Album: Red (Taylor’s Version)
Year: 2021
. . .
Not having an advanced degree — or even an undergraduate degree (though I’ve taken a couple of online classes from the University of Sheffield) — in Swiftology, I’m not going to be much use in deciphering this song for y’all, and I’m sure as shit not going to go through all of the lyrics, which even I know are about her relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal.
Which isn’t to say that I don’t love it, especially the sheer audacity of it, which starts with the triple-parenthetical title. Taylor Swift wants us to know exactly what we’re listening to: a remake of a ten-minute outtake from nearly a decade ago. Just in case it was even remotely possible to mistake it for anything else, which, when it came out, riding a swelling wave of pre-album buzz or hype that washed ashore via an epic Saturday Night Live performance that I’m pretty sure was unprecedented: while SNL had definitely given artists that much time to do a couple of songs — U2 after 9/11 comes to mind — I’m not sure any artist had ever gotten 10 full minutes to do a single song.
‘Cause there we are again on that little town street
You almost ran the red ’cause you were lookin’ over at me
Wind in my hair, I was there
I remember it all too well
One of the things we talk about a lot is the death of the monoculture, which is true, I suppose, though as I pointed out during the pandemic on twitter, if the monoculture was truly dead how come we all knew who “he” is and what “it” is? And 30 years ago, during the monoculture, I had a theory of popularity, which was my theory, which was this: in a worldthe more popular something is by all of our measurements of popularity, the less popular they actually are. Because popular eventually leads to overexposure which will eventually lead to hatred. Which, somehow, I’m not feeling as much for Taylor Swift as I might have imagined.
And speaking of U2 — again, I know — what “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” reminds me of is Future Certain Song “With Or Without You,” and I have now mentioned U2 so much during the Red (Taylor’s Version) posts, I should point out that 1) I might enjoy a Taylor Swift U2 covers album 2) Certainly more so that I enjoyed the most recent U2 covers U2 album.
Anyways, “All Too Well (10-Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” rumbles forward and breaks down and rumbles forward, and unlike “With Or Without You,” doesn’t climax by going higher, but rather fades with a long outro that features the great internal rhyme of the chorus over and over.
Wind in my hair, I was there, I was there (I was there)
Down the stairs, I was there, I was there
Sacred prayer, I was there, I was there
It was rare, you remember it all too well
Anyways “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” was a commercial and critical success on every imaginable level: topping various critics polls as well as the Billboard Hot 100, where it also broke the record for the longest to top the chart, a record that had been held for 50 years by “American Pie,” which I should written about and might eventually.
“All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”
“All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” Saturday Night Live, 2021
“All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” The Short Film
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