BIG POP GIRLS 2020
- Thread starter Laura Vanderbooben
- Start date
Next out: our first song to have two 11s!
47
SCORE: 7.476
11 x 2
@citoig @godspeed
HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 15 (@dylanaber, @Blond, @Crisp X, @Sprockrooster, @RMK, @Ashling92, @theincredibleflipper, @pop3blow2, @maverick_79, @Andrew.L, @DinahLee, @RainOnFire, @unnameable, @Trinu 3.0, @TéléDex)
LOWEST SCORE: 1 x 1 (@theelusivechanteuse)
RJF'S SCORE: 9/10
MY SCORE: 8/10
One thing immediately jumped to mind when I heard the opening words of epiphany. Well, wait, two things actually. One was Monty Python and the Holy Grail, because of the "just a flesh wound" line, but aside from that, I immediately thought of my great-grandfather, who died on a dock in France near the end of World War I as he was waiting to go home (the official cause of death, I think, was tuberculosis; after a lot more research my family has come to believe he was actually killed by the strain of flu that was sweeping the world in 1918). He left behind one child: a five-year-old daughter who went on to have seven children and nineteen grandchildren, one of whom was ME! Aren't y'all lucky.
But that flashback to my family's own folklore just shows how effective Taylor's writing can be when she's really on. She threads the line from the horrors of war (using her own grandfather's story) to our modern-day crisis - a generation's first brush with mass death - over atmospheric organ, as if you've just walked into a funeral in the town church. It's an affecting, touching song, but you do have to be in the right mood for it, as the instrumentation certainly does plod along. Just like life does sometimes, hm?
SCORE: 7.476
11 x 2
@citoig @godspeed
HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 15 (@dylanaber, @Blond, @Crisp X, @Sprockrooster, @RMK, @Ashling92, @theincredibleflipper, @pop3blow2, @maverick_79, @Andrew.L, @DinahLee, @RainOnFire, @unnameable, @Trinu 3.0, @TéléDex)
LOWEST SCORE: 1 x 1 (@theelusivechanteuse)
RJF'S SCORE: 9/10
MY SCORE: 8/10
One thing immediately jumped to mind when I heard the opening words of epiphany. Well, wait, two things actually. One was Monty Python and the Holy Grail, because of the "just a flesh wound" line, but aside from that, I immediately thought of my great-grandfather, who died on a dock in France near the end of World War I as he was waiting to go home (the official cause of death, I think, was tuberculosis; after a lot more research my family has come to believe he was actually killed by the strain of flu that was sweeping the world in 1918). He left behind one child: a five-year-old daughter who went on to have seven children and nineteen grandchildren, one of whom was ME! Aren't y'all lucky.
But that flashback to my family's own folklore just shows how effective Taylor's writing can be when she's really on. She threads the line from the horrors of war (using her own grandfather's story) to our modern-day crisis - a generation's first brush with mass death - over atmospheric organ, as if you've just walked into a funeral in the town church. It's an affecting, touching song, but you do have to be in the right mood for it, as the instrumentation certainly does plod along. Just like life does sometimes, hm?
he/him
Ok NOW I'm pressed. '911' over this low-key 'folklore' highlight, giving us family history and reflections on the pandemic in one, over beautiful, simple instrumentation?
I wasn’t expecting much better for epiphany but I’m really hoping this back half of folklore culling doesn’t mean we’re seeing peace anytime soon.
He/Him
Okay this one stings
On the one hand, epiphany joins It's Nice to Have a Friend as a massively underrated Taylor deep cut, down to the touches of brass secrion, and with almost the same reception in the yearly rates if I remember correctly. On the other, this is an ambient MOMENT that applies both to the people who have done their job to keep society afloat in some of the most struggling times worldwide... But it also manages to bring to mind bittersweet moments from sweet memories of grandparents, to a stranger who made an act of kindness for you in your lowest moments, to the things your first pet loved to play with... and all these scenarios without being a disservice to Taylor being inspired by our current world, too. It's both universal and super specific and that's where its magic resides. I can rarely the song without shedding a tear.
On the one hand, epiphany joins It's Nice to Have a Friend as a massively underrated Taylor deep cut, down to the touches of brass secrion, and with almost the same reception in the yearly rates if I remember correctly. On the other, this is an ambient MOMENT that applies both to the people who have done their job to keep society afloat in some of the most struggling times worldwide... But it also manages to bring to mind bittersweet moments from sweet memories of grandparents, to a stranger who made an act of kindness for you in your lowest moments, to the things your first pet loved to play with... and all these scenarios without being a disservice to Taylor being inspired by our current world, too. It's both universal and super specific and that's where its magic resides. I can rarely the song without shedding a tear.
Nooooo... When @Laura Vanderbooben said two elevens were going, I was hoping it wasn't mine as I'm already four drinks in and this is not the time to be listening to Epiphany!
Similar to the write-up, what makes me love the song so much is how much it speaks to my circumstances. The week folklore came out, I lost my grandmother. I wasn't allowed to visit in the week leading up because I could not get my temperature down. I didn't really process it very well given everything going on. Epiphany was the first time I felt... something. It broke though the wall, and I think I listened like twenty times in a day. To me, the song is the epitome of the power of music. Like in real life, all the spaces in between the lyrics say just as much as the words ever could.
The line "something med school did not cover" also reminds me of my other grandmother, whose care home nurses were amazing enough to give up their own lives and move into the nursing home full time to seal the bubble for six months during the first lockdown. There hasn't been a single case there, and they've learned to crochet, paint nails and plait hair, play instruments, and play so many games to keep the residents entertained now that they're cut off from the world. Nothing in life could have prepared them for this, and I can't imagine how difficult it must have been for them. Those people are utter heroes, and were there for her when we couldn't be. We'll never be able to thank them enough.
Similar to the write-up, what makes me love the song so much is how much it speaks to my circumstances. The week folklore came out, I lost my grandmother. I wasn't allowed to visit in the week leading up because I could not get my temperature down. I didn't really process it very well given everything going on. Epiphany was the first time I felt... something. It broke though the wall, and I think I listened like twenty times in a day. To me, the song is the epitome of the power of music. Like in real life, all the spaces in between the lyrics say just as much as the words ever could.
The line "something med school did not cover" also reminds me of my other grandmother, whose care home nurses were amazing enough to give up their own lives and move into the nursing home full time to seal the bubble for six months during the first lockdown. There hasn't been a single case there, and they've learned to crochet, paint nails and plait hair, play instruments, and play so many games to keep the residents entertained now that they're cut off from the world. Nothing in life could have prepared them for this, and I can't imagine how difficult it must have been for them. Those people are utter heroes, and were there for her when we couldn't be. We'll never be able to thank them enough.
The melodies on "epiphany" are some of Taylor's finest ever work. How the verse melody echoes drill sergeant marching songs, and how that breathtaking wisp of a chorus is like... someone running their hand through your hair as your drift off to sleep. The work is so deft; like she's fixing the tiniest, most ornate, most elaborate antique watch in the world.
I also feel like the Taylor of old would have been far more literal and obnoxious in any kind of Official Song About The Pandemic, but here the sibling verses do they need to do and far more. The things implied in the comparison, and how the chorus takes on a different meaning after each verse. Some things you just can't speak about it, yes, but she crafted an incredible song about it that somehow manages to portray the delirium and exhaustion of both scenarios while also providing something that sounds like a salve to it. It's not something to return to frequently, but it's one of the strongest compositions of her career.
I also feel like the Taylor of old would have been far more literal and obnoxious in any kind of Official Song About The Pandemic, but here the sibling verses do they need to do and far more. The things implied in the comparison, and how the chorus takes on a different meaning after each verse. Some things you just can't speak about it, yes, but she crafted an incredible song about it that somehow manages to portray the delirium and exhaustion of both scenarios while also providing something that sounds like a salve to it. It's not something to return to frequently, but it's one of the strongest compositions of her career.
he/him
Well this sucks.
CACKLING at @Laura Vanderbooben name dropping Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I think I love you most of all.
CACKLING at @Laura Vanderbooben name dropping Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I think I love you most of all.
I kinda expected Epiphany to be done dirty because it never felt like a favorite and actual lyrics-that-can-cut-glass are probably too much for some people.
I didn't drop a 11 in the rate but for some moment I thought about and Epiphany almost got it. I think we all joke about "SOTY" but I'd say Epiphany really did represent 2020 in many ways. The haunting, hymn-like production that really feels like going down into the woods, all foggy, without seeing where you're leading at all, just like 2020 you would never be sure of what would be coming on the next day and some constant anxiety and fear of what could be happening. The horrors we actually lived through our skin or television. And the few moments of relief where you'd think that things were on the path for better somehow. Really an epiphany.
I didn't drop a 11 in the rate but for some moment I thought about and Epiphany almost got it. I think we all joke about "SOTY" but I'd say Epiphany really did represent 2020 in many ways. The haunting, hymn-like production that really feels like going down into the woods, all foggy, without seeing where you're leading at all, just like 2020 you would never be sure of what would be coming on the next day and some constant anxiety and fear of what could be happening. The horrors we actually lived through our skin or television. And the few moments of relief where you'd think that things were on the path for better somehow. Really an epiphany.
I gave ‘epiphany’ a 9 while rating but would raise it to a 10 now. To echo a similar sentiment to @citoig , having experienced quite a significant amount of death and grief recently, this song just hits differently.
As I shared in the thread at the time, I lost my grandmother, Marjorie, in the week of Taylor’s song of that name being released, and it was extraordinarily poignant.
And as others have mentioned, ‘epiphany’ quietly strikes a nerve for all the collective sorrow we’ve suffered this past year.
It deserved better.
As I shared in the thread at the time, I lost my grandmother, Marjorie, in the week of Taylor’s song of that name being released, and it was extraordinarily poignant.
And as others have mentioned, ‘epiphany’ quietly strikes a nerve for all the collective sorrow we’ve suffered this past year.
It deserved better.
he/him
As an Uffie stan I appreciate Meg just going full-tilt Flat Robot on Don't Rock Me To Sleep. It bangs, laid ease