@casually cruel Speak Now is absolutely a masterpiece but it tells us about Teenage Taylor. But RED, Lover, Folklore shows her transformation into a mature adult who accepts her mistakes, her life. Agghhhh I can't even tell you how proud I am of Taylor for the transformation. She's an inspiration.
The thing that catches my attention the most is that people say it's too boring, too sad, too simple. But these simple ballad songs carry messages that make you feel in a special sort of way, and that is something that some other artist with this big production will struggle to make you feel, to put you in that position. And I think that's why Taylor occupies a place in the industry. It's story telling. That's what I love the most ❤️
What you mean by people is a few locals on twitter who only listen to pop/hip-hop garbage. General public loves it too (80+ million streams on global spotify). Even so many celebrities praised it. Not to mention the critical acclaim it gets. Folklore is the best. Yet.
Right? I mean sure bop songs are nice but sometimes you just want to chill and listen to slow songs. With bop and high energy songs, they sometimes rely heavily on the tune and not so much on the lyrics. This is a nice and refreshing album which I think fits perfectly given the situation these days.
yes! that’s what i think, it’s not like any other album for anyone to say that, it doesn’t try to be the best in charts or numbers, it’s just something else. it’s pure art and that’s what i love about it.
This woman honestly breaks my brain. The amount of talent and the intelligence she has when it comes to making music (and just in general) is unbelievable. How she always reinvents herself and can be brilliant in all these different genres is beyond me. There’s just no one like her. 🧡🧡🧡
I understand why people wish there was an upbeat song on the album, but it’s not your typical Taylor album so I’m happy there’s no upbeat songs on this album. It makes it more personal and dreamy to me. I feel like I’m entering the deepest parts of her brain and I feel like I’m a part of her listening to this album. I can feel and remember everything she’s saying but I wasn’t even there. She’s forever iconic and above everybody else. It takes me away. I Love it.
We always walked a very thin line feels rushed, because it is. That’s the point. He’s trying to explain himself, rushed, because it’s already too late.
Reading all the comments just makes me so happy🥺🥺😭😭Finally our Taylor is getting the love and praise she deserves. She has always been an amazing songwriter people just loved hating her and judged only her singles. There are so many underrated lyrical wonders on every album.❤❤❤
I completely agree. She has so much nuance and control. And it's so intimate. Aaron Dessner from the National said she sent him ONE vocal take for "peace." That was a one take. Can you believe that? I'm blown away.
@@castlescrumbled98 nope the parallel matches with August In Betty James sings about summer love and she said get in the car In August Inez says- I picked him up in the car,it was just a summer love,he was never mine to lose,all those whispered are you sure? There are a lot of parallels between the songs
In cardigan, she says throughout the whole song that “ when you are young the assume you know nothing, then towards the end she says “I knew everything when I was young”. It gives me such chills. It’s so clever, she’s incredible with her lyrics and story telling.
You should do a video where you dissect the lyrics of Folklore! Personally, I think this is her best album lyrically, and it would be interesting to see your take on the lyrics and the meaning behind them. :)
28:26 ugh, you paused two times during the lines that are important :( “you never gave a warning sign” “I gave so many signes” - call and response at its finest 😁
The artistry behind this album is IMMACULATE! she is at a point of her career where she can do whatever and only care about her fans and her craft. we stan.
Y.E.S. she is the moment. this is her best work to date. i mainly listen to pop only and wasn't expecting this from her but damn this feels like meeting the real singer/songwriter Taylor Swift without any of that pop sensation or country princess title. on my 7th listen now 💖💖 fellow Swifties much love from Vietnam i love y'all (it's midnight here and folklore makes me emotional)
@@heatherwanders7925 i left rep in a motel bar, took the money in the bag and i stole the key, that was the last time she ever saw me. 🗣FOLKLORE is the new supreme 🍂🧣
I cried so hard the “holding your hand through plastic” reminded me of the coronavirus where ppl hug through the plastic walls and i broke down like a child
R&B and HipHop?? Lmfaaooooooo her only “versatility" is various versions of pop, electro-pop, edm, dance-pop 💀💀 the rest is just country/acoustics lmao
This album reminds me of when Ariana Grande’s released sweetener and then thank you next. Both released close together, and each one had their own intense fan base. Taylor gave her fans something they’ve been craving with this album. It won’t please everyone, just as Lover didn’t please everyone. Her artistry can’t be boxed in. There’s something for everyone in her arsenal of albums. She’s unbelievable.
He's faster than Lamborghini, he's serving more than a chef, yes Blake Mclain king of reviewing ENTIRE album. Thank you, this is what we needed. I need a Witness album reaction (Katy's worst era due to so much hate she got, but her best album).
My tears ricochet is my favorite from this album, might even be my all time favorite not sure yet. This album is very different from Taylor’s past music and it’s taken me quite a few listens to get accustomed to it. But I have to say, each time I listen to it it gets better. Her lyricism is really incredible. Also I agree with you in the structure thing, Taylor’s music is usually structured and that helps me a lot because I’m so horrible with remembering melodies and lyrics, but this album has a more free flowing melody. Beautiful, but it’s definitely something that I’m not I’m used yet. I’ve been learning some of my favorites off of the album on the guitar which is what I usually do when Taylor drops an album, and the songs are really hard for me to sing. Taylor’s lower register, actually upper as well are really incredible. I wish I could hit those low and high notes. Her voice has such a nice timbre to it. I really love it, it’s so soothing.
This is exactly why i cannot get used to The Archer because it has a free flowing melody like you said. I think our brains are understanding better with structures and formulas (they feel familiar) that when a song isn’t produced thay way it feels “weird”
I feel the same way. everything you said just aligned with me. Its so interesting how it feels so unpredictable bc there is not a clear distinction between the diff sections.
The sound quality of your album reactions are so crisp and clear through these videos, it's such a treat. You're prolly the only music reactor I know who's done this. Great equipment you've got there. 😆
Who else came back after she won the Album of the Year?! We share the feeling of victory with Taylor. This album, at least in a little way, has lifted us through the pandemic tbh.. very proud!. 🙌🏻
I think your suggestions on more elaborate and textured productions and arrangements would be great on her past three albums (and those suggestions are understandable because you're a producer), but I think this album is intentionally minimally produced. It gives this album a different vibe, and I think the lyrics are the star this time.
Agreed. I'll likely end up putting a lyric breakdown on the Patreon. It's just really difficult to focus on both at the same time though even though they go hand in hand and I had no idea that this album was going to be more lyrically based going into it.
@@BlakeMcLain Yes, I understand. I actually like this reaction with a focus on prod only. Then I'd still watch another one with a focus on lyrics only.
she really deserves the grammy for this one. i personally don’t think the grammy makes or breaks a good album but it would still be amazing to see this masterpiece getting the recognition it deserves by the academy (knowing how her past albums have been paid dust by them)
Yup, these are not those bops that can be easily forgotten when a new one comes in. This album is something you'll hold dearly for years because it's special, warm, and comforting in a weird way... like an old cardigan💕
This album has me experiencing crying at a whole new level, it’s like advanced soul awakening crying and emotions in the words being sung oh my gosh I’m so thankful to be alive the same time as our queen Tay Tay tbh
When I watched ‘my tears ricochet’ I thought to myself ‘i don’t remember this beat at the start’... it was totally your dog’s nails clicking on the floor 😂😂 Pupper has talent! 🥰😂
I'm such a hater of fade-outs too but in this album everything is so on place and cohesive i won't complain. She doesn't do too much with the vocals or with the production through the album so you can focus on the storytelling.
Exile happens to be my favorite song on this list (along with mirrorball) and what you say about fitting in too many syllables "We always walked a very thin line", I wholeheartedly agree. I have studied, played and sung classical music all my life, so I appreciate structure and form as well and the sudden hurried words always seem a little awkward to play or hear. But the lyrics, vocal contrast, build up, production & music are so on point that after a couple of following lines, it goes back to being one of the most hauntingly beautiful & soothing songs that I've ever heard.
Blake please never take your album reactions down. These are my comfort videos and I’ve probably rewatched your reaction to folklore 5 times. I don’t know what I would do without these album reactions 😭😭😭
To me lover is the day, Taylor even said the album was going to be called “Daylight” and then, consistent with what lots of people have said folklore is like a rainy afternoon
So by that logic: Taylor Swift - First sunrise Fearless - First morning Speak Now - Noon Red - Afternoon 1989 - Sunset Reputation - Night Lover - Second sunrise Folklore - Second morning
YES! So glad someone has this same opinion. It's literally the best song lyrically, musically, emotionally - everything, on the album. It's the best song I've heard released in the past, like, 30 years.
Taylor said that there are 3 songs that are connected in the album. The songs are from the perspective of the people in a romantic triangle. Cardigan is from the perspective of Betty. Betty is from the perspective of James. And August is from the perspective of the woman James cheated on Betty with.
@@WElppp the New York Times review was not a review of the album, the writer simply criticized Taylor's personal life and Sputnik basically said it must be a bad album because she is a pop singer and should not do other genres. It frustrates me, the partiality of some writers or magazines, not sympathizing with her is fine but it turned into a chase against a genuine album
@@poetryhurts true... seriously those NYT and sputnik reviews are basically witch-hunting the artist not the art. I really hopes the incoming reviews will put back folklore in at least 90 mark.
I don't hear any pop sound except a subtle one on Betty, but even that sounds just like All Too Well. Folklore sounds like old country Taylor but it's not country, more of INDIE FOLK sounds and I am beyond ecstatic!!! Epiphany and Peace are important songs to which feels like an ode to health workers and #blacklivesmatter. My favorite right now would be Exile, gaining only a few points more than The Last Great American Dynasty because of Bon Iver, but what resonates with me the most is Mad Woman. (Figures! 😂) This is one of the most cohesive albums ever written.
@@annabelcrescibene4257 yup, they NME already put it under the alternative umbrella and people are so negative about it asn if the scope of the "alternative" genre is only limited to rock bands 🙄🙄🙄
@@jeremyheartriter2.063 yup... it's the harmonica or whatever that instrument they play at the back. Also, i cannot get this song out of my head right now!!!
OMG love how you picked the raindrop imagery from the instrumentation on Illicit Affairs! The lyric video accompanying the song features a rainy scene as well and that's exactly what they were going for. That was so sharp and quick man
As always, I like watching your reactions, but I’d highly recommend simply pulling up all the lyrics and re-listen because I feel like the album’s crown is the tapestry of words that she weaves in it. She has never weaved like this before, using threads borrowed from others’ stories, using needles that is half sharp-rooted in reality, and half plucked out of auburn trees in her imagination. Not underplaying the technical aspects of it, of course, but this is a total headphone & lyric booklet kinda album at least to me. Just cozying up in your favorite corner and immersing yourself in it, letting the stories steer you into a territory that if she put out traditionally pop elements in it, wouldn’t have worked. An uptempo dancey track would have felt like such a buzzkill, imo, but Invisible String comes close to me. It’s my favorite off the project and it’s such a wedding dance classic in the making.
There is a fan theory that Joe Alwyn co-wrote Betty and Exile, because the person she credited, William Bowery, does not seem to exist. Not only that, but William is Joe's great-grandfather's name, and Bowery is the name of one of the places they first started spending time together at. She's been known to use pseudonyms that leave clues before, so this isn't too far out there.
based on a recent interview, there's another theory that william bowery is harry styles edit: elaboration & explanation- this one has less “evidence” but makes more sense: so the recent interview that the national gave told Rolling Stones (I think it was rs I’m not sure) that William Bowery is a songwriter, but they don’t know who (probably based on an NDA) and so based on that another famous william’s got a brother named Harry (it’s a stretch) it could be Harry Styles as they seem to be on good terms and have been rumored to have written songs together when they were together.
the fact that William Bowery is an anagram for "wow I'm really bi" and Bon Iver's initials being the only ones capitalized on the album really knocked it out of the park for me
Folklore album is like the jewel of all albums of Taylor. The Lyrics, words, Poetry and Story telling was absolutely a masterpiece to listen to. Who knew that writing with depth can be so moving combined with sound that is nostalgic.
I love your videos so much, because they really make me listen to songs in a different way. You point out things I never would’ve noticed otherwise and that just adds another layer to them and makes them even more interesting, so thank you :)
This actually became my fav ts album. Though the tracks are not as catchy as her old albums, the lyrics of this album is so romantic and I really love that. I can even feel the love when I heard these song, it’s great that she really found THE ONE.
@@hitiras489 I usually have to take a few listens to songs and albums before actually enjoying them but this whole album just felt so perfect and so, so beautiful. I loved it as soon as I'd listened to it. It's so interesting watching her grow as an artist. I adore her and I'm so glad to know what I know about music so I can fully appreciate the art she makes. What's your favourite song?
YES!, because I love listening to indie bands, and most of them sounds like this. I'm totally shookt that this is the sound of her new album, and I'm totally loving this fresh and melancholic style💕
My favorite album of hers, and I'm learning so much from this video. I often listen to music and I'm enthralled with it, yet I don't know what draws me in about it. You breaking the production down is so captivating to me. Thank you for being your wonderful self 💕
I still don't understand how she is so smart like she as always had her amazing ability to write lyrics, but I feel like she took it to the next level with this album
It's the device he's using. If you use it on your phone, it's not meant to have the strongest sound, but I'm assuming he has a computer meant for this stuff with excellent speakers.
I guess he has an audio interface like apogee quartet with studio monitors.. and that helps if you pair it with spotify premium full quality or apple music basically its high res audio
This is alternative album. Maybe that's why her vocal doesn't shows much in this album,becuz most alternative album more focus on the songwriting than the vocal projection like Lana, Lorde,Billie, Marina & Diamond also Melanie Martinez.
I love how you used the whole sunset to night to morning to day analogy with her albums, it’s a great way to put it and I think I’ll use that in the future ☺️