Greetings! My last edition on cancel culture generated the most pushback and disagreement that I’ve received thus far on a write-up. I think that’s a good thing! I appreciated the outreach and thoughtful responses. If you disagree with anything today, though, we might not ever get back together.
Today’s longer piece at the top is an analysis of Taylor Swift’s surprise quarantine album, released last Friday. After that, we’ll get to some likes and dislikes, as well as a quick community corner section before the songs of the week.
Let’s hit it!
On folklore
With Taylor Swift and me, it’s been a complicated relationship. Born on the exact same day (12/13/1989 baby!), we’ve been connected since birth - though she may not know it. Who am I kidding, she definitely doesn’t know it. Anyways, I haven’t always been the biggest fan of my birthday buddy. For the first chunk of her career, she came off as too fabricated for my taste - too calculated, too robotic, too savvy. Though I found a lot of her songs catchy, I discounted her obvious talent. I rolled my eyes when news of her celebrity relationships caught my attention. I wrote her off.
But hey, times change and people grow. 2020 has been a big year for Taylor and me. Early on in the year, I watched her Netflix documentary, Miss Americana. The movie showcased her relentless work ethic in a very compelling way. It made me respect the tireless pursuit of her craft that has kept Swift at the top of her industry for so long. After watching the documentary, I spent more time with her discography than I ever had before and found myself shamelessly loving it. It doesn’t hurt that “Woke Taylor” has become a thing either. I love that Swift has found her outspoken voice and channelled it into trying to make a profound impact on American life.
To top it all off, T Swift surprise released folklore just six days ago.
To quote Taylor herself, “I hate to make this all about me, but who am I supposed to talk to? What am I supposed to do if there's no you?"
Taylor babe, I just can’t quit you. I just can’t quit you at all.
This piece is not so much a review of Swift’s new album. (Here’s the short review - I like it a lot!) It’s more an analysis of some things she’s accomplished with it that I’ve noticed, respect, and would like to comment on. So with that, let’s dive in.
1) For T Swift, it’s just a little bit about the music, baby
For a lot of music’s biggest stars, the music itself has become a smaller part of the equation. Take Rihanna for example. Bad Girl RiRi has not released a new album or solo single since 2016’s Anti. She claims that a new album is in the works, but not much about it is known. In contrast, Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty company has made her the richest female musician in the world. Her newest promotional materials have been geared toward launching Fenty Skin (the launch is July 31st!), not new music. All in all, Rihanna has been “work work working” a lot on the business side of things….maybe not so much the music side.
Kanye West is another example. Earlier this year, Kanye’s Yeezy Gap announcement with the big retailer made big news and led to a surge in Gap’s stock. Fashion has become a larger piece of the puzzle for West in recent years, and this announcement furthers that trend. Take his much-maligned flirt with the presidency as well, and you have an artist who seems less focused on the music. Now, Kanye is still releasing his fair share of tunes these days, of course, but maybe he really should be more focused on the fashion at this point (not even sure this is a hot take 🤷♂️).
Altogether, the trend of music superstars relying less on music to propel their careers is well established. The Wall Street Journal reports that “roughly 20% to 50% of the typical superstar’s income now comes from revenue unrelated to music activities.” Post Malone just released a rosé brand. Jay-Z is a business, man.
Taylor Swift bucks the trend. If I learned one thing from Miss Americana, it’s that Swift musical drive is unparalleled. After releasing Lover last year, did she rest on her laurels and pursue other projects, like similar artists of her stature? Nah. All she did was get back in the lab and put another high quality record out.
Swift should be roundly praised for how seriously she takes her songwriting. Her eventual Greatest Hits album might need to be about 50 tracks deep at this rate.
2) Taylor’s “indie turn” is perfectly timed
Produced heavily by Aaron Dessner of The National and featuring a track collaboration with Bon Iver, folklore has been commonly deemed an “indie record” by fans and critics alike. This characterization is a bit overstated; it’s not like Taylor is grabbing a tambourine and singing “Ho Hey” at a campfire out in the woods.
Still, the album is a left turn for Swift - none of the songs on folklore are as Top 40 radio-friendly as you’d find on previous albums. They’re definitely not as poppy or catchy as the bangers found on Lover.
I’d argue that Swift’s genre switcheroo is perfectly timed. The COVID-19 lockdowns forced Swift to cancel her stadium tour in support of Lover. They’ve also sent scores of T Swift fans indoors, unable to blast her songs at parties, at the beach, or on joyous car rides together. What better time to take some musical risks, go a different direction, and slow things down a bit? Folklore perfectly meets the moment we’re in, embracing a more contemplative tone and featuring more scaled-back production than we’re used to hearing on Swift records.
While the songs off of folklore might be better suited for smaller venues than for massive arenas, who knows….maybe the highlights off the album will replace some of the more forgettable songs from Lover at future shows (sorry for fans of that song, but I don’t think we need more Panic! At The Disco cameos going forward).
3) With folklore, Swift fully embraces the world of streaming
Until November of 2017, none of Swift’s first 5 albums were available on Spotify. There was perhaps no star more vocally against streaming services at their inception; Swift fought vociferously for artists to be more fairly compensated for streaming than they initially were.
With folklore, Swift is showing just how far she’s come in terms of her embrace of the streaming world. Swift announced her album last Thursday, just 24 hours before its wide release (and its reveal on streaming platforms during their heavily backed “New Music Friday” promotions). At a time when music fans are buying fewer albums than ever before, and when they’re trapped indoors with little more than their phones and computers, Swift’s launch of folklore could not have happened without a full endorsement of the streaming approach.
We’ll see how the results work out for her. Folklore hasn’t been out quite long enough to hit the Billboard charts, but I have a sneaking suspicion we’ll see a new entrant overtake Juice WRLD at the top next week.
Taylor, doll. You and I have come so far. And we have so much farther to go. <333
Two Things Joe Likes This Week
1) Zuckerberg jokes
I know that the whole Zuck sunscreen thing happened last week, but it’s been a minute since I wrote my last edition. Let me revel in the joke for just one more moment, please?
2) Heartwarming content during “these trying times”
A raccoon finger painting! What could be cuter?! This post comes courtesy of pal of the Digesta Brenner, who’s been clamoring for a Digesta cameo for some time now. You made it Bren!
One Thing Joe Dislikes This Week
1) Everything about this story
I hate it here.
A story we really didn’t need in 2020? How about thousands of people paying thousands of dollars to break social distancing guidelines to attend a Chainsmokers concert in the Hamptons, a concert that was presented by Fuckjerry’s tequila brand and also featured a guest DJ set from the CEO of Goldman Sachs.
Like another highly publicized catastrophe involving Fuckjerry, the details are too many and too specific to be made up. And they paint a detailed, hysterical portrait of a particular form of American capitalism.
Tickets cost up to $25,000 and were ostensibly for charity. Event organizers claim that proper social distancing measures were enacted, but it sure doesn’t look like it here:
The New York Health Department is rightly investigating the event.
Joe’s Community Corner
I wanted to highlight three Digesta subscribers who are also the authors of their own fantastic newsletters. These three gents each have a little something different to offer, and I’d recommend checking them out and expanding those big reader brains of yours.
1) Mario Gabriele’s The Generalist (areas of focus: tech, VC, investing)
Mario is building a little venture capital newsletter empire, with three routine offerings: one with longform pieces and updates on the latest in technology news (The Generalist), one offering startup ideas from founders and investors across tech (RFS 100), and one that breaks down companies on the verge of going public (the S-1 Club).
2) Nick DeWilde’s The Jungle Gym (areas of focus: career growth, the world of work)
A nice reprieve from the inundation of emails in inboxes these days, Nick releases The Jungle Gym once a month. Each edition contains thoughtful insight about how to navigate work and a career in the modern age. Work smarter with the Jungle Gym.
3) Packy McCormick’s Not Boring (areas of focus: business strategy, investing)
Speaking of a newsletter empire, this dude Packy is on a real heater. When I met him less than two months ago, Packy was pumped about just crossing the 2,000 subscriber threshold. By the time you read this, he may have just passed 8,000 fervent readers! His piece about Snap in June was one of the best business strategy articles I’ve ever read.
3 Song Recommendations from Your Old Dear Pal
1) Taylor Swift - august
It’s only right to conclude a newsletter centered around T Swift with my favorite song from the new album. The only thing about that is, I’ve had a very hard time picking my top track thus far! The album is sonically very cohesive, and as such I have about 5 or 6 songs that all stack up pretty similarly against each other. I think my fave thus far is “august,” and thus it gets the Digesta nod.
2) Perfume Genius - On the Floor
Perfume Genius has shown up in these parts before, but for an oldie jam of his. It’s time to give my dude some credit for his excellent album that came out this year, Set My Heart on Fire Immediately. Here’s a jam that immediately caught my attention from the new record and that has become my favorite on it. Bonus: Perfume Genius was able to perform the song live with his band for The Tonight Show last week!
3) Guapdad 4000 - Lil Scammer That Could feat. Denzel Curry
For my last selection, I decided to go with a hip hop song. I had two options: one that was a bit smoother, and one that went a little bit harder. I decided to go with the one that goes a little harder in the paint. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Sorry if it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. But it goes pretty harddddd tho. Also, I hope you’ll enjoy the take on Thomas the Tank Engine provided in the music video.
That’s a wrap, peeps! Until next time. If you made it this far, I’d appreciate you sharing this little newsletter with a pal.
Joey