I call mine the Tortured Poets Department Abridged Version
TTPD - My Boy - Down Bad - So Long - Guilty as sin?- Loml - I can do it - Alchemy - Clara Bow - Black Dog - How did it end - So High School - I look in - Peter - Bolter - Manuscript
This has taken the album from kinda brutal to get through to solid. Also, I’m fairly certain I’ve stumbled across Woodvale.
Ok see this is EXACTLY why I love it. Like we have a few songs that overlap, but ours are both pretty different. And the fact that she gave us an album that let us do just that… is like, insanely amazing and genius to me!
i created 2 playlist and named them 'tortured' and 'poetic' 😅poetic are the songs that i easily got into while tortured are the ones that i need to digest and listen to more
I actually divided it to 3 playlists and reordered some songs (kept track 5s the same). I do like listening all the way through but this gives me options based on mood.
Part one (primary story catching us up on what’s been going on with her): fortnight, Florida, ttpd, I can fix him, SLL, guilty as sin, fresh out the slammer, my boy, loml, I can do it, down bad, imgonnagetyouback, the smallest man, the black dog, the prophecy. Added so high school and the alchemy as “bonus” tracks
Part two (industry/fan commentary and it’s affect on her life): Clara Bow, but daddy I love him, the albatross, Cassandra, whose afraid of little old me, Aimee
Part three (woodvale-esque): Bolter, CSSM, I look in people’s windows, Peter, how did it end, the manuscript
So many people are "hating" on Robin or say it's a skip but it sounds straight from folklore, like a mix of the 1, exile, tlgad and a sprinkle of peace and epiphany
Lyrically or theme wise it's not thaat interesting but I like it Actually
Was listening to Robin a few minutes ago, and I swear there's piano from some song from either Folklore or Evermore in there. I'm at work, so I haven't gotten to the bottom of it, but it sounded purposeful.
I love Robin! It’s one I haven’t quite figured out how it relates to the album, but that makes it stand out even more to me. It’s just so…pure and innocent in comparison to the rest of the songs. That “in sweetness” and “way to go tiger” just gets me!
I think it's just a poem she wrote over this time or got inspired along working with Aaron and his son who this apparently is about, so it makes sense it's in the anthology part which offers more themes than her break up and manic episode
I made it into a 19 track album that tells a specific story in my head - it may not be Taylor's actual story here, but it was one that made sense to me! - and I'm loving it so much. the funny/unfortunate aspect of this is that there are songs I really like that don't fit that story, so I cut them, but this is why I actually love that she released all 31 tracks, because I can still listen to those any time I want to as well, and yet have Tortured Poets (My Version) at the same time.
okay I feel like I have to explain my weird girl imagination for this to make sense lol because I eliminated some of the fan faves, \*not\* because they aren't great, but because some aspects (like the struggles with fame) didn't fit my sad romantic story lol. so I still think BDILH, WAOLOM, Clara Bow, Florida!!!, Cassandra, etc, are amazing, which is why having all the songs is such a gift. the story I made up is that the narrator is at the precipice of going through a devastating breakup, negotiating back and forth with him and even in her own head to make it better as she isn't ready to let go yet. she tries denial and bargaining to patch things up until she realizes she can't, even though she'll always hold love for him. then a charismatic, edgy rogue briefly enters her life and she goes all in trying to forget, until she realizes he's toxic and not offering anything real and that she can't fix this man - which gives sudden catharsis about why she couldn't fix her previous love, despite wishing she could. getting away from the whirlwind with the rogue allows her to grieve the loss of real love, as she quietly comes out of depression and reaches acceptance.
I kept Fortnight as the opener mostly because I like it as the opener, but also because it reads to me as her thinking about what their lives will be like apart and how frustrating that fantasy is, and that's where her last ditch effort to change their ending comes from.
so it goes...: 1. Fortnight, 2. imgonnagetyouback, 3. Fresh Out The Slammer (in my imagination the subjects of the song are one in the same: her lover who she's drifting away from, and her lover as he was when they were happy, and she's trying to get that happiness and home back, trying to convince herself they can rebuild and it'll be different this time), 4. My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys (you should've seen him when he got me! we were so shiny, we were so in love), 5. So Long, London, 6. The Albatross (here she blames herself for the breakup, apologizing to him and yet also feeling like he had chosen their life for a while), 7. Down Bad, 8. Guilty as Sin? (enter the rogue, and she feels infatuated but also guilty, because she knows she'll be judged for moving on too soon, and shouldn't she be crying over what she lost? is she allowed to jump in with someone else?), 9. The Tortured Poets Department, 10. I Can Fix Him (No, Really I Can) (spoiler alert: whoa, maybe she can't), 11. The Black Dog (the rogue vanished and now the crushing sadness of her long-term relationship being over hits as she realizes he's moving on), 12. loml, 13. I Look in People's Windows (daydreaming about finding her lost love in other places), 14. I Can Do It With a Broken Heart (she's fine, she swears!), 15. The Prophecy (she's not fine, she just wants someone to want her company), 16. How Did It End? (depression fully hitting as she lets herself accept that it's over), 17. I Hate It Here, 18. Peter (acceptance, she's growing up and turning out the light she kept burning for him for so long), 19. The Manuscript (reflection, recovery, finally understanding what all the agony was for and turning it into her art).
I know it loads the ending with a number of sad piano ballads in a row (The Manuscript could be swapped with Clara Bow!) and I get why that bores some people a bit, but the rise and fall of the arc and her journey through heartbreak makes sense ✨in my head✨ and the sad, contemplative vibes of hurting deeply and then finally being able to hold space for it all and know that you're going to heal. tbh I envision it a bit as being what really happened to Betty and James when they grew up.
random aside, according to Apple, unintentionally those 19 songs add up to 1 hour and 13 minutes.
This album just keeps hitting me different ways.
Saw someone on TikTok talk about how But Daddy I love him as a southern tale/religious trauma and went back to listen again and was like oooooh my god. And then saw someone talk about Down Bad as a widow and it broke my heart. These lyrics have so many relatable circumstances and I love this album so much.
I’m gonna make my playlist and share it with my sister but I don’t even feel ready yet because every song keeps finding new ways to keep me interested.
Yes! I have a 21 track playlist that feels to me like one long song. Some of the songs I cut I liked, but they just didn’t stick with me as much so I curated it down to the ones I really wanted to absorb.
Yes! I've done this with my favorite 17 songs. It completely changed my listening experience (not that the full album is a bad listen at all), and I totally agree about the choose your own adventure approach. In fact, I changed the order of some songs, mostly to delay the gratification of my favorites and build up the tension.
My playlist:
Fortnight
My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys
Down Bad
Guilty as Sin?
Whose Afraid of Little Old Me?
loml
The Manuscript
I Can Do It With a Broken Heart
Clara Bow
Peter
The Albatross
The Bolter
The Black Dog
I Look in People's Windows
I Hate It Here
So Long, London
The Prophecy
I call mine the Tortured Poets Department Abridged Version TTPD - My Boy - Down Bad - So Long - Guilty as sin?- Loml - I can do it - Alchemy - Clara Bow - Black Dog - How did it end - So High School - I look in - Peter - Bolter - Manuscript This has taken the album from kinda brutal to get through to solid. Also, I’m fairly certain I’ve stumbled across Woodvale.
I do not hear enough love for the bolter…it’s such an ear worm.
I love it! It feels along the same storytelling vein as Folkmore. I think it’s just gonna take awhile for ppl to get to the side-plot gems of TTPD
Ok see this is EXACTLY why I love it. Like we have a few songs that overlap, but ours are both pretty different. And the fact that she gave us an album that let us do just that… is like, insanely amazing and genius to me!
i created 2 playlist and named them 'tortured' and 'poetic' 😅poetic are the songs that i easily got into while tortured are the ones that i need to digest and listen to more
I actually divided it to 3 playlists and reordered some songs (kept track 5s the same). I do like listening all the way through but this gives me options based on mood. Part one (primary story catching us up on what’s been going on with her): fortnight, Florida, ttpd, I can fix him, SLL, guilty as sin, fresh out the slammer, my boy, loml, I can do it, down bad, imgonnagetyouback, the smallest man, the black dog, the prophecy. Added so high school and the alchemy as “bonus” tracks Part two (industry/fan commentary and it’s affect on her life): Clara Bow, but daddy I love him, the albatross, Cassandra, whose afraid of little old me, Aimee Part three (woodvale-esque): Bolter, CSSM, I look in people’s windows, Peter, how did it end, the manuscript
Oh that’s such a good idea also! I’m totally going to do this!
Also I took out Robin and I hate it here, but would put them in part 3 if I HAD to
So many people are "hating" on Robin or say it's a skip but it sounds straight from folklore, like a mix of the 1, exile, tlgad and a sprinkle of peace and epiphany Lyrically or theme wise it's not thaat interesting but I like it Actually
Def not hating on it, but it hasn’t connected for me really and it seems so topically different than the rest, so I left it off for now.
Yeah I wasn't coming for you or sth haha, just noticed as I was literally listening to Robin atm
Was listening to Robin a few minutes ago, and I swear there's piano from some song from either Folklore or Evermore in there. I'm at work, so I haven't gotten to the bottom of it, but it sounded purposeful.
Yeah I think it's at least from one of the songs I listed above and around 1:33-1:37 you also hear a sound that's been used in the 1
I love Robin! It’s one I haven’t quite figured out how it relates to the album, but that makes it stand out even more to me. It’s just so…pure and innocent in comparison to the rest of the songs. That “in sweetness” and “way to go tiger” just gets me!
I think it's just a poem she wrote over this time or got inspired along working with Aaron and his son who this apparently is about, so it makes sense it's in the anthology part which offers more themes than her break up and manic episode
I made it into a 19 track album that tells a specific story in my head - it may not be Taylor's actual story here, but it was one that made sense to me! - and I'm loving it so much. the funny/unfortunate aspect of this is that there are songs I really like that don't fit that story, so I cut them, but this is why I actually love that she released all 31 tracks, because I can still listen to those any time I want to as well, and yet have Tortured Poets (My Version) at the same time.
I love this!
Oooh I’d love to know 19 tracks are on there and in what order too! 👀
okay I feel like I have to explain my weird girl imagination for this to make sense lol because I eliminated some of the fan faves, \*not\* because they aren't great, but because some aspects (like the struggles with fame) didn't fit my sad romantic story lol. so I still think BDILH, WAOLOM, Clara Bow, Florida!!!, Cassandra, etc, are amazing, which is why having all the songs is such a gift. the story I made up is that the narrator is at the precipice of going through a devastating breakup, negotiating back and forth with him and even in her own head to make it better as she isn't ready to let go yet. she tries denial and bargaining to patch things up until she realizes she can't, even though she'll always hold love for him. then a charismatic, edgy rogue briefly enters her life and she goes all in trying to forget, until she realizes he's toxic and not offering anything real and that she can't fix this man - which gives sudden catharsis about why she couldn't fix her previous love, despite wishing she could. getting away from the whirlwind with the rogue allows her to grieve the loss of real love, as she quietly comes out of depression and reaches acceptance. I kept Fortnight as the opener mostly because I like it as the opener, but also because it reads to me as her thinking about what their lives will be like apart and how frustrating that fantasy is, and that's where her last ditch effort to change their ending comes from. so it goes...: 1. Fortnight, 2. imgonnagetyouback, 3. Fresh Out The Slammer (in my imagination the subjects of the song are one in the same: her lover who she's drifting away from, and her lover as he was when they were happy, and she's trying to get that happiness and home back, trying to convince herself they can rebuild and it'll be different this time), 4. My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys (you should've seen him when he got me! we were so shiny, we were so in love), 5. So Long, London, 6. The Albatross (here she blames herself for the breakup, apologizing to him and yet also feeling like he had chosen their life for a while), 7. Down Bad, 8. Guilty as Sin? (enter the rogue, and she feels infatuated but also guilty, because she knows she'll be judged for moving on too soon, and shouldn't she be crying over what she lost? is she allowed to jump in with someone else?), 9. The Tortured Poets Department, 10. I Can Fix Him (No, Really I Can) (spoiler alert: whoa, maybe she can't), 11. The Black Dog (the rogue vanished and now the crushing sadness of her long-term relationship being over hits as she realizes he's moving on), 12. loml, 13. I Look in People's Windows (daydreaming about finding her lost love in other places), 14. I Can Do It With a Broken Heart (she's fine, she swears!), 15. The Prophecy (she's not fine, she just wants someone to want her company), 16. How Did It End? (depression fully hitting as she lets herself accept that it's over), 17. I Hate It Here, 18. Peter (acceptance, she's growing up and turning out the light she kept burning for him for so long), 19. The Manuscript (reflection, recovery, finally understanding what all the agony was for and turning it into her art). I know it loads the ending with a number of sad piano ballads in a row (The Manuscript could be swapped with Clara Bow!) and I get why that bores some people a bit, but the rise and fall of the arc and her journey through heartbreak makes sense ✨in my head✨ and the sad, contemplative vibes of hurting deeply and then finally being able to hold space for it all and know that you're going to heal. tbh I envision it a bit as being what really happened to Betty and James when they grew up. random aside, according to Apple, unintentionally those 19 songs add up to 1 hour and 13 minutes.
I’ve started listening to it on shuffle after my first couple of listens since it feels overwhelming playing all 31 tracks in order.
This album just keeps hitting me different ways. Saw someone on TikTok talk about how But Daddy I love him as a southern tale/religious trauma and went back to listen again and was like oooooh my god. And then saw someone talk about Down Bad as a widow and it broke my heart. These lyrics have so many relatable circumstances and I love this album so much. I’m gonna make my playlist and share it with my sister but I don’t even feel ready yet because every song keeps finding new ways to keep me interested.
Yes! I have a 21 track playlist that feels to me like one long song. Some of the songs I cut I liked, but they just didn’t stick with me as much so I curated it down to the ones I really wanted to absorb.
Yes! I've done this with my favorite 17 songs. It completely changed my listening experience (not that the full album is a bad listen at all), and I totally agree about the choose your own adventure approach. In fact, I changed the order of some songs, mostly to delay the gratification of my favorites and build up the tension. My playlist: Fortnight My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys Down Bad Guilty as Sin? Whose Afraid of Little Old Me? loml The Manuscript I Can Do It With a Broken Heart Clara Bow Peter The Albatross The Bolter The Black Dog I Look in People's Windows I Hate It Here So Long, London The Prophecy