DEEP DIVE: How Taylor Swift Rose Up From The Dead On Reputation
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- Опубликовано: 11 сен 2024
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this outfit deserves a doctorate in communications due to how it speaks to me on a deep level
Ok good. Im not the only one!
Possibly the best worded compliment I’ve received 😂
@@theswiftologist perhaps you could say III deserve a doctorate in communications for how well i worded that compliment 😌
Reputation isn’t her most successful album but it is undeniably her most important one. It’s the album that saved her career and brought her back to the game. Like you said it’s also heavily underrated by critics and the GP alike. Even from the fans : it’s either their top album (like it is for me) or the worst because it’s just different. But also like you said, there’s not one bad song in that album. They’re all different and even the lyrical content is diverse while being very cohesive at the same time. Personally i love Lover and Midnights even more than 1989 for example, but i agree that from an objective point of view 1989 and Reputation are her only pop albums that can be qualified as perfect
So true! No filler on rep 🤝
Soooooo true. There’s just something about it
YESS REPUTATION STANS RISE
I feel like reputation has now started to get credit it deserved!! Reputation tv will go wild
rep and lover stan forever
finally another dress stan! I’m a late sleeper swiftie, came on after folklore but have worn her entire discography out ever since and i gotta say, I’m attached to rep cause despite supposedly not being “relatable”, the more sincere deep cuts really cut me deep. she doesn’t have to promise us fairytale, or burning heartbreak, or bombastic wildest dreams anymore because pieces like call it what you want, dress, getaway car carry her signature intensity in vague situations that we can all find ourselves in
I'm a dress fanatic
True! Call It What You Want + Dress = Relatable factor to a 100
Wow this was a well-worded comment!
Dress is the undiscovered supermodel
so it goes and new years day😭
I truly don't think new Swifties, or even the general public, can comprehend what the reputation era was like for Swifties at the time. People think folklore was a departure, but that was nothing (and imo really wasn't that far out of the norm) compared to reputation. I think you had to experience the transition from country to pop, to the 2016 downfall, to truly understand just how significant reputation was. Taylor wasn't just reappearing after an extended break, this was her clawing her way back to the top (as we see in LWYMMD video) of superstardom. It may not have been the commercial juggernaut of 1989, but it laid the groundwork for Taylor to go outside of her comfort zone and experiment in ways she never had before, and I think without it we never would have had folkmore, which really revived her reputation in ways no one could have predicted.
I think an interesting future video would be an analysis into Taylor's fans and how she's kept us wrapped around her finger for so long. You kind of touch on it a bit in this video, but I think with Taylor's social media blackout a lot of the things that made us fans of Taylor aren't accessible to people anymore, besides hearing it secondhand from veteran Swifties. There is just SO much lore behind being a Swiftie that gets lost to time, so doing a deep dive into the history could be very interesting!
Please he has to see this and make a video about SwiftUI es
Swifities
Yes!!! Reputation>>>>
I wanna have coffee with this Swiftie ☝️
I vividly remember how everyone in media was really rooting for her to fail before the album had even dropped and even more vividly remember how every single journalist that reviewed the album seemed to have not even listened to it front to back. You need to throw on a pair of binoculars to find the 'revenge' tracks on reputation. It truly felt like we were all rooting for the underdog at that time. "Trauma bond" is the best way to describe it, for real.
A trauma bond is a deep emotional connection between an abuser and their victim that is enforced by a cycle of abuse. Please stop misusing this term. Trauma bonds are seriously dangerous and many people lose their lives before they’re able to escape them. A lot of abusive relationships are trauma bonds. Please educate yourself on what a trauma bond is before misusing it in this manner.
@@kyleemeg2171 shut up. Kanye is literally taylor's abuser
😊
I agree with your message. But it's important to point out that trauma bonds are NOT a phenomena that specifically occurs between an abuser and a victim. Trauma bonds can occur between 2 or more people--regardless of their relation to each other--who have experienced a traumatic event together. @@kyleemeg2171
@@kyleemeg2171as someone who survived a trauma bond: emotional/psychological and physical abuse as well as I understand how they are using the term trauma bond and I am not at all offended by it... Taylor was essentially abused by many people... they stepped on her to get their 5 minutes of whatever? Am I right? Kanye? Kim K? Then the gaslighting? The projecting? The fake apology? Then doing it all over again? Is this not a freaking cycle of abuse? Truly why I LOVE the album Reputation. She took it back and anyone who has been abused can feel a connection to not only this album but Taylor Swift understands this. As a new Swiftie at fifty I related to what she went through and understood how they used the term "trauma bonded". We seen her own trauma play out in the media and we honestly bonded over it. It is what it is and it's not down playing the psychological term whatsoever it's just giving it a different meaning 🫶🏻
I love Reputation. I’m the type of fan whose favorite Taylor album changes constantly, but if Rep may be the album I come back to most. It’s special to me because it’s the first era I was became a Swiftie in instead of a more casual fan. I love it in all of its messiness, its bravado and its vulnerability.
Same!!!!!
omg same !! reputation got me OBSESSED with her lol. i got less interested in her personal life n just focussed on her music with time but nothing will beat the obsession i had at that album LOL
I love rep. There’s just a quality to it that’s so powerful lol. Lover is me like outwardly, Rep is like my alter ego.
“So it goes…” is such a sleeper! Last year when I ran my Spotify through this most-played-of-all-time generator, that’s what came out as my number 1 most listened to song on Spotify ever. Sadly, I don’t think she loves it as much as we do since it never got the love and care it deserved on tour :(
praying for it as a surprise song (on june 17th when i’m going lol)
So it goes LITERALLY bangs
I agree. As a REP stan, it's def in my top half of the album's songs. Even my husband (who likes some of her songs) even has it on his exercise list. I wonder if it's low streamed because she didn't do it on tour. Why are the streams sooooo low?? I once said this about Don't Blame Me and that ended up trending on Tik Tok
it's my most listened song of 2023 as of May
High key agree!!!!!!
Reputation will forever be my favorite era from her, hands down. It's simply ICONIC. It's the antithesis of Fearless in her discography, it put her (back) on the map and on the right track.
as a veteran swiftie, the lead-up to reputation was one of the few times as a taylor fan that i felt true, genuine fear lmao. EVERYONE around me was saying it would flop, her career was dead, she's a snake, etc. etc. and i have to say that while i was not ready to cancel her or give up my fan status, the response/handling of the kimye stuff was... messy. and i was definitely unsure how things would recover and if taylor was truly in the right here. i was in grad school when lwymmd dropped and i vividly remember listening to it for the first time on my way home from one of my night classes and i was literally shaken to my core. shocked. unable to process. rep quickly rose to my number one at the time in my taylor album rankings. shock of the century but i believe in lowercase album title supremacy!
I feel like during rep she learned to set boudaries and learned that its ok to mess up and make mistakes. Rep is my favorite era and album for many reasons but it truly, at least I think holds a deeper meaning, especially what happened before.
💯
same. and same thought. and i'm more of an earlier swiftie.
i think people who loved and related to reputation the most were people (like me) who were also going through something similar at that time period that rep was her active album.
i'm a bit younger than tay by just a few years and i saw the same sentiments of '89-'90 born swifties (same age as her) who were also earlier swifties that loved reputation so much because of how fitting the songs in the album were at that age in their life.
💛💛💛
Even though I am a softcore Taylor Swift fan, and I love the content of your videos, I find myself always coming back to watch you because I find your oratory utterly hypnotizing. Your power of rhetoric is my literal goal
Thank you so much Laura!! I’m honored ❤
THIS!
For me personally, when 1989 hit, I genuinely felt like I couldn’t relate to this new image Taylor was going for. The emphasis on the squad and the way she portrayed herself during that time period just didn’t connect with me during a time when my dad had just passed away, I had no real friends to turn to, and I was in a super toxic relationship with my ex. When Snakegate happened, I was in the middle of one of the lowest points of my life, so Reputation became one of her *most* relatable albums to me and I loved the sort of “bad guy” character she played in a part of my life where my reputation was also completely compromised and I was being portrayed in a light that was very false. I grew up in a poor household, so the Rep tour was my first Taylor concert experience after I’d been saving money like a fiend for months to be able to go and the absolute magnitude of that show and experience will forever be etched in my heart. I’m definitely out of my Rep era now, but it’s a time that I look back on fondly because of Taylor and I can still say that Rep is my favorite Taylor project and probably always will be.
the fit, the thumbnail, the anticipation. its givinggggg
Omg Luke! Hi
I WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND WHY THIS FANDOM HATES SO IT GOES... IT'S SUCH A GOOD SONGGG
I didn't know people hate it.... whatttttt
Another excellent video. I will still remember how I felt when I refreshed my Instagram page and saw that Taylor had posted a green-ish blob flickering on to the screen. And then I went on to her page and saw her posts being deleted one by one…needless to say the girls were shaking, the girls were having seizures…the girls were worried she was hacked! But, ultimately, the girls fell into a deep coma when she released the title of the album. I was digging a grave for myself right next to the old Taylor. The LWYMMD video remains one of my favourite Taylor videos ever. Newer fans probably wouldn’t be fazed by her tongue in cheek and very direct references in that video but for us older fans, it was like whiplash. I genuinely couldn’t believe that she’d included a 2009 Grammy version of herself. I was quaking when she said “bitch”. It was UNPRECEDENTED and sadly I will never experience that amount of whiplash again.
As someone who wasn’t a swiftie during the reputation era, this video definitely caught me up on what I missed. Sounds like the most iconic era to ever exist. Wish I could’ve been a swiftie then, but your channel has informed me so much on her career so it’s all good. But tbh it probably would’ve been difficult to be a swiftie in 2017, so idek. Loved the video as always😊
Thank you for watching!! ❤❤❤
It was! It’s like you couldn’t admit you loved Taylor without everyone saying they hated her sooo much and she was a snake. It reminded me of even earlier back when I was in school (I’m 29 now, been a swiftie since her first album) it wasn’t “cool” to like Taylor Swift. So funny how it is now!!! But I am also very sad you weren’t a swiftie then 😂 because the reputation era was SO iconic. I’ll never forget the way I screamed when those first snake images came up on her IG. I admired her so much for just embracing the idea of being a snake instead of groveling to the people who ‘cancelled’ her. I went to eras two night ago and dressed as Rep because it’s such an ICONIC era, probably my favorite era to experience (but fourth fav album)
I first joined the Taylor swift “community” when reputation came out. I remember that exact moment when I heard ‘look what you made me do’ on the radio. Literally the best moment of my life. After that car ride, I went home, and jumped straight into the Taylor swift rabbit hole. After I found out all the meanings, and hidden secrets, in reputation, I literally became the biggest swiftie ever. Reputation will ALWAYS have a very very special place in my heart.
rep was the first era i experienced as a “swiftie.” and it was definitely the most important album of her career. it saved her from falling into irrelevancy. it was very easy for her to go into a new era like nothing happened, or for her to have played the wounded victim (which she did do,) but instead she responded to the backlash with a character. i think that helped her to not only talk about all of the terrible things that had happened to her in the public eye, but also to talk about her london boy; this new love that she found in the middle of this terrible moment in her career. i also think that keeping the sonic pallet of the album similar to what was going on in the pop stratosphere gave her an extra boost of appeal. obviously, she didn’t get the great reception that rep’s predecessor got, but Taylor was definitely expecting that. she was bound to have criticism after everything that happened before it’s release. you said once that rep was more of an album that she had to make than one that she wanted to make, and that’s a really good way to put it. she needed to come back with a bang, even if it spawned negative criticism, and lwymmd was a great way to do that. in hindsight, rep works as a time capsule, something that we haven’t seen from many other records that came out during this time. it’s aged much better then i thought it would. rep is a excellent body of work, and will live on as one of the defining albums of the 2010’s!🫶🏼
VIDEO IDEA: Although this idea isn't related to this particular video, I've been meaning to request a detailed video on Taylor and Harry's relationship since it is something that still has a lasting effect on Taylor and her music today. I never truly realized how greatly he was the "one that got away" until your Midnights videos/podcast episodes so I would be interested in a relationship timeline/deep dive to learn about it even further 😊
Yeah, a lot of people think it was a very short relationship but I think it has become clear, if you paid attn, that they were on and off for a lot longer. I do think they would have been an unbelievable music power couple but realistically they are all wrong for each other.
YES! We need this to really unpack Question
Yess great idea
Yess pleaseeee
I am so impressed by the quality of all of your videos and obsessed with your nuanced takes, you are so entertaining and smart!!
Thank you so much!!
the fit is such a serve… jobless person who said you only wear dad shirts was just found at ground zero lying face down naked shaking and drooling
Reputation is the album I go to on days I feel like becoming a villain and wanting to pick up fights with everyone I don't like.
i’ve been listening to this album so much recently. it’s definitely one of my favorites. dress and so it goes are the highlights for me. literally some of her best songs.
It’s been heavy on my rotation lately too!
The counting in so it goes makes me lose my mind everytime
You are amazing! So well informed and well spoken. I am a 53 yo mother of 5 who started my journey with Taylor Swift when she released her Folklore album. I have been enjoying learning more about her.
Reputation is the album that made me love her. I do not like country music so she wasn't on my radar prior to this, although I've grown to love Red and 1989, and even some of the earliest stuff. My favourite is Folklore and Evermore, but Reputation will always be my first love.
As someone who has been in the goth scene since the mid-90s, it was the darkness that drew me in. I absolutely love it!!!!
as a rep stan, i agree with everything you said in this video save for the new year’s day part. i think new year’s day really is a highlight of the album and a great album closer, especially for an album that starts out loud and proud and bombastic, the quieter softer end is a beautiful contrast, like a snake who sheds its skin. i also am happy with the fact that rep truly is aging like fine wine with music critics and other fans looking back on it and appreciating what it has to offer. it’s just an album that’s so near and dear to me bcos it’s really been there to comfort me in my most troubling times as well so i kinda relate to it too. great video essay by the way!
The green jacket is amazing, brings out your eyes so much!
I would love to hear your thoughts on Taylor following in Dolly’s footsteps and creating a TS theme park. The possibilities of worlds she could make would be endless. It would certainly be a real “f-ing” legacy to leave.
I’d fucking go so quick
Omg you need to look into the evermore theme park and when she considering making on its so interesting
Omg yes
Sadly I don’t think that would happen because Dolly is so close to Miley Cyrus, I can’t possibly see Dolly doing something like that with Taylor. Dolly created DollyWood in part to give back to the community she grew up in to ensure people could have a sustainable way of life.
@@kickingleaves5122they weren’t saying Dolly would help her, I think they just meant she could be another artist with a theme park
rep is the album i became a swiftie so it has always had a special place in my heart. the iconicness, the badassery, the sexiness, and true vulnerability in the love songs on the record make it so easy to love. also love the lewks from this era 🖤
Can you do a comparison between Taylor’s career now post midnights and what it was during 1989 and if you think she’ll let herself get too big and fall again.
This will be interesting to tackle on @swiftologist
i’ve never found someone who covers pop culture/media so well, love this channel. been here since your Red TV reaction!! keep up the good work:) (congrats on 20k)
Girl, the NYT article about Lover that references reputation as her most experimental work to date (which still hold true today in 2023,) and the quote about Dress in the pitchfork article were both also burned into my brain after I read them for the first time. We love to see it.
Truly mastermind insights
I absolutely adore reputation, it was the first album I owned of Taylor’s it has such a special unique place not only in my heart but in my soul, I could use words like fantastic,brilliant and incredible but they would not do it justice. reputation is just reputation it’s in a category of its own.
I immediately loved LWYMMD and honestly it has climbed even more into my top 5 in recent years. I remember everyone's utter shock with it. I was in shock too but I was so enamored. Long Live Reputation🐍
LWYMMD was CAMP. Polarizing. Ugh. I love it.
Reputation was the first Taylor album that hooked me. There are some real bangers in there which are so catchy. I love how she took a risk to explore new styles of music & the themes are really empowering, not to mention romantic.
Love the outfit!
My favorites on Reputation are 1: Look What You Made Me Do and 2: Don't Blame Me.
I feel like you really missed how the pop girlies (Gaga, Kesha, Miley) were all going very soft and stripped down and she really went the opposite direction which was fun and crazy
Welp, we gotta give credit where credit is due. This was insanely helpful with my music career studies and i agree that timing is everything. Theres so many unforeseeable factors that make an album be percieved as 'great'. A singers reputation, identity, expectations from previous interactions....Taylors biggest investment in her career was building loyalty with her fans periodt.
HER BEST ERA THANK YOU SO MUCH 🙏🙏🙏🙏
I have to agree that reputation aged like fine wine much to my surprise as I didn’t love it on my first listen.
At the time, I was underwhelmed and felt like I was expecting better. Now, those feelings are long gone replaced with a certainty that Taylor delivered big time. Its an iconic moment in her career and she said everything she needed to.
Taylor was hinting at Taylor’s version of her albums since reputation! “The old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now, why? Oh cuz she’s dead” and here are Taylor’s versions of her events in her life without any nuance from a label!
I remember when Reputation came out, it was absolutely infuriating how everybody was just ready to hate and mock it, people had their fingers HOVERING to type out that this was like the true and final death knell of her career. Hating Taylor was America's National Distraction. It really felt like you couldn't praise her, or appreciate her music, or even say anything remotely neutral about her without losing your credibility as a journalist/reviewer/musician. Even loyal Swifties were a little slow in unabashedly loving it, because it was so different than anything she did before. Yet it was truly a musical masterpiece and took her musical artistry, songwriting, storytelling, and just the overall trajectory of her career to a whole new sphere.
Basically, Reputation as an album deserved so much better than what it got on its release and I am sooooooo happy that it is finally getting the musical recognition and love from fans that it deserves. There was a long period there where even amongst Swifties Reputation was the lil bit cringe album, the guilty pleasure, the blip but we still love it of course. But now we can all finally agree that as different as it is to her typical discography, its a damn good album!
And yes, I am still waiting for the apology from every musical critic who didn't give it a fair, unbiased review from a musical/songwriting perspective and instead treated it as a "Taylor Swift event" meriting some more personal Taylor Swift takedowns. OWTH!
Zach, I cannot emphasize enough how articulate and deeply profound you are in all your analyses and reviews of Taylor's Swift's music and public persona. I only discovered you last month so this past month, I've just been relentlessly watching your videos and listening to your podcast with Madeline. I'm in such awe of you! You had shared some goals of yours as a writer (writing for Modern Love, writing for The New Yorker I believe..), and I hope you get to achieve all those goals. I'll certainly be one of the first ones to read anything you put out there because I think you are so talented. I certainly feel at least 10% smarter after absorbing any of your content haha. I will surely subscribe to your Patreon and continue supporting you however I can! All the best with everything.
P.S. Could you one day do an analysis of this speech (I don't think you have already...). Would love to hear your thoughts: ruclips.net/video/ZVpkFb9-fts/видео.html&ab_channel=Billboard
Look What You Made Me Do is my top 10 most listened songs of all time and i literally listen to every genre there is. Everything about it is perfect, the lyrics the melody the CHORUS. like the chorus is so petty i love it, it's like she's dramatic for the whole song except when it comes to the chorus, like "oh i did ALL that but let's just be chill sweetie no need to be dramatic" i fucking love it, and every word of it speaks to me personally as someone who's been betrayed and replaced by someone in a group, no one could have ever turned such vile situation into such art. also the production on the last part of the song, how it sounds like there's some sort of weird robotic voice for a second and the ding ding sound idk what it is, you get that they really really fucked up with getting her mad, its the end of the world its over. and the mv omg. Every single scene. Im not a publicly sexual person at all nor do i enjoy public bdsm content for the sake of it but in that context the scene where taylor was wearing black latex is perfectly in place because of the symbolism. Queen istg. And the last choreography scene. I love how they had the dancers in heels and crop tops bec they look pretty fucking unapologetically sassy and so on the nose when it comes to people who are against men looking and acting like that on a very fundamental level. Like i also don't specifically follow drag or any kind of similar content as a source of entertainment, just not what i enjoy in general, so i'm talking as someone that is not excited to see it as a "fan who's just seeing something they love in something else casually" so i can say that scene was perfect the way it was, it's like to piss off the dirty cheats of the world the way in which far right conservatives would be PISSED watching the scene. A 10/10 track and everything, taylor is a genius. also that song is perfect for running on a treadmill alongside blank space
I have commented before... specifically the first video of yours that I saw... and I'm just tickled pink to claim that I am still bowled over by your integrity, your thoroughness, your unabashed, straightforward and realistic take on the inner workings of our favorite pop star. The lense with which you frame the lavish life of T Swift , from her undeniable genius, to her unending commitment to the fans, her generosity, her humanism, the cringe and the cunning, jet planes and fashion stays, her hyper self-awareness, insane emotional intelligence, and the thoughtful and meticulous crafting of her legacy, offers a birds-eye view in tandem with often brilliant comedic conmentary that😂 allow us mere mortals a rare glimpse into the incredible feats and aviodable flaws that humanize an icon and I adore you for that. Technically speaking, I cannot tell you how much I love your grasp on language. I know editing is a thing but it seems that your fluency is so effortless, engaging and intelligent at the same time. Since the first video, I have engorged myself with your content- including your podcast. As a lover of language and a dabbling writer myself, I must extend mad props and insane accolades to the level of commitment and the hard work that is so evident in your content. keep up the great work and I look forward to watching your career flourish and zig zag and brazenly go where so many dare not venture....the elusive yet highly sought after space for honest and productive criticism of the deity to all stars. I would bet Taylor is an avid fan of yours and nods in agreement with most of your quips. If she is not ....she would be, should be and will be, one day. Hats off to you, sir. Keep up the good work and the trail blazing (boots on the ground) reporting work of which you are so innately talented and well quipped . My one suggestion.....a snappy sign off, maybe camp Ron Burgundy style or just sassy fun with words. That's all.
This is such a thoughtful and articulate analysis of Rep that I know I'll have to rewatch it to soak it all in.
Such a great video! It is really interesting to hear you revisit reputation and the circumstances at that time, truly a chaotic time to be a swiftie lol. My enduring favorite songs of rep are getaway car, ready for it…? and I to, am a proud dress-stan!
I remember when Look What You Made Me Do came out and i just couldn’t stop it over and over again! It is probably her best mv and was really the first one to referred to the eras. Also I love looking at the Taylor mountain figuring what outfit used. Also the merch was so good this era with almost every item
I would like you to explored more of LDR albums and comparisons of the original vs. Taylor’s version so far. Like the context of when it first release compare to now and which tracks are improvements
You should SOOOOO do a deep dive of "blackout" by britney spears!
would loveeeee to
Really random but I feel like the second verse in ready for it is the best in the song and it genuinely feels like she’s rapping and it slaps live from both rep and eras tours
This was fantastic, thank you! I was a low stakes Swiftie I'd say when Rep came out. I didn't really like it at first, I really loved Taylor as a country/pop star. Speak Now and Red were my favorite albums at that point. I really didn't like Look What You Made Me Do, but after I watched the video (a little later) I came to appreciate it. I loved Delicate, I Did Something Bad, and Don't Blame Me. Ready for It grew on me at some point too. Now I absolutely love the album, it just took me awhile to get used to the new sound. I'm older, so "trendy" pop doesn't always work for me. I'm so happy she made this record, though. We would not have the same Taylor today, if at all without that record.
Her BEST era, her best videos, The style, outfits, songs are ICONIC and still FRESH.
You’re a fantastic journalist Zach. Super grateful your primary subject is something I am deeply interested. Thank you for all the work you do and the videos you put out. Your anis is really is thought-provoking and thoughtful.
This era of her's is what made me stan her the way she navigated this album and made it a hit despite the media and general public disrespect like someone painted a memorial picture of her on a building but she carried on it was amazing I truly don't understand americans who cancel anyone who slips up but when taylor who has always played it safe and been a good girl you then turn around and hate her it's truly baffling and then take the side of a pornstar and someone who said slavery was a choice and is a nazi supporter was a weird time I hope miss swift knows how much the rest of the world loves her and how we don't use twitter so her reputation is still perfect to us
I hope you know that Taylor herself has watched you and heard the podcast. She’s addressed every note you’ve given her and I’m over here screaming because of it. Keep killing it 🤠
#everydaysinceyouvebeengone
the reputation era was truly one of the greatest revenge stories of all time, right up there with The Count of Monte Cristo
BEST COMMENT😂
I just stumbled upon this video, and you are so fun to listen to! I’m a recent swifty, reputation was my intro kinda. Listening to your analysis was super interesting. Thank you!
I haven’t even watched the video yet, but I had to hop in the comments to say YOU LOOK SO GOOD
I am not necessarily a Swifty by any means. I havent listened to the entire discography, or even had much inclination towards, until she started getting nexk deep in the eras tour. For the past 6 months one of my favorite things to do especially when i am sad is, i will look up TSwift stuff and follow the breadcrumbs for a few hours lol. I have absolutely loved finding these kind of videos where its more analysis. This kind of thing is actually a hobby of mine, talking passionately at length about music and observations and obscure facts and writing or ranting damn near thesis and dissertations about a subject or artist in relation to music, pop culture, ect. Thats exactly what I look for when it comes to Taylor videos and such because i am admittedly fascinated and enthralled with everything, and i also love learning about her lyrics too. At this point i feel like it's like DND, theres sooooo much to the plot and its too much for just a casual explanation lol. Thats why i really enjoy finding a breadcrumb and following the bunny trails every so often. Thank you!
I am literally obsessed with the wording you use very well thought and clean
You are so well spoken and I love your videos ❤
I would love for you to do a vid on Halsey! Her career and songwriting is so weird and different and no one else it seems has done a real deep dive on her that I've found.
I have no idea how I found you BUT seriously, your videos are the most insightful I've come across!
Watching in June 2024 here! Reputation is the album that made me a Taylor fan and I think Taylor gained a lot of fans during this era who didn't like so much the light, poppy, cutesy style of songs she had before (which, for the record, i have now grown to love!). You are spot on about the EDM/tropical house influnces. That and the harder hitting pop sounds is what really grabbed me with this album at the time and why I liked it so much! It remains one of my favourites of hers
this is what has been missing in my life. brilliant as usual.
What a great video, as always, Zach! So glad to see someone appreciate how pivotal reputation was in Taylor’s career. A great pop record from start to finish. You just had to be there!
13:48 - to hear this part now (coming here after TTPD) is chef's kiss.
I love the format you did for this video, talking about the era as a whole rather than just the songs. I would love to see another one! I would be interested in your take on her 1989 era, as that was her most successful, but also lead to her biggest downfall. Would also love to hear your take on her pivoting to pop music indefinitely.
Wonderful video! Lover era would be great to do as a deep dive.
I personally find Reputation to be her most relatable album. It was the album that made me a swiftie. I think the special thing about reputation is that even now people are embracing entering a so called "villain" era in which you learn to shed the people in your life that no longer serve you as a means of setting clear boundaries. Truly her most empowering album imo
I wasn't really a Taylor fan until Folklore, so I remember being a part of the general public when Reputation came out. The "Because she's dead!" line was a joke among my friends and people laughed at how hard she went on that album. My close friend who was (and is still) a Swiftie said at the time, "Taylor Swift and I are the same in that we both want to be badass but the world won't take us seriously." 😂😂😂
I was not a swiftie when this album came out. I heard her radio hits sometimes, maybe if I got an earworm I'd hum or search her songs up to listen to it in the bg and I just didn't care for her. I was one those people that sorta agreed with the hate train despite being completely uneducated on her and her actually, full discography. But let me tell you, I was MESMERIZED by the LWYMMD music video. It was unlike any video that came out in 2017 and it was just such a replayable, catchy and cool thing to listen to and witness. I remember me and my friends watching the music video (they also weren't swifties and aren't still tho they respect her) we were just constantly guessing the budget for it and how long it took to film and gasping at the sheer creativity and wit of it. I guess that was just foreshadowing that I'd become a swiftie later on lol (that and in 2014 when I'd watch the Blank Space music video at midnight just because and when speak now was one of my favorite songs during lockdown cuz I heard one cover of it).
Thanks for putting some respect on reputation 🖤🐍
As someone who liked some of Taylor’s music but didn’t follow her too closely back then, the 1989 and reputation eras were WILD to watch, because as you said, she was (and now arguably is again!) basically the last of the monoculture, so you heard about her whether you sought out the information or not. I’ll admit to being whelmed by LWYMMD the first time I heard it (it’s undoubtedly iconic but IMO it’s the video that really makes it, not the song itself, though I will say the added guitars on the Eras tour really bring it up a few notches) but it became an ear worm VERY quickly so I would just sit and listen to it on my phone in shame, since a lot of people I knew were in the “she deserves to me canceled” camp and based on what I knew about the situation, I thought they might be right. So I didn’t bother to check out the rest of the album, and tbh I didn’t even know that “Endgame” and “Delicate” were released as singles cuz to this day I have never heard them (or “….Ready For It”) on the radio.
Fast forward to three hundred takeout coffees later, I wouldn’t quite call myself a Swiftie but at this point I know a little too much to just be a casual listener lol. Like a lot of people, folklore and evermore really gave me a new appreciation for her work (and I still consider them to be her strongest albums from a lyricism standpoint), to the point where I then went back and re-examined her past work, and much to my surprise, reputation quickly became one of my favorite albums in general and is probably the album of hers I’ve streamed the most (I will be beside myself whenever reputation TV drops). As a counterpoint though, I would actually argue that reputation actually is relatable, even (and perhaps especially) the darker ones, albeit within a very specific context. Obviously the album references the specific drama Taylor found herself in at the height of her fame, but even considering those details, I actually think rep rings true to how it feels when you’ve felt you had to be “the good girl” or “the sweetheart” and finally something makes you snap. I don’t think you need to be a woman to have an experience like this, but I DO think it speaks to something a lot of women encounter, where people pleasing tendencies and a cultural norm of not being allowed to be angry wear you down and you suddenly have to re-evaluate a lot of things about your life. In that context, the the image of rep Taylor stomping on and destroying her past selves in LWYMMD is a really compelling image when you’re frustrated with how you are or used to be and are looking to change. There’s something really cathartic about her vibe in rep, and weirdly it’s the fact that this IS such a departure from her norm that really makes it for me. While Taylor has periods where she’s been considered “cool,” I think there’s still always been a perception of her being a bit of a dork (not “cool” personality-wise) and therefore it’s easier to tap into that catharsis than it is with someone who’s effortlessly cool, if that makes sense.
Did NOT intend to write a whole novel there but idk apparently I have a lot of feelings about rep. Thank you very much for being a sane Taylor fan, you’re very much enabling my hyperfixation with her work. 😂 Just subscribed today!
P.S. Favorite rep songs are:
1. “I Did Something Bad” - arguably the most cathartic of the darker tracks. My first thought when I first listened to it was that it genuinely seems like a sequel to “Blank Space,” which I’ve always loved. The Rep tour performance of this song is iconic and was my introduction to how strong of a performer she is now.
2. “Don’t Blame Me” - sooooo glad this one’s getting its due re: attention. I know people think “Getaway Car” should have been a single and I don’t disagree but I do think that if I had to choose for any song on rep to be a new single, it would be “Don’t Blame Me,” both because it generally slaps but also because I think it captures both of the album’s major themes: falling from grace and falling in love.
I personally thought it was bad *ss. I was amuch more low key Swiftie before Rep. When LWYMMD debuted - I was like whoa! Have we slept on this woman? I thought her comeback was too cool, epic. It had the intended effect om me. I saw her in a whole new light and my respect for her grew.
How is EVERY video so captivating 😭 you are just amazing!! ❤
Love Rep - I loved it out of the gate because it was more innovative, more complex, darker, and sexier than what came before it. I’m an older fan, so any fairytale ideas I had are long gone and an imperfect, complex, “nope, not a victim” Taylor is more interesting and relatable. Plus I loved how Rep came from nowhere, where before there was nonstop hype when something was coming. And Taylor’s mastery of complex themes, nuance and metaphor is growing with each album. My head exploded when Folklore and Evermore came out and I absolutely love Midnights. Agree with the commenter who complimented you on your editing and delivery - wow! And I love your wardrobe choice.
Great video. The jacket is ❤. You should make more breakdowns like these. You could make one on lover and folklore. And katy Perry's witness which came around the same time!
I adore reputation. My faves are New Year's Day (the live on Jimmy Fallon - outstanding) and Dancing with are hands tied - not everyone is getting the "Swaying as the room burned down" in the lyric, for me it is a reference to a song Slow dancing in the burning room by John Meyer... it is a very depressing one and Taylor just fliped it in the most GORGEOUS way!
"Dancing with Our Hands Tied" is my favorite TS song. I'm also a massive John Mayer fan... my apologies to the wider Swiftie world. lol
New fan here! I'm really enjoying your content, and you do a great job with these deep dives! ❤
I love that you talk as fast as I think
I remember my first time listening to Reputation back when it first released-I didn’t love it. 6 years later, it’s one of my favorite albums of hers and it truly aged so well 🐍
I discovered Reputation this year because it was the only Taylor's album that I didn't connect to... Then it clicked, and now I LOVE it.
Getaway Car?? Delicate?? ...Ready for It?? Dress?? Call It What You Want??
Same thing happened with Lover 💕 The Eras Tour really helped me to connect with this album.
reputation is like the saviour of her career and it bring back her in the game after those lies and dramas tried to end her, even tho it is not my fave but it has the deepest backstory and the reason why this album exist. I remember her posted a 3 video in her ig containing connected snakes on august 2017, i swear people are like shocked and their tweets are like concerning what this woman gon do. "theres no further explanation, theres will be just a reputation" THIS QUOTE explains her marketing of the album, shes deaf like no captions on her posts and comments, she let people gave themselves an element of wonder how this album will work to sell. My fave album of her is speak now and evermore but theres always a special place in my heart for this perfect pop album reputation including 1989. DRESS AND I DID SOMETHING BAD IS ON TOP IN THIS ALBUM
A bit long but stay with me. When Reputation came out I wasn't aware of the whole drama behind it (law student, ain't nobody got time for gossip 😅I was never invested in famous people's dramas anyway) so everything I loved about Taylor was absolutely destroyed when the LWYMMD MV came out. I was shocked and sad because that song sounded... Weird. Reputation for me was an album that I couldn't really digest at the time because that wasn't the Taylor I once knew and obvs I didn't know what happened for her to do that. I hated it and I was too busy to make myself love it. I think a lot of people, like me, really appreciated it in hindsight, when the shocking moment passed and we could sit with it with a bit of context. Also, Taylor is one of the few artists that creates worlds when releasing music, the opinion you have on a song from her can change overnight with context because she's, at the core, a storyteller. (Not gonna happen with Me!, that song is cursed forever 🤷♀I hate it, it sounds like music for kids). Fave songs have to be: Getaway car, DWOHT (Acoustic!), I did something bad (the bridge does something to me) Gorgeous (tainted by Joe's image, tho lol), Call it what you want and Dress.
"They haven't read the scared text."is THE sound bite from this video.
Without Reputation I would not be the Swiftie I am today. This album caught my attention as an older women in the fandom. It felt grown up and hard core. I absolutely loved Reputation. Still do. Had floor seats for the tour. Best show ever till ETA’s tour. Rep set me down all the rabbit holes of Taylor Swift. Fantastic album.
please do a 1989 video essay that would be really interesting
Honestly her best era!!!
I assume here we’re mostly critical people so just a question: are you guys not worried about how she’s again everywhere? And I mean that just as what Zach said that her empire got too big.
I’m just waiting for people to turn back on her again… everything’s so out of proportion, how every city competes with the other to make the most buzz about Taylor touring there. I can’t take it anymore 🙄
I just became a late-adopting Swiftie after being a casual follower for many years (saw the 1989 WT in Chicago from the nosebleeds). I really appreciate how much research and also thought you put into the critical and content analysis of her work. I'd love to see a video dissecting some of her major motifs through her work - some of the ones I'm thinking of are stoplights, the moon, various gems - and what they may sssssssymbolize.
I think that Look What You Made Me Do is the perfect lead single for reputation... it just fits what happened perfectly
Thank you for talking about how iconic reputation was. I thought you hated it.
I joined the fandom with this album, so it is really special.
This is very high quality content. I like this more than evolution of a snake and more than your normal videos. Your hard work really shines here. This is a masterclass in concise writing and storytelling.
LWYMMD- Ok, I actually in the grey area. As just a song it doesn’t turn me off (I don’t skip it) when listening to the whole album, BUT thought her MV was so so brilliant so maybe it was about using the song just so she could do that MV. The closing line about “narrative”, had me just screaming because only Swifties would know where that came from.
listening to u talk while i work on a monday morning is the cure. thank u for ur service.
Swiftologist, this shade of green looks so good on you
Congrats on 20k!!! I’ve been here for the past year it’s been really amazing watching you grow and finding the type of content you want to do!!
One of my most favourite details of reputation is that the word “putatio” is underlined in the title on the cover. Putatio is Latin for pruning, but it also can mean an act of reckoning, considering and calculation. It’s just too good!
I love Rep. At first I was like “what is happening?” 😂. But I loved her fearless approach to do something different. What I love most of it is of all her albums it truly shows evolution and tells a story of angry, hurt, insecure Taylor to falling in love and realizing there is more to life than just being a pop star. I think she actually needed it (don’t get me wrong, I hate that she was put thru all of it), but because of her whirlwind life it kind of forced her to step back and reassess everything which I think has, and will, serve her well. And I LOVE how she leaned into the snake. So brilliant.
For me the blacker Taylor Swift is the more interesting ie Reputation, last great American dynasty, all to well long version, blank space, the song about estie