Jukebox: folklore and evermore
Taylor Swift shoved us all how it’s done last year when she released two studio albums and several films. Today I want to introduce you to just the last two albums, folklore and evermore. If you know what it is, then good for you. If you are from another planet or you have just finished a half-year long social detox and you do not know what it is, keep reading. All will be revealed.
If you didn’t happen to read my article about the Taylor Swift concert in 2018, then you probably don’t know that I almost didn’t listen to her music before Reputation (except for a few singles). I just wasn’t interested in country Taylor. That’s probably why I was fascinated by Reputation. I couldn’t get to like Lover for a few months after the release, because compared to Reputation, there is more pop and less dance. Today, no one can touch Cornelia Street or the aforementioned Lover.
I’m just trying to say that I didn’t expect to like folklore and evermore. Both records are in pop/country/folk and that never suited me with Taylor (honestly, it didn’t suit me in general), but damn, when she released folklore at the end of July, it was suddenly the soundtrack of 2020. evermore is just finishing what Folklore began, with beautiful winter vibes.
If you’re wondering why you should be interested and why you should play Taylor at all – like who cares? Please, if I write about Bieber, for example, I’ll say you have a valid question. (He was nominated for a Grammy with the single Yummy. If you haven’t heard that song then trust me when I say that you missed nothing at all.) Taylor has always managed to get two kinds of groups interested in her music – those who like catchy melodies and those who like meaningful lyrics. Both apply to folklore and evermore twice as much.
Taylor can somehow draw from her own experience and symbolically incorporate it all into texts, so on both albums you can find a lot of references to the good and the bad in her life, but at the same time it feels that it also affects you in some way. So I consider myself a Swiftie, but I’m not that good to know what the second line of the first verse of the third song refers to evermore. But if you’re really interested, I recommend the Genius website, there are mostly interesting and fun trivias about each song, or you can also dive into the theories of Swifties themselves.
Everything above the line was written in December. It’s been two months since evermore and half a year since folklore. And I can only confirm that I still stand by what I wrote in December. I understand that the name Taylor Swift carries a lot of prejudices and possible displeasures about her music. But in my opinion, quite unjustifiably. Taylor keeps proving that she is not only an excellent singer, but also a lyricist and songwriter. No matter how much you dislike her name, Taylor can’t be denied that she brought something fresh and absolutely raw to the music scene with folklore and evermore (I’m not saying that only Taylor makes such music).
If there’s anyone who hasn’t heard folklore and/or evermore, these are the reasons why you should:
- both albums are spectacular
- it doesn’t sound like anything else from Taylor at all
- a lot of feelings and thoughts in one
- did I tell you they are spectacular?
- each album works as its own story universe (I recommend googling it)
- it will change your mind about Taylor #sorrynotsorry
- if you’re in the mood for music with lyrics that really matter – look no further – folklore and evermore are right here
My personal tip for listening to music that I’m not sure I’m interested in: play it as background music – not too loud, but not too quiet and not in headphones. Don’t forget to do something else – whether you’re browsing the Internet, or exercising or cleaning. This usually helps me not to skip the whole album in a few seconds and really listen to it properly.
And don’t forget to let me know in the comments what you think about folklore and evermore!
