Taylor Swift - The Life of a Showgirl (October 3, 2025) • Page 86

Also she's starting to get more flak for it from media people/sources outside of the general listening realm, in a way I don't think she's gotten before. It's not been a good look for her lol

 

This was the norm for a while though, when streaming started becoming a thing many artists would do physical first before releasing on streaming. By the time Adele did it, it was less common, but still happening. Taylor did it for a few albums too. I think it's a different kind of asterisk because that's simply a windowed release whereas current Taylor is just repackaging the same thing in different ways

 

I felt like Folklore and Evermore were created out of just a love for making music and releasing it into the world and inviting fans into this new world and every album since then has felt less strictly about that and a bit more about sales/making as much money as possible, charts, being on the top, having records, etc. and at someone like Taylor’s level…is that really the reason you should be releasing music for?

Also someone said the other day that there still is not a complete physical version of Midnights out on Reddit there to buy which I thought sounded insane until I looked and it is true. So you still have to buy multiple copies of Midnights to hear all the songs over two years later.

 

There are definitely things you can criticize about Taylor, but I always find this one a little overblown, and I think, especially with the way she's doing it for this release, it's silly to get worked up about. She's not withholding actual bonus tracks here. I promise, your fave would do this too if anyone would care enough to buy it.

Personally, I think it's dumb as hell that anyone would get these. But I also really don't care what other people choose to spend their money on.

What @ItsAndrew just described with Midnights, I do think is a little more insidious, but that's not what's happening here (so far).

 

didn't folklore have 9 variants

 

Oops you might be right

 

I listened to the album again while playing Skate, which helped because I wasn’t paying attention to the lyrics. Even then I maybe thought there were 3-4 songs sonically that I would say I liked. Because Taylor Swift is marketed as a lyrical, writerly artist (and because I like a lot of her lyrics), I did want to engage with her lyricism, but this album makes it difficult. Part of that is because the showgirl theme is inessential to the lyrical content. I don’t mean this derogatorily, but the lyrical content feels like it’s from an album called the Life of a Cheerleader. If the album were called that with the same songs it’d still be probably her worst album, but at least it’d satisfy the aesthetic and theme of the title and imagery of the album.

I really like most of Red through Midnights. I like when Taylor Swift writes a song with an interesting narrative that feels personal and dramatic, and I like when she writes a silly, pop earworm. There’s only one song on this album that comes close to that feeling. Overall I maybe liked 4-5 songs from TTPD out of 30 or whatever, and I think sonically the hit rate is still 3-5 songs I enjoyed listening to on this album. But I think I like TTPD more because I like the songs I like more, and dislike the songs I disliked less. Even though this album is only 12 songs, which I welcomed after TTPD, it ended up feeling inessential. I think plenty of artists, particularly pop stars (including rappers and the biggest bands) often have trouble maturing as songwriters who tackle urgent, relatable emotions once they approach their forties. But there are also pop stars who make compelling work about/around aging. I don’t think a single Taylor Swift song makes me as emotional as Charli’s “I Think About it All the Time” or “So I”. Those are pop songs dealing with complex emotions about aging and loss vulnerably (interestingly, Charli’s “Mean Girls” is also a better version of “Canceled” in terms of thematic subject matter, though even if I roll my eyes at both songs as anthems for obnoxious people, “Mean Girls” is way more fun to listen to). “Ruin the Friendship” is the only song on this album that comes particularly close to what I like about Taylor Swift. She’s had corny lines and bad lyrics before (and plenty of my favorite capital G Great lyricists have written clunkers, from Springsteen to Kendrick), but on Folklore, Red, 1989, and even TTPD, I felt like I was listening to someone be as honest as they felt they could be (as honest as one can be using pop music as a medium and when the person in question is a top 2 or 3 pop star in the world). There was vulnerability (even on TTPD!). Life of a Showgirl seems to be landing for some who like it as a “happy and in love” album, but I think I would have preferred a big, bright pop album if that’s the mood. I love “Shake it Off”, “22”, “New Romantics”, she has lots of great, happy sounding pop tracks, but stuff like “Wood” and “Wish List” don’t compare. Happy and in love to me sounds like “Sugar & Spice” by Luther Vandross or “Talk Talk” by Charli or something. This album rarely attempts that sort of uplifting, euphoric pop ear candy. This one album of 12 songs has maybe my bottom 3-6 Taylor Swift songs. Most of these songs come off as a PG-13 “fuck you” at perceived critics or enemies, and the critics she’s saying fuck off to seem to include segments of the audience listening to the album.

In the grand scheme of things, I still think she’s capable of albums as strong as Red/1989/Folklore, but I’m not sure that’s what she’s interested for the foreseeable future. I’m assuming she’ll write a great album again, but I just can’t take an artist seriously when they’re this corporate and marketed, shouting out their NFL fiancé’s podcast in their lyrics (which is worse and more cringey than shouting out his dick).

 

I don't think it's an "asterisk," necessarily. Any artist can do this shit if they want. Sabrina Carpenter did a similar thing with a bonus track to boost her first-week numbers this summer. The last Olivia Rodrigo album had four vinyl editions and each had a different bonus track. It's annoying, but it's definitely just the way it works now.

 

only slightly related, but i think the Target variant of folklore at one point had a pressing issue (idk if it still does with represses) where exile might've been replaced with the Long Pond version?

 

It is super weird there's not a full vinyl release of Midnights with all the bonus tracks, though. You'd think that such a clear "leaving money on the table" situation would drive Taylor crazy.

 

I both understand the endless variant conversation and would like to point out that Taylor isn't out here hawking a joint venture makeup or whiskey or perfume line. She also has very, very limited brand deals. It's unique for someone even in the artist tier under her to make 99% of her active income on merch and music-related experiences.

 

i would buy midnights again to get would've could've should've on vinyl

 

Or, you know, another pressing of Anthology.

 

now you've got me wondering what a Taylor Swift whiskey would taste like...

 

best bonus track of the last few releases is "Paris"!!!!!! a fun song that is also kind of dumb, proof it was possible for this album to be good, clunkers and all

 

Paris is not a song I like, haha

 

Paris is one of my favourites on Midnights, wonderful song.

 

Paris is in my 10 worst songs of hers, along with London Boy. If she names a song after a city, be wary!

 

I was thinking of what an actually thematic "Life of a Showgirl" album would have looked like from Taylor, and only using songs she's released since 2022, I landed with something like this, purposefully including more "showgirls" of different types.


1. The Fate of Ophelia
2. I Can Do It With A Broken Heart
3. Message In A Bottle
4. Elizabeth Taylor
5. Castles Crumbling (feat. Hayley Williams)
6. When Emma Falls in Love
7. “Slut!”
8. Father Figure
9. Nothing New (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)
10. Wi$h Li$t
11. Clara Bow
12. Opalite
13. The Life of a Showgirl (feat. Sabrina Carpenter)

There are obviously tons of other songs in her catalog (Mirrorball, Dorothea, Champagne Problems, etc.) that could fit thematically, but if this is an album she's wanted to make for a long time thematically... she did it, just not all on the same album.