[Music: ‘Down Bad’ by Taylor Swift]
IN FEBRUARY, FRESH OFF HER HISTORIC ERAS TOUR, TAYLOR SWIFT ANNOUNCED HER UPCOMING ALBUM: “THE TORTURED POET’S DEPARTMENT.” ON APRIL 19TH, AT MIDNIGHT, SWIFT RELEASED HER 11TH STUDIO ALBUM.
IN THE EARLY HOURS OF THE RELEASE, AS WITH MANY OF SWIFT’S ALBUM RELEASES, HER FANS, KNOWN AS SWIFTIES, REPOSTED THEIR FAVORITE SONGS TO SOCIAL MEDIA SITES, LIKE X AND INSTAGRAM.
SAM NIEMI, A THIRD YEAR IN MCCORMICK, SPOKE ABOUT HER REACTION TO THE ALBUM’S RELEASE AND WHAT SHE THINKS IT MEANS FOR THE ARC OF TAYLOR’S CAREER.
IN A DISCLAIMER, SHE CALLED HERSELF A TAYLOR SWIFT FAN BUT HESITATED IN REFERRING TO HERSELF AS A “SWIFTIE.”
[SAM NEIMI] I don’t know if I have the authority to call myself a Swiftie. I feel like someone who’s been indoctrinated as a Swiftie would need to make that call for me.
NIEMI SAYS THAT SHE AND HER FRIEND TEXTED ABOUT THE ALBUM ON FRIDAY. HER FRIEND GAVE HER SOME RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT SOME OF THE SONGS.
[SN] One [song] that she said was kind of funny, that reminded her of me was “Down Bad” because there’s a line where she’s like, “I’m down bad [crying] at the gym.” She [her friend] was like, Oh, you’ve been down the gym.
ANOTHER ONE OF NIEMI’S FAVORITE SONGS ON THE ALBUM IS “WHO’S AFRAID OF LITTLE OLD ME?”
[SN] I don’t know if it was on purpose, but she totally belts the song, and the lyrics are kind of juvenile, but it’s a very mature voice singing it, so I thought that was interesting. It’s also one of those things where it was like she wrote this with the intention of it being listened to in a car blasting with the windows down and I love songs like that.
NIEMI BELIEVES THAT “TORTURED POETS” IS SIMILAR TO SWIFT’S LAST ALBUM “MIDNIGHTS,” WHICH WAS RELEASED IN 2023, FOR WHICH SHE WON ALBUM OF THE YEAR AT THE GRAMMYS.
EVEN THOUGH SHE BELIEVES THESE TWO ALBUMS ARE SIMILAR, IT DOESN’T MEAN THAT’S A BAD THING.
[SN] I would say that saying that this album is same old, same old is like a same old, same old take. I just don’t think that’s a particularly interesting and nuanced analysis of the album.
AN ALBUM RELEASE DOESN’T COME WITH ITS FAIR SHARE OF CRITICS, ESPECIALLY AFTER ACHIEVING THE LEVEL OF FAME AS TAYLOR SWIFT. BUT NIEMI BELIEVES IT IS NOT NECESSARILY WARRANTED.
[SN] It’s really easy to pick on her and say, like, Oh, she’s dropped this new album. There were clips of people reacting at the Grammys when she announced the album. She was like, thanks for letting me win this; by the way, another one’s coming. Oh, everyone’s so upset about it. It’s like, no, I don’t think they are.
[SN] Is it the most original thing I’ve ever heard? Is it a complete 180 from her style? No, but I don’t think anyone really expected it to be.
THE ALBUM IS ALSO FILLED WITH PLENTY OF POSSIBLE REFERENCES TO HER REAL-LIFE RELATIONSHIPS, SWIFT HAS BEEN KNOWN TO ALLUDE TO PREVIOUS ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS IN HER OTHER ALBUMS. HER SONG “ALL TOO WELL” IS WIDELY SUSPECTED TO BE ABOUT ACTOR JAKE GYLLENHAAL. AS MANY FANS HAVE SPECULATED OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS, ESPECIALLY ON TIKTOK.
[SN] Her and Joe Alywn broke up. So I think that this album was very anticipated.
ONE OF THE MOST DISCUSSED RELATIONSHIPS OVER THE PAST YEAR HAS BEEN HER WITH KANSAS CITY CHIEFS TIGHT END TRAVIS KELCE, WHO NIEMI, AS A FAN OF BOTH, BELIEVES THE RELATIONSHIP IS GOOD FOR SWIFT.
[SN] I said that when she broke up with her other boyfriend, that wasn’t this one. One of them. One of like, the artsy ones. But I said that I said that this girl needs an athlete. And I was right.
NIEMI SAYS SHE HOPES NOT TO SEE A POST-TRAVIS KELCE ALBUM IN THE FUTURE.
[SN] I think I’m gonna stay right and they’re gonna get married and live happily ever after and they’re gonna say thank you so much, Sam Niemi, for having faith in us.
[Outro music: “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me” by Taylor Swift]
FOR WNUR NEWS, I’M AMELIA DONHAUSER.
