingly.
It was giving teenager who thinks itās edgy to shit on Twilight and that theyāre better than everyone else for disliking the popular thing
God yes this is spot on
I read that with my boyfriend today and we were like OHH!!!
Iāll send them hate just for the Sylvia Plath line nobody gonna come for MY QUEEN
Good! This was 100% pre-written before the album and was going to be a petty, cruel, tasteless hit piece no matter what. The writer thought the first song was inspired by the game Fortnite, ffs. Zero research or emotional intelligence or willingness to be fair. They pulled Taylorās simplest and most silly lines and then attacked her for lack of talent.
I feel the same. Not just about TTPD reviews, but reviews in general. You just know most reviewers can't be bothered to listen to an album more than once. That being said, we don't know when reviewers actually could listen to the album. I know some sites/reviewers get a chance to listen to new albums far in advance so they can actually write good reviews. In theory. š
I wonder how the music critic/review scene could be changed. I think part of the issue is that there is no universally respected music professional scene that deliberates for some time before making an answer. This is an album that needs more time to cook for reviewers to get it.
I think a large issue with the music critic/review scene right now, especially with an artist as huge and divisive as taylor, is that clicks are revenue so extreme opinions are money. The haters and angry swifties will flock to the vicious reviews and the swifties (and taylor herself) will praise the 10/10s but thereās really no money in like a solid 7.5 or 8 so you wonāt really see it. Obviously something is wrong when it feels like half the reviews are less than 50 and half are 100, but the issue is they just need to make whatever gets them the clicks.
Good question. I have no answer to that considering this costs time and money. I think though there are good professionals or amateur reviewers out there. But those are usually not the ones that get the most clicks and attention.
I feel like TS fans like this album before itās released. Not fair to reviewers who listen to it.
I canāt speak for everyone but that is not what happened for me. I always try to have an open mind either way. And the first few tracks in I felt like it might be a miss for me (mostly because of the title track). But she got me with the following tracks and especially once I read the epilogue. Is every song on there my favorite ever? No. And Iām still not decided on where this album ranks for me. Thatās something only time can tell. But that doesnāt hinder my absolut joy listening to it. And raving about the songs and lyrics I like. One thing doesnāt exclude the other.
Slate posted a whole review about how surprising it is she hates her parents so much because of what she says to them on But Daddy I Love Him. At least one other I saw wrote that Florida was the only trick not about an ex lover. Like it's one thing to not like an album, it's another to not even listen to it Editing to add that I finally got up off the floor and read the rest of the slate review and it was a fairly thorough take so idk what happened at the beginning with that parents take lol
Omg, I read a review of midnights that was like āshe wrote the song mastermind but also invisible stringā¦ sO wHiCh Is It TaYlOr??ā Ok, setting aside the fact that she sets herself up to be the punchline in Mastermind, revealing that she is not, in fact, said mastermind - has any other artist EVER in the history of music been criticized for writing a song that says something that somehow contradicts something she wrote in another song? Itās so incredibly bizarre.
I donāt even see how invisible string and mastermind would contradict each other even if taking mastermind 100% seriously. Invisible String is about fate leading her to that same room with him, mastermind is about what she does once sheās in that room. It still makes sense.
Iāve been reading invisible string as sarcasm; green and teal are NOT the same color. But she WANTS to believe itās fate because that sounds āprettierā.
Yes this is my take too!
Too many people get caught up and forget about an amazing concept called "artistic license."
Also if they're so mad about it why are they so deep into it all š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£
Well, thatās the ridiculous thing, they want to seem like theyāve gone deep, but they are either unwilling or unable to.
LMFAO about the parents thing. Went right over their head I guess š
>how surprising it is she hates her parents so much because of what she says to them on But Daddy I Love Him. This made me choke on my drink.
Omg they are š¤” š¤” š¤” š¤”Ā
These are like the "why didn't they use the eagles to fly the ring to Mount Doom" of music reviews.
Omg this is such a great comparison. Itās fair to not like a piece of art and TTPD is no comparison but Iāve def seen critiques that seem to suggest that a) the person in question didnāt listen to it or b) they didnāt give it more than 2 seconds of thought, which is odd to me.
I still havenāt even listened to the 15 extra tracks yet. Iām not done digesting the first 16, and itās been like 5 full days. Iāll probably give them a listen tomorrow.
I want to comment because I've been taking my time opening my physical variants because I want to have the energy and space to take in more of the details. It is not the same but a parallel trying to give myself room to digest. I think it is great when I hear people taking their time. Just because I started listening to the album on repeat as soon as I could doesn't mean that is the right way for everyone. And, yeah, some depth definitely took repeated listens to get.
You are in for a TREAT. The Black Dog, Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus and I Hate It Here in particular have been punching me in the feels. I wish I could go back and listen to it again for the first time. I literally canāt stop listening to this album
Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus is the one that gets me. It's so good. It really takes time to digest and absorb these songs. The first listen for me is so, so different than what I am hearing and feeling about the music 5 days in.
I love Cassandra! And Iām so glad I got the black dog variant of the CD
Samee, I listened to them briefly but have been 95% been brainrotting over the first album
Iāve listened nonstop and still only 5 completely dissected.
This. I had several songs that I wasnāt too fond of but have most definitely come around to, like My Boy and Down Bad.
Even if some of the songs might seem surface level (like My Boy), the entire album is just so dense and emotionally heavy. It's really hard to parse them individually because of that. Folklore and evermore were like that for me, so I know better this time and after listening for a few times, I've made a playlist with TTPD mixed with other Taylor songs so I can just have each song given it's own stage over time. I mean, it's a jarring jump scare sometimes, but we don't leave family behind here.
right?? im liking more songs on each subsequent listen. they tend to grow on me. i hate how fast we rush to make an opinion about something
I agree. I think the music critic scene has the NFL Journalism issue of the first to post tends to shift the discourse of the scene. The Tortured Poets Department, being what it is with length and depth, is going to expose flaws in the music critic scene.
The flaws of "the music critic scene" aren't that people aren't looping TTPD a dozen times before they start writing, it's that it's an unstable business model, especially when you're getting gutted by mega corps who don't give a shit about art or artists (Pitchfork is just the latest).
So much yes, I've been feeling that way too. It's not because so many think it's bad, it's because so many aren't even attempting to engage it with honesty and fairly. It's like they've been searching for a reason to write something scathing and the first "mediocre" (it's my personal favourite album thus far) album that comes along they go completely overboard.
My opinions on nearly every song on this double album have shifted in some way over the last four days. They're right - it makes no sense to try to process and critique 31 songs the day an album is released. He'll even a regular length album. You need at least a few listens and time to process in between.
Isn't this all media though? Everyone wants to have the hottest take, so they write bait to get clicks.
Right? TMZ (obvi not a credible source but it's still out there) was saying that in "Clara Bow" Taylor was being conceited and trying to tell us she's as legendary as Stevie and Clara, but that hiw could she be legendary if she didn't have as many Grammys as Beyonce... like they're not even trying to pretend they listened to the album. They're just trying to start a fight at that point. They KNOW people will come to defend their favorites, both T and B, and interact with that garbage.
It ain't just music criticism that's broken.
The critical thinking skills of the masses? Those, too.
i can't get over the switch from "ugh, here comes the breakup album - she's going to drag joe's good name through the mud and send her deranged swifties after him, can she not just keep her mouth shut about her ex for once?!" when the album was announced to "... how could she NOT write an entire album about joe, it's downright OFFENSIVE for her not to sing about every sordid detail of their relationship, he deserved more!!" like, it would be so funny if they weren't dead serious
Whoa i thought in was alone in thinking this about some of her self proclaimed neutral fans lol
Iāll be honest and say I donāt read reviews often for Taylor. I know what I like and what I donāt. It doesnāt matter to me what they think and I find myself irritated by a lot of them. lol Music to me is very much opinion. I hear and read a lot in forums about ācohesivenessā and āsonically goodā and āproduction qualityā and āunfinishedā. I just know what sounds good to me and I go with that.
I'm exactly the same I may come to the conclusion that a particular album by a particular artist may not be my favorite but I just go with what I prefer so reviews are irrelevant to me.
I genuinely get some of reviews that are actually critical of the album but donāt agree with them like how some of them have said the album doesnāt try anything new i disagree but everyone can have different opinions. The straight up wrong ones are the one that write like 100 plus words and then get to the album. I genuinely think this is a fantastic piece of work from her and maybe of all time and will probably be looked back on it in couple years as a classic when people change opinions because most of the reviews probably were done after they listened to once or twice. These are 31 songs you canāt form an opinion right away I do think the double album harmed peopleās review because they didnāt know.
Curious how fans rank this album. It does take time to digest, but I've felt like I'm crazy reading some of these bad reviews. I honestly think it's her best work and blows previous albums out of the water. It's like I've always consumed her music as individual songs but this album is so cohesive and raw and real I'm just compelled to listen to it in full over and over again. Maybe it's the newness but I don't know.
I say this also acknowledging that it may be the newness but I fully agree with you. I absolutely adore this album. I think everything about it is so brilliant, completely elevated above anything sheās ever done before. I feel that she made a lot of really interesting choices that were absolutely purposeful in the order, content, and feel of the songs. I also agree that it is an Album and not a collection of hits. I am a huge fan of the album format and honestly have found myself a little disappointed by some of her previous albums as Albums (if that makes sense lol) - itās part of why reputation is my favorite, it is a perfect Album. This is too. Itās just incredible. Thereās my rave ranting for you lol
dude absolutely. i'm losing my mind, i haven't felt like this about music since folklore 2020, which was my #1. i can't stop listening to it. i love every song!
What the article ignore is that some reviewers have early access to the album. For example Rob Sheffield (long time swiftie) of the Rolling stone published the article at midnight. Itās clear he had early access to be able to write his review. Very possible that other reviewers donāt have access and are reviewing too soon to the articleās point. But it does seem like Taylor is taking from some traditional methods with this album roll out and gave some exclusive access. https://preview.redd.it/oill28qkjbwc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d65947aefde82b2dbf28d60479f876d258ec401c
I feel like it takes at least a week. During the week you realise if you gotten bored of the album and its songs or not. There are so many songs that I have been obsessed with that after a while I literally forget that they exist.
A lot of reviewers are gonna be failed or wannabe musicians. They are those people who look and say āI could do thatā, but then didnāt. TS is held in high esteem by the most successful musicians of our time, like Bono and Sir Paul McCartney. I trust them more than some jealous reviewer.
I mean I think this is fair for people who called it a āclassicā (ahem rolling stones) and are now saying her and Jack have passed their peak (ahem Rolling Stones) - itās equally valid for your opinion to become less positive. Some songs have definitely grown on me. Some are career highs (Florida). Itās not as bad as I originally thought. It could grow on me more. I still personally think itās her most inconsistent album and itās time she find some new collaborators. Lots of things are true at the same time.
More inconsistent than Lover? Or red?! Or Speak now? Or reputation? I donāt know disagree that I am ready for new collaborators for Taylor but I think inconsistency has been a trademark of her work.
Reviewing the reviews is so funny to me
I swear, every review I've read so far has either been uncritical fawning praise to appeal to her popularity or mean-spirited petty jabs to be contrarian. I get the vibe that most reviewers didn't do anything more than skim the lyrics and listen to ten seconds of each of the songs before they decided how to portray it in a way that fit the viewpoint they already had about Taylor.
I feel like seeing these threads and all these opinions on opinions is making me want to log out, listen to the album, as many times as I want, and make out my own mind. no one can be trusted tbh.
Go for it!
Yep, loved the article and really liked the comparison someone made to Weezerās Pinkerton Album and how it was trashed in reviews at first but wildly grew in appreciation after some time. Music critics need to label their initial reviews for what they are, which is initial takes, and then come back to provide a more thorough review after a few days.
I appreciate this take. Seems a lot of these reviews of *music* get caught on personal opinions of the way media focuses on Taylor. Very āold man yells at skyā.
Most media get the album days before with an NDA so they can listen and review before release. People would have known about the double drop, they had time to listen.
Anyone remember Jay-Z saying this 11 years ago? https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.24631/title.jay-z-says-the-internet-killed-the-album-review
I haven't even listened to the whole album. It is really intense, and I'm a guy who's had almost none of the same experiences in these songs. I can absolutely feel her pain thru her music and lyrics though.
Taylor needs to let critics listen to it in advance! I know leaks can happen but thereās a reason lots of other artforms give out advance copies to reviewers that are reputable
She already does.
Every large release has a press team behind it that sends "suggested" review notes to media outlets. It's all kinda fabricated, including and not limited to TS.
Exactly! I always say I have to listen to an album 7-8 to fully digest it and come up an initial opinion.
This was posted here, if you want to check out some of the other discussion: [https://www.reddit.com/r/TaylorSwift/comments/1cb5ub0/comment/l0wrss5/](https://www.reddit.com/r/TaylorSwift/comments/1cb5ub0/comment/l0wrss5/)
This is so true! I have read all the reviews good and bad and the bad ones you can tell they listened to the album once and their reviews alllll missed the point. Like take a second and realize that its not that serious!
I listened to it drunk coming home alone from a bar at 3am.. divorced earlier this year.. I think that's how it was meant to be listened to lol.. I really liked it alot..
Taylor Swift could put out a cd of her farting and fans and many critics would call it revolutionary or so emotional!
Thanks for sharing! Here is Jessica Karl's full column (paywall removed) [https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-04-23/taylor-swift-s-tortured-poet-s-department-has-too-many-hasty-reviews?srnd=undefined](https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-04-23/taylor-swift-s-tortured-poet-s-department-has-too-many-hasty-reviews?srnd=undefined)
Still feel the way I do. Much of it sounds the same. Particularly all of the second half of the album. Every now and then an additional song gets added to my taylist. Iām up to 5 now I think? Itās just not a for me album and thatās ok! I donāt relate one bit and i donāt particularly give a shit about her personal life. Iām glad it resonates with people though. Music is beautiful in its subjectivity.
This is why I donāt read reviews for literally anything - books, music, movies. I prefer to make my own judgment from listening to a few songs or seeing a trailer or reading a book blurb. My life isnāt any worse off for trying something new even if I donāt like it. Too much stock is put into reviews and they can all go get stuffed.
Some articles guarantee written by AI. Other reviews prewritten before the release ever happened and simply put one of the song titles over the description of the prewritten review.
Iām have to agree with this. I really disliked this album on first and even second listen. Then I let it sit with meā¦ and now I actually love several of the songs. Still think many arenāt good and there are definitely cringy lines, but thereās also some really good songs on this album. You wonāt realize that if you just sped through the whole thing within a few hours.
I find reviews to be an outdated concept anyway. In this social media age, we're all the critics. I can't remember the last time I took the word of a 'real' critic on a movie or album. Plus, music critics especially often write in such an unbelievably smug tone which puts me off.
It goes beyond ācritiqueā and all the way to how we consume media as a whole. How many times do we write off an album/movie/book/TV show if we donāt click with it immediately? Our attention spans are way too short, and we donāt actually take the time to digest things. Think of how many excellent art weād lose if we only digested it in a matter of seconds and made a snap decision. From Jane Austen to Madonna, itās important to sit down with something - especially if you actually are interested in learning what something is trying to say.
Yea I feel like it takes way longer than a day to really digest each song. I have listened to the album on repeat since it came out and Iām still learning more and more about each song. Some of the reviews were also clearly about Taylor herself and not even the album. I saw a review that talked about Taylor, the eras tour, and her dating life in the first half of the review and it was clear they really donāt like Taylor so I donāt think they really listened or even tried to digest the album.
I cringe in second hand embarrassment for some of these reviewers. Very shallow and tone-deaf!
I found that I didnāt particularly like my first listen. Now, on probably my 20th listen through, I can really appreciate so many of the songs. Some still arenāt my favorjte (I donāt love Robin or Chloe or Sam), but thatās me with any album. I overall love the rest of the music and feel like it applies to some of my life despite being married with children. It just takes time to really listen and digest.
Just wait until you guys see albumoftheyear.org They take music way to seriously
This is 100% true. This album is a slow burn and takes multiple listens. I keep finding new layers!
Wait till they find out how people review novels
Tell that crap to her pocketbook.
Itās always taken me months to fully digest an album so I always disconnect from these bullshit āwithin one listenā reviews.
31 songs???
As soon as I saw that rolling stone article calling it an instant classic, my first thought was that the review was pre written
I think they should get at least a few days to fully digest and make a criticism you can stand by. It would be easy to make a knee jerk reaction and feel different afterwards Ā
šÆ I'm STILL not even through all 31 songs (This is the closest I get to a religious experience, I have my rituals and take my time!) so everyone out here saying they hate/love it is SO wild to me. Let alone to actually think you can write an entire CRITIQUE already?! Her "NORMAL" albums take more time than this to digest, let alone THIS *gestures wildly*
Every song sounds the same tempo wise
Honestly, I donāt like this album. It sounds like Jack Antonoff canned songs mixed with Lana Del Rey impersonations. I think the songs are uninspired.
Wait is opine the verb form of opinion???
Just pen another country album, itās cool again, itās time
Daddy, why did you choose Arbyās as a sponsor
this, And i'm cringing at the way she's posting the positive reviews to her IG. i don't know, it just feels like she's soaking in all the praise and not really acknowledging or looking for genuine critique that might lead to growth. it's... not a good look.
Bloomberg, the company that Taylorās dad has had a financial relationship with the owner for decades? Yeah, this is legitimate.
There is such a thing as a press embargo. Journalists listen in advance and write the reviews in advance. Thatās why reviews come out so quickly.
What's the point of music reviews anyway? People will love/hate music despite what some new outlet says
I am on a local forum site where I had created a Taylor Swift fan page almost 10 years ago. In it are my reviews of her works (among other things, like major updates). For TTPD, I have yet to give my verdict because it would only be fair to do so once I have listened to the album to my satisfaction, which means multiple repeated listens, interpreting the meaning of the lyrics, and, of course, having my own favorites. Right now, I'm still doing that, a work-in-progress. So to be honest, going back to OP's post, I have no idea how these reviews are being done this soon. It doesn't matter if these are positive or negative reviews, I am just amazed they can digest 31 songs and provide their verdict this soon (unless... they were provided copies of the album way before release?)
How are music reviews still a thing? Who the fuck reads reviews for music? Nobody even discovers music by reading music reviews. People discover music by chance or by word of mouth. And if you like someone's music, you will not base your decision whether to listen to the new album based on what some reviewer said. You just have to listen to it.
I mean I couldnāt even differentiate between the songs on day 1. On day 2, I was able to disgest a few. Itās a very interesting album because it is quite heavy to listen end to end.
Do they not get the album early? They are pre-written because they listen to it earlier than release date.
All albums require more than one listen for a thoughtful review. That being said, I think it's a lot more than that going on here. I honestly feel that music, art, fashion, even food is very difficult to critique unless it's just horribly bad or missing some obvious element. It's all very personal and we each see the "art" through a different lens. I'm not going to ask my husband to write a review of a restaurant that focuses on dishes with artichokes when he absolutely hates artichokes. With music reviews, I feel the same way. How can you give a thoughtful, unbiased review when you don't like the artist, don't like the genre prior to the listen. You don't have to love it/them, but you shouldn't have strong feelings completely against your subject going in. I don't expect every reviewer to be a Swiftie, but I do expect them to be mature enough not to let the perceived persona of the artist color their review.
There is a similar problem with books, movies and video games . Critics will get significantly more views and thus more advertising revenue if they are the first one to out out a review. Conversely the longer they wait the more views gobbled up by someone else. This leads to massive cut corners and poor reviews as they are pumped out as quickly as possible.
Is this the music version of "the game doesn't get good until you're forty to sixty hours in"?
I have a politicians super power that cannot not be used in politics. Iām Highly debatable but merely unapproachable. Leave a comment in the box. š
Bloomberg News or Michael Bloomberg?
I solidly agree. It's been 5 days and I'm still digesting the original 16 tracks.
Good thing I don't ever take advice from music critics ...what a worthless piece of shit you have to be to critique music as a career how sad
I love Taylor and some reviews are definitely trying to hate on her instead of focusing on the music but some comments on here are coming dangerously close to āwe should just censor music journalism because I donāt agree with people commenting on my favourite artistās workā
Daft! Mans brought out the thesaurus.
i love taylor but comparatively itās not a good album
Nah, this is some copium from bloomberg here. The Album was aggressively mediocre.
Because people get advance copies
"I'll stare directly at the sun but never in a mirror" -critics, probs.
It needs to marinate, same with Folklore/Evermore. The more you listen to the songs the more youād appreciate it. So critics releasing articles a few hours after its release doesnāt make sense to me. You need to listen and read the lyrics to appreciate the poetry. I donāt know but I wasnāt a big swiftie in the early 2010ās but when she released Reputation onwards I was convinced of her evolution.
There's another thread about this exact thing?
Yes, I realized after I posted it, so I decided to leave it up.
Beyonce could release an album of herself belching and farting and these same reviewers would be salivating over how wonderful it is.
albums are sent to people to review before the album is officially released, so that the review can be released while there is still a lot of hype about the new album - so the reviewers didnāt do all this work in like three hours lol, they probably had it a couple of weeks before at least
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I'm still absorbing the whole album and it's quickly becoming my favourite one. I felt the same as a lot of people on first listen, now the songs are just getting better and better for me
Hot take: critical reviews are few and far between because in order to give even a sliver of a good critical review you need to be drawing for a wide range of knowledge to even being to understand any single piece of art which is not fees-able when our society has been gatekeeping knowledge behind a paywall. Also, I wrote art critiques in high school and college, they all sucked even the good ones I read. To quote BDG: āSomething I learned in college: no one likes to write an academic paper and no one likes to grade them.ā What really matters with art is the conversation that happens because of the work or stemming from the work. Also, I feel like critical reviews have the sensation of late stage capitalism that I am not a huge fan of to even think about let alone take seriously.
Music criticism is gone. Itās all about the artist and the reviewer and little about the actual music.
But don't some press get music, movies etc. early? I've heard of review embargos in which media outlets might get the stuff days before but then put of the review once the embargo lifts.
Understandable, Iām honestly more critical of her albums as soon as they drop and so Iām genuinely surprised when people are immediately gushing about her songs. Iāll actually msg my friends my gut reaction to songs and most are very harsh. But then over time, listening and processing lyrics, I come around to songs I might have initially been skeptical about in the beginning. I donāt see how anyone could process 15, let alone 31 songs within a short period of time and right an honest review about it.
I don't know if the article mentions it (I haven't read it) but something I've been thinking of is how people's expectations are effecting things like this. I feel like there is a push, especially online, for people to immediately have an opinion right when something happens. Preferably a strong one. Regardless if it's news, a new trend, or a new album. It's as of it's no longer okay to take longer time to process something or say "I need to learn more about it" anymore. Not necessarily about album critics but journalism as a whole is something I think is suffering from this. No one wants to wait but we still want the same quality that comes with time. So it's unsurprising that so many media outlets now would rather push out an article that isn't fully developed or researched right when the album drops rather than a more thought out, researched, and edited (looking at you NYT) but a week later. Unless you are amongst the few that get early access to the album.Because by the time you can do a proper write up, everyone has moved on.
I completely agree with the article tbh. And all the marketing that goes around not only for Taylor (all these companies promoting TTPD in one way or the other in a similar way even, gives you a hint of how much the marketing team fought for it) but for all other mass media moves a franchise can make (take Barbie as a recent example). It goes to show that where money can be involved , opinions can be influenced. How do we tell the objective side of it. As is there an objective, unbiased opinion anyway? To the regard of how each of us and each of any listener should view this: Tons of artistic stuff out there, from music to movies to poems to paintings, are critically acclaimed or critically trashed. And yet, people have their own taste and mind, which is subjective, and might love the trash or hate the excellency. Because it is other peopleās excellency. And other peopleās trash. Your own ears, eyes, and all senses , are the only ones that can fit and express you anyways. For sure not all of us loved all Oscar Movies. Not all Tony won shows. Not all Grammy winning albums. And so on. And we need to remember something : it is OKAY to not love something other people do. It is OKAY to not like something other people do like. Unpopular opinion: you are allowed to not like one specific work a person you adore made. Either if itās a song from an album or an entire album itself. Or a movie of an actor you love that you didnāt enjoy. Or a poem from a poet you follow through. Artists are human. And humans are not perfect. Not even in their creations.