its always "music is subjective" until its taylor swift. no I'm not defending a millionaire white woman. I'm defending the people who enjoy her art. calling her lyrics shallow and meaningless is insulting to the people who connect with those lyrics.
After the release of The Manuscript, the role of Red and Red (Taylor’s Version) in Taylor’s life and discography has been highly discussed. A lot of people have referred to it as her magnum opus and most formative album. I have decided to compile a condensed list of about a dozen key interviews, performances, speeches, posts, and videos from 2011 all the way until 2024 that illustrate the importance of this record for Taylor’s personal life and career. I’m putting the list under a cut because it got pretty long. You don’t have to go through all of these, obviously, but I would suggest at least one per era. The bolded ones are essential in my opinion.
Pre-Red - These interviews hint at Taylor’s emotional state at the time and thus the content that will be explored on the Red album
2011 The New Yorker profile
Taylor Swift reveals new album is all about heartbreak - Extra TV
Bonus: an article going through Taylor’s arm lyrics on the Speak Now World Tour, which she described as mood rings for any particular show
Lover diary entries from the making of Red (credit to @cabincreaking for the scans)
- All Too Well lyrics first draft (February 2011)
- Random bursts of happiness and anxiety during the Speak Now Tour (June 17, 2011)
- Red (September 8, 2011)
- Holy Ground (February 2012)
- Nothing New (March 2, 2012)
- Working with Max Martin (June 10, 2012)
Red era - Listen to the original sixteen songs on the Red album at this point.
Red announcement livestream + Q&A
Red prologue
2012 Rolling Stone interview
2012 The Guardian interview
2012 Billboard interview
2012 Esquire interview
Sirius XM Town Hall - an hourlong interview from the day Red came out
Good Morning America - this is the first mention of the ten-minute version of All Too Well
Red track-by-track descriptions
Random interview where she discusses the connection between writing Speak Now and Red
I Knew You Were Trouble music video
Diary entry about how love is fiction and she might move to New York after all (January 6, 2014)
Diary entry from Grammy night (January 25, 2014)
Red Tour London performance of All Too Well - any performance of this song from 2013-14 will work here, but this one has a pretty comprehensive speech
Final performance of All Too Well on the Red Tour - just listen to the speech here
Post-Red era - Over the course of these interviews, you’ll see her relationship to the album evolve.
Taylor’s description of Clean (skip to 11:18)
2014 BBC Live Lounge interview
1989 World Tour interview where she mentions thinking she’d never sell as many albums as she did with Red before 1989 came out
Clean speech - a lot of these will work, but these two best describe her relationship with the Red era and heartbreak in general
All Too Well (The 1989 World Tour live)
2015 GrammyPro interview
All Too Well Super Saturday Night performance
Reputation Tour All Too Well speech
Red into Daylight performance - 2019 City of Lover concert in Paris
Re-recordings era - at this point, listen to the red vault
2020 Rolling Stone podcast
Red (Taylor’s Version) prologue
2021 Saturday Night Live performance
All Too Well: The Short Film + Behind the Scenes
Seth Meyers interview
2022 Tribeca film talk OR TIFF (both are equally good. I have a slight preference for the former, but there are some interesting new details in the latter). You could also watch directors on directors from the same year as a bonus, but it’s less comprehensive.
2022 Graham Norton - How All Too Well (10 Minute Version) came about + how the re-recordings inspired Midnights
Also listen to Midnights
The Eras Tour
All Too Well speech (Glendale Night 2 & Atlanta Night 1) - any of the speeches from March and April 2023 will work, but these two really illustrate how she feels about this time in her life now and how the fans changed the Red album for her. Obviously credit to @cages-boxes-hunters-foxes for the transcripts!
Maroon first ever live performance (‘This is a song about something that happened a long time ago, but it took place in New York’)
Aaaand finally listen to The Tortured Poets Department, especially The Manuscript
This is a lot, but it’s worth it. Enjoy!
fuck. can i just say something. travis kelce gets on stage at the eras tour and swifties cheer. when he shows up to her shows, he’s seen as a supportive boyfriend. but taylor swift is shown on screen at the super bowl for 5 seconds and the entire stadium boos. the president of the united states even posts about it. they say she’s “ruining football”. if you can’t see the double standard here, you are part of the problem.
the black dog
taylor nation dropping a photo of the exact moment where taylor had a life changing epiphany during glendale n1
she emotionally devastates and then just. swims away. and we let her
Wanda x castle crumbling #W
Odysseus: Achilles, don't you think you're overreacting about Patroclus's death? Achilles: What would YOU do if Penelope died? Odysseus: Achilles: Exactly.
Rep TV will get her chance someday, Taylor can't stop her from being bejeweled forever
NEVER FORGET.
OMG It's even worse than it looked
TAYLOR SWIFT | "Vigilante Shit" The Eras Tour, Tokyo Night 1