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vocal , he ’ s frequently beaming at his bandmates . The spirit is infectious .
– Jeff Elbel
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TAYLOR SWIFT evermore
( Taylor Swift )
Despite the roller-coaster year that was 2020 , it seems that nothing can stop Taylor Swift from doing what she does best . Swift dropped her surprising second no-skip album of the year in early December , somehow managing to display her own genius yet again . Continuing the contemporary alternative writing of her July album folklore , evermore is the moodier , cooler , pop rockier little sister . Swift said in an Instagram post , “ It feels like we were standing on the edge of the folklorian woods and had a choice : to turn and go back or to travel further into the forest of this music . We chose to wander deeper in ”. Swift continued her acclaimed collaborations with Aaron Dessner , Jack Antonoff , Justin Vernon , and William Bowery , who we now know is English actor Joe Alwyn , Swift ’ s longtime boyfriend . evermore yet again features Bon Iver on its title track but expands its collaborations , this time with features from The National and HAIM . Although similar to folklore in it ’ s mature , decentralized writing , evermore is much more versatile and daring in its musical accompaniments , most notably shown in “‘ tis the damn season ” with its electric guitar-driven instrumentals . evermore further strays from her sister record through the popheavy notes within “ gold rush ” and “ long story short ,” along with a unique 5 / 4 time
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signature over staccato drums in track “ cloture .” Taylor Swift has a talent for striking familiarity within her songs , and back-to-back tracks “ champagne problems ” and “ gold rush ” do this beautifully . Fan favorite “ champagne problems ,” a story of a failed proposal , continues the same chord progression as Red track “ All Too Well ” and Lover track “ Cornelia Street ,” both standouts on their respective albums and within Swift ' s entire discography . The standout pop track “ gold rush ” not so subtly takes to the liking of Lorde ’ s “ Green Light ,” another work from Jack Antonoff . Both tracks are in the same key with the same chord progression , switching to a Mixolydian mode , creating an infectious adrenaline rush buildup to the chorus . The track “ nobody , no crime ” featuring sister trio HAIM is the most country we ’ ve heard from Swift in years . The track takes to the likes of Carrie Underwood ’ s hit “ Before He Cheats ,” exploring the murder of a woman named Este and the subsequent murder of her husband . The true-crime anthem displays Swift ’ s storytelling at its rawest , slowly unveiling the singer as the revenge killing of Este ’ s husband . And “ coney island ” featuring The National is easily the most lyrically daring track , particularly in the bridge . The song seems to refer back to several of Swift ' s previous relationships : “ Were you standing in the hallway with a big cake happy birthday ” referencing her past relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal , taking note of the Red bonus track “ The Moment I Knew ,” where Swift recounts Gyllenhaal ’ s absence at her birthday party . The line “ did I paint your bluest skies the darkest gray ?” is likely related to Swift ’ s notorious Speak Now track “ Dear John ” about John Mayer , where Swift sings , “ you paint me a blue sky then go back and turn it to rain .” Despite Swift ’ s successful attempts at straying from her own experiences and relationships within her songwriting , “ marjorie ” proves that sometimes the most personal art can be the most universal . The track , named after Swift ’ s late grandmother Marjorie Finlay , exhibits the connection between Swift and the advice given by her grandmother . The track includes Finlay ’ s operatic vocals alongside a drone sampled from ** folklore ’ s “ peace ."
If you had two Taylor Swift essential albums released this year on your 2020 pandemic bingo-card , raise your hand . I don ' t see too many hands .
-Riley Vernon
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sound that Beck gets , but it always comes out so trashy and dirty . Maybe I should get another guitar .” And Johnny Rivers went , “ George , it ’ s not the guitar .” It was me , exactly . So I ’ m stuck with it — what can I tell ya ?
IE : And your secret is , you ’ ve interpreted blues obscurities and classics and simply made them your own with your own signature sound until the only versions people remember of the songs are yours . GT : I never set out to do that on purpose . I ’ m trying to play it , note for note perfect , just like Keith Richards did with the first two or three Chuck Berry records , that he and Brian Jones religiously got down — they got all those notes perfect . So when people say , “ Well , that song by such-andsuch — you ’ ve made it your own ,” well , that ’ s how it was designed . I ’ m just trying my best to keep up with the big boys ! And play it right . And fortunately — or unfortunately , however you want to look at it — this is just the way it comes out .
IE : Well , as this new live album makes clear , you ’ re as generous with your marathon concert sets as Springsteen . And you can seemingly leap as high as him — may be higher — in that awesome cover photo . GT : I never really thought that there was anything unusual or strange about working hard . I mean , every show I saw John Hammond do was a high-energy thing , and I was brought up believing that you ’ re supposed to work hard . Lou Gehrig worked hard . Cal Ripken worked hard . Willie Mays worked hard . So when I started going out there , and there was this splash about Bruce Springsteen — with all due respect because the guy really works hard — they were making a big deal about it , I was going , “ Well , what ’ s the big deal ? Isn ’ t that the standard ? I mean , didn ’ t James Brown or Mitch Ryder work hard ? This something new ?” Well , to me , it wasn ’ t . This was just standard procedure — you did your job , and you kicked ass at it . When we worked the clubs , we worked our asses off because we figured maybe we wouldn ’ t get another gig tomorrow ! And we still do that ! People ask , “ Well , what gig are you working for ?” And I ’ m like , “ I ’ m just hoping that they ’ ll hire me back after tonight !” That ’ s our deal .
IE : Early into the pandemic , in the comic strip “ Pearls Before Swine ,” one of the animals approached another with a pen and clipboard and asked him to list his biggest aspiration in life . The other animal thinks about it , then replies , “ To be alive next week .” GT : There ya go ! That ’ s a real , realistic way of doing it . People say , “ Well , how long do you wanna live ?’ And I say , “ I want to live to be 71 .” And they say , “ How old are you now ?” And I say , “ 70 . And when I ’ m 71 , I wanna live to be 72 .” So I ’ ve been chugging along with that attitude for years now — that kind of thing never leaves you . And I think that the thing that ’ s the greatest motivator in the world is fear — it ’ s bigger than anything . I go to see Tom Jones and Paul McCartney every chance I get , and I sit as close to the stage as I can , or if I don ’ t sit as close to the stage , I take binoculars . And two things that I ’ ve noticed in them
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when they perform — and I look at ‘ em really close , I look ‘ em in the eyes — they still have a look in the eye like they ’ re hungry . McCartney looks like he ’ s still playing in Hamburg , trying to get it together . I still see that glimmer in their eye when they ’ re playing a show . When I watch The Rolling Stones play , Keith Richards and Mick Jagger look at each other and shake their heads , like , “ Can you believe this really is happening to us ?” And they still do that to this day . And to me , if you lose that ? You might as well stop playing .
IE : Have you ever faced a moment in your life when you thought you might be losing it ? GT : Well , to lose it , you have to have had it , to begin with . So that ’ s flattering if someone says I ’ ve got it because that never really dawns on me . So to me , ‘ losing it ’ means losing a gig , losing a job . But maybe if I have a migraine headache or something heavy hits me , I ’ ll waver for a second . But you ’ ve still gotta do what you do . And I hate to say this because it might sound a little egotistical or over-fluttering , but if I say , “ Well , maybe I ’ ve had enough ,” people say , “ George , maybe you ’ ve had enough , but your FANS haven ’ t had enough !” Now that is a rule of thumb right there . That ’ s the law . Because I ’ ll always say , “ Well , if they haven ’ t had enough , then I haven ’ t had enough !”
IE : Has your daughter followed in your musical footsteps or turned 180 degrees the other way ? GT : Well , that remains to be seen . But I ’ ll tell you what , man — at 22 , my daughter plays a mean rhythm guitar . She plays “ Jumpin ’ Jack Flash ,” the right way like Brian Jones used to play it . One day on Christmas day , I came downstairs and couldn ’ t find her , and all the gifts were still wrapped and sitting under the tree . But she was in the backroom , and she ’ d figured out how to play “ Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds ” on her guitar . And my favorite thing she does is she has “ Harvest Moon ” by Neil Young down — I love to hear her play that . It ’ s beautiful .
IE : Have you picked up any strange new hobbies during a lockdown ? GT : No . That ’ s just not me . I don ’ t frisbee ; I don ’ t mountain climb . Maybe someday , when I ’ ve only got a couple of marbles left , I ’ ll take up birdwatching or something gentle like that , or get a telescope and be a stargazer . None of those things ever appeal to me . Pretty much ever since I was 15 , I ’ ve had a one-track mind . People will say , “ Oh , let ’ s go do this !” And by the time we ’ re bowling , and we ’ re halfway through the second game , my mind is going , “ Hey ! I know a song that we could do the next time we play ! I ’ ve gotta write that down !” So you can ’ t stop what you already are — you just can ’ t cut that out . So I ’ ve been doing what they tell me to do lately — stay home , wear a mask , and get tested as often as possible . And I don ’ t really have any place to go anyway , so I try to get as much exercise as I can every day and keep the body moving . So I basically just exercise . And oh yeah — play the guitar !
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