Everyone knows who Taylor Swift is, whether it’s from the hit “Cruel Summer” or “Blank Space”. The media likes to portray her music as “breakup music,” but did you know that she only has two “breakup” albums? Her award-winning album Red, and her most recent album, The Tortured Poets Department.
Swift’s fans, famously known as “Swifties,” have been excited about The Tortured Poets Department since it was announced at the 2024 Grammys. From the beginning, everyone knew it was going to be a breakup album about her ex-boyfriend of six years, Joe Alwyn.
The day before the album was released, Swift announced that the lead single was going to be “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone. If you aren’t a ‘Tortured Poet’ like Swift, you may not know what a fortnight is! A fortnight is a period of two weeks, and the context she uses it is, “And for a fortnight there, we were forever.” I believe that she meant for two weeks, she thought her relationship was going to last forever, like when you are in a honeymoon phase.
Swift is famous for giving her fans little Easter eggs, and one that Swifties noticed is that Swift has been showing the number two a lot. It turns out that she was plotting a double album! At 2 am, Swift released: The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology with fifteen additional songs. Swifties were full of enjoyment!
Before this album, Swift had only released country and pop albums, but The Tortured Poets Department is labeled as synth-pop. Her producer, Jack Antonoff, is famous for producing more pop/synth music.
When I first heard the album, I was immediately in love. The song “So Long London” is my current favorite. It has a very solemn mood to it and the lyrics are very personal. The beginning sounds like wedding bells which adds an almost mysterious tone to the rest of the song.
Even though fans would love a tour for The Tortured Poets Department, I don’t believe she will do a tour for the album while she is currently on the Eras Tour. A new theory Swifties have been sharing on TikTok is the possibility of a new section on the Eras Tour. There are currently ten sets in her three-and-a-half-hour show, but we now know anything is possible with Swift!
Overall, I believe that this is one of Swift’s most poetic and personal albums. How do you feel about it?