Photo: Collected
Two hours after releasing her highly anticipated album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” Taylor Swift announced a big surprise: It’s a double album.
I’d written so much tortured poetry in the past 2 years and wanted to share it all with you, so here’s the second installment of TTPD: The Anthology. 15 extra songs, Swift posted on Instagram at 2am. She added, And now the story isn’t mine anymore… it’s all yours.
Among the 15 extra songs were four previously announced bonus tracks — “The Manuscript,” “The Bolter,” “The Albatross” and “The Black Dog,” which were set to be available on separate physical album variants. Now, they and 11 more tortured tracks make up the second installment of “TTPD.”
The midnight surprise drop might not have been so shocking for all devoted Swifties, as the pop star started subtly hinting toward the timetable a few days ago. Previously she’d flashed at the Grammys back in February while announcing that she’d been keeping this album a secret for two years. Then, on Wednesday, Swift released a teaser video that tracked the transition from her “Midnights” era to the “Tortured Poets Department.” As Swift released the album at midnight on Friday, a mysterious two-hour countdown appeared hidden on her Instagram profile.
Upon a deep dive into the new tracks’ lyrics, a few songs stood out. One track titled “thanK you aIMee” is styled with a capital K, I and M, leading many on social media to believe the diss track is about Kim Kardashian and their longtime public feud, despite the lyrics alluding to a much older acquaintance. Swift sings, your kid comes home singin’ a song that only us two is gonna know is about you.
On the track “So High School,” Swift pauses to celebrate the good times, describing how she feels “so high school every time I look at you,” presumably talking about her current love, NFL champion Travis Kelce.
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