I’m really not a Beyonce fan, but I liked this album more than any of her others. She’s got an undeniable set of pipes, but I’ve never connected much with her lyrics or style. “Halo” is probably my favorite song of hers, and one of the only ones I listen to with any frequency. Recently though, she hasn’t really appealed to me at all. “Lemonade” nor “Renaissance” did nothing for me, unfortunately: literally not a single song. But “Cowboy Carter,” while I think it suffers from being too long and having too many transitional tracks, does have a few that I can’t get out of my head, and I wanted to give credit where it’s due.

Before I get into the specific songs I liked — a fairly brief list —I did want to talk about the record as a whole for a moment. To me, the album doesn’t really sound like country; while some songs do, the overall sound doesn’t lend itself to being classified as a country album. That said, I do like how she incorporated artists with country backgrounds, even if some of the songs felt a little off and their contributions at times seemed like they were just there to perform country music fan service (though I doubt many typical country music fans are listening to this album). Including icons like Dolly and Miley was a fun choice, but some fell a little flat for me: Beyonce’s cover of “Jolene” just felt a bit unnecessary.

I did really love the song with Post Malone (“LEVII’S JEANS”) and the one with Miley (“II MOST WANTED”). They’re still in my head, and I’ve played them many times since I first listened. Those were the highlights of the album for sure, but I did enjoy “YA YA” and “AMERICAN REQUIEM” as well. When it comes to the singles, “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” was alright, but “16 CARRIAGES” really seemed like a swing and a miss, especially for a lead single.

Taylor Swift:

WELL. We had our first rain show of The Eras Tour. And it was SO MUCH FUN. The dancers, band, crowd and I all pretty much turned into little kids joyfully jumping in puddles all night. I wanted to thank the crowd again for waiting for the weather to clear. And my amazing crew for keeping the stage, lighting and equipment all dry and working so we could play. That was a late, great night I won’t forget. 🥹

“It was rare, I was there”

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First and foremost, I want to point out that the shortcut I’m about to reference only works for people using Apple Music (right now, at least; if you have Spotify or something else, pressure them to add support for Apple’s Shortcuts app).

Basically, what I’ve done here is create a series of custom wallpapers using photographs that I took myself that I feel match the vibe of some of my favorite albums. I then created a shortcut to change the wallpaper to the corresponding image when a particular album plays using automations.

I posted about this on reddit a couple months ago. At the time it was just for Taylor Swift's ten albums, but I’ve since expanded it to others, and you can expand it as much as you like, to work for whichever albums you care about.

Step one: decide which albums you want to change your lock screen for. This is a very personal set of decisions, and I can’t decide for you. Choose an album, then find a photo from your photo library and make a Lock Screen that evokes the vibe of the album you’ve chosen.

Step two: set up a shortcut to tell your phone to switch the wallpaper automatically when a song plays. Here’s a link to a basic version of the shortcut made to work with ONE album/wallpaper set. If you want multiple, you’ll need to go into the guts of the shortcut and add a couple steps for each additional album you want to create a wallpaper for. For each additional album you want to change your Lock Screen for, add an “If” statement to the shortcut. Then tap the first item that says “Input” and select “Album”. Then, where it says “Condition”, tap “contains”. Then, where it says “text”, type the name of the album you’re referencing EXACTLY as it appears in the Music app (spelling, symbols, and capitalization matter). After you’ve added and set up the “If” statement, you need to add the “Switch Wallpaper” action. After adding this action, it will prompt you to select a wallpaper; choose the one you created to match the album you’re currently working on.

Step three: create an automation to run the shortcut automatically. Go to the Automations tab of the shortcut app, and tap “create new personal automation”. Then, when presented with trigger options, choose “App”, and then make sure “Is Open” AND “Is Closed” are both selected. Then, where it says “App”, tap “Choose”, and select some of your most frequently used apps. I selected about twenty of my most frequently used apps.

Step four: after you've set up the automation, you’ll want to prevent it from telling you it’s running, since it’ll happen any time you open or close your most used apps (all those notifications will get annoying pretty quickly). Go to the automation you just made in step three, then turn off the toggle for “Ask Before Running”, and then turn make sure then toggle for “Notify When Run” is also turned off.

And that’s it! Now, any time you open or close any of the apps you designated in step three, your phone will check to see what song is playing (if any), and will change your wallpaper to match the album the song belongs to.

Here’s a short video of the shortcut in action using Taylor Swift inspired wallpapers.

Shortcuts can be notoriously difficult to set up, so if you have any questions, feel free to reach out through our contact page for support!

If you’re going to the tour and don’t want to know the setlist, then:

⚠️ Spoiler Warning

Like right now.

Seriously.

Look away, DON’T glance down.

At all.

Okay, you’re still here.

Onward!

The setlist:

1. Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince

2. Cruel Summer

3. The Man

4. You Need To. Calm Down

5. Lover

6. The Archer

7. Fearless

8. You Belong With Me

9. Love Story

10. ‘tis the damn season

11. willow

12. marjorie

13. champagne problems

14. tolerate it

15. …Ready for it?

16. Delicate

17. Don’t Blame Me

18. Look What You Made Me Do

19. Enchanted

20. 22

21. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

22. I Knew You Were Trouble

23. All Too Well (10 Minute Version)

24. seven

25. invisible string

26. betty

27. the last great american dynasty

28. august

29. illicit affairs

30. my tears ricochet

31. cardigan

32. Style

33. Blank Space

34. Shake It Off

35. Wildest Dreams

36. Bad Blood

37. surprise song

38. surprise song

39. Lavender Haze

40. Anti-Hero

41. Midnight Rain

42. Vigilante Shit

43. Bejeweled

44. Mastermind

45. Karma

I have so many thoughts but first of all: how fucking insane is it that she’s doing FORTY FIVE SONGS per night!?!? In my wildest dreams, I was hoping for a count in the low thirties. This woman truly goes FAR above and beyond for her fans. I can’t imagine how physically taxing this tour will be for her, doing a three hour long show two or three nights a week until September.

Given that number of songs, it feels supremely disrespectful and unappreciative to suggest that anything about it isn’t good enough, but I do find the lack or representation for two albums in particular a bit striking. Speak Now has only ONE song on the permanent setlist, and the debut album has NONE. While Taylor may supplement the representation for these albums using the two surprise songs, that still doesn’t really do much to close the gap between these neglected albums and most of the others, which on average gave at least five songs each.

My expectation going in was that the more recent, untoured albums would be favored, but not quite this extensively. I expected there to be about thirty songs on the setlist, with a decent number of mashups/medleys. I expected each album to get at least two songs, but for some to get up to four or five. What I didn’t expect was for ANY album to get seven or eight, which is what happened. Folklore got the most, at eight, then was Midnights at seven, followed by Lover at six, and Evermore at five. 1989 also had five, while Red and Reputation both got four. That left Speak Now with one, and the Debut album with NO songs on the recurring setlist. Very curious, especially given the strong hints that Speak Now would be the next rerecorded album to be released.

I went into “Red (Taylor’s Version)” with a pretty sour attitude, and I want to address that first, because while my opinions have since changed and I’m now very pleased with the album, I still think my frustrations at the time were valid. I posted the following on Reddit the week before the album was released:

Is anyone else feeling a bit down on Red (TV)? I’m a huge fan, don’t get me wrong, but the lack of promo material for this album has me feeling ambivalent about it, and at times even resentful.

She first told us about the album five months ago, and I just think that’s a lot time to let us sit on the knowledge that it’s coming, but to keep us wondering the whole time if could finally be the day we get a single or a vault track or something. The fact that the album comes out a week from today and we still haven’t gotten ANYTHING is really frustrating to me, and it’s souring me on the album as a whole. It feels like Taylor is taking advantage of our dedication and our excitement by keeping us all anxious and waiting, but never giving us more than a 10 second scrap of a song.

Red was one of the re-records that I was most excited for, but now I’m just feeling a bit aggravated at the thought of it. I feel like we deserve at least one single to help us get in the mood for it, especially given that Fearless (TV) gave us 3 singles (with two of them being vault tracks) across a much shorter time frame.

I recognize that this probably isn’t the general sentiment right now because most people ARE excited, and I know Taylor doesn’t owe us anything, I’m just curious if anyone else is feeling the same way.

I was excited for the first single to drop so we could get a taste of what the next chapter in the Taylor’s Version story would sound like, to begin comparing and contrasting with how “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” sounded. Unfortunately, weeks and months were passing with no singles ever being released, and really no other promotional material to help get me excited about the rerelease. Even though Taylor promoted her version of “Red” heavily following its release, I still think my points stand.

Anyway, once the album finally came out, I really enjoyed it. So, without further adieu:

My Notes

As with my “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” review, I won’t go song by song for the entire album since most of them aren’t original, but here are my more general thoughts and some specific points I wanted to make.

The album sounds really good. Her voice is, again, noticeably more mature. The production on most of these songs is as good as ever, and I actually think it’s better in more than a few cases. However, there are a few songs where I don’t think they were improved, and they sound a little too different from the originals for my taste, and that’s particularly true of some of the louder, more upbeat songs like “I Knew You Were Trouble,” “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” and “22.” They just sounded a bit hollow to me the first few times I listened to them. Taylor’s voice is front and center, but it sounds like the instruments were positioned about 20 feet behind her when it was recorded. They lack bass and they aren’t punchy enough. However, listening to these songs in Spatial Audio does improve the experience significantly. It no longer sounds like the instruments are far away, instead it’s as if you’re inside the song and the instruments are all around you (though they still aren’t quite loud enough). It gives me the impression that these songs were recreated with Spatial Audio in mind, and tuned specifically for that format to the detriment of the stereo listening experience. Even taking that into account, those more upbeat songs still aren’t produced as well as the originals, and they just needed to sound a little fuller.

While we’re talking about how the songs sound, “Girl At Home” is an interesting case study. On the original album, it was arguably my least favorite song. Frankly, it’s sonically boring, and the lyrics come across as a little high and mighty to me. That said, in the interest of having the most faithful rerecords possible, I don’t like how much she changed it. It doesn’t sound much like the original at all, and while I must admit that I like the new version better and find it significantly more enjoyable, the idea that she’s willing to change songs that much scares me. I don’t like her setting the precedent that the original sounds of some of her less popular songs aren’t off the chopping block; it would really upset me if she changed a song like “I Wish You Would” or something else that was a lesser known track from its album, but now I’m afraid that’s a possibility. “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” was a more faithful recreation than “Red (Taylor’s Version),” and it made me feel really good about the prospects of everyone getting their favorite songs recreated in a way that was faithful to the originals, even if your favorite wasn’t everyone else's favorite. “Girl At Home” is causing that fear to creep back in a bit.

On a different note, I was really stoked that she got Gary Lightbody back for “The Last Time.” That was the song with a featured artist I was most excited to hear recreated, and also the one where I thought it was most uncertain whether the featured artist would return, so I’m really glad she got him back, and the song sounds great. It’s always been one of my favorites from “Red.”

I was worried that the vault songs on this album wouldn’t be terribly impressive, both because there were so many of them, and because most of the Vault songs from Fearless weren’t terribly impressive. However, the “Red” Vault did not disappoint. There were some songs we’d heard before, and they were more or less what we were expecting, but the new songs were all more capable of holding their own that the “Fearless” Vault tracks. I could envision an alternate history where any of those songs had made it on the original album.

The Vault, Song by Song:

As usual, I’ve given each song two ratings out of ten, the first rating is how I felt about it after the first time I listened to it, the second is how I feel about it after more listens and some time to process each track.

“Ronan (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”: 4.5/10, 2/10

I don’t like anything about this track. It’s slow, depressing, and nothing about it is musically impressive. Most of the lyrics don’t even rhyme. Yeah, yeah, I’m an asshole. We know.

“Better Man (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”: 9.5/10, 9/10

It takes a little getting used to just because it’s not what we’re used to, but I love it. It’s crazy that her original “Better Man” demo from 2012 leaked right before the album came out, but I liked it, and I liked that this was very similar to it.

“Nothing New (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) [feat. Phoebe Bridgers]”: 6.5/10, 5/10

This song would’ve made a lot more sense if it’d come out in 2012. Also, one of my friends pointed out that the duet could’ve been better if they were having more of a conversation between someone at the start of their career and someone well established, rather saying almost the exact same things, as if they were both fledgling celebrities.

“Babe (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”: 7/10, 6.5/10

The “promises promises” part was unexpected and less than needed, but I still like the song. Like “Better Man,” it does take some getting used to.

“Message In A Bottle (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”: 6.5/10, 6.5/10

This one is very poppy. It’s a bit more early 2000s bubblegum pop though, and I’m glad that her pop style evolved in the direction of 1989 rather than having gone this way. That said, I do like the song.

“I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) [feat. Chris Stapleton]”: 8.5/10, 7/10

She sounds like a pirate at the beginning. Other than that, I like the song. It clearly ties in with “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” (see: “do you have all the space that you need”), and I think it fits the “Red” vibe pretty well. I don’t see why Chris Stapleton is here though. Did he also get left by a boy who thought he was better than him? Probably not, and he doesn’t really add anything to the song.

“Forever Winter (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”: 6.5/10, 7/10

I liked this one a lot. I expected it to be the “rip your heart out and stomp on it” song, but none of the new vault tracks really were that (I think she saved it all for ATW10, which is fine). I think this track is a good commentary on men’s mental health, which doesn’t get talked about nearly enough. The man in the song is clearly dealing with some mental health issues, and the girl is slow to recognize it and clueless as to how to fix it. It’s from her perspective, but it’s 100% about him.

“Run (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) [feat. Ed Sheeran]”: 6/10, 7/10

I liked this one a little more than I expected to. I think the fact that it didn’t make the album original led to it being repurposed and turned into “I Know Places.”

“The Very First Night (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”: 7/10, 6/10

This one is good, but a little forgettable despite being very catchy. People have been trying to out Taylor as a lesbian forever, and I don’t buy that at all, but someone pointed out to me that the lines “didn’t read the note on the Polaroid picture” and “no one knows about the words that we whispered” are followed by lines that go “do you know how much I miss you” and “they don’t know how much I miss you,” and in both cases, the line “how much I miss her” would’ve rhymed perfectly. Probably a coincidence, but interesting nonetheless. And “miss her” rhymes so much better that I often sing it wrong.

“All Too Well (Ten Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”: 7.5/10, 9/10

Ah, where to begin? I guess the beginning is the best place: right from the start, you know that this is not the “All Too Well” we’re used to. It’s a little slower, but the whammy bar in those first few measures is a little hypnotic and I think it sounded great. Following that, it took a little longer than I expected for us to start hearing some of the added lyrics. When they finally do come in, they take you by surprise: one of the first added lines is “fuck the patriarchy.” This really put my guard up. I was not expecting Taylor to come out swinging with some political message in her most beloved and most anticipated song ever. After a few listens, and a few conversations with friends who were also taken aback, you piece together that she’s talking about the “keychain on the ground,” which we’re to presume had the words “fuck the patriarchy” on it. This makes more sense and is a lot less random, and it also makes it somewhat plausible that this line was from the original version of the song, but still, the way the line is delivered makes it sounded pointed and modern, almost disconnected from the lyrics that come before and after it. Maybe Jake Gyllenhaal really had a keychain that said that, but it’s hard to know, and the line certainly does play well with Taylor’s liberal fanbase today.

Next: the best lyric in the song. I have no idea why she wouldn’t have put this in the original. “You kept me like a secret but I kept you like an oath” is an absolutely devastating piece of lyrical genius. Honorable mention to “they say all’s well that ends well/but I’m in a new hell every time/you double cross my mind.”

This part isn’t as impressive from a lyrical perspective, but her voice is really powerful and I love the part where she sings about her dad telling her “it’s supposed to be fun, turning 21” as she sits at her own party upset about her boyfriend who didn’t show up.

There are two times where the sound of the song shifts so dramatically that it almost sounds like a separate song entirely. The first of those is when she sings “And I was never good at telling jokes.” You aren’t exactly sure where it’s going, but it fits the vibe of the rest of the song, if not the sound.

The second time when the sound of the song shifts is when she sings about the snow “and how it glistened as it fell.” The last two minutes of the song are really slow. It feels like this maybe should’ve been “All Too Well (Eight Minute Version)” but she had to live up to ten after nearly a decade of rumors, so she stretched it out a little bit. I know some people think the extra time to wind down is good after such an emotional song, but I think I would’ve liked it better if it went out with the same energy as 2012 Taylor screaming “broke me like a promise,” even if it needed to be a little shorter to make it work.

Overall, I really love this track, and it is now the only version of All Too Well that I listen to. It isn’t perfect, but I think there’s enough here that’s great that is has replaced the original for me.

Final Thoughts

This album is really good, but it’s not as faithful a recreation of its source material as Fearless (Taylor’s Version). I hope Red (Taylor’s Version) is the outlier and not Fearless (Taylor’s Version).

That said, I hope that “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” is the outlier when it comes to vault tracks, because “Red” knocked it out of the park. Granted, having ATW10 is an unfair advantage, but the rest of the vault tracks were all solid, and the same can’t be said for “Fearless.” I still think she could have some great stuff up her sleeve, and I’m especially excited for the vault tracks from “1989” and “Reputation.”

I’ll get skewered by the Swiftie mob for this, but Red (Stolen Version) was never my favorite Taylor album, and it still isn’t. Right after the rerecord was announced, I had thought that it may give me the opportunity to appreciate this album on a deeper level than I had before, and allow me to connect with it in that almost spiritual way that some Swift fans do. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. I still think it’s a great album, I respect the hell out of it, and I’ve loved having this opportunity to experience it, but the lack of promo before the release did take its toll, as well as the issue of it not being quite as sonically similar to the original, with some of the most popular songs sounding slightly hollow. I hope that this turns out to be the worst of the rerecorded albums, for me. But I am genuinely happy for the fans for whom this will be the best rerecord, because even if they don’t think it’s perfect, I know how much this album means to people and I’m glad they’re getting to re-experience it like this.

I will say though, l hope that with the next Taylor’s Version album, she doesn’t announce it until she’s a little closer to its release date, or that she at least gives us a single or two to get us through. I think a lot of my more negative opinions were shaped by my early disappointment.

Overall, I liked this movie a lot. I’d give it an 8/10. ⚠️ Spoiler Warning. Here are some unorganized thoughts:

• There’s no reason this couldn’t have been released during Phase 3. It would’ve fit perfectly, and it’s absurd that it came after Nat’s death in “Endgame.”

• Scarlett Johansson was incredible, as always.

• Florence Pugh was delightful.

• David Harbour was a bit of a drag.

• I get that the Taskmaster was a victim and we’re supposed to feel bad for her, but she creeped me the fuck out. She needed to die. With fire.

• The whole plot of this movie is based around that the fact that the (offscreen) death of the bad guy wasn’t stone cold certain, and somehow he survived. So in this movie, one would think they’d go out of their way to show his death, but they don't. It’s implied, but we know he survived the last explosion, we can’t assume there’s no way he could’ve survived this one.

• Speaking of Dreykov, he gave me big creep vibes, very Weinstein-y.

• The whole mask wearing swithceroo was a useful but lazy plot device. In my opinion, if a movie is doing so much offscreen plot development that it has to go back and explain itself to viewers after the relevant on-screen action has taken place, that isn’t a great sign.

• I think it’s time for the witty, Tony Stark based humor of the MCU to evolve, and it doesn’t seem like it is. I’m not saying they shouldn't still make funny movies, but the brand of comedy they’re doing just feels a bit tired. I was hoping Phase 4 is where they might’ve chosen to refine it, but that doesn’t seem to be happening.

I wrote the following post on September 9th, the day after I saw Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and never really came back to it. I haven’t really thought about the movie at all since then, which ought to be criticism enough. ⚠️ Spoiler Warning. Anyway, here’s what I was going to say, had I not more or less forgotten about the film:

I just saw Shang-Chi last night, but I think I’ve already got most of my thoughts in order.

Overall, I’d give the movie a 5/10. I was going to say 4/10, but I don’t want to be too harsh prematurely. I didn’t care enough about the film to write a huge review, but I’ve jotted down some thoughts, some more flesh out out than others. Spoiler Warning

• Awkwafina (ridiculous name) was funny, and her character was the best, but she was also very predictable. The witty sidekick is almost a trope in Marvel films at this point. Marvel is an action franchise with a lot of comedy, but the comedy is going to have to evolve. I expected that to happen with the start of phase four, but based on Black Widow (which was great) and Shang-Chi, it hasn’t.

• The actor who plays Shang-Chi, Simu Liu, is just not that convincing of an actor. “I'm gOing to kiLL mY fAtHeR,” c’mon dude.

• Shang-Chi is called “Shaun” half the time, so I’m gonna stick with that too.

• There were several things that reminded me of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Apparently, Shaun’s mom was a dancing air bender? And that's where half of Shaun’s “power” comes from?

• The other half of his power comes from the rings, which are of unknown origin and lack and specific power other than like… flying around. And coming back. Like a boomerang. Also, the power of the rings themselves is poorly defined. Presumably, they’re very powerful, but in the scene where Shaun’s mom fights his dad, she beats him and the rings seem pretty lame. Their power varies a lot to suit the needs of the plot.

• Bringing back Trevor Slattery from Iron Man 3 was a great call, but they fumbled the opportunity. The character wasn’t the same, and the performance felt flat.

• The plot didn’t make a ton of sense. They don’t really explain why the dragon scales make their weapons so powerful, but we’ll chalk it up to magic I guess. Too many things in this film were explained by magic though.

• Shaun's costume… is lame. it looks cool in the first scene where it’s shown folded up, but after that it looks like some cheap, off-red, fake leather BDSM getup from a shady internet site.

• Inarguably, the best part of the movie was the post credits scene where we see that Captain Marvel has grown her hair back out after Avengers: Endgame.

I’m not an audiophile, but most people who claim to be are full of shit anyway, so. Long story short: Spatial Audio is incredible. Lossless is completely unnoticeable.

Apple has really hyped up this announcement, and I don’t think the hype is unwarranted. Everyone I’ve had try listening to a song in Spatial Audio has been thoroughly impressed by it. It might take a little getting used to, but I think this really could be the next big step for audio quality that we’ll point to decades from now as a turning point. It doesn’t necessarily improve every song, but it doesn’t really make any song worse. Particularly with older music, there are tradeoffs when listening to them in the Spatial Audio format, but I think it’s pretty much a wash. But with newer songs that were mastered specifically for this format, it’s far more immersive and enjoyable than stereo. When Spatial Audio doesn’t work well with a song, it’s fine, but when it does work well with a song, it’s incredible. If your ears are having trouble noticing the difference, there’s a place in settings where you can toggle between a Spatial Audio and stereo version of a sample track that really allows you to hear the difference and know what to listen for.

Specifically, Spatial Audio sounds like you’re situated in the middle of the music. Imagine being in a circular room with your favorite artist or band. It’s different depending on how each individual song is mixed, but for example, you could be listening to the artist’s voice front and center, while there’s a guitar off to the right a bit, some drums behind you and to the left, etc.

With AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, this effect gets even better, because they further amplify Spatial Audio with the addition of Dynamic Head Tracking. This feature uses the motion sensors in the headphones to follow your head and move the sound around you based on the position of the headphones in 3D space. For example, if the artist’s voice is coming from right in front of you, and you turn your head to the right, you’ll hear the voice in your left ear, as if it’s originating from the same point in space. When this works well, it makes you forget you have anything in your ears (and it makes the people in the coffee shop next to you wonder why you keep turning your head so far in their direction). It’s seriously uncanny, it’s as is if the music was made for you in that moment. In my testing, it seems like this is already working with a lot of the songs that are available in Dolby Atmos but not with all of them (I guess it’s possible that my ears just suck, but I don’t think so). There’s no rhyme or reason to when it seems to work and there’s no way to know for sure whether Dynamic Head Tracking is active, but the feature is still in beta testing so hopefully this is just a bug and it’ll be more consistent by the time the feature rolls out. In any case, this is another great feature for AirPods Pro. I could never recommend AirPods Max to anybody, but I can’t say enough good things about AirPods Pro. I wrote a glowing review when they first came out, and Apple has continued to add features like Dynamic Head Tracking and the just-announced Conversation boost that make them an even better value.

It has to be said, though, that there is a pretty big downside to Spatial Audio and lossless. Songs downloaded in Dolby Atmos or lossless take a TON of storage. I downloaded about four albums to test the feature out, a total of about 75 songs, and it took 2.6 GIGABYTES of space. If you like music, you should probably consider doubling up on your iPhone storage next time you upgrade.

In addition to being a storage hog, these features highlight another failing of the music app’s design. It’s always unclear what format any particular song is downloaded in, and the only way to change it is to remove and redownload the song after adjusting your preferences in the Settings app. There needs to be a way to adjust the version on a per-song basis. I see no reason why they couldn’t add two or three options to the menu when you long press on a song or album to include options like “Download Dolby Atmos” and “Download Lossless.” And they should have master buttons to convert all songs in your library to the Dolby Atmos or lossless when they become available; it’s not reasonable to expect people to delete and re-download albums as they become available, which has a the potential to mess up their playlists that include any of those songs. I think this is probably something that Apple will work on throughout the summer as iOS 15 matures.

Despite those drawbacks, the bottom line here is that Spatial Audio really does have the potential to revolutionize music, and I’m having a ton of fun with it. Also, if you’ve been considering a new pair of headphones, AirPods Pro are still a terrific buy.

“Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” was released over a month ago to incredible fanfare, immediately breaking records. Though, at this point, it’s fair to point out that Taylor could release an EP of herself covering some of Barney the dinosaur’s hit musical numbers and probably still manage to break at least one or two records. But alas, “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” did extremely well in its first week, (though it understandably dropped off a bit the following week; these are, after all, thirteen year old songs that just about everyone on earth has already heard and probably knows the lyrics to), coming at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and claiming the title of biggest country music album release of the past six years.

WELL WELL WELL you all really went out and left my greatest expectations in shambles this week.😆 Word on the street is you made Fearless (my version) the biggest country album 1st week of the last 6 years & the top release of 2021 so far. Honestly?? How?? Did I get this lucky??

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) April 16, 2021

My Notes

I won’t go song by song for the entire album since we’ve had most of these songs for years, but I will offer a few thoughts on the album as a whole. First off, Taylor’s vocals have really improved and matured a lot. The rerecorded songs sound almost identical to the originals, but they go down smoother. Most people who hear these songs on the radio or in public probably won’t notice a difference, but if you listen for it, you can tell. The song that might be the most noticeably different is “You Belong With Me,” and it’s still pretty true to the original.

On another note, I was really glad she got Colbie Caillat back for “Breathe,” and I hope the rest of the featured artists will come back for the other albums. I’m sure Ed Sheeran will reappear for “Red” and “Reputation,” but I do wonder whether artists like Gary Lightbody, Future, and The Civil Wars will come back around.

It was a really novel idea to give fans new songs “from the vault” that Taylor had from back in the day. Even if they weren’t included 13 years ago because they weren’t great, she’s had plenty of time to rethink them and polish them up a bit, and her fans will still eat them up. It was a fun, unique way to get people excited for an album they’d already heard, and it’s a great example of why her fans are so dedicated and loyal: she really goes out of her way to make them happy.

The Vault, Song by Song:

As usual, I’ve given each song two ratings out of ten, the first rating is how I felt about it after the first time I listened to it, the second is how I feel about it after more listens and some time to process each track. The titles are a little long, but I don’t make the rules. If I’d been through all that shit with the record companies, I’d probably put my name on every song I own, too.

“You All Over Me (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) [feat. Maren Morris]”: 8/10, 6.5/10

Maren Morris is more or less nonexistent on this track, which is fine by me. It is a good song, but a little bit more grown up than the rest of “Fearless.” It definitely sounds like Taylor, I just don’t know that it sounds like 2008 Taylor.

“Mr. Perfectly Fine (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”: 7.5/10, 8.5/10

“Mr. Perfectly Fine” just fits with the rest of fearless so… perfectly. It has that youthful naivety that made Taylor’s first few albums feel so genuine. The bridge is phenomenal. It absolutely should’ve made the album in 2008. Really the only thing I don’t like about it is the very last line.

“We Were Happy (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”: 3/10, 4/10

A bit bland, honestly. Quite forgettable. I think it tries too hard to be country, talking about buying a farm and whatnot. Probably my least favorite vault song.

“That’s When (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) [feat. Keith Urban]”: 5.5/10, 5.5/10

This one is solid. Keith Urban was a nice touch, though maybe just a little less of him would’ve been fine. The song is good background listening, but I can see why it was left of the original album; I don’t think the lyrics actually make a ton of sense.

“Don’t You (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”: 4/10, 5.5/10

The general theme for the vault songs that weren’t released before the rest of the rerecorded Fearless album (so not including “You All Over Me” and “Mr. Perectly Fine”) is that you can sort of see why they weren’t included in 2008. This one fits that theme. It’s easy listening and it’s good background music, and while the lyrics do sound like something Taylor started writing back in the day, the final version of the song sounds a little too modern to fit with the rest of “Fearless.” I don’t dislike it, though, and I think it has potential to grow on me.

“Bye Bye Baby (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”: 6/10, 4/10

I’m a little bored with the vault songs by the time I get to “Bye Bye Baby.” Again, it’s not bad, it just sort of blends in with the rest of them.

The Bottom Line

This album is absolutely excellent, and the songs from the vault are just icing on the cake. It’s hard to imagine a more faithfully executed re-recording of the original “Fearless” than what Taylor has given us in her version. I will have no problem at all listening to these new tracks instead of the old ones, and I’m glad Taylor chose to make the principled and tedious decision to go through with the re-recordings. I can’t wait for the rest.

If the rest of the “From the Vault” songs are this good, Taylor could seriously be looking at a second Album-of-The-Year Grammy for “Fearless.” I guess I was expecting 13 year old scraps from the original “Fearless” album, but this is not that. This song is terrific, better than several of the songs that made it on the album. It makes you wonder how much of it was written at the time and how much of it was fleshed out present day.

To me, it doesn’t sound exactly like the rest of “Fearless.” It’s certainly country so the similarities are there, but it doesn’t sound like 2008 country. It sounds like what great country music could be in 2021, if it weren’t for the repetitive pop-hybrid garbage that’s been coming out of Nashville for the past decade. Given the slight changes made to “Love Story,” I wonder if perhaps that’s what she’s going to give us, a timeless country album remade to be just a little more timeless and show the country music industry how off base they’ve been since she left.

Check out “You All Over Me” here.

Last night at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, Taylor Swift took home one of the biggest awards of the night, when her surprise eighth album “folklore” was named album of the year. This honor follows several other album-of-the-year awards for “folklore,” including titles from Rolling Stone and the Apple Music Awards.

Many people were talking about Beyoncé’s record setting wins, but nobody mentioned the historic nature of Swift’s most recent award. Prior to last night, there were only two artists in Grammys history who had won the “album of the year” title three times, and they were Frank Sinatra and Stevie Wonder. But last night, Taylor Swift joined their ranks, as only the third person to ever win the Grammy for album of the year three times, and the only female act ever to do so. She had previously won the title in 2010 (for her second album, “Fearless”) and in 2016 (for her fifth album, “1989”).

Regardless of how you felt about “folklore” and whether or not it was your style of music, it was clear that there was something special about it from the very start, and I’m glad it’s gotten the recognition it deserves. It was the perfect quarantine album, and it was a masterful showcasing of Swift’s talent for songwriting and storytelling.

For those who aren’t aware, Taylor Swift is in the process of re-recording her first six albums.

My hope for the re-recordings was that they would be as similar to the originals as possible. I’ve never been a fan of remixes, and Taylor’s old songs in particular hold such a sacred place for so many people. I was very afraid that we’d end up with pop versions of country songs that would just sound like garbage, and that’s probably the worst case scenario. I wanted to be able to listened to the re-recorded songs instead of the originals, not have them as supplemental versions.

While the originals will always hold a special place in my heart, from what we’ve heard so far, I think I’ll be able to make a clean break from them, and leave them in the past to prevent Taylor’s bullies from profiting off of their underhanded deal to buy her music out from under her.

The first re-recorded song to be released was “Love Story,” and it sounds incredible. It’s so similar to the original that you may not notice it isn’t the original, but once you’re clued in, you can hear subtle differences, like the more present violin in the chorus, and a few words that Swift pronounces ever so slightly differently. On the whole, her voice is smoother and more mature, but the song is just as authentic as ever. It’s nostalgic, it really feels like you’re revisiting a moment in time.

The album artwork is great, it’s a similar pose to the original album, and it makes use of the yellow/gold color, but it too is more mature. Like the other albums Taylor owns, the cover does not feature her name.

The rest of the re-recorded “Fearless” album comes out April ninth, and you can go ahead and pre-order/pre-add it to your library here.

Taylor Swift’s surprise ninth album dropped December 11th. “evermore” broke records, but it’s one of her worst albums, in my opinion.

First, my general feelings:

Described as a sister album to “folklore,” “evermore” certainly does have much in common with its predecessor. Generally though, such comparisons only serve to make “folklore” look better: “evermore” is, undoubtedly, the ugly sister. Well, maybe not ugly — “evermore” doesn’t completely lack redeeming qualities — but “folklore” was objectively the better album.

My gut tells me that there is enough sonic cohesion and similar themes that there was potential for “evermore” to be good, but it just missed the mark. Yes, it tries to be about storytelling in the same way that “folklore” was, and that’s not entirely bad, but it feels like too much of a stretch. If I had to sum up the theme of what this album SHOULD have been in one word, that word would be “closure.” Yes, there is a track called “closure,” but that’s not why that word comes to mind: “closure” is the unacknowledged overarching theme of this album because the best songs are about making peace with turbulent pasts.

Song by Song:

I’ve given each song two ratings out of ten, the first rating is how I felt about it after the first time I listened to it, the second is how I feel about it now, a few weeks later and after dozens of listens.

“willow”: 7.5/10, 7/10

I think this was probably the best choice to start the album with. It’s a solid song, catchy and sweet. Although, as someone whose name escapes me pointed out, the lyric “lost in your current like a priceless wine” doesn’t really make any sense.

“champagne problems”: 6/10, 8/10

“champagne problems” is a very specific and I don’t suppose very many people are going to feel a direct connection to a called off engagement, but it really has some solid lyrics and a gripping story. You can almost imagine it being an alternate reality version of “All Too Well.” It certainly has a similar sound. Definitely works with the “closure” theme I mentioned.

“gold rush”: 5/10, 5.5/10

I expected this track to be my favorite, but it just isn’t. I expected something historical based on the title, and was left with something disappointingly metaphorical.

“‘tis the damn season”: 7/10, 6.5/10

This is another one that’s quite specific, but to the holidays rather than a called off engagement. It’s a relatable story about a desire to rekindle an old flame, though personally I find the temporary nature of the sought after relationship to be a little off putting on the grounds of its disingenuousness.

“tolerate it”: 7/10, 3/10

A real bore, if I’m being honest. I think my initial rating was based more on the expectation that it was going to be great because it was track five, but that’s simply not the case. Yes it’s sad, but it’s not as emotionally stirring as a track five is supposed to be. Sonically, it’s monotonous and certainly not the best track five candidate from the album.

“no body, no crime (feat. HAIM)”: 8/10, 5/10

People seem to like this one a lot, but I’m not the biggest fan. Yes it tells a fun story, but it’s very fictional and the music sounds a little… cliche. It sounds like something from the movie “Holes.”

“happiness”: 9.5/10, 9/10

All hail track seven, the track five of “evermore.” It’s emotionally gripping, not just sad for the sake of being sad. The pace is good, the lyrics are great. Best track on the album, no contest. It’s one of the only songs on this album that can hold it’s own with the rest of Taylor’s work. Fits beautifully with the “closure” theme.

“dorothea”: 5/10, 4/10

How many tracks do we need named after old ladies? This is filler.

“coney island”: 4/10, 3/10

Another song that, based on the title, had a lot of potential to tie in a cool historical element like “the last great american dynasty,” but it’s just another missed opportunity. It drones on, the national sucks, and it’s very forgettable. The most memorable line is a stupid one about a birthday cake in a hallway that’s completely out of place. You could argue that this goes well with the “closure” theme, though.

“ivy”: 6/10, 6.5/10

Not a bad song. It’s catchy and it tells an interesting story, but Taylor’s inner potty mouth really came out on this one. I’m not personally offended by swearing, but a lot of people are, and making the catchiest line of the song include the word “goddamn” for no reason is an interesting choice.

“cowboy like me”: 4/10, 3/10

This one is just monotonous and forgettable. Filler.

“long story short”: 6.5/10, 7/10

Definitely one of the better songs on the album. It’s upbeat and positive. Nothing super remarkable about it, though. This one also definitely works with the “closure” theme.

“marjorie”: 4/10, 5/10

Maybe I’m a dick for saying that I don’t like the song about Taylor’s dead grandmother, but I just don’t like it. It’s a sweet idea to have a recording of Marjorie herself singing in the background, though, so I’ll give it an extra point for that. Fits the theme.

“closure”: 5/10, 5/10

“closure” is alright. It isn’t my favorite, but I dare say it works with the theme.

“evermore”: 3/10, 3/10

I don’t like this one at all. The pacing is weird, and Taylor and Justin Vernon singing over each other was annoying and impossible to follow. Terrible choice for the album title based on how bad the song is. Maybe if you got rid of Bon Iver, this song could be better. I think it would actually still work as the album title if it sounded a little better, because I do think it fits with the “closure” theme.

“right where you left me”: 4/10, 5.5/10

This one is a little bit catchy, and it grew on me a little after the first time I heard it, but it also feels like filler. Probably why it ended up being a bonus track.

“it’s time to go”: 5/10, 6.5/10

This one is not bad. I don’t love it but I’m not mad that it exists, it could’ve been a nice addition to an album that wasn’t “evermore.” I can’t say exactly why, I just don’t think it fits here. Maybe a different version of “evermore” could’ve made it work: the version where the “closure” theme was properly recognized.

Final Notes

I don’t love the cover. The colors and the photography are nice, but a closeup shot of the back of her head is an odd shot to go with.

Unfortunately, this album just feels a bit aimless; I don’t know what it set out to accomplish. “folklore” was all about telling stories, and this one tells a few stories, but some of them feel manufactured just for the sake of calling this a sister album to “folklore.” The stories “evermore” tells weren’t stories that were dying to tell themselves.

Rather than writing a bunch of songs and then deciding which ones to form into two distinct albums, I get the impression that Taylor wrote “folklore,” saw how well received it was, and decided to just keep going. A bit like when a child tells a joke and makes the adults in the room laugh, so they quickly try to make up another joke to bag a few more laughs, and the adults are forced to awkwardly go along with it when really the joke is a real stretch and doesn’t make much sense. Taylor should have stopped after “folklore,” we didn’t need “evermore.” In my opinion, it’s an overcrowding addition to a distinct era that was doing just fine with one album.

If she did write all of the songs on “folklore” and “evermore” at the same time, she sure did arrange them in a weird manner between the two albums. If that’s the case, I think this project would’ve been better off as one album with a side A and side B, with about 12 songs per side.

I keep coming back to the closure theme. It seems like such a missed opportunity. Toss out a handful of the songs and then maybe add one or two more that work with the theme, and you could’ve had a great album.

Rebecca Rubin, writing for Variety:

Warner Bros. executive Tom Ascheim has been promoted and will oversee the studio’s Harry Potter franchise and Wizarding World properties. Ascheim also serves as the president of kids, young adults and classics at Warners. He reports to WarnerMedia chief Ann Sarnoff.

As part of his new responsibilities, Ascheim acts as the chief representative of WarnerMedia in its relationship with author J.K. Rowling and her reps, agent Neil Blair and Blair Partnership Chief Creative Officer James McKnight. He will also be tasked with expanding the Wizarding World property for the studio’s various outlets and platform partners. The studio didn’t make any concrete plans for the future of Harry Potter in Thursday’s announcement.

Lauren Sarner, writing for The New York Post:

Warner Bros. and HBO Max released this killjoy joint statement: “There are no Harry Potter series in development at the studio or on the streaming platform.”

This announcement definitely carries some strong implications, even despite the fact that Warner Brothers has denied any current Harry Potter projects; they could definitely be contemplating something for the future that may not be in development yet. My guess is that they probably want to just wait a while before they announce anything, allowing more time for the outrage surrounding J.K. Rowling over her comments on biological sex and transgenderism to die down a bit before they announce a new project.

I’m super excited for the possibility of a Harry Potter show. It would be a delightful way to give fans fresh content for years to come, if they did seven seasons with roughly one episode per book chapter. But they could really go for a lot more than that: I could see ten seasons with 15-20 episodes each, if they start before book one and don’t equate one book to one season (which I think there’s a strong argument for). I think the best option for a Harry Potter television show would be a more in-depth dive into the books: break out of the tendency to focus on the story from Harry’s perspective, utilize plenty of flashbacks, expand on smaller story lines, etc. Show us scenes that we saw in the books but not the films, and even scenes that were implied in the books but not directly shown (e.g. Hagrid rescuing Harry from Godric’s Hollow, Hermione in the library spotting the basilisk through her mirror, Sirius escaping from Azkaban, Voldemort creating a Horcrux, etc.). Something like Game of Thrones would be great, but I don’t think it needs to be quite as dark or bloody.

They could also be considering more of a spinoff series that still takes place in the Wizarding World, perhaps a “Quidditch Through The Ages” adaptation following the Chudley Cannons (something in the vein of “Ted Lasso” could be fun, with that specific idea), or as mentioned on Mugglecast #498, a Grey’s Anatomy-style drama about the daily goings on at St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, or maybe a political drama about the Minister of Magic. There are lots of possibilities for spinoffs, but given how spectacularly the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise is nose diving and the complete disaster that resulted in giving other authors creative control with “Cursed Child,” I think they’d be better off to stick to a more direct adaptation of the books, with J.K. Rowling heavily involved in creating content for the new scenes, but with someone else actually writing the screenplay.

The Band Camino is one of my favorite bands, and they’ve got a ton of great, catchy songs that look at life from different perspectives.

Their latest single, “Roses”, is a great song, and it’s the perfect anthem to kick off 2021.

Check out the song, but also the music video.

I’ve listened to a few episodes of the “Noble Blood” podcast, and this episode about the King Edward II of England, and his lover Piers Gaveston is really fascinating. It reminds me a bit of Renly Baratheon and Loras Tyrell from Game of Thrones.

Also worth noting: the host does a great job of contextualizing same sex relationships during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, before that predisposition was given a label and took on an entire identity. Men today often seem compelled to perform a particular lifestyle upon acknowledging their same sex attractions, but that’s actually a very recent phenomenon, and prior to a few decades ago, that wasn’t the case at all. I’m glad the host took the time to make sure listeners understand that while we have labels for men in positions similar to Edward II and Piers Gaveston, they did not define themselves in this way.

It’s a fascinating story, and well worth a listen.

This is a mature topic, but we’re going to be straightforward. Practically everyone in America who’s older than like 13 and has an internet connection watches porn, lets not kid ourselves or feel ashamed about it; it’s normal.

Nicholas Kristof, from The New York Times:

[Pornhub] is infested with rape videos. It monetizes child rapes, revenge pornography, spy cam videos of women showering, racist and misogynist content, and footage of women being asphyxiated in plastic bags. […]

It is monetizing video compilations with titles like “Screaming Teen,” “Degraded Teen” and “Extreme Choking.” Look at a choking video and it may suggest also searching for “She Can’t Breathe.”

What Kristof has done here is hardly journalism, it’s conjecture. Just because he was able to dream up a list of shocking search terms does not necessarily mean that many (if any) of the results yielded by such searches actually contain depictions of the terms included in the query, an unfortunate fact that is so obvious, even he was forced to acknowledge it.

Pornhub is like YouTube in that it allows members of the public to post their own videos. A great majority of the 6.8 million new videos posted on the site each year probably involve consenting adults, but many depict child abuse and nonconsensual violence. Because it’s impossible to be sure whether a youth in a video is 14 or 18, neither Pornhub nor anyone else has a clear idea of how much content is illegal.

I won’t say that there are no videos on Pornhub that break the rules, nor will I say that it can’t be used by those who seek to spread such content, but “many” is doing a lot of work here.

Facebook removed 12.4 million images related to child exploitation in a three-month period this year. Twitter closed 264,000 accountsin six months last year for engaging in sexual exploitation of children. By contrast, Pornhub notes that the Internet Watch Foundation, an England-based nonprofit that combats child sexual abuse imagery, reported only 118 instances of child sexual abuse imagery on its site over almost three years

A lot of work. I’ve spent my fair share of time on Pornhub, and I’ve never stumbled across any kiddy porn, but it’s really no wonder I haven’t, given that needle-in-a-haystack ratio.

Columnists are supposed to offer answers, but I struggle with solutions.

Your struggles are evident, Mr. Kristof.

If Pornhub curated videos more rigorously, the most offensive material might just move to the dark web or to websites in less regulated countries. Yet at least they would then not be normalized on a mainstream site.

More pressure and less impunity would help. We’re already seeing that limiting Section 230 immunity leads to better self-policing.

And call me a prude, but I don’t see why search engines, banks or credit card companies should bolster a company that monetizes sexual assaults on children or unconscious women. If PayPal can suspend cooperation with Pornhub, so can American Express, Mastercard and Visa.

I don’t see any neat solution. But aside from limiting immunity so that companies are incentivized to behave better, here are three steps that would help: 1.) Allow only verified users to post videos. 2.) Prohibit downloads. 3.) Increase moderation.

These measures wouldn’t kill porn or much bother consumers of it

Given that Pornhub’s best content is user generated, and they just got rid of practically all of it in one fell swoop, I wouldn’t be so certain that this isn’t going to kill porn or bother consumers of it (it occurs to me that Kristof must not watch porn: perhaps he has a very strict wife, or maybe he has a fire-and-brimstone pastor whose sermons are a sufficient deterrent).

Again, I’m sure there is some number of videos on Pornhub that are illegal or unethical, but taking action without knowing how big a problem is (no matter the case) seems likely to inhibit one’s ability to respond effectively to address the issue without creating other problems. And that’s exactly what happened.

Jordan Valinsky, reporting for CNN Business:

The changes took the number of videos on the website from 13.5 million videos down to a little under 3 million. […]

"Due to the nature of our industry, people's preconceived notions of Pornhub's values and processes often differ from reality — but it is counterproductive to ignore the facts regarding a subject as serious as CSAM, " Pornhub said in a previous statement to CNN Business.

"We have zero tolerance for CSAM. Pornhub is unequivocally committed to combating CSAM, and has instituted an industry-leading trust and safety policy to identify and eradicate illegal material from our community."

Pornhub sounds like they were scared for their life, and their reaction supports that assessment: they chose to go with the nuclear option. Rather than just hiring more moderators or looking into solutions like artificial intelligence to flag videos that could be against the rules, they removed nearly 80% of their content after being stiff armed by Kristof and the credit card networks.

Freedom of the press is important, so there’s not much we can do about reporting like this, other than dismiss it as flawed and take that into account when judging the credibility of future work from the journalists or publications involved. However, it’s clear that of the entities involved here, some of them are well overdue for some regulation, but Pornhub isn’t one of them. I hadn’t considered it much until this point, but it doesn’t take much attention to realize that credit card network companies weird enormous power, and they’ve just demonstrated that they’re willing to wield it to drive companies they don’t like out of business. The United States only has four major credit card networks (the aforementioned three, plus American Express), and while they’re independent companies, in a world where physical currency is becoming less and less relevant, it’s outrageous that four companies have gatekeeping roles over virtually ALL of the United States’ digital/electronic commerce.

Perhaps a lesser considered aspect of this move: it will cost lives. I don’t know how many, but I’m sure there are a number of people (mostly men ((see: the Coolidge effect)) but likely some women, as well) who have been refraining from hooking up with people, satiating their needs, consciously or unconsciously, by watching more porn. Getting rid of most of the biggest porn site’s best videos is going to leave those people a lot less satisfied, and more of them will go back to hooking up, likely spreading COVID in some cases. Granted, one on one encounters aren’t as risky massive church services or large thanksgiving gatherings, but this still a horribly timed move. At best, it demonstrates a lack of forethought; at worst, a lack of concern with the pandemic and a lack of respect for the lives of others, not only on the part of Pornhub for removing all the videos, but also on the part of the credit card networks and the New York Times journalist who started this snowball rolling down its hill, prudish Mr. Nicholas Kristof.

Mr. Kristof, if you don’t want to be seen as a prude, then don’t act like one. You are singlehandedly bringing about Pornhub’s downfall, for less than 200 confirmed instances of videos that break the rules. Seriously, go fuck yourself (in silence, without any porn).

My remarks from five months ago are very applicable again today:

Usually when Taylor Swift is gearing up to drop a new single, she always drops little breadcrumbs and Easter eggs for fans to collect and theorize about what they could mean and whether they’ll lead to new music, but this time, there was none of that. Not only were there no signs of a single, we’re getting an entire album. And we’re getting it at midnight TONIGHT. As a big Taylor Swift fan, it’s pretty safe to say I was blindsided but thrilled by this announcement.

It’s really interesting that she turned this around and surprised us again. This time, there was a sign or two that we could’ve picked up on, but I think most people assumed any hints were referring to her process of re-recording her first six albums. I’m curious to see if these songs were written at the same time as “folklore”, or if they came after “folklore” was finished. It’ll also be interesting to see if any of the stories from ”folklore” are continued in “evermore”.

Last time I correctly predicted that at least one song on “folklore” would prominently feature a harmonica, but this time I’m feeling violins and maybe a harp. We’ll see.

Netflix has a new, four-part docuseries that walks through the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster in an explanatory way while still being respectful of the tragedy of the event. It features a lot of interviews with NASA personnel, as well as heartbreaking accounts from the families of the astronauts who were killed. It’s really interesting and insightful; if you’re interested in the history of the United States’ space programs, or if you just don’t know much about what happened with the Challenger, this docuseries is well worth your time.

A broader societal question occurred to me while I was watching this. American history has no shortage of tragedies, but the ones people tend to obsess over and analyze endlessly (I’m thinking of JFK’s assassination, 9/11, the Challenger disaster, etc.) have something in common. They all feature people dying in violent, gruesome ways, on camera. It makes you wonder.

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President Reagan's address to the nation in the aftermath of the explosion actually included a line that is one of my favorite quotes: “The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted, it belongs to the brave.”

Miley’s new album “Plastic Hearts” is pretty good. It’s got big 80s-rock vibes, and while it’s definitely a new arena for Miley, it still sounds like her. A lot of the songs are rather vulnerable and a little dark, I hope Miley is in a good mental place.

In my opinion, the best tracks are “Plastic Hearts”, “High”, “Angels Like You”, “Golden G String”, and “Hate Me”. I think a couple of them may have the staying power to become truly iconic songs that people will love decades from now, like so many songs from the 80s are. It was really cool that she worked with iconic rockstars for some of the songs too: Joan Jett and Billy Idol made for good collaborators.

Give it a listen.

UPDATE: 12/17/20, 16:00;

The more I listen to this album, the more it strikes me that maybe this isn’t an entirely new sound for Miley. It actually reminds me a lot of what a more mature Hannah Montana might sound like. I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all.