I agree with the spirit of this so I'll let the idea that she did the "same thing" as any other woman in indie go (Taylor records are quintessentially Taylor so this feels reductive, but I realize that's not necessarily what she was getting at and I'm currently predisposed to reading everything as being in bad faith)
I definitely think a lot of the people who are loving this record but haven’t necessarily delved into the “indie” (still don’t love that descriptor but whatever) world could pretty easily make the jump to stuff like Punisher, Turn Out the Lights, Historian, etc
I am struggling with not seeing the complaints about the exposure she gets and the success she has when you do something similar not just coming off as sour grapes.... Her going "indie" is literally impossible at this point. Look at the sheer numbers she is putting up in that press release, there is nothing independent about that. She's a musician and pretty much any style of music she makes is going to have other people who also make that style. Taylor Swift is literally damned if she does and damned if she doesn't.
another thing a music writer should explore is musical artists putting out work during the pandemic as a gift to their fans. such a sweet gesture to think about. I need to listen to this zane lowe interview. Taylor Swift 'folklore' Collaborator Aaron Dessner On Recruiting Bon Iver And Hiding The Album From His Kid
We need internet sleuths to do their thing now more than ever: From Rolling Stone write up: "You mentioned William Bowery — who is he?He’s a songwriter, and actually because of social distancing, I’ve never met him. He actually wrote the original idea for “Exile,” and then Taylor took it and ran with it. I don’t actually know to be totally honest. "
The Swifties are split between Bowery being Lorde and Joe Alwyn and I'm just gonna wait and see where they land on that one
the most convincing argument ive seen is that its joe alwyn because they stayed at the bowery hotel together once.....lol
apparently he also played guitar and sang in college but I didn't see a source on that one so who knows honestly
One of the big takeways for me from that interview with Aaron Dessner about this album was that William Bowery is a pseudonym or nom de plum if you will and that Aaron Dessner DEFINITELY knows who it is but is not saying and is playing coy. It sounded like he (AD) was the only one aside from Taylor and maybe Jack Antonoff who knew exactly what this album was all about before it was announced, and managed to help her keep it secret, which is actually astounding to me in this day and age and with her fanbase.
Honestly the biggest reason Man of the Woods was ridiculed (besides being mostly underwhelming) is because the music DIDN'T match that aesthetic he was adopting. He didn't even take shit for a change in sound, so much as not delivering the change in sound his aesthetic choices promised. Edit: Well shit. Apparently other people said exactly this. Should have kept reading.
yeah thats why in his case it did come across as disingenuous and "appropriating" (lol sorry but thats such a funny word to use in the context of alternative music)
I honestly find that Notes statement from Tomberlin offensive. To make criticism that she's getting for an opinion she made publicly as an artist a feminist thing feels really disingenuous. And if you ever have to say "to be clear I'm NOT saying she's an abuser" in a statement, you've gotten lost somewhere along the line.
I’m sorry but joe alwyn does not seem like he has the chops to match Taylor. Lorde makes more sense to me.