America’s beloved singer, Taylor Swift, has released a new album release titled THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT which came out on April 19, 2024. This soundtrack includes 16 tracks which can be anticipated as one of her gloomy albums such as her previous album folklore, but also somewhat upbeat like reputation. Along with this album release, she includes a double in which she titles it THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY. She has been actively posting, along with a music video release of her song “Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)” that was released on the same day, many hours later. The second album consists of 31 songs that expand beyond the regular album. These are the following songs of TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT:
Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)
The Tortured Poets Department
My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys
Down Bad
So Long, London
But Daddy I Love HIm
Fresh Out The Slammer
Florida!!! (feat. Florence + The Machine)
Guilty as Sin?
Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?
I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)
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I Can Do It With a Broken Heart
The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
The Alchemy
Clara Bow
The Black Dog
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The Albatross
Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus
How Did It End?
So High School
I Hate It Here
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I Look in People’s Window
The Prophecy
Cassandra
Peter
The Bolter
Robin
The Manuscript
This album is one of her greatest creations as her songs can resonate with others, with meaningful lyrics. For example, in her song “So Long, London” she sings “The spirit was gone, we would never come to. And I’m pissed off you let me give you all that youth for free.” This lyric could be anticipated as Swift giving someone her innocence away or her livelihood without receiving something else special in return. Another example would be in “Clara Bow” where she sings “This town is fake, but you're the real thing. Breath of fresh air through smoke rings”. This part could be Swift complimenting someone as if they stand out of darkness. In her longer album, the song “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus” has the lines of “You said some things that I can't unabsorb. You turned me into an idea of sorts''. This emphasizes that this song is telling a story about Swift’s relationship with someone who she cannot remember the name of. Based on the lyrics, it seemed like an unhealthy relationship where the partner was controlling. Many of her songs in this album follow the themes of love whether it’s lovely or gloomy.
On the other hand, her music video “Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)” has been released ever since “You’re Losing Me (From the Vault)” came out. The music video follows a monochromatic setting, where there are multiple scenarios with Swift and Post Malone. In some scenes, you can see Swift in an unconventional patient room and then in a room with Post Malone with typewriters. There are many thematic messages in this song such as unconditional love or defending a loved one.This music video transitions to scenes at a very quick pace, so it may be hard for viewers to absorb what is going on. However, this is a beautiful video that presents many stories in one about love.
People theorize that this album is inspired by Swift’s past relationship with Matty Healy, an English singer-songwriter. With the content that is shown through these double albums, viewers believe that is what Swift truly feels about him after their breakup. Nonetheless, this album is another one of her greatest creations. The concept may be dramatic, but it portrays many beautiful themes.
Image Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.