Taylor Swift took the 1989 tour to Dallas this weekend. Ellie Goulding was the special guest. They sang Love Me Like You Do.
In other Taylor news…
The term “sonically cohesive” has been coming up a lot, have you noticed? She mentioned it in her GQ interview with Chuck Klosterman and it’s there during her Listening Session with The Recording Academy – have you watched it yet? If not, I’ve included the links below. Three videos, well worth your gossip study time.
The Recording Academy, of course, is the organisation that puts on the Grammys. As you know, Taylor’s 1989 wasn’t eligible for the big, big categories last year. A big category would be Album of the Year. And, as you know, she recently said that she was upset when Red did not win Album of the Year in 2014. Taylor isn’t one of those who claims to be happy just to be nominated. She’s there to win. And there’s no denying that she considers 1989 to be, at this point in her career, her masterpiece. She wants her masterpiece to be named Album of the Year. So the strategy here is clear. She’s putting in face time with the Academy. She’s telling the Academy that this “sonically cohesive” album is worthy of their vote. And she’s walking them through how she put it together.
But even though she’s blatantly campaigning… I don’t mind. The reason I don’t mind is that I enjoy hearing her talk about her work, her job. This is what I mean when I keep saying that I want her to show me how great she is at her job. I don’t care that she’s a good friend. But I have a lot of time for Taylor Swift the musician, the songwriter, the businesswoman. And that’s who she is in these videos. She knows her sh-t. She walks you through all of it. Through the process of coming up with the lyrics. Of merging it with the sound. She clearly knows her way around a recording studio. Her fingerprints are on every beat of every song. You remember what Mindy Kaling wrote in Why Not Me? It’s in the chapter about confidence and where it comes from.
“Work hard, know your sh-t, show your sh-t, and then be entitled.”
There’s no hiding how proud Taylor is of her album in these videos. And she should be. More of this, please, and less of the other side.
Click here to watch Part 1. From there you’ll be able to access parts 2 and 3.
