Here are five reasons that a 30-something is obsessed with Taylor Swift’s new album Folklore and why you might fall in love with it too.
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The first time I heard a Taylor Swift song I was in college and dating a guy named Drew. If you’re not a total Taylor Swift fan est. 2005, you might not remember but she had a song called, “Teardrops on My Guitar,” which name drops a guy named Drew who is with another girl.
At first, this song didn’t apply to me at all, until Christmas Break and “my Drew,” decided to fall in love with a girl from high school, promptly dumping my freshman college girl self. To make matters worse, by this time of course we had multiple mutual friends so that faking a smile thing, totally right up my alley.
So needless to say, Taylor Swift has spoken straight into my for DECADES, actual decades. She sang the perfect, “no one understands my relationship but us,” song in “Call It What You Want It,” which I blasted all year long in my white Jeep. If you’re a military wife or girlfriend, you KNOW no one would understand a military couple dating for eight years (I mean I didn’t at times and I was IN the relationship!)
If you haven’t had a chance to listen to Taylor’s new album, Folklore, make sure you head over to spotify or youtube ASAP. Here are five reasons, I personally am obsessed with it & her.
She released it on her terms, in the middle of a pandemic, because she felt the world needed it.
From Taylor’s Instagram post when she shared that she’d be releasing an album at midnight, she said, “My gut is telling me that if you make something you love, you should just put it out into the world. That’s the side of uncertainty I can get on board with.” I’m not sure about you, but there have been at least a hundred times that I’ve felt called to create something and if I find the courage to create it, it’s sometimes terrifying to share it with the world.
Right before Taylor shared this new album, I had this feeling that I am so proud to live in a world where someone releases such beautiful music & does so vulnerably and with such authenticity. If anything, I will hold that space of uncertainty with Taylor, with this blog, with each video, with each book. If I create something I love, I will promise to not let it live in the dark, but to bravely allow it to live & breathe in this uncertain world we live in.
That duet “Exile,” is straight actual magic.
People, this may be one of the greatest duets of literally all time. I love absolutely everything about it from the actual song to the story of how the song came to be. I love that Taylor was asked who she wanted to do the duet with, she said “just Die” if Bon Iver sang it with her and then he did, because people are awesome & fun & surprising. I love the lyrics, the music, the story and how it builds, gosh. I’m definitely not alone. In an instagram poll I ran the other day, 100% of people picked “Exile,” over “Cardigan,” an also fabulous song if I say so myself.
It is perfect for a good mood and when you are having a hard time.
The music, is perfect for all scenarios, which seem to pop up as the day goes on. I’m not sure about you but this time is as chaotic as they come. We moved to Milwaukee from Washington State right in the middle of the pandemic, so having this album to keep me company while I job search, create content, find a place to live, & explore this new city six feet apart from the rest of the world is a gigantic relaxing blessing. I’m not sure why, maybe it’s because #batman & my bestie Kacie & I are in a group chat about anything TSwift, but it feels like home is a little less far away right now.
There’s a few swear words, because #pandemic
I mean she drops the f bomb in Betty, which I think is fabulous, because we all know we’re swearing more now than in January. It’s just a thing & I’m okay with it. The other “explicit” yet tastefully done songs include “Peace,” “Mad Woman,” “The Last Great American Dynasty,” and “The 1.”
This lyric from Peace “Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?”
It might be because I’m now officially 33, or because I’ve been reading books about how to just show up fearlessly as yourself. Either way, I am embracing all the aspects of myself that I had formerly viewed as my dark shadow sides.
Those sides include the fact that I create chaos when I’m stressed. That chaos can be unsettling to myself and others. But here’s the thing, we live in a world that is FOUNDED on dichotomy: we cannot have the light without the dark, the peace without the war, the love without the heartbreak, the ease without the struggle. Each of the good things exist because of their opposite side, it’s the law of polarity in effect. And for me, that means that my fire, passion, excitement, love of life all exists BECAUSE of the chaos it CAN bring.
So for me, “Peace,” is so incredibly, deeply personal. I can work to control the chaos, but it is just as much a part of me as all the best things that energy can create. This lyric is all of my heart, living and breathing because of Taylor Swift. Hearing this lyric brings my heart & soul a quiet knowing that it’s okay to live as I am: “But I'm a fire and I'll keep your brittle heart warm.” That fire, yes, it creates chaos, but it also creates a love so fierce that I wouldn’t live any other way.
In the end, I hope you give “Folklore” a chance, a full listen through, & whether you love it or hate it, I hope you respect how it came to be.
AUTHOR: Dr. Lauren Baker, DPT, PT, ATC, MTC is a Physical Therapist/Athletic Trainer, Online Fit Coach, Military Wife, & Circus Addict who is obsessed with sharing all her adventures & knowledge so that you know that literally ANYTHING is possible with a little bit of Google & a WHOLE lot of courage.
Dr. Lauren Baker, PT is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com (as well as other affiliate programs). *I only link products I love & use & to make it easier for you to purchase so you don't forget the name of the product when you go to buy it. I looove using amazon wish list functions to "save for later." Please see disclaimer page for further affiliate information.
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