Taylor Swift Dropped 2 New Bangers, Just in Time for the Coup

On Wednesday night’s episode of Real Housewives of America (Series Finale, Part One), shit got pretty shaky. But the hundreds of headlines covering the riot at the Capitol seemed to have excluded one very important historical note that must be added for accuracy and posterity. In the midst of what can only be described as a deleted scene from a faith-based apocalypse movie, Taylor Swift released the deluxe version of her latest album evermore on digital streaming platforms. You see, January 6 wasn’t all bad!

The deluxe version includes two new tracks, it’s time to go and right where you left me, titles that describe America perfectly in a moment when we all need go back inside to our homes where this pandemic left us and stop acting like fucking fools. The songs are produced in the Modern Swift Era style with subtle hints to Early Swift Musicality C.E (curl era) with lots of guitar and Southern breathy twang featured in right where you left me.

Following in classic Swift methodology, both songs carry double meaning. On the surface they’re break up songs, telling stories about relationships gone awry. Just below the surface, they’re about real men: one of Taylor’s exes and Scooter Braun, respectively. Right where you left me feels like it wants to be a song about Harry Styles, whom Swift dated when she was 23, a number referenced in the song. But the explanation seems too simple to be true—plus, she seemed to have worked out most of those breakup feelings in 1989. Personally, as a Swiftologist, I think this song is referring to her break up with country music, which arguably also took place when she was 23 and released the album Red, Swift’s first genuine attempt at a nearly complete pop album.

It’s time to go is much more obvious in its reference to Scooter Braun, who bought and sold Swift’s masters without giving her the opportunity to buy them herself, allegedly. In the song, she refers to Braun, indirectly, as some who’s “got my past frozen behind glass” and who sits “on his throne in his palace of bones.” Beautiful imagery as usual TayTay.

Generally speaking, the songs are fine albeit sad during a week where one longs for the repetitive upbeat mantra of a Shake It Off or 22 for example. As bonus tracks, they add no value to evermore and seem out of place compared to the other songs which feel a bit more mature. But seeing as how pretty much everything is literally and figuratively on fire, I’ll take what I’m given and say thank you for two new songs to play on a loudspeaker while I drown out the news.