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swiftontumblin310 · 1 year

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MY ERAS WITH TAYLOR SWIFT

I’ve been a fan of Taylor Swift since I heard Teardrops on my Guitar when I was in either seventh or eighth grade (back in 2007/2008 times😅).

I remember streaming Fearless-back when iTunes was a new thing. Still mad bc that’s the only album of Taylor’s I didn’t have the physical copy (bc my sister and I bought it off iTunes). I saw her Fearless concert on May 14, 2010 (I have the pictures to prove that and the Taylor Swift Fearless tour shirt also). I was a a high schooler and living my best life with all those friends you have at the time. Fearless was the perfect album for me as a sophomore/junior in high school. I always loved White Horse, The Best Day and Fearless.

It was really when Taylor released Speak Now when I became a forever fan. I remember (again) living my best life with all my friends all summer in 2010 and BAM—Taylor releases Mine. The amount of Mine lyrics that were spread across my Facebook page with all my peers using “You are the best thing that’s ever been mine” was truly unmatched. When Speak Now came out—I never related to any album more. With songs like Never Grow Up, I felt like Taylor was speaking to me as I ended my time in my high school and prepared myself for college. The album highlighted crushes and little signs from boys who you fall for. My favorite theme, however, was the theme to just speak now. This album will always hold a special place in my heart forever and take me back to those glory days of 2010/2011 when life was simple. Except when all I wanted to do was see Taylor’s Speak Now tour in Nov 2011 and just couldn’t find the means to go.

Red came out (originally) in October of 2012. I remember being in my community college and Taylor was dropping singles left and right—I couldn’t keep up. Red dropped a week before my area got devastated by a superstorm. I always found myself associating Red with that time. Honestly, Red was never my favorite. Of course, I loved 22, I Knew You Were Trouble, Treacherous (always a fav), The Last Time, always liked I Almost Do and of course All Too Well. I liked all the bops but couldn’t get into the album as a whole. I remember always having a concept for a Treacherous music video and wanted Taylor to do it lol However when Red (Taylor’s Version) came out, I found a new love for Red. I enjoyed listening to Taylor’s Version and I am fully in love with all the vault tracks. Why Taylor kept Message in a Bottle so long for us, I will never know.

Ahhh—1989. 1989 came out in 2014 when I transferred yet again to another college. This time I thought I knew what I wanted to do. The semester was tough drowning in science courses. 1989 was this little bolt of lightning that came into my life and made me feel like —hey your dreams can come true! Even though I never had a dream per say, but still thought anything was possible. I loved and listened to 1989 SO MUCH. Also loved the fact that Blank Space music video was filmed so close to me! 1989 was that album and always will be. When Taylor was touring 1989, I just started a full time job and a part time job serving. My friend and I didn’t act on getting tickets and by the time we went to look—-it was expensive and I was too afraid to request off short notice. So I missed the 1989 tour and still one of my major regrets in life.

Reputation. When Taylor wiped out her social media and came out with Look What You Made Me Do (I was actually in Nashville). I remember thinking damn, how is she going to break out of this darkness. Meanwhile, turned out reputation was an album full of light. An amazing album that was truly for the fans. I made it my mission to go to the reputation tour and luckily got to go two shows. I tagged along with my friends on the trip to New Orleans in Sept 2018 and it was one of my best decisions. I was on the barricade and touched Taylor’s hand that night! Rep was one for the memories.

Lover came out at a shaky time in my life and unfortunately see more darkness with Lover than the pastel vibes of the era. When Taylor released Me!, Game of Thrones was the moment and my hockey team was in the playoffs. I had so many reasons to be excited. However, my mom was sick and unbeknownst to me—she was dying. By the end of August, I was visiting my mom in the hospital blasting I Think He Knows or Cornelia Street. I love the songs on Lover, but it does hurt to listen to it. Especially when Taylor attacked me with Soon You’ll Get Better—like did she know what I was going through personally?? I still can’t listen to that song. I still wanted to go to Loverfest and I think my friends and I had so many issues getting tickets. We did end up getting them and it became my 2020 goal to get to Loverfest until the pandemic happened.

In 2020, we all knew where we were. I was (and always will be) grieving over my mom. So when folklore and evermore dropped—I think part of me was saved a bit. Folklore was the perfect album I needed to listen too to break away from all the feelings. I was studying for a registry exam (that I failed a few times) and lucky for me, evermore came out the same week. I spiraled into a depression between failing my exam, having covid and feeling like the ultimate failure. With Christmas looming, evermore straight up brought me back to life and gave me hope. It truly saved me and I owe a lot to evermore.

I feel like Midnights is that badass album we needed. On the edge of 30, I give no more fcks about anything and I love that Midnights is this edgy, dark and emo album. It’s exactly the music I need as I continue to get older with Taylor and her music. The edgier sound and lyrics are so true especially after all the shit you go through to get here. I feel like You’re On Your Own, Kid is such a dad phrase and something my dad says to a degree. It’s like the grown up version of Never Grow Up, like damn you’re on your own. But don’t be afraid. Love that. Anyway, I will manifest I get tickets for the eras tour. And manifest even more that I get to meet Taylor after all the eras we have been through together!!🤍

@taylorswift

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sylvies-chen · 2 years

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Okay, so non TV fandom related ask but curious to know your ranking of all of Taylor Swift's albums!

OOF OK THIS IS A HARD ONE but thank you so much for the ask anon! I’ve never had to do this before and it’ll definitely be a challenge, but a fun one! Also keep in mind I do like all her albums so even the last place ones are iconic and dear to my heart. Anyway, let’s do it:

*Taylor’s Version for all albums that apply

Folklore: there is not a single song on here that isn’t an absolute banger, 10/10 it’s perfect for spring and summer but also works all year round, convinced this album can do no wrong ✨

Lover: this album never fails to make me feel every single type of happiness. I do have some nitpicky issues with a few songs— like I didn’t love You Need To Calm Down because as someone who’s bi/queer I can say with certainty that homophobia isn’t just a “haters gonna hate” mentality— but honestly Cruel Summer, Daylight, Paper Rings, Lover, they’re all bops that completely make up for it and give you that epic sort of joy when you listen to them. Instant serotonin boost!

*Fearless: honestly I don’t know if this album would have ranked as high for me had there not been a Taylor’s version just because the added songs gave it such an extra pop. Before we knew Red (Taylor’s Version) was coming, this album being remade and expanded was something completely unprecedented and new. It still would have ranked high in my head regardless, because it has so many songs I consider to be quintessential to the early days country Taylor!

Evermore: BEAUTIFUL ALBUM, gorgeous gorgeous girls love Evermore!! only reason it doesn’t rank higher for me is because it makes me cry too much so I have to be in the mood to get emotional (which, in all fairness, most of the time I am)

*Red: again, probably would have ranked Red a little lower had it not been for Taylor’s Version because the dumb ass internet ruined a few of the songs on the original album for me by doing the most traumatizing parodies ever. But then Red (Taylor’s Version) came and Phoebe Bridgers popped in for a duet and Taylor blessed us whth the LEGEND that is All Too Well (10-minute version), so really idk what I’d do with myself if this album DIDN’T exist.

Speak Now: this one is like peak angsty tortured yet epic love, like Haunted and Enchanted and Dear John and Sparks Fly like CMON, if you ever go numb and need to feel something, put this album on. It’s an emotional awakening!! There are some songs on here that I just find a little forgettable, like Innocent or Long Live, but that doesn’t mean they’re not good! I just wouldn’t have remembered them if I hadn’t been listening to the full album to prepare for this post.

Reputation: I feel like people are going to hate me for putting this one so low on my list but don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the songs!! they’re so fucking good! The only issue I have is that when it was released, it was so clouded by the drama of Taylor v. Kim K sparked by Look What You Made Me Do that the press kept pushing, so I just got annoyed and couldn’t fully enjoy the album until years later.

1989: Again, not to say this isn’t a god album, but my main issue with it was that the songs that I liked the best were the ones that weren’t broadcasted as much or weren’t as popular!! It makes complete sense that Shake It Off was the one that became super popular because structurally it was just the perfect formula for a classic, successful pop song: it was fast, upbeat, a theme about shaking off a “hater” that was generic enough to reach a wide audience, a chorus that was three words and easy to remember. Those are the kinds of songs that do really well on radio stations and in the general public which is why so many people who don’t know Taylor Swift’s music all that well still know that she made that song. It was really smart of her to do that actually, but it was definitely the most typically pop of all her albums. You Are In Love and How You Get The Girl were my two favourites though, absolute gems that make me believe in love <3

Taylor Swift: the songs on this album are good but I’m just not a huge country fan (if you ask me if I like country music I will say yes, absolutely, but it’s not my favourite genre by far) so none of them resonated with me as much and especially seeing where Taylor’s skill is now, this one’s really only at the bottom for me because she’s very new and green and inexperienced in this album and it’s audible.

#swifties please don’t murder me #abby.answers #taylor swift #album ranking

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smellycinnamonthundahfudge · 3 years

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fuck it. have the five page essay-ish thing i wrote on hoax.

it's so underrated and contains so many references to taylor's one great true love... that she lost.

(but there's also a bit about what the album cover means since i just think it adds to the evidence of something)

Let me take you on a journey, more specifically, the journey taylor’s music brought me to.

But fine for irl context, and disclaimer as well, I’m a new swiftie.

Yes, folklore was the one that really really pulled me in.

I’ve always loved her music, those that I knew of anyways, and she’s always held a special place in my heart and some part of me always knew that I was always going to explore her discography someday… and those days and months of exploring aforementioned music finally arrived.

So, for context, I’ll say that I mostly loved her bops. I always knew and loved her as that teenage girl feeling of wanderlust, and just wonder, and sweetness, and love…

That was what taylor was to me, the feeling of love.

It’s only when I very quite recently really really grew up and at the same time, taylor’s most popular music at the time, folklore, also happened to be really grown up, is when I realized and found out that taylor always had this depth to her.

So, for me, debut to speak now and half of red will always have that child-like wanderstruck look of awe and love vibe and feeling to me, cause nostalgia, it’s what I spent my life thinking of it and her as.

Also it’s been some time since I fully listened to those albums, so the journey/throughline narrative that I see from taylor’s discography is

Debut – young kid figuring it all out, emotional but sweet

Fearless – growth, ambition, dreams, complexity of wanting someone you know you’re not supposed to

Speak now – cinematic movie like quality of storytelling, these are fantasies, epics, novels all on their own, legend

Red – reckless abandon, intense extreme adult love, and also growth

1989 – true love, actual adulthood, scandal, gossip, hiding, protecting what’s important, dwindling mercurial highs

Rep - …

One thing that I started to notice only on 1989 and then it looked to be the case for the ff albums too, is that the latter half of one album oft bleeds onto the next one

So like the sound of I know places and even kinda wonderland to some extent, is very similar to reputation’s sound.

Then idk, new year’s day being a really sweet love song transitioning into lover

And then it’s nice to have a friend’s simple acoustic nostalgia & daylight’s nature imagery transitioning into folklore

And theeenn I’m betting the lakes as a positive song is a foreshadowing for the more softer positive outlook evermore is going to have, compared to folklore at least

But I honestly believe that if you look at the albums themselves, debut to speak now and red all seem to be about fleeting romances that pass and go

But 1989, that’s when things start to get real, and I believe, that’s when taylor really starts to get her muse…

Cause if you look at from 1989 to folklore evermore heck even to the rerelease of fearless and red…

These songs seem to be stemming from one relationship

A relationship that’s secret, that’s fragile and delicate, and complicated and complex

And correct me if I’m wrong, but…

Is king of my heart the first time taylor ever used the term, the one???

The one real thing you’ve ever known?? All too well

One touch you are in love??? One step one night

Point is, I think starting from 1989, most of the songs taylor wrote and sung about could all be attributed to just one person.

A tumultuous complex but nevertheless real and true love.

And I bring up the one connection because the one clearly parallels king of my heart

And all at once, YOU ARE THE ONE I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR

why would taylor write about losing someone that she thought she was the one if the person you think it’s about is still supposedly with her when she wrote it?

And finally, in taylor’s announcement of folklore, she wrote about an exiled man walking the bluffs of a land that isn’t his own, wondering how it all went so terribly, terribly wrong.

And in its music video, you get the same imagery?

…

You know where, … you… also… get… the same… exact… imagery…?

The folklore album cover.

Where it’s taylor, walking, in the middle, so small in the grand vast bluffs of a land that wasn’t her own.

In every single music video for every folklore song, the only ONE, THE ONLY ONE, where you get the same imagery, the same color palette as the album cover, is exile.

Which is about someone, a man walking the bluffs of a land that isn’t his own.

So if taylor is the man, then she’s

I can see you standing, honey

With his arms around your body

Guess who she has a close relationship with, who betrayed her, who got married to someone else?

*regina george anger screaming*

Me is a breakup song.

Taylor rereleasing red second has so much more weight to it now.

“In the land of heartbreak, moments of strength, independence, and devil-may-care rebellion are intricately woven together with grief, paralyzing vulnerability and hopelessness.”

moments of strength, independence, and devil-may-care rebellion – me, I PROMISE THAT YOU’LL NEVER FIND ANOTHER LIKE ME.

WATCH MISS AMERICANA AND I DARE YOU TO NOT SEE ME AS A SPITEFUL/VINDICTIVE/REBELLIOUS BREAK UP SONG

grief, paralyzing vulnerability and hopelessness – FOLKLORE.

Then I guess, fine… we’ll get to why hoax is so fucking meaningful yet you don’t understand why it is.

Yes, my only one.

Smoking gun.

I saw someone call this a reference to the fire and ash in mtr, but I also think of this as someone being your one weakness…

Think about it like this, in reputation

And what if the one person who kept you alive through all that

Betrayed you too.

Taylor talks so deeply and passionately over how much this person matters, they were her smoking gun.

Because they were what kept her going through the death of her reputation.

When no one trusted her that one person did.

They were her smoking gun.

My eclipsed sun.

Lover ended with daylight.

Taylor called reputation as night time.

And now what once was daylight has now been eclipsed over, by betrayal grief sadness desolation.

(darling this was just as hard as when they pulled me apart, folklore is as dark as rep)

Winless fight – ma & thp, fight that someday we’re gonna win.

They or she didn’t.

Frozen ground brings me back to holy ground and to doht, my love had been frozen

The imagery of hoax’s lv, is of a cliffside overlooking an ocean

Which brings me back to gorgeous, of OCEAN blue eyes looking in mine, I feel like I might sink and drown and die

Screaming, similar to mtr’s I still talk to you when I’m screaming at the sky

(sidenote might not related to taylor references, but that line gives me hopelessness give me a reason to live vibes, and what with gorgeous’ line of sink and drown and die and this is me trying’s Pulled the car off the road to the lookout Could've followed my fears all the way down…

Anw… the sidenote is cause that feeling of hopelessness just really resonates with me personally, kind of the type screaming at the universe, at whatever’s out there why… sigh…)

Faithless love – false god

Hoax – illicit afairs

Blue… rep (delicate)

Best laid plan – dbatc, paper cut stings from our paper thin plans

Sleight of hand???

Five whole minutes pack us up leave me with it???

Could barren land also be bluffs of a land that isn’t his own?? Idk… *shruggie*

Ash from your fire mtr

New york, DBATC, 1989, false god, cornelia street

Hero died, remember when I said I’d die for you? False god

What’s the movie for, exile, I think I’ve seen this film before

You knew it still hurts underneath my scars from when they pulled me apart

Like I said, reputation… who was her saving grace/smoking gun from all that

THEY WERE THE ONE, THE ONLY ONE, TAYLOR HAD WHEN SHE WAS PULLED APART

SO THEY KNEW, THEY KNEW HOW MUCH IT HURT HER

BUT THEY BETRAYED HER ANYWAYS.

Password let you in the door, I knew you’d come back to me, front porch light cardigan

What you did was just as dark, just as hard

Why wouldn’t it be?

They were the one she had throughout all that turmoil… yet they betrayed her too…

Kingdom come undone – komh, we rule the kingdome inside my room

Beaten my heart – KOMH, dbatc

The feeling of thinking you found the one, the one you’re going to spend the rest of your life with… the one you would throw away all of this for…

Don’t want no other shade of blue but you, no other sadness in the world would do

You don’t want anyone else but them if they were the one you were going to throw it all away for…

You don’t wanna say goodbye…

You just wanna keep feeling the pain, the love, the conflict that you had with them…

You don’t wanna say goodbye

#hoax #folklore #hoax taylor swift #taylor swift #i love you taylor #gaylor swift #writing #songs #music #love #<3

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phoebe-delia · 3 years

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Hello, Phoebe. I’m back :)

How are you doing? Just put whatever you feel like here! This ask is the Phoebe Show; make it yours!

Lyssa, it is always a pleasure to see you in my notifs, but especially in my ask box! Thank you for filling it with kind words, awesome prompts, and fun questions for me to play around with.

This blog is the closest I imagine I'll ever come to having the Phoebe Delia Show, and since you have given me free rein with this ask, I shall endeavor to make it count.

I've gotten some incredible asks about my interests, but I'm going to answer a question that has been asked by exactly no one and rank Taylor Swift's albums.

This will be in order of my favorites; this isn't necessarily a reflection of what I think the rank would be in terms of objective quality; instead, this is based on my own personal enjoyment of the albums.

As always, I will provide a little explanation as to my reasoning, because I am nothing if not indulgent.

I actually really surprised myself with this ranking; as I looked through the albums I evaluated each by counting the number of songs I liked off of each one, and the ranking I thought I had has now changed. (I will explain in my comments!).

So! With that said. The Phoebe Delia Show Presents: Ranking Taylor Swift Albums.

1. Speak Now--To me, there is only one skip on this entire album; it is bop after bop. (If you're wondering, I think "Innocent" is the skip). Every song is just fun! I should also point out that this is also my favorite in part because Taylor said it was inspired by theater/Broadway.

2. 1989--I'm gonna be honest and say that I'm ashamed to have sort of slept on this album for so long. Don't get me wrong--I listened to and enjoyed it a lot when it came out, but I always sort of automatically pushed it further down on my list in favor of my 3rd choice because I liked the songs on my 3rd choice more. But now that I'm older and my music taste has somewhat evolved, I think I can say that 1989 is my 2nd favorite. There are truly no skips on this album. Yes, I know I said SN has a skip, but that album holds a special place in my heart so it gets number 1. I was thinking it over today, and while Taylor has always been amazing, I think this is the album that launched her into superstardom. We, her fans, knew she could do anything, but she still shocked us all by making the transition to an entirely pop album. Remember the "Blank Space" and "Bad Blood" music videos? I still think those are two fo my favorite of her mvs, though LWYMMD is a close second.

3. Red--Oh, my beloved. This album is wonderful. I have a lot of memories associated with this one, particularly watching the WANGBT music video and the IKYWT parody with the fucking goat that makes me laugh so hard even to this day. I am SO pumped for TV in November!! And while, yes, "All Too Well" is my favorite song on the album (and my fave TS song overall), "Holy Ground" is slept on and amazing.

4. folklore--This album is probably the most meaningful to me of them all just because of when it came out. We as an entire global community were struggling, and I know I had immense privilege to have been healthy and safe during that time. Still, like everyone else, I was depressed, lonely, and felt trapped inside my home and inside my mind. I will never forget listening to this album in my room and gasping when I heard TIMT. Not long after this album came out, I also lost my family dog, and this album was essential in helping me grieve. This album saved my sanity and gave me a cathartic outlet. I will be forever grateful to Taylor for writing it.

5. Reputation--This is another one for which I have a lot of memories. I will never forget when the LWYMMD music video came out and the world lost its entire mind. Taylor said there are still easter eggs we missed and I want someone to find them please and thank you. There are a few songs on this album that I'm not obsessed with, but the storytelling is so cohesive and creative. On the surface, one might think Taylor was being petty or whiny, but if you look closer--and remember the utter hell she was going through at the time--I think there are deeper meanings than her just getting back at Kim and Kanye.

6. Fearless--Oh, this album. It has some of her most iconic songs: YBWM, "White Horse," "Love Story"," "Forever and Always," etc. I truly wish I could tie this one with Rep, but I think Rep edges this one out *just* barely with songwriting/lyrical quality. I also don't know if I'll ever fully get over the fact that she kept "Mr. Perfectly Fine" from us for so long, but I suppose I can consider the 10 min "All Too Well" on Red TV to be proper repayment. ;)

7. evermore--I could not believe my eyes when she announced this album. How can this woman write this fast and this well!! I will never forget listening to "champagne problems," "no body, no crime," and "tolerate it" in particular. I ranked this after reputation just bc I think I enjoy listening to Rep more, but some of the songwriting on this album is *chefs kiss.*

8. Lover--I know, I know, I'm sorry. I don't want to put this one so low on the list but I just kind of can't put it any higher? I really love some of the songs on this album, but SYGB is too sad for me, "London Boy" kinda annoys me I'm sorry, and I just never really got into INTHAF or "Afterglow." But, that said, every other song on the album is a bop, even ME!, although I listen to the live version over the studio recording. It's a great album though.

9. Taylor Swift (Debut album)--I feel a little bad ranking this so low but I cannot honestly tell you that this album is better than her others, and something has to be last on the list. There are also some great, classic songs on this album. So, instead of being critical, I'm instead going to say that I remember vividly seeing a snippet of "Teardrops On My Guitar" advertised on Disney Channel for Radio Disney. It makes me smile to think of how far she's come since then.

And that concludes this episode of The Phoebe Delia Show! Tune in next time where I post some other self-indulgent opinion about one of my interests and hope it reaches people who care to read it :)

Send me an ask about Harry Potter, broadway/musicals, The West Wing, and/or Taylor Swift! Or just about life in general :).

Also, I have a playlist of my 99 most listened-to songs of the year so far. Pick a number 1--99 and send me an ask and I'll write you a fic based on it!

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loved-lefthaunted · 3 years

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What are your thoughts on all the evermore songs?

oh my god. this is such a hard question for me so brace yourself. it’s taken me nearly 2 months to write this out and i still don’t think i’ve managed to encapsulate all my thoughts.

So, I have very strong feelings about evermore. I immediately loved it three times as much as folklore, for a variety of reasons. I can do a song-by-song breakdown alongside my general thoughts of the album below:

Firstly, I want to preface this by saying that I do not disregard the impact that folklore had on me prior to evermore’s release. I am not oblivious to the fact that folklore likely primed me for the sound that evermore had and that my mind was set up for a similar sounding album so was willing to receive it with more open ears.

That being said, I think that evermore is the superior album. The overall emotional range and sonic variety of the album is wider and more thought out. The different songs provide a more well-rounded listen in my opinion and give me much more emotional investment than folklore. Each individual song feels strong and there are far more songs with single potential than folklore.

So let’s get down to it:

1. Willow - iconic. The big sister that cardigan deserves. The song that I wish the Lover album had been. A song so fully devoted in such a soft and sweeet way without feeling sickly. A mature way to dedicate a song to the person that you can’t live without but in a way that doesn’t throw pink confetti at your face and tell single people to fuck off. TAKE MY HAND? OKAY TAYLOR. WRECK MY PLANS? FOR SURE BABES. THAT’S MY MAN? 100% FEEL U GAL.

2. Champagne Problems - LOOK. I AM CLAIMING THE NAME SAMPAGNE PROBLEMS FOR ALL FUTURE CONTENT. I want to be proposed to just so that I can reject them and then get wildly drunk on overpriced alcohol. It’s heartwrenching in a way that Taylor hasn’t been since the likes of Treacherous. It doesn’t throw sadness at you, overwhelm you with tears. It hides heartbreak within a soft piano riff and gorgeous imagery.

3. Gold Rush - a sapphic daydream. i cannot believe this is real. The return of a heart-thumping drumbeat and the most lovely, pure song that just describes the infatuation with someone beautiful and how you can wonder about them and be so happy about them and jealous of them all at once.

4. ‘Tis The Damn Season - this christmas song makes me wish i had a boy next door in my hometown that i could randomly sleep with. why don’t i have a fluffy hallmark holiday film based upon this premise? why isn’t there a christmas music video to show me how their interactions work during the holidays and how it differs so vastly with their normal lives? Why can i feel both the distance and the closeness that these two people feel? the cutest dedication to a very un-cute casual relationship. a bittersweet shout out to the people who make us happy for a few fleeting moments spread out over the long haul.

5. Tolerate It - i have very VERY strong feelings about this one. it feels like it both encapsulates romantic and non-romantic love so perfectly. It pairs perfectly with the likes of Closure (more on that later). We all deserve to be celebrated. In a world of people settling for less than they deserve, we should reach for those who deserve us. We are worth it. Find someone who will show us how worthy we are. It’s aching and slow and painful and just....everything. Just because someone has always been there doesn’t mean they deserve to continue to be there. Tolerating you is not the same as deserving your loyalty.

6. No Body, No Crime (feat. HIAM) - IT TOOK 14 YEARS BUT TAYLOR FINALLY MURDERED A MAN IN COLD BLOOD AND I AM HERE FOR IT. MEN ARE TRASH, LADIES. REMEMBER THIS. ENGRAVE IT INTO YOUR TOMBSTONES. TATTOO IT ON YOUR FOREHEADS. MEN AS AN ENTITY DO NOT DESERVE US. MURDER THEM. A YEEHAW DREAM. (I have no strong feelings about HIAM but the existence of Este’s name is a blessing in itself, their backing vocals are a lovely addition and a true testament to their friendship as we know how protective Taylor is about mixing business and friendship through collaborations)

7. Happiness - this song is HURTFUL. a song about growth, a song about finding yourself amidst the loss of a partner, a friend, a family member. a loss so deep that it will hurt you for years to come and take a piece of you away forever. but a loss that you have to be resigned to and grow from and let go of. the slow build of the backing is something i haven’t heard since Holy Ground. Both songs talk about loss and moving on in such starkly different ways but still encompass the feeling of reminiscing on something good and pure and perfect whilst battling the knowledge that it’s over and trying to be happy for the person now that they’re gone.

8. Dorothea - the sweetest girl in the neighbourhood. a childhood friend that we all miss having. a person we watched grow into something massive and successful and we’re so genuinely happy for them. the song encompasses the feeling of a distanced joy. a joy that has nothing to do with you, everything to do with this person that you’d be happy to accept again with open arms but will be equally as happy to watch succeed from a distance. a bouncy backing track and lovely vocalisations that really build a sense of a warm hug and the feeling of soft morning sun on your skin.

9. Coney Island (feat. The National) - alright. so i’m sat on a bench in the cold, wrapped up in a winter coat and a hat and gloves and a massive scarf that covers half of my face. i can see the air when i breathe out. there’s an empty ferris wheel at a deserted fairground and i can remember when it was alive and bustling and when i was surrounded by all of the people closest to me on a late summer’s day. and i miss them. i yearn for that to be back. the way we yearn for a time before covid, before masks and elbow touches and sanitising everything. a time when you could sit around a table with your friends and welcome someone with a hug and visit your family for the holidays. a time of joy that was so overlooked until it was gone. The presence of The National is also a breathtaking addition and truly deserved after Aaron’s input on both folklore and evermore. I’m glad they saved it for this song.

10. Ivy - this song just radiates GREEN. Am I in a forest? Am I just in a greenhouse, watering the plants? The guitar/banjo sounds make me so horrifically nostalgic for Speak Now era. The male backing vocals remind me that Taylor has evolved so far from the girl we used to exclusively listen in conjunction with Caitlin Bird and Liz Huett.

11. Cowboy Like Me - one of the only songs I don’t really care about? it’s not bad, it’s just not great. it’s yeehaw without the accompanying passion. It’s the end of a sad, sad wild west movie. It’s a backing track in a scene of a TV show when someone is going on a journey alone to find themselves. But it’s nothing special.

12. Long Story Short - DO NOT FUCKING TOUCH ME. THE BEST SONG ON THIS ALBUM IN MY OPINION. THE STRONGEST BEAT, THE NOSTALGIA OF 1989, THE LYRICS OF RED, THE FUCKS GIVEN OF REPUTATION. THE PERFECT IMMERSIVE TAYLOR EXPERIENCE. TRULY A 10/10 ENTITY. I WILL HAVE THIS PLAYING AT MY GRADUATION. I SURVIVED.

13. Marjorie - the loss of a grandparent is always a lot. i’ve lost 2 due to Covid and it’s cut me deeper than I ever imagined. Marjorie is the 50′s sepia toned daydream that sends you flying back to being a child and being taught life’s most important lessons when you were far too young to understand them from someone so much wiser than you. It feels like I’m being taught to live again. Another build up backing track, but in such an uplifting way? A way that makes you think of the sun slowly coming out of the clouds. Of the end of a rainstorm and the start of a new day. Optimism and innocence. Peace and hope.

14. Closure - right, the return of sadness. The use of the clatter and discord in the background. The death of a Big Machine (subtle and perfectly done). She’s doing better. We all are. It reminds me of the friends I’ve lost and crave to have back but know I’m better off without. We have to let go of this. Close the chapter. You don’t even need the epilogue, it’s over. The production makes me so uncomfortable and it’s SO NECESSARY because lack of closure is UNSETTLING. It’s horrifying. It’s devastating. But the lyrics and the power of the song show how strong you can be and how important it is to push through the discomfort and continue to live.

15. Evermore (feat. Bon Iver) - the titular song. The return of Bon Iver’s vocals and the lone piano background are truly something to be commemorated for years to come. Although it lacks the painstaking hurt of Exile, this is one of her most simple pieces of artistry on this album and it’s BEAUTIFUL. Something that feels bare and raw. A song that cuts deep and shows us the true core of what she’s currently feeling right now: that although pain might feel forever, it’s not. all pain, much like joy, is fleeting and we have to feel it but we need to remember that it’s only a piece of our experience and place it into context. The song veers on self-pity and wallowing in hopelessness until the latter third, where suddenly hope rises out of the ashes alongside a slightly padded out production from Bon Iver’s vocals. A strong end to the album. This song sets us up for future albums on a note of optimism. It’s a new dawn.

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jonismitchell · 4 years

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hey!! i haven’t talked to you in forever i hope you’re doing well. idk if you’ve answered this recently, sorry- top three on every album (totally put why if you want to, i love hearing people’s different opinions on this)

ahhh hey! i’m doing okay (as well as can be considered given the state of the world). i have not answered this question since folklore came out, so here’s a short opinion piece by yours truly. (under the cut because i never learned to shut up)

debut: - our song: listening to taylor swift sing from the “man’s perspective” for the first time is something that can be so personal. i’m pretty sure that this is also the first taylor song i ever heard (in 2012) so i have some degree of emotional attachment to it. - invisible: cause i just wanna show you! she don’t even know you! visceral flashbacks of playing this on loop while watching ever after high and harry potter videos in, like, fifth grade. truly describes my pining for every single person i’ve ever liked oops - should’ve said no: she’s so righteously angry and i love it. also the country accent is so strong here and i am absolutely obsessed with that.... legends only. anyway this is your reminder not to get back with your scumbag ex.

fearless: - love story: this is a classic! this is literally a classic. god the forbidden love, the happy ending, this implications of this being one of the biggest hits of her career.... it is The Ultimate Taylor Swift Song and we all just have to respect that. also a healthy dose of “the man’s perspective.” she SAW that film before and she changed the ending!! i cannot :) - come in with the rain: her vocals on this song are so dreamy and the song is really sweet. i think it manages to be lowkey and straddle how fucking dramatic being a teenager is with a lot of class that most of fearless doesn’t access. it’s a good song! - you belong with me: hey it’s the lonely hopeless romantic anthem! yes i know i’m citing the two biggest hits from fearless... they got popular because they’re super good okay! i would argue that the songwriting here is very classic taylor and it’s also super sweet :)

speak now: - last kiss: ugh this really is an amazing breakup ballad. it’s full of amazing one-liners like “you can plan for a change in the weather and time but i never planned on you changing your mind.” i can’t believe how brilliant the whole song is and it’s even more impressive when you remember she wrote it alone. cannot wait to hear the updated vocals but the shaky breaths in the original are perfection <3 - enchanted: okay this is actually my favourite speak now song but i thought i’d shut up about being a lonely romantic for more than five seconds! anyway i have projected this onto so many people... it’s so relatable and yet it’s super general and YET it makes no sense when you think about it... that’s my style of taylor swift song - the story of us: i love how blatantly unhinged taylor was while writing speak now it really speaks to me. i didn’t really like this one so much before but i went through a Thing and binge listened and now i am obsessed. love love love the lyrics and i think the production suits it well too

red: - holy ground: this is my ALL TIME FAVOURITE taylor swift song. i genuinely think these are the best lyrics she has written in her whole career.... “we blocked the noise with the sound of you and for the first time i had something to lose?” no one is doing it like her they simply aren’t. this song is absolutely perfect.... i don’t really have words to describe it i just need everyone to appreciate my taste for a minute - treacherous: gay little taylor swift. the whole idea of forbidden love crops up again here and i have to say i love it. i swear to god the vibes... the quiet confessional on the verses that explodes into this huge ranting bridge? that’s it that’s it that’s one of the best songs of all time man miss swift is an icon - state of grace: love is like a religion, perhaps. this contains such a wonderful extended metaphor and utilizes a bunch of different writing tactics so well. i sound like a broken record at this point but this is a good song! and yes i project it onto lucas (i’m fine to say that no one is reading this much)

1989: - wildest dreams: oh just say you’ll remember me! it’s the songs about doomed love that always get me, something forbidden, something you have to keep private for fear of it being destroyed. side note, everyone who thinks a song as good as this is about harry styles can fight me. taylor pulled this out of my personal diary in sixth grade and it hasn’t stopped being relatable since - wonderland: oh you guys know i love a literary reference and wonderland is so good. haven’t you heard what becomes of curious minds is also really gay so the song works well for me. oh and a special shoutout to everyone who removed a tattoo because of this song, i hope you’re doing real well - style: very happy that i never think of anyone in particular when i listen to this banger and instead just enjoy it like a normal person <3 i remember not understanding the hype until binge listening to 1989 one day in eighth grade and being like “oh i get it now” so there’s that (shoutout to this love for nearly being on this list)

reputation: - dancing with our hands tied: this is another one of my all time favourites! the pining, the gay vibes, the love that dies in secrecy... it basically goes through my list of how to be a good song and ticks my requirements off one by one. i love how anxious the production is and her emotion while singing it on rep tour. karlie kloss fucking fight me challenge. - new year’s day: this quiet subtlety of this love ballad gets to me... it was my favourite when i originally listened to reputation and hasn’t fallen out of the top three since. i think it highlights taylor’s songwriting abilities and her ability to make me cry, both very important aspects of music - delicate: this is another hopeless romantic pining song! how many are we up to now? i really think delicate is the essential crush song that describes basically every feeling i’ve ever had. and unfortunately, up to this point, it has all been delicate :/ at least i have the solace of sharing problems with a talented millionaire

lover: - cruel summer: this really is THE fucking song for me... it encapsulated my ninth grade year, it makes my heart hurt, it’s line after line of pain to me personally. i have no idea what miss swift is banging on about here (and i prefer it that way) but it really just means a lot to me! another song that sounds like my diary entry and is also completely inaccessible, i don’t know how she does it. - the archer: i love the moment where taylor swift decided that she was going to give those of us with anxiety a theme song every single album, and i think the archer is a definite highlight of her whole career. the subtle dreampop influences and the confessional vibes make it exactly what i wanted from lover, and also it hurts me emotionally in ways i can’t fully articulate. - lover: see, i do have a heart! listen, i’m only fifteen years old but i know i want this song to play at my wedding. it is so quietly romantic and perfectly sure of its own goals. it does not seek to accomplish any other goal than being a love song. i started thinking about the lyrics while writing this and now i have to go cry in a corner. (shoutout to cornelia street for nearly being on this list)

folklore: - mirrorball: right on holy ground’s heels for the dubious honour of being my favourite ever taylor swift song, mirrorball describes my Whole Life so unfortunately i’m considering suing miss swift herself. i just think that it speaks to me in ways that would require a whole essay to explain.... let’s just not - august: here’s your mandatory hopeless romantic pining song. did i mention i nearly cried to this on the day of release? i think that she Gets It. i don’t know taylor and i don’t entertain delusions of her knowing me but man she really just plucked the core of my whole love life and said “here’s a song about it, will you shut up now?” back when we were still changing for the better... i need a minute - betty: definitely influenced by the stellar performance at the acms! or maybe i just love listening to taylor openly singing about girls.... i just have a lot of feelings about the emotional resonance about the grand romantic gesture this song builds up to! the key change! the storytelling! kissing on the porch in front of all your stupid friends! this is what taylor swift is all about (shoutout to illicit affairs, my tears ricochet, and this is me trying for nearly being on this list)

#loudwithlaughter #asking with you #this is just 1500 words about how much i love random songs

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anikaswiftie · 3 years

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My journey of being a Swiftie

Everyone does kind of know since when they are fans of Taylor Swift. Since when they follow her journey in life and career. For me it’s a curve of ups and downs with only going up at the end. I am making this way too dramatic, but I have this feeling like I need to write this all down and make it public, like I need to justify my fangirling journey, so I can say “I have been a Taylor Swift fan since years”. This fandom is so massive. It is the biggest fandom I have ever been a part of (and that can be scary) and everyone became a fan in different parts of their own lives and in different parts of Taylor’s life. So here is my journey, no one asked for, but yet I still have the urge to put down.

In 2012 I was first introduced to the name and music of Taylor Swift. I was about 11 at that time. Coming from Germany, not actively listening to music or caring about it at all at that age and just getting introduced to the world wide web, I was shown my probably very first YouTube video on a black iPad 3rd generation from my best friend. It was a video of Miss Taylor Swift, playing songs in a language I could not understand (with the exception of a few words) sitting with her guitar in front of a crowd which made themselves comfortable. It was the Red hangout and the performances of three songs of the album. I do not remember which ones I listened to, but I remember watching it and thinking Taylor was super cool! Then I sometimes heard songs of hers on the radio and really liked them, but I still had no clue about being a Swiftie.

In 2015 I went grocery shopping with my dad and they sold 1989 and I asked my dad if I could have the album. And he said YES. And I listened to that album so much! I really loved it!! And I still do. So much! I liked some edits of Taylor on WeHeartIt, the only social media I got back then. And I began watching her music videos on TV and became obsessed with the Blank Space music video and know that I tried uncountable times to recreate her eating the little candy heart as elegantly and smoothly as she did. I think I failed at that :D. As you do in middle school you also exchange your tastes in music and I started discovering my own taste, mixed with a bunch of influences of others. Spotify was the platform to be, but at that time Taylor Swift's catalog was fully taken off the side and I added only a blank space cover to my playlists. It never occurred to me to buy another album off of amazon or in a music store. What most of my friends back then listened to was trap or rap. I didn’t connect with that music and also did not really like it, but I listened to it in my free time, because I thought that was what I had to do, to fit in and to be cool enough. When I rediscovered 1989 in 2016 I told a friend of mine “I have a Taylor Swift CD I like to listen to right now” and she said “That really fits you, but it isn’t my kind of music.”. And somehow I took it up as something bad, that it would suit me, to listen to Taylor Swift, I felt like that meant “I don’t like her music and we cannot talk about that, you better listen to something else or we are not having a conversation about music anymore, because your taste is so completely different then mine.”, I know that is not what she meant. But I really felt the urge to accommodate my music taste to hers/theirs.

I only listened to 1989 at home on CD and then got caught up in a spiral of watching TV Shows and was first introduced to fandoms. I became a fan of numeros shows and began being a fangirl, also on the internet. In middle school I had a friend I would watch a show with and fangirl over it, after a while people asked us if we could not talk about something else. So we just talked about it rarely.

I began video editing and posting it on the internet and really got sucked into Instagram. I also really enjoyed The Hunger Games - Series and know that I rewinded the credits a bunch of times, because I loved Safe & Sound some much. That song I actually found on Spotify and was able to play it there as well and I loved listening to it while reading. Why didn't I listen to Eyes Open? I honestly don’t know. Maybe I did not notice it was on the soundtrack. So there I was, being a fan of a bunch of TV-Shows, starting to improve my English and thinking of music artists just as people who made music and not really got more into it.

When the music video to Look What You Made Me Do came out it was recommended to me on YouTube and I watched, fascinated by the visuals and the money that must’ve been put into this (which was a lot as I now know). After that I went back to my fangirling on Instagram.

Then I joined stan twitter and became a fan of more and more things. Went to high school. Not being close to anyone there and just knowing two people. I started building my own personality. I was more confident, because I really wanted to meet new people and not be totally by myself. I met amazing people. Who cared and still care about me and my opinions. Who never made me feel uncomfortable for being a fan of something and encouraged me to embrace it, even though they might have nothing to do with it. They didn’t make me feel embarrassed or uneasy about it. And I am beyond thankful for that. Thank you!<3

I also had conversations in high school with people about music. And one of my classmates liked Panic! At the Disco. I began listening to a bunch of their stuff after having a meme of This is gospel on my for you page and became a fan. This was at the end of 2018. For the first time in my life I entwined in a fandom which was related to music. Around half a year later Taylor Swift released the first single of her new album, which we would later find out would be named Lover. The single was called ME! and it was a collaboration with Panic! At the Disco’s Brendon Urie. After that single dropped and I re-watched the music video many many times and watched multiple videos on it and it’s easter eggs. Followed the first Swiftie - accounts on stan twitter and then finally the legend herself.

I’ve been wanting to write an essay about this for a while now. Without listening to her other albums before finishing it. Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now and Red are waiting for me. I’ve only listened to the ones which have music videos or which she covered on tour or some bits from edits I saw over the years (her songs make GREAT audios for couple video edits;)).

I am a proud Swiftie now and so proud of her!

And yeah, I have some great albums to get to.

#taylor swift #ts #swifitie #taylorswift #My journey of being a Swiftie #MyjourneyofbeingaSwiftie

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greywindys · 4 years

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what’s ur favourite Taylor swift songs? what r ur favourite albums of hers?

I’m sure people will clown me, either publicly or to themselves, but I’m going to answer this 100% seriously. If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, you know I was a fan in my pre-teen/teenage years and continue to follow her music to this day, even as it gets worse. Anyhow.

Overall, Country Taylor > Pop Taylor (though it’s a close call).

1. Red is her best album, imo, a nice balance between pop and country and gives me the feeling of fall. The title track is one of my favorite songs by her along with “Holy Ground.” Other standouts are, “I Knew You Were Trouble,” “State of Grace,” and “All Too Well.”

2. 1989. This is like, a really exceptional pop album. It didn’t deserve to sweep like it did at the Grammy’s but don’t get it twisted, this is a high-quality first effort. Stand out tracks: “Style,” “Out of the Woods,” “Clean.” I remember listening to this album when I was first getting into Gorillaz. I read through the entire Gorillaz confession blog (from like 2013?? Idk if it even exists anymore) while T. Swift played in the background.

3. Fearless. This album was my introduction to Taylor Swift, and will always have a special place in my heart. Love the title track, along with “Love Story,” “White Horse,” and “Tell Me Why.”

4. Speak Now. “Mine,” “Sparks Fly,” and “Long Live” are favorites. I don’t re-listen to this one as much though. Taylor and I were kinda on bad terms during this period of my life because I thought she was petty for milking the Kanye (who I know is also messy) situation.

5. Lover. A step up from Reputation, but still not her best. This album has some tracks that I could see my teenage self loving, which may be why I don’t mind listening to them now, but that doesn’t take away the feeling that I’ve outgrown some, if not all, of her music. Favorite tracks are: “Cornelia Street,” “Cruel Summer” and “Forgot that You Existed.”

6. Reputation. I think this one ranks low because of all the hype it had. She released this shortly after Kim K leaked that phone conversation and everyone was spamming her social media with snakes (only 90s kids will remember?). From the marketing, I was fully prepared for a newer, angrier sound, maybe an angry Jagged Little Pill-esque type of sound. I was excited! But then she stuck with pop. And so many of the songs were meh, had the nerve to open the album with the monstrosity that was “Ready for it.” Wtf was “End Game?” It was disappointing. But it still has some bops. Favorite tracks: “Delicate,” “Getaway Car”

I’m not ranking her first album because I haven’t listened to it in its entirety. I can say that I’m not a huge fan of “Teardrops on My Guitar,” or “Our Song.”

#asks.#long post #lmao #all my taylor stan mutuals are on my main #Anonymous

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cali-holland · 5 years

Text

The Friend Zone- Shawn Mendes One Shot

Pairing: Shawn Mendes X Reader

Prompt: Despite being actual best friends, you can’t help but feel jealous when Shawn accidentally friend zones you.

Word Count: 2900

Masterlist Shawn Mendes Masterlist

*Gif is not mine*

~~~

“Y/N, you made it!” Taylor Swift flashed her classic, red-lipped smile at you as she greeted you in the exclusive bar. Music was blasting and the room was flooded with celebrities of all different fields.

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world. Happy birthday!” You said, giving her a quick hug. About a year ago, you had just been breaking out as an artist when Taylor invited you onto her stage for her 1989 world tour. As a surprise guest, you really weren’t on there that long, but you were still astonished by her performance and the energy of the stadium, even as the seventeen year old that you were.

“I’m so happy you came. I really did miss you.” She replied, despite the two of you only really seeing each other a handful of times in person, “So refreshments are at the bar and there’s a photo booth in that corner.” She pointed to the far side of the room where lights were flashing from a camera.

“Sweet, thanks.” You smiled as she walked off to greet more guests. Feeling extremely young and out-of-place amongst the stars, you went straight to get yourself a drink, trying your best to stay close to the walls.

“Wait, you’re Y/N Y/L/N, right?” You heard a voice ask from beside you. You turned to face the tall stranger.

“Yes, and you’re Shawn Mendes.” You laughed.

“You came on the 1989 tour for a show, didn’t you?” He said with a smile, fidgeting slightly with the cup in his hand.

“Yeah, I did. I didn’t get to see you though.”

“We’re meeting now, so I guess it’s fine.” Shawn joked.

“It’s nice to finally actually meet you.” You said.

“Pleasure’s all mine.” He replied. His eyes left yours as he scanned the crowd, “I feel so strange being here.”

“It’s absolutely wild how many people are here. I knew Taylor was incredibly popular, but this is just wow.” You answered as you saw Beyonce and Jay Z walk in the door. You could also see Blake Lively chatting with Karlie Kloss at the bar.

“I’ve never been the best at meeting people, mingling is not my thing.” Shawn let out a small laugh as you smiled at him.

“You’ve found yourself a fellow wallflower.”

“Do you want to go check out the photo booth?” He asked, standing up a bit straighter as he got off of the wall he was leaning on.

“What else would I do?” You shrugged playfully. Shawn led you through the crowd and you two entered the photo booth. You and Shawn both grabbed crown props and placed them on top of your heads. You couldn’t but laugh as you two posed playfully for all four photos.

“I love this.” Shawn said, looking at the strip of film.

“I think it’s a good thing we didn’t meet until now; we’re too powerful.” You replied jokingly.

“Definitely.” He nodded.

“Do you think Taylor would mind if we just totally dippd right now?” You asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Well,” Shawn smiled and bit his lip, “She would notice for sure, but I think we should leave.”

“Let’s go.” You and Shawn made your way through the crowd and out the door without getting caught up in a conversation by anyway. When you were finally outside in the brisk New York air, you asked, “Where should we go?”

“I don’t know. You live here, don’t you?” He teased.

“Want to just go back to my place? It’s literally a block away.” You laughed.

“Yeah, sure.” You two began to walk towards your apartment building.

“How did you meet Taylor?” You asked him casually, trying to come up with a conversation.

“Awards show at Madison Square Garden actually.” He ran a hand through his hair and then dropped it by his side again. “You?”

“She happened to contact my manager to ask me to perform. I hadn’t met her at all before that night.” You explained. You were a much smaller artist than Shawn was currently. His career was skyrocketing and yours was rather steady; touring with the one and only Taylor Swift had to have helped.

“Oh okay.” He nodded, clearing his throat as silence fell over you two. His hand brushed against yours accidentally and both of you immediately moved your hands. You shoved your hands into your jacket pocket and he stepped a bit farther away.

“Here we go.” You said, pointing to the skyscraper of an apartment complex. You punched in your pin and took the elevator to your penthouse with Shawn standing beside you.

As the doors chimed open to your place, Shawn immediately spotted to guitar perched in the corner.

“Whoa this is so nice.” He said walking over to it. “Do you mind-“

“Go for it.” You replied, allowing him to pick it up. He wrapped the strap around his shoulder and casually played a few notes.

“Where’d you get this? I’ve never seen one like it.”

“Geddy Lee actually.” You laughed.

“No way? From Rush?” He asked with an awed smile on your face.

“So you know your rock bands.”

“I know my Canadian rock bands. That’s awesome.” Shawn looked from you back to the guitar in his hands and he started to strum a few chords of a melody.

“Are you trying to play a song because I have no clue what song it is.” You teased, sitting down on the couch while still watching him play.

“I have this thought for a song, but I just don’t know how to write it. I want to use this melody, but none of the lyrics I can think of really work, you know?” He asked, hoping his train of thought made sense. He sat beside you on the couch as he held the guitar without playing it.

“Maybe I could help. What’s the song about?”

“Well, it’s about two lovers that have a summer fling and they both want to act as if they don’t like each other.” He attempted to explain, “The main lyric I’m trying to curve it around is ‘I wish I could pretend I didn’t need ya, but every touch is ooh la la’.”

“So it’s a steamier song?” You joked, giving him a small smirk. He blushed bashfully.

“I know it sounds crazy, but I just feel like a sensual theme is perfect for what I’m hearing in my head.” Shawn said, beginning to play the melody again.

“There’s just some things that never change,

You say we’re just friends,

But friends don’t know the way you taste la la la” You sang along to the guitar’s smooth sound.

“I like it. It totally fits.” He smiled, repeating what you said again to himself. His fingers stopped playing the instrument as he looked up to you, realizing you two had shifted closer than how you had originally started. Shawn felt the urge to just lean in and kiss you right then, but he steadied himself, reasoning that you had only just met a couple of hours ago.

His thoughts flew away from his head as his phone notified him of a new text. You didn’t intend to look, but you couldn’t help yourself as you read the text.

‘Are you still up? I miss you’ Your heart fell as you read the message. It was from a contact named Camila and you could only guess it was the Camila Cabello.

“Sorry, um, it’s nothing.” He said, putting his phone away and standing up. “I should get going- I’ve got to fly back home tomorrow, but I had a good time tonight.”

“I had fun too.” You replied with a soft smile as he delicately put the guitar back on its stand. You opened the door for him and he stopped in his tracks before fully exiting your apartment.

“Could I get your number?” He asked abruptly before awkwardly adding, “If I need help with the song, I want to contact you about it. Maybe we could meet up some other time too.”

“Yeah, that sounds great.” You said, exchanging phones with him and entering your number into his phone.

“See you around.” He smiled once you switched phones back. He left out the door and you closed it slowly. You had enjoyed your night with him, and that song sounded super good; you just hoped your newly found crush on him wouldn’t be wasted with this Camila.

~~~

Three years later, you still found yourself talking to Shawn and spending time with him whenever you could. He had become one of your closest friends. The only relatively new issue was that over the course of the past few years, you’ve only grown to like him more while more and more rumors of him with various other girls occurred, including none other than the Camila Cabello.

“So what did you want me to listen to?” You asked Shawn as he walked into your same New York City penthouse. He casually picked up your favorite, and now his favorite, guitar, just as he had done years ago.

“You remember that song that we worked out the lyrics to together?” He asked, beginning to play the same melody you had heard the night you met.

“We wrote like half of it three years ago. Are you finally done with it?” You teased.

“Yes, Camila actually helped me finish it off. We decided to write as a duet. So for the first time ever, here is Senorita.” Shawn smiled, before he started to sing the beginning of the song. You kept your smile wide as you felt yourself break from his mention of Camila. That was the song that brought you and Shawn together, and now he completed it and would record it with someone else- the same girl that you envied for the past three years. She and Shawn had a connection that you just didn’t understand; all you knew was that you wanted that.

“Ooh I should be running

Ooh you keep me coming” Shawn ended the song and looked at you expectantly, “What’d you think?”

“It’s amazing. You got the sensual theme right.” You said. All those years ago, his idea for the song sounded like a joke to you- little baby seventeen year old Shawn writing a song about getting laid? But now, this new twenty year old Shawn definitely exemplified that idea.

“I know. It’s a different song for me, but I’m just so happy. I feel like I got it right. Thank you so much for helping me with it.” He said, setting down your guitar and giving you a hug.

“Yeah, of course. No problem.” You struggled to speak but you couldn’t tell if it was from the tightness of the hug or the intoxicating smell of his cologne.

“You okay?” Shawn asked, pulling back from you while still keeping his hands loosely on your shoulders.

“I’m fine. What’s wrong with you?” You remarked. It was then that you saw it again- the same look Shawn had given you the first time he came over. His eyes staring intently at you and his warm embrace surrounding you. Your eyes trailed down to his lips for a moment and he instinctively licked them, biting his bottom lip as his tongue slid back into his mouth.

Once again, the moment ended too soon as his phone began to ring. He quickly let go of you and picked up the call.

“Hey,” He spoke, “I’m with Y/N right now.” He paused, listening to the other person speak, “Yeah I played her the new song. She loved it, Camila.” His smile was wide when he said her name- it fell from his lips with such ease, “Okay, I’ll see you later. Bye.” He turned back to you as he hung up his phone, sliding it back into his pocket.

“So you and Camila?” You asked and he raised a questioning eyebrow at you, “Are you two a thing now?”

“No, no. Camila’s got a boyfriend, and she’s just a good friend.” Shawn said, scratching the back of his neck nervously. He couldn’t help himself from blurting out, “Like you, you know?”

“Oh yeah, right.” You nodded, your eyes no longer meeting his. “I just remembered I have to go meet with my manager. I’ll see you around?”

Shawn was surprised by your sudden plans and your sudden change of mood. “Um, yeah of course.” You walked him outside and he left with his mind still racing at what changed for you. For you, your heart just dropped. First, you thought he was a thing with Camila; and now, he thinks of you as a good friend, absolutely nothing more.

Not really having plans, you turned on Netflix and snuggled into your bed, wanting to forget about the tall boy with the beautiful curls for a while.

~~~

You hadn’t talked to Shawn in four days. It would be a normal thing, with both of you being busy and all, but this time it was different. Shawn was spending all of his time in the studio, recording with Camila and working out his next single. This time though, you were completely ghosting him.

Shawn was recording in NYC, and he had texted you twice asking if you wanted to go out and grab lunch or if you wanted to hang out in general. Both times, he had absolutely no response from you.

“Shawn? Earth to Shawn?” Camila called out to him, bringing him away from staring at his phone.

“Oh, sorry.” He apologized sheepishly, but he didn’t set his phone down as he looked at her from across the studio’s couch.

“What’s going on? Why is your phone so important right now?” She asked, making him sigh.

“It’s Y/N. I think she’s ghosting me.” He said.

“Ghosting you?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“Well, I saw her a few days ago and she seemed upset when I left, and now she isn’t responding to my texts.”

“What did you do to her?” Camila exclaimed. She had never met you before, but she knew that you definitely weren’t the ghosting type- unless for a very good reason of course.

“I didn’t do anything. I went over, played Senorita, and then I don’t know- we talked about you I guess.”

“You guess? Shawn, what did you say?”

“I said you were my friend, just like she was.” He ran a hand through his hair, trying to think of what he could have said to make you be so distant.

“Oh my god, you are the biggest idiot ever. That’s why she’s ghosting you!” Camila groaned, face palming herself.

“What do you mean?”

“You are not that dense. She obviously likes you and you like her too. She’s ghosting you because you related her to being just a friend- you friend zoned her!” She explained and worry came across his face.

“No, no, I didn’t friend zone her.” Shawn tried to protest.

“You totally did. You need to go over to her place right now and tell her how you feel.” She stated.

“I can’t just do that. She doesn’t like me back.” His reply made Camila roll her eyes at him.

“She’s been in love with you for three years and you’ve been in love with her for just as long. Go to her before I drag you there myself.”

“But-“ He started, but immediately stopped as she glared at him. She may be a lot smaller than him but damn he did not want to get on her bad side. He stood up, “Okay, okay, I’ll go.”

“Finally.” She sighed. Shawn paused before he walked out the door.

“Do I look okay in this?” He asked, worried that the t-shirt and jeans weren’t enough.

“You’re apologizing to her, not proposing.” Camila stated, “You’re fine. Now go.”

Shawn nodded as he made his way out the door and over to your apartment. He knocked on your door, hoping that you would be home. He tried to mentally prepare himself for what was to come, but all thoughts vanished when you opened the door.

“Oh, hey Shawn.” You said with a small smile.

“You’ve, um, you’ve been ignoring my texts.” He stammered out.

“I’ve been busy, I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you.” You replied.

“I wanted to apologize.” He said, his voice still shaking but not nearly as much as it could have been, “For what I said. I didn’t mean to friend zone you.”

“Shawn, you don’t-“

“No, I need to apologize for that because I-I just really like you, Y/N, and I didn’t think that I’d have a shot with you. I thought you didn’t like me in that way at all, so I just tried to push it away and-“ he was cut off by you pressing your lips against his quickly. He looked down at you surprised by your actions.

“You ramble too much.” You stated.

“You don’t know how long I’ve wanted for this to happen.” He said with a smile, happy that he’d listened when Camila literally forced him out the door.

“You missed so many opportunities to kiss me.” You teased, “Like right now would be a perfect time.”

“Like right now right now?” Shawn asked and you nodded as he leaned down to kiss you again with his hands cupping your cheeks.

#shawn mendes #shawn mendes imagine #shawn mendes x you #shawn mendes one shot #shawn mendes x reader #senorita

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back-to-swift · 5 years

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How I Became A Swiftie...

So, I was at this camp in 5th grade for a school field trip. I was 10. The counselors at this camp were singing Love Story the whole time we were there and I was like, ‘What is this song?!?!’ When I got home, I immediately looked it up and I fell in love with what I was hearing!! A few days later, I told my mom about this singer, Taylor Swift, and she drove me to Target and bought me Fearless. Not too long after that, she bought me the debut album as a surprise and omg I was instantly OBSESSED with both of these masterpieces!! I told all my friends and got some of them hooked! I would literally spend HOURS of my days locked in my room listening, singing, dancing, and even writing my own versions of these songs!! My whole life became Taylor! I looked up to her SO much! Fearless still holds such a special place in my heart because it was the first Taylor album that I ever listened to and the songs just bring back this feeling of nostalgia. They’re very special to me, so that album will always be one of my favs!

Fast forward to 2010 when Speak Now came out!! I was in 7th grade and that one really impacted me, as well. Junior high is an interesting stage in life because you’re trying to figure out who you are and you’re experiencing certain emotions for the first time. For me, I had this huge crush on my best friend at the time, so these songs really struck a chord with me. What really helped me through this time in my life was the prologue that she wrote for the lyric booklet. I also looked back at the Fearless prologue as well. Some quotes that stood out specifically are, “Words can break someone into a million pieces, but they can also put them back together. I hope you use yours for good, because the only words you’ll regret more than the ones left unsaid are the ones that you use to intentionally hurt someone,” and, “...I think the words you stop yourself from saying are the ones that will haunt you the longest.” Also, “There is a time for silence. There is a time for waiting your turn. But if you know how you feel, and you so clearly know what you need to say, you’ll know it. I don’t think you should wait, I think you should speak now.” The main quote that really really stuck with me and still sticks with me to this day is, “Fearless is having the courage to say goodbye to someone who only hurts you, even if you can’t breathe without them. I think it’s fearless to fall for your best friend, even though he’s in love with someone else.” When I took in these messages that I know came straight from Taylor’s heart, they helped me tell my best friend, and when he didn’t like me back in that way, these words also helped me be okay with that. When he fell for my other best friend, Taylor’s words helped me accept that, too. These albums became the soundtrack to my life. These songs made me feel less alone. They made me feel like somebody got me, somebody understood exactly what I was feeling. And even though I didn’t know her personally, I knew she was there for me. That’s when I knew she would start to mean so much more to me than just a singer I look up to. She started to feel more like a friend or an older sister who had all the advice I’d ever need.

In 2012, Red was released. It was my freshman year of high school. It was a time where everything was changing. I had changed schools for the first time in my entire life and I was still desperately trying to get over my best friend. This album came out at the perfect time. Songs like I Almost Do and All Too Well made me feel, again, like Taylor knew exactly what I was feeling. It was one of the saddest times in my life for a plethora of reasons. I felt insecure, I had to come to terms with the fact that this boy would never like me and I had to watch him and feel him grow further and further away from me, I felt lonely, I was fighting with my parents a lot, and I just was not happy, at all. The first few years of high school be like that sometimes, but thanks to Taylor, I didn’t have to feel completely hopeless and lost. I didn’t really understand the album fully at the time, but the songs on it that did resonate with me became a huge part of my life.

1989 came out when I was FINALLY getting over all that sadness and insecurity. I finally found the strength to let go of that guy and I finally had a solid group of friends who accepted me and loved me for me. I was getting along with my parents and I just felt a little more free. And what better album to become the new soundtrack to my life than 1989?? An album that is literally about freedom and becoming comfortable with where you’re at in life. Another reason why I loved this specific era was because it was the first time I ever got to go to a Taylor concert!! I was absolutely in love with the songs on 1989!!!! I went to the San Diego show with my best friend. We were at the very top, but it was truly one of my favorite nights ever. It still is to this day!!! I had just started my senior year of high school when I went to this concert. I was also new to the Tumblr scene and other fans inspired me to do a project. I cut out probably 100 colorful hearts and I brought them with me. When I got to my seat, I passed them out to people around me and I told them to hold them up during Clean. I wanted to show my love and appreciation to Taylor through that. I seriously can’t thank her enough for writing, “She lost him, but she found herself, and somehow that was everything.” That quote is exactly what I needed and it became my life motto! That night was so special and it’s one I’ll never forget.

Now, let me talk about reputation, which is personally, my favorite album ever!! I was a sophomore in college and omg, I was absolutely completely in love with everything about this album and this era!!! I still am!!! When Look What You Made Me Do dropped, I was driving. I blasted it all the way home and I swear, I SCREAMED every single time I listened to, “The old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, cause she’s dead!” I am not kidding you!!! I was OBSESSED and also SHOOK. I was blasting it in my car outside my house and my mom came out and was like, “What are you doing?” And I told her that Taylor Swift just released the greatest song ever!!! When the whole album came out, my best friend and I filmed our reactions to every song. We screamed, we cried, we fell on the floor, we laughed, and we smiled. We still watch those videos and die laughing at ourselves being so shook every few months. I was fully immersed into this era because it was different and it was dark and sassy.

When I first heard Gorgeous, I felt like the Taylor Swift entered into my mind and wrote exactly what I was feeling and how I acted whenever I liked someone. It was seriously so accurate, I was actually scared like WHAT?!?! Did I meet Taylor and tell her about my life and I just don’t remember or…??? Anyway, this era is special to me because I got to see my idol from the front row for the very first time in that whole decade of loving and supporting her. We got to our seats on the floor at the Pasadena show, but we couldn’t see ANYTHING because these tall guys were in front of us. So, my friend went over to the Shake It Off B-stage and asked security if we could stand there. Sure enough, she told us we could!!!! So we got to be front row!!! And I was on the edge right where there was a little opening for her to come out and go to the other B-stage. So, after that set, right before Blank Space, she walked right next to me. And I mean, if I reached out my arm, not even halfway, I would be touching her. Of course, I was too in shock to do anything, but holy shit!!!! THAT was the most iconic moment I’ve ever lived through. AND on top of it all, my friend won tickets for the next night!!! And that was the night Selena Gomez came out, AKA my other QUEEN!!!! I fell on the floor and cried, okay?? The two best nights of my life, honestly.

Anyway, I wrote this all to say that I cannot find the words to describe how grateful I am for Taylor Swift. She has been here for me for 11 years of my life… that is more than half of my existence. Her words made me feel less alone when times got hard, and they also made me feel more alive when times were good. I appreciate her for always being kind to us, sticking by us through all the ups and downs, and going out of her way to make us smile. I will never ever be able to thank her enough for writing the soundtrack for my life and for being the big sister I never had. I didn’t realize until right now, as I’m writing this, that each album came out at the perfect time in my life. Each album represents and fits each stage of life that I was experiencing at the time of each release. I can’t even tell you how much I love this woman and I will always look up to her. She means the world to me and I can only hope to meet her, hug her, and tell her exactly how thankful I am for her and how much I love and appreciate her. I can’t wait to hear Lover and analyze every word when it comes out! Thank you, Taylor, for everything.

Love, Carly

@taylorswift @taylornation

#taylor swift #lover #august 23 #yntcd #swifties #swiftie #me!#you need to calm down #the archer #rep tour #taylor nation #fearless #speak now #red #1989 #1989 tour #reputation #rep #taylurking

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lightningswift13 · 4 years

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Nice to meet you...

This is a secret account. A guilty pleasure account. An account I made this morning on a whim. With not too much hesitation- guess that was pretty fearless of me.

Here’s what you should know about me:

-I really love Taylor Swift. I’ve tried not to, but I can’t help it. I just love her.

-I’m a relatively new fan. Although I’ve liked her since I was 11, I only recently got back into her and am still learning the words to her songs.

-Speak Now, Red and Lover are currently on repeat.

-I might change my username if I think of a better one. The one I have at the moment doesn’t really reflect my takes. I got the idea because I like Disney Pixar Cars and I thought it sounded cool- however, I know people could misinterpret it and think it’s a “Shake It Off” reference and assume 1989 is my favourite era (which it isn’t). Especially since I most likely won’t be posting about Cars on this blog.

-Disclaimer: I’m not a diehard Swiftie. I don’t like everything she puts out just because it’s by her. I’m a huge fan because I like most of what she puts out. But there are some songs I don’t like. For instance, I’m not a fan of reputation. There are also others that I may bring up at some point. I hope that’s okay.

-In this blog I intend to provide a critical but mostly positive outlook and analysis of Swift’s music.

Here’s my story:

I was 11 years old. Me and my dad were walking down the main street of town and I saw this huge glossy perfume advertisement poster in a shop window with a beautiful lady on it. It was an advertisement for her "Wonderstruck" perfume. She actually had brown hair in the poster and was wearing a sleeveless dress. I said "Look dad! Wow, she's pretty!" or something like that because that's how impressionable 11-year-old me spoke. Dad said, "I think it might be Taylor Swift, she's a singer." I'd heard of her but didn't know any of her music. Then he said "Let's go and ask if there's a spare one you can have!" So we went into the shop and asked, and the lady actually gave us 2! I was ecstatic. I gave one to a friend and put the other one up in my room.

Anyway, flashback to the day I got the poster: it turned out that dad, for whatever reason, had a blank burned CD of the "Fearless" album. Because I had a new poster with her on it, he played it for me that night. Not the whole album, it was too late for that- just the first three songs, but I loved it! I didn't relate to or pay attention to the lyrics but I found her sound so beautiful, and I'd never heard anything like it before.

I listened to the rest of the album the next day, and I can fully say I loved it. However, my mum didn’t approve, and tried to stamp it out of me. It worked- for a while. Eventually I took the poster down. I fell in love with other artists, and pretended not to like Taylor.

All this changed when Lover came out. I loved that album so much that I failed to give her another chance. Then I watched her Tiny Desk concert and that completely won me over. I realised that this is not some vapid, superficial pop star like people would have you believe, but a real artist. I listened to her back catalogue and discovered a lot of amazing, heartfelt songs I’d missed out on for so many years.

I find it sad that only her fans see her for the artist she really is. In this blog, I intend to show people who the real Taylor Swift is.

#taylor swift

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madamescarlette · 5 years

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HELLO! 1, 6, 7, 12!

HI HALLS HONEY DEAREST 💖💖💖💖 (i have no idea where this nickname has come from it just Sprung Fully Formed from my brain just now) (your new pink mobile theme is so!!!! chef’s kiss welcome to the pink family!!!!)

1.) what was the first song you heard of taylor’s?

This will come as NO surprise to anyone but-- Love Story. I heard it in a movie (Letters to Juliet) and got VERY obsessed & literally would replay it over and over but it like,,,,never occurred to me to look up the lyrics for some reason?? I just was like “this song exists within this movie and that’s WHERE IT SHOULD BE”

(I was a weird kid)

I got struck in the heart by the High Romance of it all but also how, like, transcendent of a song Love Story IS. It doesn’t matter that it was written by a teenager on her bedroom floor, it still has the power to reach practically EVERYONE. There’s a reason why it’s probably her most legendary song. It quite literally grabs anybody and puts them right in the moment with her.

(also it helps that Guitar Line Is Pretty and Sparkly)

6.) which of taylor’s tours is your favorite?

Again, no surprise to anybody- Speak Now is ALWAYS going to be the one for me. I MEAN. The covers?? The BLUE DRESS? the SPARKLY DRESS???? The gloves and the hair and the dancers and her blindingly-burning-optimism, Taylor at her Taylor-iest??

I have a very distinct memory of watching the Speak Now performance of Fifteen when I was around that age and crying and crying because of what power it hit me with, the way it made me feel like my life was only beginning, just when you need it when you’re fifteen and think everything’s already ended. Honestly, I feel like Speak Now opened a door in my head for me, that taught me how to respond to the world, how to let it in and how to survive it, and probably everything from that time with that album is painted with a particular brush because it just- meant so much to me.

The RED tour is her most emotive and the 1989 tour is her sparkliest and the Fearless tour was her sweetest and the Rep tour was her happiest, but for me, the Speak Now tour was the most of her heart to me. That’s why I hold it closest, I think.

7.) which taylor song has the most meaning attached for you? why?

S O M A N Y HALLIE how can I choose ONE.

okay. for obvious reasons KOMH is my favorite song of hers she’s ever written because it’s changed my perspective on myself and how I understand love and how I understand my own soul, so I have to mention it.

and then!!! Clean very literally pulled me out of a depressive episode years ago-- it was always one of those songs that felt like she wrote it JUST FOR ME to express something I’ve always felt but never had the wherewithal to voice. I have so many problems in my life that basically circle back to the fact that I Do Not Let Go but Clean was this song that came along and talks about letting go of pain and heartbreak and hatred and letting it be washed away from you, of that hard earned moment where you wake up and it’s all....gone, all silent again. It’s practically part of me at this point.

but THEN. Last Kiss was so, SO, like. I can’t even explain how dear Last Kiss was to me throughout my life. It’s literally hard??? for me to listen to now because of all the extra meaning I tacked onto it. I feel like I’ve literally grown up listening to it on my bedroom floor, holding it closer than a wound. It’s a song you never want to end, because it’s about....her not wanting something to end long after it’s gone. and because of who I am that’s just....the closest to who I am. even now, the bridge sounds like a prayer I’ve been praying my whole life but never knew, you know? That’s the power of Taylor to me. She’s just so absolutely human, so that even when she writes about something I don’t really know about, it still is tied so closer to me than my insecurities. it’s powerful to have something so powerful like that.

12.) if you could go back, which era would you want to relive?

omg if I could, I weirdly would LOVE to live in the Red era. Her insta posts? y’all. and the VINES. I miss her. she was a cutie.

but also, even though it was so full of pain, I....still am SO nostalgic for the 1989 era. I literally was the MOST Taylor Swift Girl I could/can be during that time, and as probably over-exposed as she became, I was fueled by so much happiness of the glitz and glamour of that time.

come ask me taylor asks!!! even though i um. took. forever to write this single ask LOL

#ask #<3 hallie <3 #curiouschild

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wineanddinosaur · 3 years

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Wine 101: Txakolina

This episode of “Wine 101” is sponsored by E. & J. Gallo Winery. At Gallo, we exist to serve enjoyment in moments that matter. The hallmark of our company has always been an unwavering commitment to making quality wine and spirits, Whether it’s getting Barefoot and having a great time, making every day sparkle with La Marca Prosecco, or continuing our legacy with Louis Martini in Napa, we want to welcome new friends to wine and share in all of life’s moments.

Interested in trying some of the wine brands discussed on “Wine 101”? Follow the link in each episode description to purchase featured wines or browse our full portfolio at TheBarrelRoom.com. Cheers, and all the best.

It’s incredibly crisp, refreshing, and hard to pronounce. Meet Txakolina (chah-kuh-leena), a white wine that comes from a small but compelling area of northeastern Spain.

In this bonus episode of “Wine 101,” VinePair tastings director Keith Beavers reviews the history behind the grapes, regions, and wines of Basque Country. He also shares his first run-in with the wine, and explains why everyone should try Txakolina for themselves.

Tune in to learn more about Txakolina.

LISTEN ONLINE

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Listen on Spotify

OR CHECK OUT THE CONVERSATION HERE

Keith Beavers: My name is Keith Beavers. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. “Damita Jo” is the best Janet Jackson album, right?

What’s going on, wine lovers? Welcome to Episode 1 of VinePair’s “Wine 101” podcast bonus season. That is a lot to say, but we are here at the bonus season, and it’s so exciting.

It’s not easy to read, it’s very easy to say, and it is a pleasure to drink. If you guys have not heard of Txakolina, we’ve got to talk about it. If you have and you’re confused, let’s get some stuff out of the way.

So, in 2010, I was invited to this exclusive party in Manhattan. It was in a membership-only club, and it was hosted by a wine importer at the time. I had a restaurant and a wine shop, so I was buying wine. I was invited to a Txakolina party. I had no idea what that meant. But, when I left that party, I was obsessed with this wine. The party was kind of crazy. They actually had kegs of this wine, which was wild. You’ll understand that in a second. Txakolina, if you’ve never heard of it, is awesome, and it should be on your radar. I’ll tell you why. It might be one of the most refreshing wines you’ll ever have on your palate. It’s crisp. It’s refreshing. I don’t know if you remember the Portugal episode, but it has a slight effervescence to it, just like the Vinho Verde wines do in the Minho region in northern Portugal.

It’s a whole different story, where these wines come from. The wines are very interesting, but even more interesting is where the wines are from: the northern part of Spain, in a place called the Basque Country. To some, it’s called Basque. To others it’s called País Vasco, and to others it’s called Euskadi. I can’t admit to fully understanding this, but Spain is made up of 17 autonomous regions. From what I understand, they’re not like states — like in the United States of America — but they do have borders and their own governments within them, just like states would have their own state constitutions. The leadership of these regions are actually presidents and not governors. I don’t know. I don’t really understand it too much.

What I do know is that the Basque region of Spain is known as ferociously independent, more so than a lot of other regions in Spain. It makes sense. Reading about the history of this part of the world, reading about the people of this country, is just incredible. It’s fascinating stuff. I think it’s a historical anomaly, if you will. The Basque region is very small, in the northeastern part of Spain, bordered by the Pyrenees to the east, the Bay of Biscay to the north, the Cantabrian Mountains to the west, and the Rioja region and Ebro River to the south. But, at one time, the Basque Country was known as Vascone. Their territory went from the Ebro River — which is now south of the Basque Country — over the Pyrenees, going north to the river Garonne, which is the southern river that borders Bordeaux. That’s a lot of real estate, am I right? Now, of course, it’s a very complicated history. It’s fascinating and it’s complicated. Over time, it gets decimated. It gets smaller and smaller, until it’s one of the smallest areas in the northeastern part of Spain.

What’s really cool is that, even though this land and the people of this land were increasingly restricted, the language of the people in the Basque region was never Romanized. The language they speak is ancient to the point where there’s a lot of theories as to where it came from. It is a language that, when you look at it, is very confusing, but at the same time, it’s just extremely fascinating and beautiful — unless, of course, I’m pronouncing it. I’m going to try my hardest, but I apologize in advance for anything sounding weird. It’s not the language, it’s me.

What can be confusing is that there are multiple names for this area. Outside the border of the Basque Country, it’s often referred to as País Vasco, which is a reference to the old, ancient region that it once was, the old country. In general, it’s called the Basque Country, which you see if you’re looking at the wine situation. Basque is said to be an evolution of the word Vascon, but within the borders of the Basque Country, they call their land Euskal Herria. It means “our country.” Their language, which we refer to as Basque, is called Euskara for them. Of course, Spanish is spoken here, but this is their ancient language that they’re really holding onto. When it comes to wine, they use the ancient language for that.

The wine situation in this area is interesting. About 100 years ago or more, there was a very healthy wine-growing region going on. That little louse we talked about last season, phylloxera, completely destroyed that. It never really came back to what it once was. This region of Spain, because it’s protected by a mountain range — the Cantabrian Mountains and the Basque Mountain range — is very wet. It’s a high elevation. It’s very mountainous. It’s very close to the Bay of Biscay, which is the Atlantic Ocean. Because of that mountain range, a lot of the rains get trapped in that region. It’s not the best wine-grape growing region, just like Champagne is not the best wine-grape growing region. Just like Champagne, the people in this area wouldn’t let a little bit of rain and weird weather get them down after phylloxera. These wine growers and winemakers in the Basque region held firm to their local varieties and built a small, yet very significant, local wine market. It eventually moved its way out of the region and onto a lot of places. This kind of wine comes to us and Germany, but most of it is localized and consumed there. That’s one of the reasons why wines coming out of the Basque region have the local language on the labels. The majority of it is consumed there.

What’s cool about all of this is that — even though the language is really foreign to a lot of people — the terms are pretty simple. There are two varieties that are used to make wine in the Basque region. There’s a white grape called Hondarrabi Zuri and a red wine grape called Hondarrabi Beltza. That sounds very different. All it really means is this. Zuri means white in Basque. Hondarrabi is a reference to a town. It’s the white grape of the town, Hondarrabia, in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Beltza means red in Basque, so Hondarrabi Beltza is the red wine grape of the town of Hondarrabia. That’s just a reference to where they think the variety came from. These varieties are native to this part of Spain, or at least the Pyrenees. We’re going to get into the specific wine regions in a second. One thing to know is that the majority of the wine made in the Basque region is from Hondarrabi Zuri, the white wine. Over 80 percent of the wine made in this area is white wine. Hondarrabi Beltza, the red wine grape, does make red wine. It’s light and peppery. It’s very good, but you don’t see it on the American market. I had a chance to have it and was very lucky to have it. You’re not going to see it around. If you do, it’s kind of like Cabernet Franc, but a little juicier. On our market, if we ever see it, it’s in a rosé version. It’s blended a little bit into the white for rosés from this area.

In the Basque Country, there are three DOs, or three appellations, and they’re some of the smallest wine regions in Spain. Here is where the word Txakolina comes into play. Txakoli, in the Basque language, roughly means village. Txakolina means “of the village,” basically. There are three DOs in the Basque region that make Txakolina, and the word is a reference to where the wine is made. The first wine region to be awarded to this region, which was in 1989, is the most popular one. It’s in the very eastern part of the Basque region, about 18 miles from the French border. It’s very close to the Pyrenees. The vineyards are mostly in from the coast, just south of a main coastal town called Getaria. The appellation is called Getariako Txakolina. It means “the village wine of Getaria.” Now, get this. This wine region has only 201 acres under vine. It is the principal wine region of the Basque Country, one of the smallest in Spain, but the largest in the Basque. It’s crazy. It’s about 25 miles away from San Sebastian — in the Basque region it’s called Donostia — so it has a really big tourist attraction very close to it. This is where tapas are from. This appellation really defines what this wine is to us as an American market. It is mostly white. There’s some rosé, but they’re mostly white. They’re made from the Hondarrabi Zuri variety. They’re made in a way that has a slight fizziness to them. The thing about this area is that everything is about height. The vines were once trained at a great height so that fungi couldn’t get a hold of these grapes, because it’s been such a rainy region. The land itself is very high. It has a significant elevation because it’s right before a mountain range. Because of its fizzy nature, it’s a tradition in this area to pour Txakolina from a great height into the glass to get the fizziness going. Here, they make the most out of the 201 acres under vine that they can, giving us some of it, giving Germany some of it, but giving a lot to themselves. Good on them. I mean it is their village wine, right?

Going west along the coast from Getaria, we run into one of the major cities of the Basque region. It’s called Bilbao. It’s a very industrial city. It’s highly populated. But, surrounding Bilbao, is the Basque country’s second-largest wine region at 144 acres. It’s named after the province that it’s located in, which is called Bizkaia. The name of the DO is Bizkaiko Txakolina, or Txakoli de Bizkaia. Basically, it means “the village wine of this province.” Of course, the province is also called Vizcaya, which is a reference to the Biscay Bay, which is a reference to the Vasco Country, which is a reference to Basque. It’s all interconnected. These vineyards are also just in from the coast. What’s unique about this particular wine region is that it has a predominance of a grape called Folle Blanche. This is a grape derived from Gouais Blanc, which we talked about all the way in the first season. It’s very old-school. Here, they call it Bordeleza Zuria. It’s blended with Hondarrabi Zuri, So the result is a clean, crisp, fizzy white wine with a touch of herbaceousness.

Now, the thing is, with 144 acres, we’re not going to see a lot of this on the American market. If you’re looking for it, you can find it and probably get it delivered to you. But it’s not easy to find. This was the second of the three awarded to the region in 1994. The last of the three we shouldn’t even really talk about, because there’s only 50 acres under vine in the region. It’s south of Bilbao in the Basque Mountains, and it’s still humid there. It doesn’t get above 68 degrees in this part of the Basque country. It’s further south, towards the Ebro River, almost bordering on the northern part of Rioja, and it’s located in the province of Araba, or Álava. This gives name to the DO, which is called Arabako Txakolina, “the village wine of this province.” As usual, they have Hondarrabi Zuri and Hondarrabi Beltza, but they also have a grape called Gros Manseng and Petit Manseg, which are very prominent over the Pyrenees in southwest France. Here, they don’t call them that, of course. It’s the Basque Country. They call Petit Manseng, Iskiriota Tipia and Iskiriota. I’m not going to lie. I’ve never tried these wines. They’re only 50 acres. If anybody knows how to get a bottle from that place, please let me know. I want to try it.

So, that is the Basque region. That is the wine made there. That is Txakolina, the village wine of the Basque region. We’re really only going to have the Getariako Txakolina, and it’s going to be clean, fizzy and with bright fruit. It’s always consumed young. It doesn’t matter what the region or DO is for all three of them. These aren’t age-worthy wines. These are wines to be celebrated now. One of the reasons why it’s consumed so much in the region is because it’s enjoyed young, from a height, poured into a glass, made fizzy, paired with tapas.

Oh, man. You’ve got to get into Txakolina, guys. It’s awesome, and it’s around. The rosé is very cool. You get that little hint of pepperiness because Hondarrabi Beltza can have that little Cab Franc thing that I said. I have this idea: Cab Francs from this area. Huh. OK, I’m going to digress, but you get a little bit of a peppery note from the Hondarrabi Beltza in the rosés from Txakolina. Guys, enjoy.

Oh, and that 2010 party I went to? If you can find Txakolina in a keg, it’s awesome. It’s not as traditional as pouring from a great height from a bottle, but pouring from a great height from a keg hose makes it a little easier to get into the glass. OK, I’ll talk to you guys next week.

@VinePairKeith is my Insta. Rate and review this podcast wherever you get your podcasts from. It really helps get the word out there.

And now, for some totally awesome credits. “Wine 101” was produced, recorded, and edited by yours truly, Keith Beavers, at the VinePair headquarters in New York City. I want to give a big ol’ shout-out to co-founders Adam Teeter and Josh Malin for creating VinePair. Big shout-out to Danielle Grinberg, the art director of VinePair, for creating the most awesome logo for this podcast. Also, Darbi Cicci for the theme song. Listen to this. And I want to thank the entire VinePair staff for helping me learn something new every day. See you next week.

Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity.

The article Wine 101: Txakolina appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/wine-101-txakolina/

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justherefortaylorswift · 6 years

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there’s glitter on the floor after the party...

Taylor,

*About 9 days ago, on May 22nd, 2018, I had just arrived home from your Seattle show at CenturyLink Field. It was 4am and I couldn’t sleep. I had so much on my mind and was still on a high from your show. So, in the early hours of the morning, after my friends had long gone to bed, I began to write. I’ve revised my original note quite a bit since then. I’ve also had the opportunity to do some additional reflecting since tour, and I have some thoughts. So, I guess this is the end-result of a mash-up of 4AM overly-emotional rambling, combined with well thought-out, fully coherent, mature writing. I feel like I really over-explained this. I could have been a lot less-awkward in setting this up. Let's just get into it:

[SO. I just got home from your Seattle show. It's 4 am and I can't sleep. This was my 6th tour, and I made what seems like an infinite amount of unforgettable memories with a group of incredible people I call my ‘Swiftie Fam” (the name needs work...). There's Cecil (my long-time, Canadian Swiftie friend, you’ll see him in earlier posts), Wanda (Cecil’s wife), Kaeden (7. Cecil & Wanda’s son. Major Swiftie. His first concert!), and finally the beautiful Maile (a recent addition to the fam, and now a life-long friend!). It’s hard to explain in words, but we all have developed a connection that’s special and unique because of what we experienced together. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to stand by my side tonight. We danced, laughed, and cried together… I don’t think I’ve ever felt more understood. These people ‘get’ me.

Not surprisingly, I screamed every single lyric at the top of my lungs and subsequently lost my voice almost IMMEDATIELY. With that in mind, I suppose a more accurate description would be: I wasn’t so much singing, as I was gasping for the remainder of the show. I literally danced with until I was out of breath. I cried (ok, SOBBED) all of my make-up off (a Long Live/NYD mash-up… are you kidding me?! I FEEL ATTACKED).

By the end of the night, I resembled a pathetic, overly-emotional, glittery, drowned rat.

and I was living my absolute best life.

Also, I was REALLY proud of our outfits this time around! I think we did a decent job of recreating your Direct TV commercial, with my rainbow two-piece, and Cecil’s interpretation of Olivia Benson dressed as a Caticorn (I can’t say I ever thought I’d use that in a sentence). It consisted of around 8-10 hours total of gluing, painting, and hand-sewing, leading up to the show. Everything turned out awesome, way better than expected. Totally worth the man hours! Wanda hand-made matching these adorable matching t-shirts for her and little Kaden (Big Rep & Little Rep), and Maile constructed a beautiful MASTERPIECE from the mountain LYWMMD outfit- it was freakin’ incredible and HOT!

There was something a bit different about this tour for a couple of reasons:

[The production.] I don’t think I’ve experienced such sensory-overload in my LIFE. The whole time it was like a constant stream of frantic, internal dialogue with a lot of run-on sentences, like, “WHAT IS HAPPENING SHE’S GIVING US CHOREO OMG YAAASSS WERK HONEY IF A MAN TALKS SHIT WE DON'T OWE HIM A DAMN THING OH MY GOD ITS RAINING CONFETTI I MUST COLLECT IT I HOPE THESE MULTI-COLORED FLASHING LIGHTS DON’T GIVE ME AN EPILEPTIC ATTACK WHERE THE F-CK DID THESE GIGANTIC SNAKES COME FROM THERE ARE LITERALLY STAGES EVERYWHERE I’M OVERWHELMED OH SHIT SHES PULLING A SPEAK NOW BY WALKING THROUGH THE CROWD WHAT'S GOING ON OH GOD F-CKING FIREWORKS THESE VOCALS ARE LIT THO I'M SWEATING I’M DEFINITELY GONNA NEED THERAPY AFTER THIS NEW YEARS DAY/LONG LIVE MASH UP IS THAT A FOUNTAIN WHATS HAPPENING OH GOD IT’S REAL WATER AND SHE’S IN THE FOUNTAIN I’M HAVING A 2008 SHOULD’VE SAID NO ACM AWARDS FLASHBACK MOMENT HOLY SH-T MORE F-CKING FIREWORKS SO MUCH PYRO IS THIS EVEN LEGAL” I’ve gotta say, you have BEST band (Paul, Amos and Mike..OGS), vocalists (Eliott and Kamilah…the TALENT), and all the dancers. Every single person on that stage was on FIRE, and their talent, passion, and individual personalities made the night sparkle.

[The fans.] I freaking adore this fan culture. I’ve never met a Swiftie who wasn’t ridiculously friendly, welcoming, and super relatable. The vibe was so positive. I’ve never smiled, waved and taken pictures with so many random strangers in my life. It felt as if we were literally in a different world that day. It felt like home.

[YOU!.] We need to talk about this major GLO UP you’ve got going on, honey. You exude SO much confidence and you're just pure sunshine. When I think about the way you’ve carried yourself these past couple of years through all of the BS drama, I can’t help but feel damn proud. You’ve successfully converted pain into art, into music. Real music, that’s poignant, raw, and just BAD ASS. Your lyrics continue to foster a special connection you maintain with the audience...a connection that often times breathes life into brokenness.

I felt like the luckiest girl in the entire world tonight.

This may have been my best concert experience ever, which is actually pretty ironic because:

Unlike Red, I wasn’t in the Pit

I didn’t have VIP seating, like 1989

You weren’t close enough for any potential high fives, waves, or eye contact like I experienced at Speak Now at B-Stage

We were not chosen for Rep Room (or T-Party, Club Red, or Loft 89)

…But, it was OK. It was way more than OK. It was truly a dream.

Listen: Something I've always deeply admired about you is that you make it a priority to maintain a personal relationship with the fans. It’s clear you want to meet as many of us as possible, and you make a conscious effort to do so. You get to know us as individuals and you CARE, and that means everything us and makes such an impact. I mean, you invite us into your HOME for crying out loud, you walk through massive crowds and give high-fives, you lurk our Instagrams and Tumblrs and interact on social media, and you always make a notable effort to meet as many of us as possible at tour.

However, this can sometimes turn into a bit of a "Catch 22" situation for people. The downside, is that it’s honestly SUPER easy to fall into the “trap” of being consumed with the possibility of meeting you after your shows. Due to the fact that the “selection” process is both intentional, yet also random. To be transparent, it's quite difficult to not obsess with the idea of ‘trying’ to get chosen. I witness this behavior so often, in others and in myself just as much, if not more. Selfishly, I often feel not only jealous, but UPSET when I see photos/read experiences of other fans meeting you. I sometimes feel like the only one who hasn’t yet gotten the opportunity. It can quickly turn into a mind-game if you're not careful, which has the potential to become toxic if we allow the idea of meeting you to rule supreme over what it's actually about...which is the MUSIC. And, this amazing show you put on for us night after night. And somewhat understandably so, I've witnessed the obsession with being chosen to meet you become a main focus point for a lot of us (including myself a bit!). It's pretty stressful, and can easily dampen or cheapen the concert experience, if you're not careful. As dramatic as this probably sounds, Tumblr (and social media) can be brutal within this fandom, and dare I say ‘cut-throat’ at times. It's easy to get upset watching (what seems like) literally EVERYONE get that opportunity, except you.

That said, I had a wake-up call/mini-epiphany recently, which manifested while driving home from your show at Midnight on May 22nd with my friends, feeling so amazing and so grateful for what I just experienced…but also a little guilty because I feel like I’ve spent way too much time worrying about the possibility of meeting at you when you come to Seattle, how to get the attention of Taylor Nation, where to find Mama Swift, getting that guitar pick from Papa Swift, and this time was no different. Granted, my intentions are 100% pure and it’s only because you’ve meant so freakin much to me for so many years, and it's almost as if my life won’t be complete until I finally get to tell you in person. That said, there is certainty a valuable lesson to be learned here. I am confident that you and I will come face-to-face one day (hopefully with my Swifie fam!). The stars will align at the exactly the right time, and I will have my moment with you, and it will be SO worth the wait. You can't "force" stuff like this, you know? The privilege of meeting you is almost ‘sacred’ in a sense. At least in my opinion. Anyway, my point is: I refuse to a continue to attempt to “create fate” by attempting to "earn" my worthiness in fandom. It’s not productive, it's not healthy, and it’s not cute.

Alright, this is getting out of hand. I need to wrap this up. 🤣 I’m not sure whether or not you’ve seen any of my throwback photo-posts I posted the week leading up to the show. They definitely explain a lot more about me, and my history being a fan. Either way, I must reiterate how grateful I am to have you in my life, and that support you 100% and will always be here. The amount of hope, joy and comfort you've given me over the past 10+ years is insurmountable, and I'll never be able to repay you for that. And I mean that in the most sincere way. Not a lot of things make me as happy as you make me (especially lately). This experience was the ‘boost’ I needed, I think. And like I said, the relationship I have with my friends/Swiftie Fam is invaluable, and I look forward to making memories with them at your shows in the future. You’ve brought the most random group of people together and created a bond that’s unique, unconditional and unbreakable, and I think that’s so cool.

This was A LOT longer than I originally intended it to be. This escalated quickly. Haha. Thanks for listening. 💗

Don’t read the last page…]

Love you, T

Crystal

@taylorswift

@taylornation

@ceunit

@maileswiftie

[photos]: 1) The whole crew: Cecil, Wanda, Kaeden, Maile and myself at our seats. 2) Kaeden the night before the show. SO EXCITED!! 3) Testing out the Caticorn onesie w/ Cecil 4) Cecil and myself FULLY DECKED and ready to go. 5) Wanda and Kaeden: Big Rep & Lil’ Rep! 6) the girls! Maile, Wanda and Me pre-show 7) Us at the end of the show! And yes, that’s me in the middle..in disbelief, exhausted, sweaty, and a physical and emotional wreck (see also: ‘drowned rat’ description above). 8) All of us after the show literally in a hotel lobby (and glitter on the floor after the party!), waiting for traffic to die down before we headed home.

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mosaicbroknhearts · 6 years

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Emily, I'm here to talk you about Red. Seeing as that I've come to the realization that Red is my favorite Taylor record, I've pretty much figured out why it's her best album. First off, it's the album I listen to the most, especially when I'm in the mood to listen to her earlier music. It gets more plays than Speak Now, tbh, and that's saying something. Second, 60% of my top 5 Taylor songs are from Red (All Too Well, The Last Time and Everything Has Changed are the ones)

Third, because I’m older now and have gotten used to her changing her sound, I love the versatility that RED has. Besides, I understand now that artists need to take risks at some point in their career. The fact that Taylor did that is something I can respect. Fourth, the lyrical content of this album is not only strong and cathartic, but more mature too. Even though I love the other 3 albums, and the lyrics were still great, but they had a fairytale/movie trope mindset to it. The notion of love that she portrays on Red shows you that love isn’t all fairytales, and that allows her to be more raw and vulnerable. Fifth, she explores different concepts and perspectives, but still maintains her sense of self. She sang those catchy pop songs (WANEGBT, IKYWT, 22), but also maintained that confessional songwriting she was known for. She explored genres like pop, rock, and folk, but still kept the country roots. She was maturing on this album, but still maintained her youth. I also love how on RED, she explored a wide array of different emotions and they were all on the extreme ends of the positive/negative spectrum. I really feel like the lyrics “we are alone with our changing minds” and “we’re happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time” sum up the album as a collective whole. I realize I flooded your ask with so many questions, but I needed to get this all out of my system. RED is flawless.

Ohhh my god why is this the most perfect description of red I’ve ever seen?!?! Like, yes! This is it exactly! I don’t even know how to respond because you’ve done such a good job putting it into words. I’ve always viewed Red as the “I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but I just went through a breakup and I’m in my 20′s and these are all of my feelings” and she somehow took that exact place in life and turned it into a musical masterpiece. People always praise 1989 as her riskiest album because it was her first time going full pop, and it was a huge risk, but people forget that she started really getting into the pop charts during the red era, somehow she was capable of jumping from songs like all to well and treacherous to 22 and we are never ever getting back together. It’s just such an emotional album, even on the less lyric heavy pop tracks. It has everything I love about Taylor, beautiful lyrics, real and raw emotions straight from her heart, iconic bops and a deep meaning to every single little piece of it. Speak now and red both are albums that she put together simply because it was the way she wanted it, she experimented and tried new things and didn’t care about fucking sonic cohesion, she just poured her heart out and gave us what she wanted to give us and that’s what makes them such special albums, but for me Red is like a much more mature and realistic speak now. It’s like you said, she realized that fairytales and love aren’t always what they seem and life is weird and complicated and not everything is black and white and that’s what I love about it. Taylor’s always had a way of using her albums as a form of storytelling, depicting exactly what she’s going through at that time in her life, but I think Red is her last album that fully and completely did that without glossing over things. 1989 was the clean, pop perfection people wanted from her where she wrote about her experiences, but kept things neat and clean, with a pretty little bow tied around them. She’s dropped that slightly with reputation and she’s opening up more than she did with 1989, but even now she tends to be less specific and less like “here’s exactly what happened word for word” and even when she does start to go down that road now there’s this air of mystery around it (hence the lack of secret messages). Anyways, yes, red is her best album and I loved every word of this. I’m still waiting for another album as raw and beautiful as it was and I’m really hoping she goes back to that type of storytelling in her music with her next album. Now that she’s released her “fuck ya’ll” album I’m hoping she goes back to her roots with TS7.

#taylor swift #red #Anonymous

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