The pop singer’s twelfth album focuses on her love life and grievances past the highlight.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
OK, Taylor Swift is used to consideration. For the higher a part of two years, thousands and thousands of individuals noticed her carry out throughout her record-breaking world tour. And simply in August, she introduced that she was engaged to soccer star Travis Kelce, which produced much more fanfare. However does Taylor truly nonetheless need the highlight?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “THE LIFE OF A SHOWGIRL”)
TAYLOR SWIFT: (Singing) You are sweeter than a peach, however you do not know the lifetime of showgirl, babe, and also you’re by no means, ever gonna.
CHANG: Her new album, which simply dropped at present, is named “The Life Of A Showgirl.” In it, she dives deep into her life offstage and contemplates whether or not or not she’s able to stroll away from the pop star life. Right here with us at present to interrupt all of it down for us is NPR Music’s Stephen Thompson. Hello, Stephen.
STEPHEN THOMPSON, BYLINE: Hi there, Ailsa.
CHANG: Hi there, hey. OK, so Travis mentioned this album was a banger on he and his brother’s podcast. Is that this album a banger to you?
THOMPSON: Nicely, I imply, it is actually been billed as such, and it is positively a pivot away from this type of dusky, autumnal folky sound that she’s been exploring on current information. She’s additionally, , form of switched producers again to the producers she was working with on albums like “Pink” and “1989,” Max Martin and Shellback. They usually give it not a lot a way of, like, wall to wall colossal pop bangers, however just a bit bit extra vary. It may be theatrical or soulful or spangly, like within the music “Opalite.”
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “OPALITE”)
SWIFT: (Singing) Sleepless within the onyx evening. However now the sky is opalite. Oh, oh oh oh oh.
CHANG: Nicely, as the entire world is aware of, Taylor and Travis are betrothed. What do you suppose this album reveals to us about their relationship, I imply, like, past what we preserve seeing within the Instagram publish or the tabloids?
THOMPSON: Nicely, a number of songs early on are clearly about falling in love with Travis Kelce. Plenty of stuff about, like, I might be melancholy should you hadn’t discovered me, , that type of factor. There’s a music that is fairly clearly about him that I actually like known as “Honey” that talks in regards to the language {couples} use and the way the which means of phrases can shift relying on whether or not these phrases are utilized in good religion or dangerous religion.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “HONEY”)
SWIFT: (Singing) However you touched my face, redefined all of these blues while you say, honey.
THOMPSON: The one which feels probably the most enlightening, that’s most likely saying probably the most about her ideas on the connection can be the music “Wi$h Li$t,” the place she imagines a lifetime of normalcy that has clearly eluded her.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “WI$H LI$T”)
SWIFT: (Singing) Boss up. Quiet down. Obtained a want listing. I simply need you.
CHANG: I imply, and that’s such a candy aspect to this document. But additionally, come on. Everyone knows that Taylor loves utilizing music to tackle critics, whether or not they be exes or different artists, proper? So do you hear her doing that on this?
THOMPSON: Oh, gosh, sure.
(LAUGHTER)
CHANG: Give it to us.
THOMPSON: I imply, it is Taylor Swift. I imply, she is settling some scores right here. I wish to tread considerably fastidiously as a result of loads is left for listeners to imagine. And a few of these songs are positively dropping Easter eggs which can be permitting sleuths on the web to form of piece collectively what they’re about.
CHANG: Which she likes to do. She loves dropping these eggs.
THOMPSON: Yeah, she does. I imply, you’ve got received a music like “CANCELLED!” which is form of a dig at individuals who’ve criticized her associates. The music “Father Determine” is, , dressing down a music trade govt. Followers can absolutely inform you which one. And there is a music known as “Truly Romantic” that seems to be a response to the Charli xcx music “Sympathy Is A Knife.”
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “ACTUALLY ROMANTIC”)
SWIFT: (Singing) Like a toy chihuahua barking at me from a tiny purse, that is how a lot it hurts.
THOMPSON: “Truly Romantic” is saying, like, , the truth that you are obsessed sufficient to put in writing and speak smack about me is definitely romantic.
CHANG: (Laughter).
THOMPSON: Writing a music mocking somebody for writing a music is unquestionably a transfer. We’ll depart it at that.
CHANG: OK, so a whole lot of this album looks like it’s about Taylor’s battle with the highlight, nevertheless it’s additionally about her newfound love. However can we additionally get a way of what she needs to do subsequent?
THOMPSON: Nicely, I’d think about a whole lot of the scuttlebutt about what she needs to do subsequent goes to revolve round getting married. However what’s attention-grabbing to me about her subsequent step is that Taylor Swift could be very, very famously into numbers. That is her twelfth album. Her subsequent album is her thirteenth. And I needn’t inform any Taylor Swift followers listening how massive the quantity 13 is…
CHANG: So massive.
THOMPSON: …To Taylor Swift (laughter).
CHANG: That’s NPR Music’s Stephen Thompson. Thanks a lot, Stephen.
THOMPSON: Thanks, Ailsa.
CHANG: And you’ll hear extra of his ideas on the brand new Taylor Swift album on the New Music Friday podcast from NPR Music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “THE FATE OF OPHELIA”)
SWIFT: (Singing) All that point I sat alone in my tower. You had been simply honing your powers. Now I can see all of it.
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