There is something refreshing about an artist who can poke fun at themselves. In the case of Taylor Swift, she managed to take all of the gossip to another level. Self-deprecation is a fine quality, but the ability to channel that into the highest level of creativity while living in bubble of public scrutiny is remarkable to say the least.
Today’s feature is ‘Blank Space’ by the much maligned, yet immensely popular Taylor Swift who describes herself in the song as,
…a nightmare dressed like a daydream.”
Taylor Swift
By the time Taylor Swift released her album ‘1989’ in 2014, she was just shy of her 25th birthday but about a decade into her acclaimed recording career. In that ten-year span Swift had earned the nickname ‘America’s Sweetheart’ as she rode a wave of success in the country pop genre. While this style was definitely not for some, her record sales spoke volumes. To her credit, Taylor Swift did not rest on her laurels. On the contrary. She made an effort to continue to expand her sound and cross over with a more electro-pop approach and a touch of hip-hop.
This change in style was prompted by three occurrences that coincided with a creative roadmap that would ultimately become ‘1989’. Swift got a major taste of the potential success becoming a cross genre artist might provide while headlining her own world tour in support of her fourth album, ‘Red’. The writing and recording for ‘1989’ was sparked by the massive acceptance she experienced during this period, along with a new writing partner and producer, Max Martin, who brought in frequent collaborator Shellback (Karl Johan Schuster). This trio was extremely prolific as they produced seven of ‘1989’s thirteen tracks. The final creative inspiration became the most famous.
There is often a strange phenomena in the world of hero worship where an individual is placed on a pedestal for a certain amount of time, only to be subsequently torn down. In the case of Taylor Swift there was a concentrated effort by certain media outlets to sully her carefully cultivated ‘girl next door’ image. The avenue for this approach was an effort to trace Swift’s romantic history and portray her as a ‘serial dater’. The superficial slant began with an expose in the New York Times in 2013. The publication that operates under the banner ‘all the news that’s fit to print’ suggested that Taylor Swift was going through a quarter life crisis. This opened the floodgates, leading to several tabloid publications turning their coverage into an obsession. The coverage of Swift’s love life overshadowed any discussion related to her music. In the end the trio of Martin, Swift and Shellback worked to channel this frustration into songs that satirized her portrayal in the media while hilariously addressing traditional relationship themes.
The result included, but was not limited to ‘Blank Space’. Here are the lyrics.
Nice to meet you, where you been?
I could show you incredible things
Magic, madness, heaven, sin
Saw you there and I thought
“Oh, my God, look at that face
You look like my next mistake
Love’s a game, wanna play?” AyNew money, suit and tie
I can read you like a magazine
Ain’t it funny rumors fly
And I know you heard about me
So hey, let’s be friends
I’m dying to see how this one ends
Grab your passport and my hand
I can make the bad guys good for a weekendSo, it’s gonna be forever
Or it’s gonna go down in flames
You can tell me when it’s over, mmm
If the high was worth the pain
Got a long list of ex-lovers
They’ll tell you I’m insane
‘Cause you know I love the players
And you love the game‘Cause we’re young and we’re reckless
We’ll take this way too far
It’ll leave you breathless
Or with a nasty scar
Got a long list of ex-lovers
They’ll tell you I’m insane
But I’ve got a blank space, baby
And I’ll write your nameCherry lips, crystal skies
I could show you incredible things
Stolen kisses, pretty lies
You’re the King, baby, I’m your Queen
Find out what you want
Be that girl for a month
Wait, the worst is yet to come, oh, noScreaming, crying, perfect storms
I can make all the tables turn
Rose Garden filled with thorns
Keep you second guessing like
“Oh, my God, who is she?”
I get drunk on jealousy
But you’ll come back each time you leave
‘Cause, darling, I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydreamSo, it’s gonna be forever
Or it’s gonna go down in flames
You can tell me when it’s over, mmm
If the high was worth the pain
Got a long list of ex-lovers
They’ll tell you I’m insane
‘Cause you know I love the players
And you love the game‘Cause we’re young and we’re reckless (oh)
We’ll take this way too far
It’ll leave you breathless (oh)
Or with a nasty scar
Got a long list of ex-lovers
They’ll tell you I’m insane (insane)
But I’ve got a blank space, baby
And I’ll write your nameBoys only want love if it’s torture
Don’t say I didn’t say, I didn’t warn ya
Boys only want love if it’s torture
Don’t say I didn’t say, I didn’t warn yaSo, it’s gonna be forever
Or it’s gonna go down in flames
You can tell me when it’s over (over)
If the high was worth the pain
Got a long list of ex-lovers
They’ll tell you I’m insane (I’m insane)
‘Cause you know I love the players
And you love the game‘Cause we’re young and we’re reckless
Taylor Swift
We’ll take this way too far (ooh)
It’ll leave you breathless, mmm
Or with a nasty scar (leave a nasty scar)
Got a long list of ex-lovers
They’ll tell you I’m insane
But I’ve got a blank space, baby
And I’ll write your name
The best part of satire is, while many people are in on the joke, countless are completely oblivious. This led Taylor Swift to summarize the resulting hype in this way.
Half the people got the joke; half the people really think that I was like really owning the fact that I’m a psychopath”
Taylor Swift
Publications like the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel suggested that the song was Taylor Swift’s admission to being the cause of many failed relationships while a publication ironically known as ‘Fact’ considered ‘Blank Space’ as an admission of promiscuity.
Much of this perception was fueled by the video presentation where Swift doubled down on the themes while acting out the lyrics. The scenes were shot at a couple of famous Long Island, New York landmarks including, Oheka Castle and Woodworth Estate. As the four-minute song unfolds Taylor and her ‘love interest’ Sean O’ Pry are seen in the early stages of their infatuation before things go swiftly downhill when the singer catches her beau texting another woman on his cell phone. A series of erratic behaviors ensue, culminating with Swift taking a golf club to O’ Pry’s car.
Hello Tiger Woods…
As the video closes O’ Pry is seen escaping the estate whereupon he is immediately replaced by a new suitor played by Andrea Denver.
In the end, Swift’s ability to mock herself to some degree while chastising the media’s narrow-minded portrayal served as a valuable lesson in pop culture.
It all left me wondering if I will ever own a house big enough to ride my bike in…
From Ted Tocks’ perspective, it seems that Taylor Swift’s work in ‘Blank Space’ should be celebrated. She took control and crafted a poignant song and video that is not only enjoyed by a mass audience, but the pointed response to her critics was a direct hit.
Naturally, many were too obtuse to understand, but from a cultural standpoint the portrayal was both amusing and empowering. This was perhaps best summarized in this quote by Jessica Valenti of The Guardian.
Blank Space is a feminist daydream, where the narrow and sexist caricatures attached to women are acted out for our amusement, their full ridiculousness on display”
Jessica Valenti
All in a day’s work for Taylor Swift.
By virtue of Swift’s popularity, cover versions of ‘Blank Space’ are both plentiful, and to this feature’s immense benefit they are of the finest quality.
They also sparked a bit of controversy.
In 2015, Ryan Adams did a track-by-track cover version of ‘1989’ where he reimagined the album as a Bruce Springsteen ‘Nebraska’ style presentation. The acoustic renditions translated well as an intriguing contrast to the electro pop versions offered by Swift.
A short time later, Father John Misty (a.k.a. Joshua Tillman) arranged a brilliant cover version that took ‘Blank Space’ to visit the Velvet Underground. This is absolutely priceless. You get a mashup of ‘Taylor Swift, Ryan Adams and Lou Reed in ‘I’m Waiting for the Man’. It just keeps getting better.
This is just where the war of words begins. ‘Pitchfork’ referred to this intermingling of characters as a ‘Russian nesting dolls of covers’. It is a Ted Tocks Covers dream.
Upon his release of ‘Blank Space’ Misty could barely contain his sarcasm. He took direct tongue-in-cheek aim at Adams.
My reinterpretation of the classic Ryan Adams album 1989.”
Father John Misty
By referencing ‘Blank Space’ as a Ryan Adams classic it is obvious that Father John was lambasting the singer for what he interpreted as a cheap production.
When Misty upped the ante by mimicking the Velvet Underground classic, everything escalated, and music fans got to share in the public jousting match. All of this was perfectly in character for Father John Misty who describes himself as
(a) self-styled satirist, provocateur, philosopher and cultural warrior.”
Father John Misty
Rock and roll is a vicious game.
Even before Ryan Adams and Father John Misty waged war, Michigan based hard rock band I Prevail presented their interpretation of ‘Blank Space’. Their punk/metal cover went platinum in the United States.
Now let’s go to the BBC Live Lounge. Here is Imagine Dragons doing a very strong cover back in 2015. The clever blend of ‘Stand by Me’ works very well. Nicely done, and a good way to end the cover portion of today’s post.
All of this is leading up to the fact that seven years ago today Taylor Swift was #1 on the U.S. album chart with ‘1989’. Despite being released in November of 2014 it became the top selling album of that year. Current sales stand at over 9 million copies.
Recently Taylor Swift added to her prominence when she appeared on ‘Saturday Night Live’ and performed her latest release ‘All Too Well’. This is an epic ten-minute song exploring…you guessed it, the end of a relationship, but it is more than that, to Swift’s credit. The remembrance goes back to 2012 and the ‘Red’ album.
It was my favorite. It was about something very personal to me. It was very hard to perform it live. Now for me, honestly, this song is 100 percent about us and for you.”
Taylor Swift
This is only where the fascination begins. ‘All Too Well’ was a track on ‘Red’. It came in at 5:29. Taylor Swift’s vision of the song involved a much lengthier and more detailed presentation to be released as a single. To her, this song was indeed personal. The record label did not agree.
Fast forward nearly a decade and Taylor Swift has turned it all into a personal mission. She turned ‘All too Well, which was her favourite track on ‘Red’ into the lead single on her re-release called ‘Red’ (Taylor’s Version). It comes complete with a self-directed video or in Taylor Swift’s description, a short film.
Here it is.
The New York Times referred to the all-new ‘All too Well’ as “gloriously unruly and seething”.
Here is the much-heralded Saturday Night presentation. This is part pop star, part jilted lover and part actor. It is that good. You can feel the emotion and you can sense why it would resonate with her core audience.
For Taylor Swift the ability to present this song in such a unique way has proven to be cathartic. Through her sharing she has flown to even loftier heights. ‘All too Well’ has even been referred to as the ‘You’re So Vain’ for millennials.
Maybe in fifty years fans will be debating who ‘All too Well’ was written about? Much the same as Carly Simon’s hit has become both a riddle and the source of debate.
For now, the answer remains a ‘Blank Space’, but in the grand scheme of things that’s okay too.
Ted Tocks Covers 
3 thoughts on “Blank Space – #TaylorSwift turns the tables. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #RyanAdams #FatherJohnMisty #IPrevail #ImagineDragons”