Before I get started I should probably say a few words about what happened in Washington on the 6th. It seems a lot of people are of the mindset “don’t laugh because it’s over, cry because it happened” and I understand that. I think this makes the case for DC statehood because the best they can do at that moment is a few dozen Capitol police when thousands of idiots swarm in. That could happen at any time before or in the future and it’s only the whims of the mob that prevent it from happening. A DC Governor can marshal forces to protect the Capitol beyond the outmanned and outgunned security force. I can’t believe I’m agreeing with Glenn Greenwald when he says that there are billions spent on national security and we can’t protect our nation’s capital from a bunch of idiots with guns just walking in. We are in a lot of trouble. And a lot of leftists are jealous about the treatment these alt-right morons received vs. the treatment they would have received. I don’t blame them, but for god’s sake strap yourself up if you want respect from the cops. Or fear, which is the same thing.
Now let’s get to the reason for the season. I’m embarking on a mental journey in 2021. I’m the kind of guy who might go to China to teach children English if he had initiative and knew any Chinese. But even if I wanted to, we’re currently in a pandemic which restricts travel. So I’m going to listen to Taylor Swift for a year and document my findings. Maybe I’ll learn something about her, about myself, about entertainment, fandom, and this crazy world we live in.
I’m going on a Swiftquest.

This wouldn’t be hard for a lot of people. Many people love Taylor Swift. Millions, in fact. I do not consider myself one of those people.
Here is a list of my favorite bands/artists: Frank Zappa, Queen, Sparks, Frank Zappa, The Tubes, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Zappa, The Mothers Of Invention, Todd Rundgren, Zappa, Captain Beefheart, Fleetwood Mac, The Residents, Zappa, FZ, and also Zappa. You know those Spotify Wrapped things they put out every year? Zappa is my #1 artist five years running. My favorite Zappa album is Weasels Ripped My Flesh.
I can’t think of two different artists but I can say that about Frank Zappa and most pop stars. And listening to nine Taylor Swift albums will not be anywhere as difficult listening to the first nine Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention albums. It would be easy to listen one time and shake it off, shake it off but that’s not what I want do. I want to live in these albums for a while. I want to get to know them. Maybe even wear their skin like a dress.
I’m going to start with 1989 because I was led to believe it was the best one. I’ve listened to it four times. So far I appreciate it as a pop album. I will listen to it more. This journey will not be in chronological order, obviously.
My prep work for this venture has consisted of watching the Reputation World Tour special on Netflix along with the Miss Americana documentary. I will probably discuss these at length in future posts. I will even watch the documentary again just because I think it reveals things about her that she doesn’t expect it to, at least from an outsider’s perspective. A younger me would not be able to do this. A younger me would just trash this music and be done with it. But there has to be something there. Right? Can both these things sit on my shoulders? This is more than entertainment, at least for some people.
In conclusion, I’m glad we have the Internet in it’s current form because there’s no way I would beg, borrow, buy or steal a Taylor Swift album for any reason, let alone to review/discuss it. This was inconceivable twenty years ago, which is the one way the world is better. I’m going to listen to it on my free Spotify account, because I don’t care how money Taylor Swift makes from streaming.
I hope I make it through this journey alive. Coming soon: 1989.
“Some people think that if they go too far/they’ll never get back to where the rest of them are…”