A cultural phenomenon. A worldwide obsession. An agent of emotional chaos. There’s no parallel to Taylor Swift in history: a teenage girl who turns into the world’s favorite pop star, songwriter, storyteller, guitar hero, live performer, changing how music is made and heard. An all-time great on the level of The Beatles, Prince, or David Bowie.
Heartbreak Is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music is the first book that goes deep on the musical and cultural impact of Taylor Swift. Nobody can tell the story like Rob Sheffield, the bestselling/award-winning author and legendary Rolling Stone journalist who has chronicled Taylor for every step of her long career, from her early days to the Eras Tour. Sheffield gets right to the heart of Swift and her music, her lyrics, her fan connection, her raw power.
Heartbreak Is the National Anthem will be published on November 12, 2024. Dey Street Books provided an early galley for review.
While I am certainly familiar with Swift's albums over the years (I was intrigued right from her debut), I would in no way consider myself a Swiftie. As for Sheffield's work, I have read a number of his books over the years so I consider him an entertaining author. The combination was enough for me to check this one out.
From the book it is clear that Sheffield is a huge fan as well as someone who has interacted with Swift many times over her career. He demonstrates his knowledge of her work as he walks readers through each of her albums with extra focus on several of his favorite tracks. We also get the biographical information, for those of us readers who are not up on all the details.
In the end, this book gave me a very strong urge to revisit her catalog myself with a much sharper ear.
2 comments:
Thanks for the review. I am not a Swiftie either but did see her live once (the previous tour) and am intrigued enough by her to seek out this book to see what I have missed. I just have a hard time getting past the lily Caucasian/female-ness of her audience (at least based on the night I saw her in concert). Your truly generational defining performers - Your Michael Jacksons, your Princes, your Springsteens just naturally attracted a broader fan base, at least to me.
Plus I do not speak fluent Page Six. Ever feel like you're at a party and someone tells a killer joke and you're the only one who doesn't get it? That's kind of how I feel about Taylor, Inc.
I have never seen her in concert so I cannot say for sure. I do like her music though and have heard nearly all the albums. It is not a well I go back to as much as the trio you noted, but then again those guys were part of my time growing up and thus their albums are more ingrained into my consciousness than more recent stuff from the last two decades or so. Still, I try to keep myself open to new music all the time.
Post a Comment