REVIEW: Taylor Swift "Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology" // New Music

Hello, friends, and welcome back to the channel. In this week's video, I am doing something I have never done at The Dark Stuff...I'm reviewing a Taylor Swift album!
I pride myself on being open minded about music, and my "taste" is not so easily defined. Sure, you could generally say I lean toward "indie" music, but I grew up on hair metal! Taylor Swift is probably the most successful musical artist of the 21st century. She's something of a cultural phenomenon. That is how I have always viewed her -- as part of pop culture. But I've never really given an extended, serious listen to any of her albums. Until now...
No spoilers, of course, other than to say that the album was not what I was expecting. If, for some reason, I accidentally call the album 'Tortured Poets Society' it's because of the movie, 'Dead Poets Society.' In my brain, I keep merging the two titles.
Here's the Hüsker Dü song I referenced in the video: • Green Eyes
Please like this video and subscribe to the channel if you have not already done so. Thanks.
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For nearly two decades, your buddy Dave has hosted a weekly radio show in Omaha called 'New Day Rising' which airs every Sunday afternoon from 2-4pm CST on KIWR, 89.7 FM - streaming at www.897theriver....
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00:00 Hello
02:27 Ryan Adams version of 1989
03:36 How I got 'Tortured Poets Department'
05:13 General Impressions of the Album
07:57 The songs of 'Tortured Poets Department'
13:47 Final Thoughts
#taylorswift #albumreview #newmusic #vinylcommunity

[@ShelleyMika-vm8it]

Great episode, Dave! It’s cool to hear you discuss music outside of The Dark Stuff norm.

[@Thedarkstuff]

Awww. Thanks!

[@lostmixtapes]

Whoa…Green Eyes. Love cats too and have two of them, but I had no idea that’s what the song was about. Appreciate what you said about not needing to know about the drama behind the songs of an artist. At the same time that seems like what she’s about. She seems to encourage it on some level. Great review/approach. I’ve been meaning to check out the regular/shorter version of the record.

[@Thedarkstuff]

She may encourage it to an extent, but at her level of celebrity, anyone she interacts with becomes newsworthy. It would be so difficult to be THAT famous.

[@lostmixtapes]

@@Thedarkstuff I would hate being that famous. Wilco level would be ok.

[@liangel23]

I think this is a good review for a non fan and im so happy you listened without any preset notions, as i think there is a real stigma in the media about people who listen to her music! I know you werent really concentrating on the lyrics, I think her music is hugley about the lyrics, so this is probably where you feel the album floated whereas swifties love the small details, lyrics, dates, locations. I am a huge lyric lover and because this album is literally poetry, this is the main aspect of the storytelling. I hope your subscribers give the album a go! I love recommendations for any new music with great lyrics too, im not fussed about the genre! I love mostly Sam Fender, white lies, chapell roan, boy genius and grew up around my dad playing Bob Dylan!

[@Thedarkstuff]

Thanks so much for the kind words. I guess it wasn't that I wasn't concentrating on the lyrics, it's that I didn't want to get too deep on interpretation of their meaning. I've gone down that road in reviews before, and I prefer to just describe a general feel, vibe, or idea. Hopefully, that makes sense. Love boy genius! Great band, and all three are great individually. Thanks, again, for watching the video and leaving a comment.

[@blasty290]

I'm not a fan of TS by any means, but when she first started getting popular, there was a big uptick in girls and young women wanting to learn to play the guitar. In my opinion, she can (rightfully) take credit for getting people interested in using actual musical instruments in an era where most of what young people are hearing on the radio is computer generated with a flashy stage show. I was surprised at the time to hear that Ryan Adams covered 1989, but since then, he has covered full albums by Bruce Springsteen and Oasis. There are also a couple of covers of Bob Mould songs that are just fantastic. Both available to watch on KZbin.

[@Thedarkstuff]

Interesting. I may have to look into those Mould covers. Agreed on what you said about TS inspiring young girls -- always a positive.

[@blasty290]

@@Thedarkstuff Look for "Black Sheets Of Rain" and "Heartbreak A Stranger"

[@jessem470]

This was a spot on review or I am on board with everything you said . Chris Tennant of Pet Shop Boys had a pretty good take on TS now and the music is less relevant than the a t of being a fan I do like the fact that kids are picking up instruments and these a good gateway songs Hopefully those kids develope in next generation of music makers and also look back at some artists TS shouts out like Patti , Joni , Stevie etc Album is too long but i am glad it exists If it didn’t i wouldn’t know Spacemoth

[@Thedarkstuff]

She is good gateway music, as you say. However, in the 8 or so years between albums of hers that I have heard, she has shown remarkable growth as an artist. I'm not the biggest fan, obviously, but who knows what kinds of stuff she will be making in 10-15 years.

[@VinylPotato]

I haven't listened to this yet. Sounds interesting but I don't like long albums. I may check out the condensed version. Have you listened to the new Beyonce album? It's pretty great.

[@Thedarkstuff]

I'd definitely try the shorter version of the album. I have not listened to the new Beyonce, nor really any of them. She's almost in that same category of artist like Taylor who is such a part of pop culture that it becomes the only way I see her. I did like Destiny's Child a little back in the day.

[@justwonder1404]

I'm starting to think the only ones who we should listen to about Tayor Swift are those who don't know anything about her life and don't care. To hear just an opinion about the music was more soothing than I expected.

[@Thedarkstuff]

Thanks so much.

[@n0s0luti0n]

I enjoyed your review. Most of what I listen to is extreme metal, but I started listening to Taylor Swift years ago by hearing it from my wife. I consider myself a fan. I enjoy the new album but 31 songs (with a lot of them being quite similar) is too much. I definitely prefer the regular version of 16 songs. I like that the most popular artist in the world is a songwriter that produces meaningful music, even if I don't like all of it. Cheers Dave!

[@Thedarkstuff]

Agreed. I wish I had started with the shorter version, but regardless, I have a new appreciation of what she does.