Nay, I shan’t believe it. ‘Twas just weeks yonder when I mentioned in this previous WIP that it was thought that Ed Sheeran, the subject of said question, was a close acquaintance of Tay-Tay, aka. Taylor Swift. And here: she materializes in another captivating chapter of the WIP story.
As a result, we have a multi-part answer for you to this latest, imperative question you raise with us: The Taylor Swift Question. We’ve been expecting you.
Jon (Tumblr Marketing): It is funny you should pose such a question as the music of Taylor Swift has, in its strange ways, been a constant presence threaded through the tapestry of my adolescence. We are of similar age (only Tay-Tay is a few years my senior), and her path is one that, in some unexpected twists, mirrors my own. For example, I was in a history class with none other than Harry Styles’ cousin during college. Only he and I, sadly, did not share such a passionate liaison; let alone did I pen a global hit based on the events of the affair!
One song, however, seared into the rear-view mirror of my youth is Red (2012), from the album of the same name. At the time of the record’s release, I was but a mere shop assistant at a (now defunct, “lol”!) British department store. I was tasked with working in the children’s wear department; it was not a position I handled with much skill or confidence. When I wasn’t being mercilessly picked on by one senior member of staff named Ernie, botching almost every transaction handed expectedly to me by customers, waiting to go home and be disappointed by Halo 4, or doing my hair in the mirrors, I was strolling the luminous white halls and listening to the music reverberating through the store speakers.
One day, one such composition began with a captivating, shimmering guitar line; it was tinged with the moreish melancholy that only the most intoxicating dalliances in love and lust can induce. Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street, Tay-Tay began, faster than the wind, passionate as sin, ending so suddenly…; I stood mesmerized, no longer fixated by my own reflection but by the yearning in her voice. But loving him was red, Tay-Tay sang, re-e-e-ed, re-e-e-ed, RE-E-E-ED, RE-E-E-ED. And there I, too, stood crimson*.
*The problem with working at department stores, as many others may attest, is that the same music plays over, and over, and over, within the same day. It is then repeated day, after day, after day. In short, Red (2012) Taylor-Swiftly became a nuisance.
Secondly, I made previous reference to one Mr. Styles. As such, my second choice is Trouble (2012), from the same record, thought to be inspired by the affair between his esteemed person and Tay-Tay. For all its artistic merit and complexity in composition, the song quickly became infamous for one startling remix; a remix which was not only a striking and compelling take on the original work, but all the more remarkable when one considers it was produced by a goat. As sproglets, my friends and I of, nay, little more than 18 years of age, would attend balls and night dances at which we too would intoxicate ourselves with liquor and harbor hopes of romantic affairs by the moonlight. Trouble (Goat Remix) was one such number played at these affairs. On arrival of the chorus, one and all would scream with goat-inspired delight in tribute to a most talented ruminant mammal.
Thirdly, and finally, my simplest choice. Shake It Off (2014), was the soundtrack to many a night’s entertainments during my first years at university; nights in which strobe lights would flash, the floors were sticky with alcohol and enthusiasm, and couples would vanish into the bathrooms for discreet merriment. Night after night, Ms. Swift, unseen, would chant of play play play play play…, hate hate hate hate hate…, shake shake shake shake shake it off…, and we would all dance like those long inflatable dancey men one encounters at used car dealerships; it was an altogether wonderful time. And as I grew older and more distant from Ms Swift, I, too, nonetheless learned of the music in my mind assuring me that it’s gonna be alright.
Blank Space: doesn’t have a story, I just like it.
Welcome To New York: this song brought me to Tumblr. Here’s how (#long post):
I was living in Mexico City with my husband, my toddler, and my dog. My daughter started watching movies, and at the time, her favorite was “The Secret Life of Pets,” and for a 2-year-old, it means watching the same movie over and over and over and over. The movie starts with “Welcome To New York,” while Max rides a bike with Katie through central park. To avoid my kid from watching too much TV, we started playing the soundtrack in the living room… so more “Welcome To New York” was subconsciously whispering that “its been waiting for you.” At some point, we planned “the last holidays before our daughter turned 2” to NYC. This was when I visited Tumblr’s office when it was still part of Verizon Media Group, where the unicorn lived, along with a giant pizza slide and weird signs, Guy Fieri’s posters… You could just breathe the team culture, and I wanted to be part of it. Fast-forward 2 years later, I finally decided it was time to apply to a8c and join Tumblr Staff, and here I am.
Shake It Off: no long story here. We just put our ballet skirts at home and dance this. And yes, this includes my son, he wears a ballet skirt too, and he loves it. And yes, I “let” him wear one. As someone who grew up among 4 boys, I hated being left out or not “allowed” to play some game or with some toys because it was “boys only.” I don’t believe in “boys only” or “girls only.”
Cyle (Tumblr Engineering): Who’s Taylor Shift
—Your good friends at WIP.
