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BuzzJack Music Forum _ Taylor Swift _ folklore: first impressions rate: the results

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 2 2020, 01:12 AM

Yes, this is me actually closing a rate only one day after the original deadline. ohmy.gif Yes this is me actually about to host a results without a 75 year delay. ohmy.gif yes I am sober now x

anyway thanks very much to the fab participation as we have 25 voters here cheer.gif (more than the lover initial rate which stayed open for longer!). Also 25 voters mean the averages are SO neat for once wub.gif

I hope y'all enjoy the results! I'm actually (for once) going to put effort into the commentaries so it'll be fabulous to see you guys comment along as I present the results over the next couple days.

Do you guys have any predictions? what will win? what will be the wooden spoon?

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 2 2020, 01:18 AM

Some stats:

- 13 of the 16 songs would've made the top 5 of the lover initial rate!

- 9 of the 16 songs received an 11!

- only 1 song wouldn't have been in the top half of the lover initial rate.

- there are a couple of surprises

- I have also worked out everyone's average score of the album and will be revealing throughout the results. how high or low do you think you will be? the lowest scorer was the only one with an average under 7 whilst the highest average nearly hit 10 ohmy.gif


it will be fab to see some predictions before I start tomorrow morning! x

Posted by: ...ready for it Aug 2 2020, 01:32 AM

Winner: eh...maybe exile. not my choice, though.
Last place: peace

Posted by: dandy* Aug 2 2020, 11:04 AM

Listened to this again this morning and I already feel like I was harsh on a few tracks.

Posted by: Jade Aug 2 2020, 12:06 PM

Winner: cardigan
Last place: betty

Posted by: Jonjoliday Aug 2 2020, 02:03 PM

Winner: exile
Last place: peace

I'd probably prefer hoax to be last though.

Posted by: ...ready for it Aug 2 2020, 02:17 PM

QUOTE(Jonjoliday @ Aug 2 2020, 10:03 AM) *
I'd probably prefer hoax to be last though.

...

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 2 2020, 02:17 PM

I'm a fire and I'll keep your brittle heart warm, if your cascade, ocean waves blues come




16. Peace // 7.16

I would die for you in secret: Harry Ezra [10], Blacksquare, Billy, Nina West, UltraFolklore [9]
give you the silence: LM Lou [3.5], Haus of Ghibli [4]


The song commentary:
peace is the penultimate track on folklore and is one of the calmest tunes on the album, describing Taylor's romance and how she hopes that her partner will stay with her despite of shortcomings within the relationship and the detractors that come as a part of a celebrity lifestyle. the first verse makes references to previous fears that she has related to in lyrics on lover (the archer, the video for lover and ironically me!), as well as mirroring other tracks on the album (the wartime imagery reflecting epiphany). the chorus is a calm exploration into the relationship, full of typical beautiful imagery from Taylor. the song shows Taylor's maturation and how close her relationship is with to Joe now, seeing his brother as her brother and saying she'd have his kids heart.gif and there's a lyric of shade towards $cooter/big machine and Kanye, the only mention of the latter on the album whilst the former will be coming up again. it's a beautiful song that explores the theme of peace and ends in rhetorical questions wondering if the love is enough and strong enough to withstand a lack of peace. this is probably my least favourite song on the album but its sneaking up to the point that I think it could leave that spot soon for me! it's just such a gorgeous track and reminds me a bit of Call It What You Want <3


The rate commentary:
Unfortunately for peace, it was last for the entirety of voting, and always quite a distance away (until the last couple of votes). However it's average constantly managed to stay above 7 and I'm glad every song in this rate reached that mark! peace is the penultimate track on the album and it seems to be the point where some people zone out and find it a bit of a filler. peace managed a 10 on the penultimate vote (fittingly) whilst scoring a few 9's, however it received lots of 7's and a couple of low scores was easily enough for it to finish last.

Posted by: Jay Something Aug 2 2020, 02:45 PM

I’m not surprised to see Peace in last place (I’d noticed some of the slightly meh scores). Sadly something has to be last, and to be fair an average of over 7 is great! It’s such a calm/relaxing song. heart.gif

Posted by: Jonjoliday Aug 2 2020, 03:02 PM

peace is growing on me slightly.

Just a beautiful song and I find it more memorable than hoax (which I suspect is next).

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 2 2020, 05:30 PM

Look at this godforsaken mess that you made me, you showed me colours you know I can't see with anyone else




15. illicit affairs // 7.58

for you, I would ruin myself: No Sleeep [10], UltraFolklore [9.5], Billy, MrAndrewMan, Ready For It, SKOB [9]
like you don’t even exist: RabbitFurCoat [4], LM Lou [5.5]


The song commentary:
illicit affairs is track 10 on folklore and tackles the concept of infidelity and explores the high that can occur from an affair alongside the inevitable heartbreak. the production is very acoustic on this track and is very minimalistic. the lyrics explores the ways taken to keep the affair secretive, references Robert Frost's poem 'the road not taken', the French film Les Amants and ofc references to other songs such as death by a thousand cuts, don't blame me and out of the woods (the colours lyric). the beautiful rooms/parking lots lyrics can be seen as a reference to Taylor's relationship with Joe - they met at the Met Gala (Beautiful rooms) and ofc the relationship since then, especially in the early days, is very secretive (meetings in parking lots). This is the first Jack Antonoff produced track we're losing!
This is a really fab song and another wonderful track on folklore <3 the first two-thirds of the song has some potential to be the weakest on the album but the 'don't call me kid' bridge elevates the song so much and is one of the best bridges on the album for me! <3


The rate commentary:
In a little bit of a surprise, illicit affairs is out at 2nd last! I was definitely expecting the last two tracks on the album to be the bottom two ohmy.gif illicit affairs managed a 10 and quite a few 9's, but a couple of low scores and LOTS of 6's to 8's means that it fails to get any higher than 15th, still slaying with an average above 7.5 though! I did think this would avoid the bottom three so I am surprised but it isn't a track that majorly stands out tbh

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 2 2020, 05:31 PM

the harshest voters (#21-#25) in this rate are about to be revealed!! Do you think you've been harsh and made the cut here?! ohmy.gif

Posted by: LMLou Aug 2 2020, 05:45 PM

Very glad to see 2 of the weakest songs on the album out first, and glad hoax wasn’t in the bottom 2

Posted by: John-James Aug 2 2020, 06:04 PM

Great results so far, probably my least favourite two!

Posted by: John-James Aug 2 2020, 06:05 PM

QUOTE(UltraFolklore @ Aug 2 2020, 06:31 PM) *
the harshest voters (#21-#25) in this rate are about to be revealed!! Do you think you've been harsh and made the cut here?! ohmy.gif

OUT THE HATERS!!!

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 2 2020, 06:08 PM

QUOTE(John-James @ Aug 2 2020, 07:05 PM) *
OUT THE HATERS!!!

let's do it cheer.gif

Posted by: Jonjoliday Aug 2 2020, 06:11 PM

I'll be surprised if I missed the bottom 5!

But illicit affairs is growing on me majorly too! Sad to see that 2nd last!

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 2 2020, 06:13 PM

THE VOTERS AVERAGES: #21-#25 aka the harshest five


21. LMLou // 7.97
22. Jade // 7.88
23. Dandy* // 7.63
24. Bre // 7.28
25. RabbitFurCoat // 6.94


The raters commentary:
So here are our five harsher rates and the only 5 of the 25 who's averages weren't above an 8! With them being in the lowest scorers for the first two songs out, we lose LMLou in 21st with an average just shy of 8! Dandy* comes 23rd but admitted he was a bit too harsh! (we'll def be having another rate once everything has settled for a while tho *.*) We lose both of Brade, BuzzJack's power couple flopping here. However Bre escapes the wooden spoon on the final vote as RabbitFurCoat's ratings fell just shy of an average of 7!

congrats for still high averages though cheer.gif

we hit the low to mid 8's for #16-#20, do you think you'll be in this section ohmy.gif All will be revealed after.... gimme a second because I've planned the rate reveal with their being 18 folklore tracks I am a f***ing mess x

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 2 2020, 06:41 PM

I will be revealing 14 and 13 in a couple hours! any guesses?

Posted by: RabbitFurCoat Aug 2 2020, 07:51 PM

Last laugh.gif

I don't really see the point in doing a rate where I give loads of songs a roughly similar score. Even in something where you like it all, there's still going to be a difference in how much you like them, so I score songs relative purely to the other songs within it. Illicit Affairs is probably a 6-7/10 for me, but it's also one of the songs on the album I enjoy least. I gave those three songs a 4 because that seems quite an appropriate mark for the 'worst' songs on an album.

I think even if I did a rate of whatever I decided my favourite album ever is, I'd be giving songs 5s & 6s because I wouldn't see the point in giving everything a 9 or 10 as it would have no influence on the overall result.

Posted by: London81 Aug 2 2020, 08:42 PM

Hey! A bit late to the party but thanks loads for doing this - I’m loving the commentaries.

Hoax and mad women next? thinking.gif

Posted by: ...ready for it Aug 2 2020, 10:03 PM

QUOTE(London81 @ Aug 2 2020, 04:42 PM) *
Hoax and mad women next? thinking.gif

Those are my two favorites! Why do I always love what everyone doesn't? tongue.gif

Posted by: London81 Aug 2 2020, 10:30 PM

QUOTE(...ready for it @ Aug 2 2020, 11:03 PM) *
Those are my two favorites! Why do I always love what everyone doesn't? tongue.gif


Haha! wink.gif Hoax is great - I gave it 8 and do like it but there’s just so many other songs I like more. I gave half the album 9 or above! Still not sold on mad woman yet - I’ll keep trying happy.gif

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 3 2020, 08:25 AM

QUOTE(UltraFolklore @ Aug 2 2020, 07:41 PM) *
I will be revealing 14 and 13 in a couple hours! any guesses?

I may have fallen asleep, incoming now if anyone's around x

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 3 2020, 08:43 AM

'you knew the hero died so what's the movie for'




14. hoax // 7.74

my best laid plan: ...Ready For It [11], John-James, MrAndrewMan, UltraFolklore [9.5], Billy, Blacksquare, LJ Jord 7, Liam [9]
my kingdom come undone: RabbitFurCoat [4], Bre [5.5]


The song commentary:
hoax is the final track on folklore and explores the struggle of a toxic relationship and how Taylor is unable to let go of this doomed relationship. The track is produced by Aaron Dessner, who stated this (and the 1) were the final tracks written for the album and they are the 'bookends' of the album. I'm pretty sure I read on release day that hoax was completed about a week before release! Dessner also stated this track felt the most emotional and the rawest, there's sadness but it's a kind of hopeful sadness'. as the album closer hoax feels a darker version of the likes of clean, New Year's Day & daylight in terms of sound and themes. Exploring the lyrics, the first verse represents imagery from the reputation era (gun = LWYMMD, knife = TIWWCHNT) & in the last verse (my kingdom come undone = CIWYW & KOMH). hoax also echoes my tears ricochet through the use of imagery of ash and fire. We also have references to New York and the concept of 'hero's death', also seen in The Archer. the song ends with the recognition of the flaws in the relationship but she wants to stick by her partner.
The song is quite hauntingly simple but a stunning album closer and is perfectingly fitting end to the album. I adore it but I think it's in my bottom three tracks so I'm not too bothered about it leaving at this stage, as much as I don't want anything to finish low something has to!!


The rate commentary:
I'm sorry ready for it!! tho I'm lowkey impressed that hoax avoided the bottom two which is something I'd say, especially with its constant position as the bottom track on the streaming platforms from the album + the only song that would've missed the top 50 in the UK. However it is a fabulous closer and is gorgeous! Ofc RFI losing her 11 means this is the first song with an 11 to leave so far. hoax actually started really strongly in the rate, with 7 of the 8 scores in the high score section coming in the first nine rates (including the 11)!! However from then on it petered out into receiving 6's, 7's and 8's and ended up pretty comfortably in the bottom three. still a great average tho!

a big bump for 13th place as everything from then on would've come top 5 in the Lover initial rate (Cornelia Street was 5th with an average of 8.09)

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 3 2020, 09:22 AM

'and you'll poke that bear 'til her claws come out'




13. mad woman // 8.14

cannons all firin: ...Ready For It, UltraFolklore [10], Ansel, John-James, LJ Jord 7, MrAndrewMan, SKOB [9]
f*** you forever: Dandy*, RabbitFurCoat [6]


The song commentary:
Taylor described this song as a misfit widow getting gleeful revenge on the town that cast her out. However mad woman has received many interpretations, from being about Daenyrs from Game of Thrones to being about Rebekah from the last great American dynasty to being a kind of sequel to the Man and being about her battles with Scott & $cooter. Mad Woman connects the concept of a delusional woman to societal expectations and reactions + references to Taylor's personal life. This is the 3rd track to leave that is produced by Dessner and features one of the more stronger productions on the album. Taylor delivers the song in a a furious and righteous tone but also calmly at the same time. In the first verse, there's a pretty direct reference to the masters battle with 'do you see my face in the neighbours lawn', as to get to big machine records, you have to drive past republic/sony were there's a billboard celebrating Taylor! this is also the first song where Taylor says f***! the chorus shows how the public and the people surrounding her made her a mad woman. the 2nd verse makes further references to her masters battle (refusing to move on despite them trying to sweep it under the carpet, brought you two together) and more reputation references (hunting witches from IDSB) and the way men justify their actions whilst staying quiet and getting women to fight the battles for them. this song is really interesting from a lyrical perspective.
This was actually my 2nd favourite song on the album on 1st listen but I'd say it's dropped to around 11th for me now ohmy.gif the shock of hearing the iconic 'does she mouth, f*** you forever' was iconic *.* and it's definitely the most scathing song lyrically on the album! I love the production touches but idk I don't go back to it as much as I was expecting! This does seem to be amongst most people's bottom half so I'm not too surprised to see it dropout now.


The rate commentary:
onto Taylor's favourite number placing, in 13th we have mad woman, the 12th track on folklore! This is about where I was expecting it, it never really seems to be anyone's highlight but also nobody seems to dislike it. Which is reflected perfectly in the averages, as it scores just two 10's (from Taylor mods *.*, tho I do think I'd drop this to a 9.5 now) and a few 9's, but scoring nothing lower than a six which is impressive! This was such a standout to me on 1st listen but has faded a lil bit with repeat listening, I feel it's one of the tracks on the album with less replay value. However we saw a big average jump to 8.14, insane that over 3/4 of the album scored an average above 8!!

and we have another mini bump for 12th place, which is a song I'm surprised missed the top 10? I'll be revealing the next 5 lowest voters next, followed by 12th and 11th place so any predictions?

Posted by: ...ready for it Aug 3 2020, 09:49 AM

Two of my favorites out. sad.gif That hurts. I love the piano in both of them.

Posted by: John-James Aug 3 2020, 09:53 AM

Hoax is underrated, the piano is absolutely stunning

Posted by: ...ready for it Aug 3 2020, 09:55 AM

I heard the clean version of mad woman this weekend and it says "hate you forever" instead.

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 3 2020, 09:55 AM

THE VOTERS AVERAGES: #16-#20


16. Jonjo // 8.53
17. HarryEzra // 8.43
18. JosephStyles // 8.31
19. HausofGhibli // 8.19
19. Josh // 8.19


The raters commentary:
So here are our next highest rates! We zoom past the 8 average with Josh and HausOfGhibli both scoring pretty great averages with their scoring! in 18th we have a major flop from Joseph who's affirming his lack of taste as ever xxxx late rater Harry enters in 17th and after thinking he'd be out in the first section, Jonjo nearly escaped the 2nd section too!!

congrats for still high averages though cheer.gif

after a bump in this section, I can reveal in the #11-#15, we are only increasing from Jonjo's scores by 0.13 ohmy.gif there is also a 3-way-tie! do you think you'll be in this section ohmy.gif All will be revealed after 11th in the folklore rate (now that I've worked out the correct amount of tracks x)

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 3 2020, 09:56 AM

QUOTE(...ready for it @ Aug 3 2020, 10:55 AM) *
I heard the clean version of mad woman this weekend and it says "hate you forever" instead.

I still haven't heard any of the clean versions yet! (tho I do know betty is changed to straight to hell from f*** myself)

Posted by: ...ready for it Aug 3 2020, 10:01 AM

I can't wait to have the CD in my hands.

I predict that I will be in the higher part of the voters since I gave a lot of tens. It deserves it. wub.gif

Next out...wow, what would I guess...I wonder if it's epiphany, another favorite.

Posted by: London81 Aug 3 2020, 10:07 AM

It’s getting tricky to predict now.
12th and 11th place? I’m going to take a guess @ this is me trying & my tears ricochet. Also wondering about seven but maybe that will come a little higher. Idk!

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 3 2020, 02:19 PM



'you are not like the regulars, the masquerade revellers, drunk as they watch my shattered edges glisten'




12. mirrorball // 8.30

shimmering beautiful: Billy, Blacksquare, Nina West, UltraFolklore [10], MrAndrewMan [9.5] + eight 9's
the rodeo clowns: LM Lou [5], JosephStyles [6]


The song commentary:
mirrorball is the sixth track of folklore, a track position on a Taylor album that is usually synonymous with becoming a single (only the debut's the outside and lover's I think he knows not becoming singles! track 6 are some of her biggest hits - YBWM, mean, 22, SIO, LWYMMD). this is the 2nd Jack Antonoff track we've lost! mirrorball sees Taylor comparing herself to a mirrorball (a reflective disco ball x) as she entertains others and shatters like glass when she's broken. I love the analogy use of a mirrorball and it also recalls Taylor's 2018 AMA's dress when we all thought lover was gonna be a disco-pop album, clown faces on us. the lyrics in the chorus conveys how a mirrorball casts shapes & light on everything in a room. The 'hush' parts reflects some previous lyrics of hers on Red, now embracing spinning in high heels wheres she previously shied away from wearing them in Begin Again cos her lover didn't like it, and 'spinning around' from holy ground. masquerade revelers also brings back shades of Romeo & Juliet. Taylor also uses lots of circus imagery, this can be seen as symbolising her shifting sounds between era's and constantly reinventing herself (damn it feels like I'm doing an English a-level analysis at times with some of this commentary x). mirrorball is a gorgeous song both reflecting on her relationship with Joe and her life around her - both personal and music.
This has probably been the biggest grower on the album for me! there's something so magical about this song, the vocals and productions are beautiful and I love how the vocals go quieter during the 'hush' parts and then boom back in the chorus and the production is v ethereal. Def a major album highlight for me and a song Iv'e been returning to SO much on the album. and also this is the PERFECT song on the album when you're drunk, it is such a vibe. This deserved better. ALSO the Spotify visual for this is so gorgeous <3


The rate commentary:
and at number 12 we have the first track from the first half to the album to fall out which is mirrorball. as Tinashe said, EVERYONE IS SLEEPING ON IT. this is definitely the first big loss for me </3 quite honestly when the rate opened it was probably my 10th or 11th but now it's getting close to cracking my top 5, there's something so magical about it. anyway we see another slight increase in averages to 8.30 and this received 4 10's and quite a lot of 9's. However a few 7's and 8's and a couple low scores means this misses the top 10. I really expected this to place top 10 so this is the first big shock for me! I feel it could place top 10 in a future rate as its such a grower aha

what is the final song that just missed out on the top 10?

Posted by: Billy. Aug 3 2020, 02:45 PM

if i had done this rate today mirrorball would've got my 11 tbh - between that an seven.

Posted by: Jade Aug 3 2020, 02:46 PM

How is 'betty' not out yet drama.gif 'mirrorball' the first big loss for me sad.gif

Posted by: blacksquare Aug 3 2020, 02:50 PM

QUOTE(Billy. @ Aug 3 2020, 03:45 PM) *
if i had done this rate today mirrorball would've got my 11 tbh - between that an seven.


Possibly for me as well — I keep coming back to it, or listening to it before the rest of the album. There are so many strong songs here... I'll probably find something else to swoon over next week.

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 3 2020, 03:21 PM

'for the boys who broke my heart, now I send their babies presents'




11. invisible string // 8.34

one single thread of gold: Cremey [11], Ansel, HarryEzra, ...Ready For It [10], John-James, UltraFolklore [9.5]
bad was the blood of the song in the cab: RabbitFurCoat [5], Dandy* [6]


The song commentary:
invisible string is the eleventh track of folklore, making it the first song to fall out in the same position it occurs on the tracklist! (after a couple close calls with peace & mad woman!). this is the fourth Aaron Dessner track to leave us, meaning we have 6 Dessner tracks, 3 Jack tracks + 1 joint one remaining iirc.
invisible string represents a folk myth about a red thread of fate tying two soulmates together and expresses the way previous romantic failures allowed for her to find true love with Joe. Taylor described the song as 'a single thread that, for better or for worse, ties you to your fate.' the production is v. guitar/harp based and is a wide-eyed ode to love. the first verse sees Taylor making connections with colours with green representing new beginnings when she thought she'd meet someone at Centennial Park and the yogurt shop referencing Joe's old part time job at a Frozen Yogurt place (Esmee Denters who x). The folklore narrative of the album is v. obvious here through the folk tale of the 'red string of fate', an ancient legend in East Asia, with the chorus also making illusions to Jane Eyre. In verse 2 and one of the most obvious references on the album that even a casual listener could pick up, Taylor references Bad Blood, highlighting the theme of fate on this song. and I love the linen 'she said I looked like an American singer', a tongue-in-cheek line about Tay getting recognised wherever she goes! Taylor also references 'dive bar' again on this track, which is a clear reference to another love track from a previous album, Delicate! as well as continuing love to = gold after daylight. there's more colour references with 'gave me the blues', using the colour by showing how everything isn't blue anymore on both this track, paper rings, INTHAF & CS. the 3rd verse also makes a direct reference to ex-boyfriend Joe Jonas, as she now buys his babies presents. we all know Joe J broke Tay's heart over the voicemail breakup but now the drama is settled and their fine with each other. I also love how she links back to Centennial Park towards the end of the song with the leaves now being gold and Tay's new relationship blossoming <3
I really do like invisible string but I think it's a bit like Death By A Thousand Cuts for me where the whole fandom is stanning it/has it in their top 5's and I'm just not seeing it. Ofc I love it though but it is in my bottom 4 on the album! The lyrics are fab and its a really cute track and it's a beautiful song <3 I'm lowkey glad it missed the top 10 tho and I oop. though I think the song has just grown on me again after doing the lyrics analysis, damn it's one of the strongest songs lyrically aha its so cute <3


The rate commentary:
at number 11 we have invisible string, which is another surprise for me as I was pretty sure this would come top 10! invisible string is definitely turning into a fan favourite and is one of the more popular songs on streaming, rising above a couple of the tracks ahead of it on the trackless! we see a tiny increase in average to 8.34 (and that tiny increase is also the same margin it missed the top 10 by ohmy.gif). invisible string is the 2nd song to receive an 11 to miss the top 10, soz Cremey! that means 7 of the top 10 received 11 scores from the remaining participants. invisible string also picked up a few 10's and some 9's, however a few lower scores and quite a few average scores means it JUST misses out on a top 10 position.

now we have our top 10, predict away?! would be fab to see a couple of full top 10 predictions x

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 3 2020, 03:23 PM

The top 10:

august
betty
cardigan
epiphany
exile (ft. Bon Iver)
my tears ricochet
seven
the 1
the last great american dynasty
this is me trying

what are your predictions? what are your hopes? would be amazing to see some full predictions!!

#11-#15 in scorers average is coming later tonight (probs around midnight) and we'll crack on with the top 10 tomorrow cheer.gif

Posted by: Ansel Aug 3 2020, 03:53 PM

nooo not invisible string missing the top ten! cry.gif

this is my guess at the top ten but watch me get it entirely wrong:
10 this is me trying
9 my tears ricochet
8 seven
7 august
6 betty
5 epiphany
4 the 1
3 cardigan
2 the last great american dynasty
1 exile

Posted by: Jade Aug 3 2020, 03:59 PM

Going to predict:

01. cardigan
02. exile (feat. Bon Iver)
03. epiphany
04. august
05. seven
06. the last great american dynasty
07. this is me trying
08. betty
09. the 1
10. my tears ricochet

Posted by: Cremey Aug 3 2020, 04:05 PM

Nooo, gutted invisible string missed the top 10.
Such a strong album though so can’t really complain haha.

I’m expecting something like:
01 exile (feat. Bon Iver)
02 cardigan
03 august
04 epiphany
05 seven
06 the 1
07 the last great american dynasty
08 this is me trying
09 betty
10 my tears ricochet

Hoping august makes the top 3, it’s a very close second favourite for me after invisible string.

Posted by: London81 Aug 3 2020, 04:57 PM

All of my 10s and the 11 are still in play. Mirror ball was one of my 9s which has sadly departed.

What I hope:
10 - this is me trying
9 - seven
8 - my tears ricochet
7 - the one
6 - august
5 - betty
4 - cardigan
3 - exile
2 - the last great American dynasty
1 - epiphany

- the top 4 for me are pretty much aligned as I think all 4 songs are amazing

What I predict:
10 - this is me trying
9 - my tears ricochet
8 - seven
7 - betty
6 - the 1
5 - epiphany
4 - august
3 - last great American dynasty
2 - cardigan
1 - exile

Posted by: London81 Aug 3 2020, 04:57 PM

All of my 10s and the 11 are still in play. Mirror ball was one of my 9s which has sadly departed.

What I hope:
10 - this is me trying
9 - seven
8 - my tears ricochet
7 - the one
6 - august
5 - betty
4 - cardigan
3 - exile
2 - the last great American dynasty
1 - epiphany

- the top 4 for me are pretty much aligned as I think all 4 songs are amazing

What I predict:
10 - this is me trying
9 - my tears ricochet
8 - seven
7 - betty
6 - the 1
5 - epiphany
4 - august
3 - last great American dynasty
2 - cardigan
1 - exile

Posted by: ...ready for it Aug 3 2020, 05:43 PM

My predictions are mostly off. tongue.gif

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 3 2020, 11:21 PM

omg some top 10 predictions!! ohmy.gif wub.gif wub.gif looking forward to seeing how accurate, or inaccurate, u guys have been!! x

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 3 2020, 11:25 PM

THE VOTERS AVERAGES: #11-#15


11. No Sleeep // 8.66
12. Ansel // 8.63
12. Jay // 8.63
12. London81 // 8.63
15. Blacksquare // 8.56


The raters commentary:
So here are our rates who come in the middle of the loons and the harsher raters in this rate! However it gets v. close here as No Sleeep's 8.66 is only 0.13 higher than 16th place! Blacksquare kicks us off with a fab average of 8.56 and then we have a 3-way tie from Ansel, Jay and London81 with 8.63!! That can be our buzzjack folklore version of the love triangle xx and No Sleeep just misses out on a top 10 spot!

congrats for even higher averages though cheer.gif

again we're not going up too high in the next section, as I can reveal in the #8-#10, we are only increasing from No Sleeep's scores by 0.15 ohmy.gif and there is another tie! do you think you'll be in this section ohmy.gif All will be revealed after 9th in the folklore rate (now that I've worked out the correct amount of tracks x)

Hoping tomorrow to 100% do #10, #9 and voters 10th-8th. Might do some more as well!

Posted by: London81 Aug 3 2020, 11:49 PM

I feel like perhaps I was a bit too harsh in my ratings given that I’ve been listening addictively and talking about the album to anyone who will listen for long enough heehee.gif rotf.gif wacko.gif laugh.gif

I look forward to the next songs in the top 10 tomorrow.

Posted by: Tawdry Hepburn Aug 4 2020, 11:00 AM

HOW is 'Mad Woman' that low?! ohmy.gif cry.gif

Posted by: Tawdry Hepburn Aug 4 2020, 11:00 AM

HOW is 'Mad Woman' that low?! ohmy.gif cry.gif

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 4 2020, 01:42 PM

'cause when I'd fight, you used to tell me I was brave'




10. my tears ricochet // 8.38

when I'm screaming at the sky: John-James, LmLou, ...Ready For It, UltraFoklore [10], Jonjo, MrAndrewMan [9.5], lots of 9's
you hear my stolen lullabies: RabbitFurCoat [4], five 7's


The song commentary:
my tears ricochet is the fifth track of folklore, which ofc track 5 is elusive in Taylor's music, which are some of the most personal songs she's written and some of the hardest hitting, and the track 5's are iconic in the fanbase! this is the third Jack Antonoff track to leave us, making august/betty/this is me trying his top 3 in this rate! this is the only track on the album that is solely written by Taylor and has peaked at #16 on the Hot 100.
Taylor described my tears ricochet as being about an 'embittered tormentor showing up at the funeral of his fallen object of obsession'. Def an interesting subject to tackle in folklore. HOWEVER, once upon hearing the song, it became very clear that there was a double meaning to the song with most of the lyrics relating to Swift's masters situation and Scott's betrayal + the whole situation. This is the most obvious song on the album about Taylor's current situation, with this and mad woman being the only songs that prominently touch upon it! Taylor revealed this was the first song she wrote for folklore and Jack Antonoff said it's the best song they've ever done together! The prominent funeral imagery in the song can also sound like Swift mourning the metaphorical murder of the old Taylor in LWYMMD. The first verse sets up the imagery/setting of the funeral and presents Taylor feeling betrayed. The chorus is when the lyrics relating to the masters hit hard. 'I didn't have it in myself to go with grace' highlights Taylor's outspoken attitude after finding out Scott sold her masters to $cooter and uses battle metaphors throughout the song. 'you wear the same jewels that I gave you as you bury me', the jewels representing Taylor's six albums under big machine records. 'cause when I'd fight, you used to tell me I was brave' is one of the lyrics that hit the hardest with Scott used to support Taylor and be on her side. the bridge hits even harder as Taylor 'can go anywhere I want, just not home', home obviously being big machine records and ofc 'stolen lullabies' referring to her old tracks cry.gif with the final chorus hitting home about the betrayal and how everything is sadly destroyed now and the good years have been cancelled out. damn this song hits hard lyrically.
I absolutely adore my tears ricochet and it continues to hit me more and more with every single listen heart.gif It's 100% in my top 3 on the album nowadays and always one of the first songs I go to play <3 the lyrics are utterly fantastic and strike 500x harder when you realise there over her masters situation. I was kinda hoping if Taylor did a song about her masters battle, it would be something like this or Not Ready To Make Nice by Dixie Chicks instead of another LWYMMD (as much as I adore it) and that's EXACTLY what we got!! this song utterly destroys me. Damn it just hits so hard, her vocals are heavenly, esp the stolen lullabies part omg. The way the production builds as the 2nd chorus hits is absolutely stunning and complements the song perfectly. This is already in my holy trinity of her track 5's (alongside all too well & delicate ofc). an absolute beauty that I hope does better next time round in the rate <3


The rate commentary:
and kicking off the top 10 is my tears ricochet, which just makes the top 10 by 0.04!! it was v. v. close!! I actually thought this would come 7th/8th but considering half of you predicted 10th and the other half 9th, maybe I was overestimating this!! this is a pretty big fan favourite and it's held fabulously on streaming, it's still her 5th highest song! my tears ricochet is one of 3 songs in the top 10 that didn't receive an 11! however it's average of 8.38 is a fabulous start to kick off the top 10 <3 the song received four 10's (including all 3 Taylor mods, that taste *.*), a couple of 9.5's and lots of 9's, but a low score + quite a lot of 7's & 7.5's prevented this from climbing any higher! I'm so glad this made the top 10 heart.gif

9th up next and we have a mini bump in averages!

Posted by: dandy* Aug 4 2020, 04:54 PM

This is broadly going very well indeed! That top 10 are my favourite ten tracks on the album I think, although I'd have placed Hoax closer to that top 10 now.

Posted by: Jade Aug 4 2020, 04:56 PM

Ooh my top 10 predictions starting off well *.*

Posted by: Jonjoliday Aug 4 2020, 05:12 PM

QUOTE(Jade @ Aug 3 2020, 03:46 PM) *
How is 'betty' not out yet drama.gif 'mirrorball' the first big loss for me sad.gif
Coz it's the best non-exile track on the album!!!

If I did my rate now, I'm fairly sure mirrorball would get a 10 (or 9.5 at least) that's really hit me lately! And my QUEEN STANNING IT cheeseblock.png

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 4 2020, 05:42 PM

'I'm only seventeen, I don't know anything'




09. Betty // 8.52

standing in your cardigan: Liam, No Sleeep [11], Billy, Jonjo, London81, LmLou, MrAndrewMan, Nina West, UltraFoklore [10], HarryEzra, Josh [9.5]
would you tell me to go f*** myself: Bre [3], Jade [5]


The song commentary:
betty is the fourteenth track of folklore, and has proved to be way more popular than its tracklisting position suggests with it being in the top 8/9 tracks on the album on streaming!! this track is produced by BOTH Dessner and Antonoff, as well as Taylor herself! this is Taylor's first song to be sent officially to country radio in 7 years and has peaked at #42 on the Hot 100.
Betty is part 3 of the love triangle on folklore - after hearing betty's perspective on cardigan and the other woman on august, we hear from the perspective of James and learn more about the affair. James is portrayed as a person who can't own cup to their mistakes and the song delivers production & using instruments reminiscent of Taylor's earlier works. the lyrics ofc went viral v quickly with people speculating the song is gay with people unbeknown this was part of the love triangle on first listen! the first verse lyrics mimic a concept that Taylor spoke about on the voice memo for I Wish You Would (n't have appeared on 1989) whilst the pre-chorus echoes a lyric from New Romantics! the 'f*** myself' lyric is iconic *.* the chorus features many rhetorical questions and is so much fun! Taylor also explores the excuses James is making for his infidelity, from his age to his immaturity. and ofc there are direct links to both cardigan and august *.* the august link is made with 'she said, James, get in, let's drive' which directly mirrors the narrative + lyric of august whilst the cobblestones, doorstep, cars, streetlight and OFC 'standing in your cardigan' are direct references to betty's depiction of the relationship during cardigan! we also have an iconic KEY CHANGE in the last chorus from C major to D major, reminiscent of Taylor's earlier music, damn I've missed these!!
Betty is another highlight of the album for me and I feel 9th is where I have it in my personal ranking atm so yasss for it finishing here in this rate *.* It's fabulous to see Taylor delve back into country again and I adore the whole concept of the teenage love triangle so much, she encapsulates the feelings of James perfectly in this song and I love the inter-linked lyrics between this and cardigan + august. it's a fun song and that harmonica <3 def not a sound I was expecting to hear from Taylor again this soon but I'm so glad we did!


The rate commentary:
and onto 9th place we have Taylor's return to country with betty, the first song in the teenage love triangle to exit! betty makes the top 10 quite comfortably with an average of 8.52, fabulous for a country song on this site *.* I'm kinda surprised this made the top 10, just because it was SO DIVISIVE. by far the most divisive song in this rate and arguably the only divisive song haha. but it pulled of a top 10 place and just fell short of being in the top half of the album, iconic *.* It is also the lowest of the 3 radio singles in the rate! Betty is the first song to drop-out whilst receiving multiple 11's and by far has the most 10's to drop out so far! betty also received loads of 9's and a couple 9.5's but however it scored the lowest score iirc (of a 3) in the entire rate + a five and quite a few 6's from the non country lovers which dragged the average down! I'm v impressed how this did considering how reminiscent it is of her earlier work <3

8th up next and we have another mini but bigger bump in averages!

Posted by: ...ready for it Aug 4 2020, 08:02 PM

my tears ricochet is another favorite out. sad.gif

Posted by: Jonjoliday Aug 4 2020, 08:52 PM

Betty is an absolute BEAUTY.

It's classic Taylor Swift storytelling, with Country-pop radio hooks galore. Stunning.

Posted by: Cremey Aug 4 2020, 08:57 PM

Not me getting numbers 9 and 10 right in my prediction *.*
Fully expecting the rest to be completely different to my guesses now though haha

I can appreciate Betty and can see why some people adore it, but it’s probably my least favourite on the album – mainly for the fact that it’s most like her early work which is probably also the reason those that love it do :’)

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 4 2020, 10:59 PM

THE VOTERS AVERAGES: #8-#10


08. LJ Jord 7 // 8.81
09. Cremey // 8.75
09. SKOB // 8.75


The raters commentary:
kicking off our top 10 we have ANOTHER tie as Cremey and SKOB both scored averages of 8.75 to finish joint 9th *.* and into 8th place we have LJ Jord 7 with a fabulous average of 8.81. We love seeing these scores <3 <3

congrats for even even higher averages though cheer.gif

and after this section, we are straight into the loons zone with the top 7 all having average rates above a 9!!! Billy vs John-James vs Liam vs MrAndrewMan vs Nina West v Ready For It v UltraFolklore, who will win?!?! the next section revealed will be #7-#4, where there is another (and our last) tie!! do you think you'll be in this section ohmy.gif All will be revealed after 7th in the folklore rate (now that I've worked out the correct amount of tracks x)

Hoping tomorrow to do #8, #7 and voters 7th-4th but I am actually going out for the first time in forever so don't guarantee that your getting results tomorrow ahaha xx hype away tho!

Posted by: London81 Aug 4 2020, 11:06 PM

My predictions are terrible. Really thought Betty would be higher but your rate commentary gives me a good explanation as to why this is not the case.

Interestingly, there’s some songs I gave lower scores to that I’ve been finding myself listening far more to and enjoying such as this is me trying, illicit affairs & mad woman. Think scores in a later rate would be different.

Posted by: London81 Aug 4 2020, 11:13 PM

To add, I haven’t listened to much of her earlier work - apart from a couple of charting songs before 1989. 1989 was the album that hooked me in. I’m picking up from what people are saying that Betty is reminiscent of her earlier work, so perhaps I’ll take a listen to the earlier albums before 1989.

Posted by: ...ready for it Aug 5 2020, 08:29 AM

I'll try to predict from this point.

8. this is me trying
7. seven
6. epiphany
5. the 1
4. the last great american dynasty
3. august
2. cardigan
1. exile

Posted by: Liаm Aug 5 2020, 11:11 AM

Mad Woman would possibly be my 11 if we did it today, that or Exile laugh.gif This is one of those albums where I can barely rate or rank it because everything is so close in my affections and I feel like different songs just randomly jump out, best kind of album.

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 5 2020, 01:00 PM

QUOTE(London81 @ Aug 5 2020, 12:13 AM) *
To add, I haven’t listened to much of her earlier work - apart from a couple of charting songs before 1989. 1989 was the album that hooked me in. I’m picking up from what people are saying that Betty is reminiscent of her earlier work, so perhaps I’ll take a listen to the earlier albums before 1989.

yeah I feel especially seeing your thoughts on Betty and Tim McGraw, you'll really like her earlier work heart.gif

Posted by: John-James Aug 5 2020, 01:05 PM

my tears ricochet being only #10 is quite frankly illegal

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 5 2020, 01:23 PM

'you're a flashback in a film reel on the one screen in my town'




08. this is me trying // 8.72

at least I'm trying: Jay [11], Billy, Cremey, HausOfGhibli, John-James, Jonjo, SKOB [10], LmLou, UltraFolklore [9.5]
I feel like an open wound: Bre, London81, RabbitFurCoat [7]


The song commentary:
this is me trying is the ninth track of folklore, and has been pretty popular on streaming - being between the 9th to 11th highest song depending on the territory!! this is our next track produced by Jack Antonoff to drop out, meaning that august is the highest JA produced song in the rate! this became another top 40 hit for Taylor, peaking at #39 on the Hot 100.
this is me trying sees the perspective from a person accepting their fault in their life & relationship issues and making an effort to repair them. The perspective takes the fist step to admit things are difficult, whilst things such as fear, alcohol & isolation heighten the circumstances. The song can also be related to Taylor's career and personal life, with lyrics in verse 1 such as 'I didn't know if you'd care if I came back' referring to her self-imposed hiatus in 2016 and ofc we have a car reference and cages reference (which we're v prevalent in both the songs & imagery during the rep era) *.* the lyrics also deals with mental health very openly. The theme of this is me trying to admit things to oneself and get better is reminiscent of the chorus of Back To December. the lyrics emphasise the difficulties but perseverance with trying and damn they're powerful. and we have another fabulous film reference. the lyrics in this song can easily be interpreted about either being about Taylor's life or being a pure folklore based on an unknown character. the production is fabulous on this song too, you can tell it's a v. Jack Antonoff song!
I really like this is me trying but I wouldn't have it this high, I think I've settled on it being 12th in my personal rankings and I would've def taken mirrorball in the top 10 instead! However this is such a stunning song, the lyrics are gorgeous and it's a beautiful listen heart.gif it reminds me a lot of a couple of the 1989 tracks like this love! I think I also placed a bit too much hype on this one considering Taylor track 9's are usually my absolute FAVES (should've said no - best song on TS, you're not sorry - best album track on Fearless, enchanted - top 5 career, wildest dreams - 2nd best song on 1989, getaway car - another major fave, Cornelia street - 2nd best song on lover), so this joins Stay Stay Stay as the only other track 9 that doesn't make my top 5 on the album kink.gif However I still love ofc <3


The rate commentary:
and onto 8th place and the top half of the rate, we have the beautiful this is me trying, which nearly finishes here in the same position as it is on the trackless! This scored a fabulous average of 8.72, greatly helped by the fact that it got no mediocre scores!! The high scores performed pretty similar to betty, with one less 11 and 10 and the same 9.5's! Jay is the next person to lose their 11 scorer, meaning there's still two songs to come that didn't receive an 11 (iirc!). However the lowest score this received was a 7 (3 times) and mostly received 8's and 9's, showing how well regarded this track is! If I'm honest, I'm lowkey shocked it's done this well. I def would've predicted my tears ricochet, mirrorball, invisible string & maybe Betty ahead of it!! This is definitely the biggest overperformer so far in this rate, but then it does feel like a track that nobody really ever ranks low in their ranking so it does make sense haha!

7th up next as we are getting nearer to the songs that's averages are above 9!

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 5 2020, 01:23 PM

QUOTE(John-James @ Aug 5 2020, 02:05 PM) *
my tears ricochet being only #10 is quite frankly illegal

ikr cry.gif cry.gif I really thought it'd do better than that too! sad.gif

Posted by: Jade Aug 5 2020, 01:32 PM

#8 in a rate having no scores below 7 cheeseblock.png

Posted by: Cremey Aug 5 2020, 01:50 PM

this is me trying is gorgeous.
And august preceding it too, what a one-two punch wub.gif

Posted by: Cremey Aug 5 2020, 01:52 PM

I think this is where my correct predictions will stop haha, feel like I underestimated the last great american dynasty, and can’t see that coming next now.

Posted by: London81 Aug 5 2020, 06:11 PM

This is me trying has really grown on me with every listen - it’s beautiful & I like it much more than I did last week. I think this is a fair placement though given the strength of the album. Like someone mentioned in a different thread, this album is one of those albums that I find myself discovering more with each listen and find myself addictively listening to any given song on any given day!

Posted by: ...ready for it Aug 5 2020, 07:56 PM

I feel like this is me trying is very relatable. I know I can relate.

I got this placement right!

Posted by: London81 Aug 5 2020, 11:13 PM

QUOTE(...ready for it @ Aug 5 2020, 08:56 PM) *
I feel like this is me trying is very relatable. I know I can relate.

I got this placement right!


Welldone ... I don’t think I’ve got any placements right unsure.gif

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 6 2020, 12:13 PM

'I persist & resist the temptation to ask you, if one thing had been different, would everything be different today'




07. the 1 // 8.82

I'm doing good, I'm on some new shit: Billy, Blacksquare, Liam, LJ Jord 7, Nina West, UltraFolklore [10], No Sleeep [9.5]
you know the great films of all time were never made: Bre [6], Dandy*, Jade [7]


The song commentary:
the 1 is the opening track of folklore, and has proven to be incredibly popular so far, with it being her highest song still on Apple Music US and being one of the 3 songs that's charting top 10 worldwide and still holding pretty stable on streaming! this is our next track produced by Aaron Dessner to drop outthis became another top 5 hit for Taylor, peaking at #4 on the Hot 100, as well as a top 10 hit in the UK at #10. we love a smash cheer.gif
the 1 explores the nostalgic remembrances surrounding myths and lost loves as Taylor contemplates an alternate life on this song where an ex-lover was the 1. the 1 is a nice callback to the red era and was one of the last couple of songs recorded for the album! most people agree that this is Taylor's strongest opening to an album since Red! hearing Taylor swear on the first line of the album was iconic *.* esp considering she'd never swore on any songs until I Did Something Bad!! This immediately let us knew that the tone of this album would diverge from previous works and that were exploring a new song *.* the first verse also begins the film motif that keeps popping up across the album <3 Just like the movie that never happened, the relationship is halted before we now what it could've been so it's now trapped in mythologies & folklore. In the chorus, Taylor likens the relationship to the Roaring Twenties, a comparison Taylor has previously made in TIWWCHNT, we love a 20's/Gatsby reference *.* the chorus also explores folklore with Taylor's wishes not coming true after tossing pennies in the pool, an ancient ritual. We also have wordplay with in my defence, I have none, we love to see it *.* the bridge harkens back to I Almost Do and digging up the grave in the final chorus has many connotations, from the LWYMMD video to the imagery on my tears ricochet and the concept of folklore. this is such a good song lyrically ahh <3 the production is also fab and has a nice kick to it!
the 1 is a fabulous opener and I really like the lyrics <3 I think I'd probs have it 1 or 2 places lower but idm it being this high because I do adore it! I go back to it a lot (and then end up listening to the album in full every time) and it's my fave Taylor opener since State Of Grace! It works really well as an opening song and gets you straight into the mood of the album, whilst sounding like something that could easily be played on the radio on the repeat. I love the song lyrically from the film to roaring 20's references and it's just such a good track to listen to <3


The rate commentary:
and onto 7th place and we have the opening track to the album and one of the biggest songs off the album so far in the 1. the 1 also has an incredible average of 8.82 and seems pretty well liked on here. the 1 is the 2nd highest song in this rate to not receive an 11 and actually did so well considering it had a lot less 10's and 9.5's than the last couple of songs! However six 10's and only a couple of low scores and LOTS of 9's is enough for it to finish comfortably 7th! This is one it seems everyone loves but its no one's absolute fave! this is about where I was predicting this to end up, it feels like the kind of song on the album that's more geared towards the GP on this album rather than a massive fan favourite!

6th up next and it's our last song with an average below 9!

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 6 2020, 12:14 PM

QUOTE(Cremey @ Aug 5 2020, 02:52 PM) *
I think this is where my correct predictions will stop haha, feel like I underestimated the last great american dynasty, and can’t see that coming next now.

and you still managed to correct your prediction just as you were about to get one wrong before I revealed #7!! *.*

Posted by: ...ready for it Aug 6 2020, 02:56 PM

I thought the 1 would be higher. Prediction wrong.

Posted by: ...ready for it Aug 6 2020, 02:57 PM

QUOTE(London81 @ Aug 5 2020, 07:13 PM) *
Welldone ... I don’t think I’ve got any placements right unsure.gif

Thanks, I have a feeling that might be the only one I get right!

Posted by: Cremey Aug 6 2020, 03:31 PM

QUOTE(UltraFolklore @ Aug 6 2020, 01:14 PM) *
and you still managed to correct your prediction just as you were about to get one wrong before I revealed #7!! *.*

Haha, true! I’ll take that 🤗
I have a feeling I slightly overestimated Epiphany too (mainly because I know how much you love it haha, not sure that necessarily means it’s one of other people’s favourites though!)

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 6 2020, 04:53 PM

THE VOTERS AVERAGES: #4-#7


04. Mr Andrew Man // 9.31
04. Nina West // 9.31
06. John-James // 9.28
07. Liam // 9.03


The raters commentary:
and now we are full on in loon territory as we hit the really high scorer averages of folklore cheer.gif former mod Liam kicks off our 9+ section, sneaking over the mark, whilst current mod John-James is the first to depart of the current mod team, but still has an insanely high average of 9.28 <3 and we have our FINAL tie in the voters averages, as both Mr Andrew Man and Nina West have incredible averages of 9.31. It's fab seeing such high scoring averages for such an amazing album wub.gif

congrats for even even even higher averages though cheer.gif

and that means our top 3 is a battle between Billy vs two Taylor mods (Ready For It and myself). Who will win? Will anyone have an average above 9.5? no more sections now, 3rd will be revealed before 3rd place in the rate and the top 2 will be revealed before 2nd place in the rate. ohmy.gif

So here is the aim:
tonight about 11ish - 6th place
tomorrow - 5th & 4th place + potentially 3rd place in the voters
Saturday - top 3 voters + top 3 in the rate / finish x
I think this could acc happen aha!

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 6 2020, 06:10 PM

what you guys thinking just missed the top 5?!

I can tell you this song was top 5 for a lot of voting.

Posted by: London81 Aug 6 2020, 07:34 PM

Seven or epiphany... ummmmm... I’ll settle for epiphany. My predictions have not been on point though laugh.gif

Posted by: ...ready for it Aug 6 2020, 08:09 PM

QUOTE(UltraFolklore @ Aug 6 2020, 02:10 PM) *
what you guys thinking just missed the top 5?!

epiphany.

Posted by: Bré Aug 6 2020, 09:14 PM

Loool at me having the second lowest average given even though I thought this was a great album. At least we have RFC out here being even harsher than me! laugh.gif

Curious to know if my 3 for 'betty' single-handedly caused it to finish lower than it would have if I hadn't rated - I was thinking that giving such a low score to one song might be quite influential when so many people were handing out high scores to every single song magic.gif

These results have mostly been pretty good, obvz 'betty' is a bit high for my tastes but I can see why it's appealed more to others, it's just not for me. 'mad woman' was done a bit dirty though and 'the 1' has also come out just a little overrated here xx but aside from those I can't really complain, all of the remaining songs were among my favourites! (in fact they are the exact 6 songs that made my personal chart though I presume they won't be in the same order)

'epiphany' best not be the one missing the top 5 though xx (I'm gonna predict it'll be 'seven').

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 6 2020, 10:13 PM

QUOTE(London81 @ Aug 6 2020, 08:34 PM) *
Seven or epiphany... ummmmm... I’ll settle for epiphany. My predictions have not been on point though laugh.gif

QUOTE(...ready for it @ Aug 6 2020, 09:09 PM) *
epiphany.

QUOTE(Bré @ Aug 6 2020, 10:14 PM) *
'epiphany' best not be the one missing the top 5 though xx (I'm gonna predict it'll be 'seven').

one of you is right x (the answer is coming in the next 5 mins! x)

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 6 2020, 10:14 PM

QUOTE(Bré @ Aug 6 2020, 10:14 PM) *
Curious to know if my 3 for 'betty' single-handedly caused it to finish lower than it would have if I hadn't rated - I was thinking that giving such a low score to one song might be quite influential when so many people were handing out high scores to every single song magic.gif


I just checked and it would've finished 8th instead of 9th! (the average becomes a lot higher but in terms of position its just marginally, it would've had an average of 8.75, which just beats TIMT of 8.72)

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 6 2020, 10:20 PM

'passed down like folk songs, our love lasts so long'




06. seven // 8.90

scream ferociously: HausOfGhibli, Jade [11], LJ Jord 7, MrAndrewMan, No Sleeep, ...Ready For It, UltraFolklore [10], Billy, John-James [9.5]
I hit my peak at seven: Dandy*, HarryEzra [7]


The song commentary:
seven is the 7th track on folklore (ofc, how could it not be) and is one of the most well regarded songs on the album and has held pretty well on streaming in accordance with its tracksuit placement! seven is another Aaron Dessner produced track and this peaked at 35 on the Hot 100, becoming another top 40 hit for Taylor! <3
seven is a folklore about a childhood friend who is hinted at having an unhappy life at home. Taylor presents the perspective of a friend of this childhood friend, exploring childhood innocence and how children try to solve unsolvable problems. the song's childhood theme feels like a darker reminiscence of It's Nice To Have A Friend. Aaron Dessner said this was the second song him + Taylor wrote and also said: 't’s kind of looking back at childhood and those childhood feelings, recounting memories and memorializing them. It’s this beautiful folk song. It has one of the most important lines on the record: “And just like a folk song, our love will be passed on.” That’s what this album is doing. It’s passing down. It’s memorializing love, childhood, and memories. It’s a folkloric way of processing.' Taylor's vocal delivery on this track has also been highly praised and the folklore theme of the album is highly prevalent in this song. the opening line of the song contains 'in the trees', which is ofc the name of the standard CD for folklore! (in the weeds is also one of the collector editions). The trees also evoke Wildest Dreams imagery & future classic Christmas Tree Farm. Explaining how the album came to be, Swift revealed that “it started with imagery. Visuals that popped into my mind and piqued my curiosity.” One of those images being “the tree swing in the woods of my childhood.” The first verse can be interpreted both literally and metaphorically that this is the most at-ease Swift felt at this age. Some people have also interpreted hitting the peak at seven as being about her new-found confidence during the lover era. (idk if I agree with that though). There's also a reference to Pennsylvania where Taylor was born. The song also delves into folklore by playing on the childhood rhyme cross my heart & hope to die and the origins of the memories with the girl are blurred but her love for her childhood friend remains. This can be seen as that the origins of folk tales may be lost to history but these stories impact our lives & become part of us! and the chorus ends with the biggest allusion to the embodiment of the album folklore with 'passed down like folk songs / the love lasts so long'. The 2nd verse is when the song gets darker as Taylor's childhood innocence is mixed with the dark reality of the illusion that the friend's father is taking his anger out on the friend, and there's domestic violence occurring. Swift's role as the friend in this song takes on a childhood/motherly role in assuring her friend everything will be fine and giving solutions. The pirates reference is something Taylor has touched upon in The Best Day. The final verse continue to show Swift's innocence & burning desire to leave and help the friend, by moving to India and only taking two items. This song is so amazing ahh.
seven is such a fabulous song and Taylor's vocals on this are AMAZING. It's one of my fave vocals of hers on a song ever, it just works so well with the tone. From a lyrical perspective its also fantastic, I love the full folklore here and the way the lyrics can be interpreted so much darker than they originally appear. This was actually my favourite song on the first listen to the album (it really stands out!), but dropped to 2nd by my 2nd listen and now I'd say its 4th for me (tho my 4-7 section rn is so close). Definitely one of my favourites tho and a song I keep going back to <3

Omg and whilst doing my lyrical commentary I'm full on having a stan freakout. She says 'love you to the moon and to Saturn', which references children's bedtime story Guess How Much I Love You which was my absolute FAVOURITE childhood story growing up heart.gif heart.gif and Taylor stretches the original quote with 'and to Saturn' and I always used to add a further place than the moon when I was younger too omg. suddenly this has cemented it's place as 4th x


The rate commentary:
and onto 6th place, we have seven just missing out on 7th!! seven is ofc the 7th track on the album, however there's no seven's in its verge with an incredible 8.9 score, just a bit shy of a top 5 finish! Seven is the 2nd song to depart which received two 11's (from Haus and Jade), whilst picking up a similar amount of 10's and 9,5's to the 1! seven also got barely any low scores, with its low scores being 2 seven's, fittingly. this was top 5 for most of the rate but the two 7's came in the last two rates which meant it fell out!! It's a shame this missed a 9+ average but still fabulous *.* seven was seen by many as an immediate standout and I did think it would make the top 5 here!

top 5 coming in the next two days, we're nearly there! predict away! (imma see how y'all done with predictions so far + post the top 5 under this! x)

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 6 2020, 10:21 PM

So your top 5 is:
august
cardigan
epiphany
exile (ft. Bon Iver)
the last great american dynasty

Which song are you guys rooting for to win? 5th and 4th coming tomorrow!

(oops for quadruple posts x)

Posted by: Jade Aug 6 2020, 10:25 PM

'seven' should be top 5 minimum cry.gif rooting for 'epiphany' to win out of those left!

Posted by: ...ready for it Aug 6 2020, 10:55 PM

cardigan to win.

Posted by: London81 Aug 6 2020, 11:05 PM

Ah I should have stuck with seven as my prediction lol unsure.gif laugh.gif

Okay so I’ll stick with my original hope of Epiphany for the win.

Despite my terrible predictions up until this point, the top 5 is as I predicted so I’ll stick with the order I predicted previously:
5 - epiphany
4 - august
3 - last great American dynasty
2 - cardigan
1 - exile

Looking forward to seeing the results !

Posted by: Jonjoliday Aug 6 2020, 11:13 PM

P R E D I C T:
exile (ft. Bon Iver)
cardigan
epiphany
august
the last great american dynasty

---

W A N T:
exile (ft. Bon Iver)
epiphany
august
cardigan
the last great american dynasty

Solid top 5. But I'd swap out cardigan and the last great american dynasty for this is me trying and Betty.

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 7 2020, 11:14 AM

for fun, here's how y'all that predicted the top 10 are doing so far! <3

Cremey 3/5
Jade 1/5
...Ready For It 1/3
Ansel 0/5 (been co close with so many!!)
London81 0/5 (at least you've had 1 correct with what you wanted aha!!)

omg the way I thought everyone was getting everything right until I did this ahaha!! we love to see it *.* (I probs would've got 0 or 1 if I didn't know the results laugh.gif)

#5 is incoming within the next hour, and I can reveal it's the closest race between 2 spots in the entire rate. who is 5th ohmy.gif

Posted by: Cremey Aug 7 2020, 11:59 AM

Haha yeah my predictions started off well but tailed off a bit :’)

I’m thinking top 5:
01 exile
02 cardigan
03 august
04 the last great american dynasty
05 epiphany

Feel like that must be the top two but I’m not sure about 3-5...

What I’d want:
01 august
02 exile
03 cardigan
04 epiphany
05 the last great american dynasty


Posted by: Jade Aug 7 2020, 12:09 PM

'the last great american dynasty' has really outdone my expectations!

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 7 2020, 12:44 PM

'I had a marvellous time ruining everything'




05. the last great american dynasty // 9.00

stole his dog and dyed it key lime green: Ansel, Billy, LmLou, SKOB [11], London81, Nina West, ...Ready For It, UltraFolklore [10]
Bitch Pack friends from the city: LJ Jord 7, RabbitFurCoat [7]


The song commentary:
the last great american dynasty is the 3rd track on folklore and is another one of the most well regarded songs on the album and has held the 4th best on streaming globally as many people keep going back to this track! the last great american dynasty is another Aaron Dessner produced track and his 4th highest here and this peaked at Taylor's fave number 13 on the Hot 100, becoming another top 20 hit for Taylor! <3 It's a shame this didn't go top 10 in America but at least we got a 13 peak if it had to miss *.*
the last great american dynasty is another clear example of folklore on the album as the story follows the life of Rebekah Harkness, a patron of the arts and the previous owner of Taylor's Rhode Island mansion which she bought in 2015. Taylor compares her life there to the days of the Holiday house during Harkness' time there and also explores how Rebekah & Taylor are both targets of harsh criticism. the style of the song differs to most of the album as it follows Taylor's more poppier tendencies such as transitioining to a higher octave at the end of the song, whilst also having elements of folk music in it. The first verse introduces us to the story straight away to Rebekah's narrative. Rebekah grew up in an emotionally frigid family and Bill is the hair to Standard Oil, which made Rebekah one of the richest people in America whilst dealing with old money snobs (gauche wedding, new money) which was v. typical of the time period (hi the great Gatsby). This foreshadows from the beginning the game of society was rigged against Rebekah's favour. Bill died of a heart attack and Rebekah is blamed for his death here, showing the sexist attitudes Rebekah is subjugated to in this period. This is emphasised in the chorus through the titular lyric as the society find it easier to Pina ll the blame on here as she's an easy target as an unconventional woman during this period. Rebekah's experiences parallels the sexism Taylor has received. There's also a nod to track 12 mad woman with 'there goes the maddest women', once again commenting on the patriarchy condemning and judging women. The 2nd verse references the Bitch Pack, which was Rebekah's self-named squad of female friends that took delight at subverting high society events, again a link can be created here to the squad and the use of Bitch shows the sexist overtones detractors exude and how they are claiming this word. the pool with champagne is reminiscent of this is why we can't have nice things and this was an anecdote from Rebekah's life! Rebekah was known for being a dance patron & being friends with Dali, explaining more of the references throughout the song! The bridge is also incredible. The fab lyric of 'she stole his dog and dyed it key lime green' is really clever. In actuality Rebekah stole her neighbours cat and dyed it green, so its insane this is actually true! However Taylor changing it to a dog can be tied to the concept of folklores and how they are passed down, being warped with details changed overtime!!! Damn this lyric is clever I can't with her at times! Taylor bought the house from the previous owners so the Holiday House went under the radar until Taylor's purchase, also emphasising the lyrics. Rebekah's death marked the end of the tales of the debauchery & eccentric parties in the Rhode Island property. The song culminates with the telling message about sexism in society with the change of octave + the change of pronouns to first person to draw a parallel between Taylor & Rebekah. While all of Rebekah’s actions would most likely be praised if she was a man, because she is female, she is looked down as as “mad” and “shameless”. In Rebekah, Taylor finds a compatriot. This shows how women are consistently judged upon in society and once she knows that Rebekah wasn’t doing anything but chasing her happiness, just as herself, Taylor embraces all of the things she was accused and says she had a marvellous time doing what she thought was right, which is how the song wonderfully culminates. Damn I love this song so much, a future classic.
the last great american dynasty is one of my absolute major highlights on the album and I'd probs place it 5th atm so yasss at matching positions again *.* The production on this song is fabulous and it really stands out on the album as one of the fastest moments!! Though the highlight of this song is ofc Taylor's storytelling, this might be my favourite song lyrically. I love a song which tells a story through its lyrics and damn this one does SO well, Rebekah's story is now iconic *.* and omg we need TO TALK ABOUT THAT BRIDGE. whew. one of the best bridges in her career and that's certainly saying something. the production is marvellous during the bridge. and I had a marvellous time ruining everything is probs in my top 5 lyrics on the album, which if u saw how many lyrics I posted in the favourite lyric thread, that means something x A song I keep going back to & one of my faves <3 and the song title is epic ofc.


The rate commentary:
kicking off the top 5 we have the fabulous the last great american dynasty, the 3rd track on the album and one of the most popular songs from folklore! TLGAD is the first song to pass a 9.0 average in this rate, hitting that number exactly! I'm not too shocked it came top 5 but what did surprise me is that this picked up the SECOND most 11's in the entire rate!!! I def wouldn't have predicted that, but TLGAD managed four 11's in this rate <3 The song also received a few 10's and is the first song in a while without a 9.5 score!! Once again the lowest scores here are 7's but it received quite a few more 8's than the last couple songs. However all those 11's was enough to secure a top 5 finish!! I'm so glad this made the top 5 <3

however in the closest part in this entire rate yet, if the last great american dynasty had one person giving it 0.5 higher than they did, it would've finished 4th!! (it would've won the tie cos of all the 11's). whew we love closeness. 4th will be coming about 5pm and 3rd place in the voters averages around 11pm probs x

Posted by: London81 Aug 7 2020, 12:50 PM

QUOTE(UltraFolklore @ Aug 7 2020, 12:14 PM) *
for fun, here's how y'all that predicted the top 10 are doing so far! <3

Cremey 3/5
Jade 1/5
...Ready For It 1/3
Ansel 0/5 (been co close with so many!!)
London81 0/5 (at least you've had 1 correct with what you wanted aha!!)

omg the way I thought everyone was getting everything right until I did this ahaha!! we love to see it *.* (I probs would've got 0 or 1 if I didn't know the results laugh.gif)

#5 is incoming within the next hour, and I can reveal it's the closest race between 2 spots in the entire rate. who is 5th ohmy.gif


Wow ohmy.gif laugh.gif

Posted by: London81 Aug 7 2020, 12:54 PM

For a few days last week, this song was my favourite and if I’d done the rate then it would have got my eleven. I’ve since moved on and a had a couple more absolute favourites laugh.gif

Posted by: Cremey Aug 7 2020, 01:24 PM

I love the last great american dynasty, I think it being sandwiched between cardigan and exile doesn’t help though as they’re both so strong. I almost forget it’s there but when it does come on I love it, if that makes sense? Haha. Looove the whole story behind it, definitely one of my favourites lyrically.

Posted by: ...ready for it Aug 7 2020, 03:10 PM

My predictions are all messed up.

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 7 2020, 04:06 PM

number 4 is coming in the next hour, let's get onto a new page before that cheer.gif

Posted by: dandy* Aug 7 2020, 04:08 PM

Seven is one of my absolute favourites on the album, did I really only award it 7? ohmy.gif

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 7 2020, 04:11 PM

QUOTE(dandy* @ Aug 7 2020, 05:08 PM) *
Seven is one of my absolute favourites on the album, did I really only award it 7? ohmy.gif

nope you didn't oops kink.gif I misread the spreadsheet and it was Harry that gave it a 7, so I was right it was the last two voters that gave it a score of 7 but I put you down there oops laugh.gif (you gave it 9.5!)

lemme edit that x

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 7 2020, 05:17 PM

'only twenty minutes to sleep, but you dream of some epiphany, just one single glimpse of relief, to make some sense of what you've seen'




04. epiphany // 9.02

with you I serve, with you I fall down: London81, UltraFolklore [11], Jade, John-James, Jonjo, JosephStyles, Liam, LJ Jord 7, Nina West, ...Ready For It, [10], Bre, MrAndrewMan [9.5]
just a flesh wound, here's your rifle: LmLou, No Sleeep [6]


The song commentary:
epiphany is the 13th track on folklore, an integral placing on the tracklisting considering how much Taylor is obsessed with the number 13 and unfortunately it's been one of the weaker tracks on streaming (only hoax is rly doing worse tbh) and people aren't giving this masterpiece the time of day it deserves! tf buzzjack has taste, this is the biggest shock in the rate for me! epiphany is another Aaron Dessner produced track in a row and his 3rd highest here - with the battle for #1 between Dessner x2 (cardigan/exile) and Antonoff (august). This unfortunately missed the top 50 and peaked at 57 on the Hot 100, but yasss at it being another top 100 hit for Taylor and increasing her incredible record-breaking tally *.* <3
Taylor described epiphany in her note on the album as writing stories from people I've known and 'my grandfather, Dean, landing at Guadalcanal in 1942'. epiphany describes someone hoping to find peace in their dreams and a moment of calmness despite the violence and chaos in the world surrounding them. Taylor explores this through her grandfathers experience in the military during WW2 and the current COVID-19 pandemic. This is the shortest song lyrically despite being one of the longest songs on the album! The first verse is about Swift's grandfather Dean during WW2 and the lyrics explore the brutality & physical effects of war and Taylor placed a picture of her grandfather during his service in the cardigan music video. The verse also alludes to PTSD and the long-lasting effects of these tragedies. The lyrics are rife with imagery of these environments & places you so easily into these settings. The 2nd verse parallels the first verse but changes the narrative from war to the battle of the current coronavirus crisis. Taylor creates imagery such as the plastic barriers, how unprepared we are to face a crisis like this and the effects of losing family to this crisis & not being able to say a proper goodbye due to social distancing. Taylor ends both verses with 'and some things you just can't speak about', which parallels the distressing experiences of soldiers in war to those of healthcare workers during the 2020 pandemic. The chorus is made up of two lyrics and relate both to the soldiers & healthcare workers, with them serving on the frontlines of the crisis & making sacrifices and watching people move from in and out of consciousness and the theme of death and dealing with it in the moment. The chorus also shows how we've all come together to help one another during both crisis. The two lines work perfectly together and shows how the respiratory system is attacked in 2020 as a doctor watches a patient dies, and links it to a soldier watching a fellow soldier die as they 'fall down' in battle. There's also an undertone to PTSD experienced by professionals in these two fields. The bridge and outro are the only other lyrics in this song and the outro is the bridge repeated again. The bridge continues to draw parallels between the soldiers & healthcare workers and is that moment of calmness to reflect on what's happening and hoping for some solution to hold on and stay strong. Both soldiers in war & healthcare workers in 2020 are required to work gruellingly long hours without sleep in order to help keep other people safe & alive. This part of the song is Taylor describing their small moment of rest they can sometimes find as these people in peril dream of a sign that will make sense of the trauma & hardship they're enduring. However with the tone of voice and lyrics, this idea of a sign is presented as little more than a dream & all this horror they're experiencing may always be inexplainable. epiphany highlights the sacrifice of honour of these professionals as well as the great tragedy of their difficult & horrifying experiences & work. I love the way this has the least lyrics and I've still managed to write more about this song than most the others laugh.gif the lyrics hit so hard heart.gif
as I think everyone by now knows on here, epiphany is my favourite track on the album heart.gif Ofc I would've loved it to win the rate but I wasn't even expecting it top half so what a wonderful overperformance wub.gif epiphany is such an utterly beautiful song and was an instant fave on 1st listen, it was 3rd in my rankings on 1st listen and climbed to 1st on my 2nd listen and has stayed their since and I don't think anything on the album will ever overtake this <3 epiphany is so so gorgeous, the production is minimalistic and beautiful and really places you in the setting of the song and the lyrics are beautiful and hit so hard. This is gonna be the defining song of 2020 for me and the combination of the stories of her grandpa during war + the current pandemic and the entire theme and way she approaches it all, ugh a masterpiece. I think it's my favourite song lyrically on the album, it's got the least amount of lyrics on the album but it all hits so hard. Her voice is angelic on this song and this song is so ethereal, that is the perfect description for this masterpiece. heart.gif I think this might actually be in my top 10 Taylor songs of all time already! I cannot get enough of it at all <3 it's so stunning with every single listen.

also I NEED THIS TO BE USED IN A MOVIE TRAILER ASAP (when the cinema experience is back and things are a bit more normal x). Imagine this being used in a trailer for a war movie. Whew. the feels. It would work PERFECTLY and give so many goosebumps and chilled. If only 1917 came out a year later, it would've worked perfectly for the trailer in that! This being used in the trailer for a war movie or something dramatic needs to happen ASAP and I am writing it into reality. (and it's not impossible with my album tracks faves being used in trailers, hi enchanted x).


The rate commentary:
Into 4th and we have the biggest shock of the rate as epiphany manages to score a top 5 placing here!! heart.gif considering its placing as the 3rd or even now 2nd lowest track on the album on streaming + it being bottom 5 for most people off this site (tho if it's not in bottom 5's, its usually in top 5's aha), WHAT AN OVERPERFORMANCE. And I'm so glad <3 My favourite actually smashing and overperforming for once. a rarity. Buzzjack having taste. another rarity. kink.gif I'm so glad how much this smashed cheer.gif Anyway epiphany just held off TLGAD for 4th spot with a fantastic average of 9.02 and it was actually 6th until the last two votes propelled it into the top 5!! However it was top 5 for most of the rate, most of its lower/average scores came in 4 of the last 6 rates! I'm so glad it stayed top 5 <3 Anyway this received two 11's, one unsurprisingly myself & the other from London81 and received so many 10's and a couple 9.5's too <3 So well deserved <3 I'm still shocked how much this has smashed, I thought this would go down better on buzzjack than elsewhere but I was still not expecting any higher than like 9th! A fabulous addition to the top 5 heart.gif

and that means our top 3 is august v cardigan v exile! Who will come out victorious?! all will be revealed tomorrow. I can reveal for 3rd place, we are having a BIG jump in averages from 4th. ohmy.gif

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 7 2020, 05:17 PM

I'm so happy how much epiphany overperformed heart.gif heart.gif

Posted by: RabbitFurCoat Aug 7 2020, 05:33 PM

That is definitely the right top 4 - the best 4 songs on it heart.gif

Posted by: Bré Aug 7 2020, 05:42 PM

My 4 favourites being the top 4 as well *.* (snap with RFC x)

I wouldn't say it's surprising that 'epiphany' has done so well here, I saw quite a lot of people naming it as a highlight! The general public just has bad taste xx (that and it's right at the end of the album lol).

'epiphany' currently my 2nd favourite from the album but I could see 'august' possibly overtaking it with more listens.

Posted by: ...ready for it Aug 7 2020, 07:34 PM

epiphany is beautiful.

Posted by: London81 Aug 7 2020, 08:22 PM

Love this heart.gif

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 7 2020, 09:21 PM

QUOTE(Bré @ Aug 7 2020, 06:42 PM) *
I wouldn't say it's surprising that 'epiphany' has done so well here, I saw quite a lot of people naming it as a highlight! The general public just has bad taste xx (that and it's right at the end of the album lol).

Idk I'd say it was aha, maybe an overperformance was expected due to many naming it a highlight but I definitely wouldn't have thought it'd been strong enough to break the top 5!

Idek if we can use the towards the end of the album excuse anymore cry.gif It def has some impact but it's falling below peace now on streaming which is lowkey worrying about how this is holding up in regards to the album oops sad.gif (and betty which is after it is now in the top 10 of the album, just for you *.*!)

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 7 2020, 09:31 PM

THE VOTERS AVERAGES: #3


03. ...Ready For It // 9.44

The raters commentary:
and as we kick off our top 3 of the voters' averages, we lose our 2nd mod as Ready For It departs in 3rd place!! However we love a mod stanning an album massively and RFI proves exactly that with a terrific average of 9.44 cheer.gif Whew, we love to see it <3 <3

congrats for even even even higher averages though (that are verging on loony now and I oop) cheer.gif

so this means the top 2 is a battle of Billy vs Myself. Who's going to pull off top spot here ohmy.gif Who you thinking will do it?! Will the averages go above 9.5 ohmy.gif

So tomorrow we'll be finishing off the rate! ohmy.gif cheer.gif #3 will be posted late morning, the voter's winner about 3am and the final two just before 7! we're nearly there!

Posted by: Cremey Aug 7 2020, 09:33 PM

So glad august has made the top three heart.gif
What a song. Second only to invisible string for me, and already one of my all time favourites of hers.
Great top three overall.

Posted by: ...ready for it Aug 7 2020, 10:43 PM

I could give more 10s now, I think. kink.gif

Posted by: Jonjoliday Aug 7 2020, 11:24 PM

epiphany is absolutely STUNNING. I really, REALLY need it to soundtrack a huge war movie. Hopefully an edit of the song over the Dunkirk or 1917 trailer will come out soon. wub.gif

My 3rd fave after exile & Betty, but it's SO close to overtaking the latter! Seriously gorgeous.

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 8 2020, 05:28 AM

the way I'm tempted to drop #3 now cos I ain't sleeping ohmy.gif

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 8 2020, 11:20 AM

'canceled plans just in case you'd call, and say meet me behind the mall'




03. august // 9.46

august slipped away like a bottle of wine: HarryEzra, John-James [11], Billy, Cremey, Dandy*, HausOfGhibli, Jade, Jay, Nina West, No Sleeep, UltraFolklore [10], Josh, MrAndrewMan [9.5]
august slipped away into a moment in time: Jonjo, SKOB [8], one 8.5


The song commentary:
august is the 8th track on folklore, incredibly fittingly with august ofc being the 8th month of the year and has proven to be immensely popular as it's become the 5th/6th highest track on streaming and is constantly holding up well on the buying platforms + social media buzz! august is the final Jack Antonoff track to drop out, being by far his most successful song here and the only one of his tracks to score a 9+ average. This slayed the charts and peaked at 23 on the Hot 100, we love another top 40 hit *.* <3 I wouldn't be surprised to see this become a future single at some point!
august is part 2 of the teenage love triangle and is told from the point of view of the girl James cheated on Betty with. However unlike most middle chapters, august cements itself as unforgettable and a standout. Antonoff called this song one of his favourite things they've done together and Swift said the song is inspired by 'the sun drenched month of August, sipped away like a bottle of wine'. the song has been highly praised for the storytelling and the production, especially the wonderful outro! the opening line of salt air can be applied to the Rhode Island setting on a couple of the other folklore songs snd reinforces this was a summer fling. we love beach like imagery in Jack Antonoff tracks *.* (hi green light x). The first verse also makes a reference to never have I ever and has some sexual connotations. the chorus emphasises how nameless is the other girl with James never being hers and the repetition amplifies the tone of resignation the speaker has with the inevitable end of the summer fling. The 2nd verse is reminiscent of Taylor's debut hit Tom McGraw as both songs explores a teenage protagonist experiencing a summer romance that she fears will end once school restarts. The second verse flashes forward to the present and the summer is now gone with things being different. the bridge is fabulous and really highlights the other girl's perspective and highlights the secrecy of the affair, with meet me behind the mall mirroring meet you at the back door of church from speak now. This lyric was also one of the alternative folklore covers and was one of the 2 I bought (so ofc this is now being sold in target so ain't gonna be that rare now x). the song highlights no matter how sweet the memories of the relationship are, the dream cuts to reality and it's all gone now, a metaphor just like how season's change. the outro is a career highlight and 'get in the car' links directly to Betty as James describes this incident from his perspective in that song. and get in the car can be linked to getaway car, iconic x Damn I love this love triangle so much and I need a movie asap.
I adore august. would I have it in my personal top 3, nope. But it's still an easy 10/10 and highlight on the album that's in my top 10 in my personal ranking. I love the whole concept of the teenage love triangle from different perspectives so much and the production is so good on this + that outro whew *.* I imagine this song being from the perspective from dark haired Taylor in you belong with me x meet me behind the mall & get in my car are instantly iconic *.* It's fab I now have a song to define another month (following back to December) and this is always a delight to listen to <3 a whimsical, fabulous song and I'm not surprised at this masterpiece becoming an instant fan favourite cos it deserves to be!


The rate commentary:
Kicking off our top 3, we take a massive leap as august scores an incredible average of 9.46, meaning its average increase from 4th place is the biggest bump in averages in the rate, since... peace to illicit affairs right at the start of the rate!! We have an incredibly runaway top 3 here. I'm not surprised that august came top 3 considering its a major fan favourite and well received by everyone but I am slightly surprised just how comfortably it managed to pull of this feat! august scored two 11's, including one from Taylor mod John-James and it's field of nine 10's and 9.5's is impressive but not amongst the absolute biggest in the rate BUT on the other hand, it is the most consistently loved song in the rate as it has the joint highest amount of scores being 9 or more (and wins cos the other song has 2 scores below 8 x). I think that's probably why august slayed so much, it got so many 9's and is seen as such a major album highlight, a masterpiece whew. august was never really in contention for the win but it actually came very close to snatching 2nd place at the last possible second due to a barrage of late really high scores!! now that would've been a slight shock.

so that means our top 2 battle is (unsurprisingly) between lead single cardigan and fan favourite/future single exile. Which song will take the crown in this rate?! ohmy.gif Not long to go to find out! However we will be heading over to finding out who the top average scorer was before we reveal the winner!

Posted by: Bré Aug 8 2020, 05:27 PM

QUOTE(UltraFolklore @ Aug 7 2020, 10:21 PM) *
Idk I'd say it was aha, maybe an overperformance was expected due to many naming it a highlight but I definitely wouldn't have thought it'd been strong enough to break the top 5!

Idek if we can use the towards the end of the album excuse anymore cry.gif It def has some impact but it's falling below peace now on streaming which is lowkey worrying about how this is holding up in regards to the album oops sad.gif (and betty which is after it is now in the top 10 of the album, just for you *.*!)


Oh I'm not saying it's only doing poorly because of being at the end of the album (I commented as much in another thread, specifically about it being behind 'betty', we hate to see it x), just I imagine it would be doing a bit better if it was earlier in the album. I guess it's maybe not the most replayable song on the album. (But then neither is 'peace' so... public having bad taste xx).

Hoping that 'cardigan' will win this but expecting 'exile' to pip it!

I think 'august' actually probably sounds the most like a song that could work well as a single, I think it probably has the strongest chorus on the album.

Posted by: Jonjoliday Aug 8 2020, 08:56 PM

Surely Betty has the strongest chorus? ohmy.gif Well at least to me it does.

'august' is the one I can never remember by memory, but when it starts I'm singing along like I never forgot it in the first place laugh.gif It's stronger than 'seven' for me! It's been a grower too.

Posted by: London81 Aug 8 2020, 09:02 PM

QUOTE(Jonjoliday @ Aug 8 2020, 09:56 PM) *
Surely Betty has the strongest chorus? ohmy.gif Well at least to me it does.

'august' is the one I can never remember by memory, but when it starts I'm singing along like I never forgot it in the first place laugh.gif It's stronger than 'seven' for me! It's been a grower too.


This !

I think Exile has the win. So this probably means Cardigan has got it biggrin.gif biggrin.gif

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 8 2020, 11:17 PM

THE VOTERS AVERAGES: THE TOP 2


02. Billy // 9.56
01. UltraFolklore // 9.88


The raters commentary:
and I oop----

and now we have arrived at the absolute biggest folklore loons as we have 2 raters who both manage to zoom past the 9.50 average!!!! Billy takes the runner-up spot with a terrific average of 9.56, what an average and its insane that isn't even #1 in this rate!! However I have managed to outloon myself at nearly my worst times and become the biggest folklore stan on here, as my average score for each song averages just under 10 omg laugh.gif and it lowkey would probs hit 10 now hahaha!! Damn imma crazy stan. but I'm pretty sure this has a shot of becoming my fave album of all time! a masterpiece, perfection <3

congrats for even even even even ridiculously higher averages though (that are now completely loony) cheer.gif

I hope y'all enjoyed going through the voters average, it's been a fun spin-off to the main rate aha!

Now the voters averages are done, that means there is only ONE thing left to reveal. the winner. of. the. rate. who's it gonna be ohmy.gif cardigan or exile? your FINAL chance to predict, the winner will be announced tomorrow morning haha ohmy.gif

Posted by: dandy* Aug 9 2020, 03:12 PM

Hoping that Exile somehow manages to win but fully expecting it be Cardigan.

Love seeing August make the top 3 though, definitely a potential single there.

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 9 2020, 03:42 PM

new page for winner announcement coming in next 10 mins *.*

Posted by: Dexton Aug 9 2020, 03:50 PM

Hype *.* Here for a Cardigan win BUT Exile has done nothing but grown on me in the past week so I'm happy either way tbh

Also I missed the rate entirely but here's how it would've gone x


10.0 the 1
11.0 cardigan
09.0 the last great american dynasty
09.5 exile (feat. Bon Iver)
08.5 my tears ricochet
07.5 mirrorball
09.0 seven
07.5 august
08.0 this is me trying
07.0 illicit affairs
07.0 invisible string
08.5 mad woman
09.5 epiphany
09.0 betty
07.0 peace
07.5 hoax

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 9 2020, 04:06 PM

'and when I felt like I was an old cardigan under someone's bed, you put me on and said I was your favourite'




02. cardigan // 9.54

but I knew you'd linger like a tattoo kiss: Bre, JosephStyles [11], Ansel, Billy, HausOfGhibli, Jay, Josh, Liam, LJ Jord 7, London81, MrAndrewMan, Nina West, ...Ready For It, SKOB, UltraFolklore [10], John-James [9.5]
tried to change the ending, Peter losing Wendy: HarryEzra, LmLou, [7.5], only ONE more score below a nine.


The song commentary:
cardigan is the 2nd track on folklore and is the lead single from the album, meaning that every track 2 on a Taylor album has been a single apart from cruel summer! This has obviously been the biggest hit so far from the project and in most places is still the top song on sales & streaming (however in the UK its 2nd in sales and in the US now its 2nd on streaming & 3rd on sales and I oop). cardigan is ofc another Aaron Dessner produced track and is Taylor's first single to be released that is produced by Dessner. This slayed during the first week and became Taylor's sixth #1 hit, we love to see it cheer.gif Because of this, Taylor became the first artist to ever debut a song & album at #1 in the same week! This also became another top 10 hit for Taylor in the UK, peaking at #6!
cardigan is the lead single and its music video, both written & directed by Taylor, was shot during the pandemic and finds Taylor shifting through different places by the magic of playing the piano and took extra safety precautions on set. cardigan is the first part of folklore's teenage love triangle. Taylor explained the song as 'about a lost romance & why young love is often fixed so permanently within our memories. Why it leaves such an indelible mark' and elaborated that it's 'a song that's about long lost love, & looking back on it & how special it made you feel, all the good things it made you feel, all the pain that it made you feel'. Now let's get into the lyrical analysis *.* the song opens with the juxtaposition of vintage tee & brand new phone, implying the relationships we assume exist between age aren't as clear cut as they seem. Each lyric in the opening verse can be seen in relation to Taylor's recent musical eras too! the first line referencing the Red era, cobblestones = New York = 1989, black lipstick from reputation/2016 met gala & sensual politics from lover! The cobblestones are also mentioned again in Betty and this lyric alludes to the unsteadiness of their relationship. the end of the verse shows Betty is reflecting on this previous love with the implication that she knows plenty and refused to accept James' excuse. there are lots of parallels between cardigan and Betty, with the significance of the streetlight in the chorus of cardigan. the refrain of the song delves into the cardigan metaphor which I adore. and damn I really want to buy that cardigan, it looks so cosy!! verse 2 is also strong lyrically with 'friend to none/lose the one', showing how going for too much can result in losing everything that's precious. the hide & seek lyric refers to the two-timing nature + also the childhood nature and naivety of this game, this lyric is also one of the 8 folklore covers! we have another reference to NYC with 'high line' and 20 lifetimes feels reminiscent of lover'ss 20 seconds or 20 years! 'you drew stars around my scars' is what Tay changed her twitter bio to after folklore dropped! the final chorus sets a parallel to the archer (train lyric) and highlights the hurt Betty feels and we once again on this album have the concept of 'tried to change the ending'! There's also a reference to Peter Pan as Wendy leaves behind the fantasy of Neverland & childhood and this reference illustrates the distance between youthful romance & the kind of love that lasts into old age! the cardigan video also contains gold dust *.* (hi pixie dust x). the final verse sees betty rejecting the idea that young people know nothing, the retrospective nature. of this lyric highlighting Betty is looking back on her relationship. the chasing shadows lyric mirrors the 1's bus stop lyric and once again plays on the Peter Pan reference as Peter & Wendy chase down Peter's shadow in the film. cardigan also references the front porch light from Betty and how Betty was expecting James to comeback like he did at the end of the song Betty. and the song ends with the cardigan refrain <3 ahh I love this track <3
Taylor described epiphany in her note on the album as writing stories from people I've known and 'my grandfather, Dean, landing at Guadalcanal in 1942'. epiphany describes someone hoping to find peace in their dreams and a moment of calmness despite the violence and chaos in the world surrounding them. Taylor explores this through her grandfathers experience in the military during WW2 and the current COVID-19 pandemic. This is the shortest song lyrically despite being one of the longest songs on the album! The first verse is about Swift's grandfather Dean during WW2 and the lyrics explore the brutality & physical effects of war and Taylor placed a picture of her grandfather during his service in the cardigan music video. The verse also alludes to PTSD and the long-lasting effects of these tragedies. The lyrics are rife with imagery of these environments & places you so easily into these settings. The 2nd verse parallels the first verse but changes the narrative from war to the battle of the current coronavirus crisis. Taylor creates imagery such as the plastic barriers, how unprepared we are to face a crisis like this and the effects of losing family to this crisis & not being able to say a proper goodbye due to social distancing. Taylor ends both verses with 'and some things you just can't speak about', which parallels the distressing experiences of soldiers in war to those of healthcare workers during the 2020 pandemic. The chorus is made up of two lyrics and relate both to the soldiers & healthcare workers, with them serving on the frontlines of the crisis & making sacrifices and watching people move from in and out of consciousness and the theme of death and dealing with it in the moment. The chorus also shows how we've all come together to help one another during both crisis. The two lines work perfectly together and shows how the respiratory system is attacked in 2020 as a doctor watches a patient dies, and links it to a soldier watching a fellow soldier die as they 'fall down' in battle. There's also an undertone to PTSD experienced by professionals in these two fields. The bridge and outro are the only other lyrics in this song and the outro is the bridge repeated again. The bridge continues to draw parallels between the soldiers & healthcare workers and is that moment of calmness to reflect on what's happening and hoping for some solution to hold on and stay strong. Both soldiers in war & healthcare workers in 2020 are required to work gruellingly long hours without sleep in order to help keep other people safe & alive. This part of the song is Taylor describing their small moment of rest they can sometimes find as these people in peril dream of a sign that will make sense of the trauma & hardship they're enduring. However with the tone of voice and lyrics, this idea of a sign is presented as little more than a dream & all this horror they're experiencing may always be inexplainable. epiphany highlights the sacrifice of honour of these professionals as well as the great tragedy of their difficult & horrifying experiences & work. I love the way this has the least lyrics and I've still managed to write more about this song than most the others laugh.gif the lyrics hit so hard heart.gif

I absolutely adore cardigan and I'd say its my 2nd favourite song on the album!! heart.gif (so yasss at taste matching another position here *.*). This was an instant favourite and its easy to see why this was pushed as the lead single. The song is incredible from a lyrical perspective and the production is beautiful, I esp love how the final chorus transitions between each parts. The lyrics are amongst the strongest on the album, the Peter & Wendy lyric gets me every single time. cardigan kicks off the teenage love triangle and is my favourite of the 3 songs in it, a perfect choice of lead single and an instant highlight in her discography. Taylor's vocals are beautiful on it too and I also love the cabin in candlelight version, which I've gone back to SO much more than I was expecting! stunning. I'm so glad this was another #1 hit for her <3 I keep listening to this so much and the video is perfection as well esp considering all the circumstances, the bit with the water towards the end is full on breathtaking. And I want the cardigan.


The rate commentary:
And this means that our runner-up is the lead single from folklore, cardigan!! cardigan was an instant favourite for many people and was obviously help in that regard by being the main song pushed from the album. cardigan was highly praised by critics and well received by the public too! I can reveal for most of this rate, cardigan & exile were NECK AND NECK with each other at the top. if I closed the rate when the original deadline was, exile would've won by 0.01 ohmy.gif However with a bunch of incredible late scores for exile (& august) whilst cardigan received solid but not incredible scores, it nearly dropped to 3rd!! This is Taylor's most successful lead single in a first impressions rate for the albums, however they always seem to over perform! LWYMMD did +9 average in both rep rates and even MessT had an average of 7.04 in the lover first impressions rate ohmy.gif Anyway cardigan also received two 11's and I wanna say the most 10's in the rate with a fantastic thirteen (hi Taylor) 10's cheer.gif cardigan received unanimously high scores from everyone but scored two 7.5's, making it the only song in the top 3 in this rate to not receive all its scores 8+! We love to see a lead single so loved and I'm glad this managed to receive an average above 9.5 <3 <3

and that means the winner of the folklore first impressions rate is...
cheer.gif

(u got about 20 mins to guess the average x)

Posted by: dandy* Aug 9 2020, 04:20 PM

Fantastic runner up there and I'm soooooooo happy that Exile has won - it's my favourite song at the moment by some distance, it's just stunning wub.gif

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 9 2020, 04:37 PM

'you never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs)'




01. exile (ft. Bon Iver) // 9.70

I think I've seen this film before, and I didn't like the ending: Jonjo, LJ Jord 7, MrAndrewMan, Nina West, RabbitFurCoat [11], Ansel, Billy, Cremey, Dandy*, HausOfGhibli, Jay, John-James, Liam, London81, No Sleeep, SKOB, UltraFolklore [10], John-James [9.5]
I think I've seen this film before, and I didn't like the ending: HarryEzra, Jade, LmLou, ...Ready For It [8]


The song commentary:
exile is the 4th track on folklore and has proven to be immensely popular so far, being in the top 3 tracks since release day and is the highest track on UK iTunes/US iTunes + Spotify and probably everywhere else soon, it's really starting to feel like it's gonna overshadow cardigan soon! exile is the only collaboration on the album and features Bon Iver! I'm expecting them to start pushing this from September! exile is produced by Aaron Dessner, meaning that's he's the producer with the winning song here and I'm not surprised considering he produced most the album xx. This performed terrifically on the charts, peaking so far at #6 in America, becoming her umpteenth top 10 hit and #8 in the UK, the 2nd highest track here which is v. impressive for a song 4th on the album to do on an album drop, highlighting just how popular this song is! <3
exile describes two ex-lovers seeing each other following a break-up. Justin takes on the role of feelings of confusion about how quickly a lover moved on whilst Taylor's perspective shows how the relationship was no longer working. These perspectives contrasts in both lyrics and also through the tone of their voices. exile has received many comparisons to Red's The Last Time, though basically everyone is in agreement that exile is way better. exile is probably the main folklore song to contain a movie motif which ofc I am living for heart.gif This is Taylor's first collab with Bon Iver and she called them one of her 'musical heroes' when announcing folklore! The song is written by Bon Iver, Taylor and the famous singer-songwriter William Bowery (hi Joe Alwyn x). Dessner described how how the collab came about and that Taylor sent him a voice memo singing both the male & female parts. They talked about who they could imagine joining her and talked about Justin's voice & Taylor wanted him for the track! Dessner sent Justin the track and he was really into it & he tweaked + added some parts and it all came together perfectly. like The Boring Time, exile starts with the male vocalist's perspective (Justin) and the 'laughin, but the joke's not funny at all' lyric can be seen as paralleling to Begin Again. The verse lyrics are beautiful and gets you so into the song and story imminently. Both parties in the relationship liken a toxic pattern to a movie they've already seen at the start of the chorus but they decide to leave, rather than work on their relationship. I love the analogy of being exiled from the town is the imagery for the relationship. Taylor comes into the track on the 2nd verse with more movie related imagery (the understudy lyric *.*) and in this context Taylor's former lover looks at her current lover as being a temporary & subpar replacement for himself. This line deepens the imagery of their love being pre-scriptefd with the film having already played out before. this verse feels a bit wildest derams/the last time like, and the 'second, third & hundredth chances' is reminiscent of TLT & You're Not Sorry. Taylor's chorus is pretty similar to Justin's but some of the lyrics change around and make the change in perspective so much more profound. Taylor chorus goes 'who am I offending' in comparison to Justin's 'what am I demanding' and conveys the difference between the two personas; one feels like they're guarding their past lover whereas the other is portrayed as attacking them. Taylor's chorus also has an extra lyric as she's 'leaving out the side door', enhancing the film analogy & referring to how her past relationships have ended the same way in heartbreak so she does the only thing she's ever known & leaves before it gets worse. This line & concept parrarells to rep standout Getaway Car and fearless standout Breathe. Taylor adding this line indicates she was the one that saw problems in the relationship & took action by leaving. The bridge is one of the highlights of the album with Taylor using imagery reminiscent of previous songs. (thin line = fragile line from Speak Now standout Haunted) and Justin & Taylor's vocals work together PERFECTLY during this moment. the parts like 'you never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs)' are album highlights and their lyrics go together perfectly. This is used again as the outro and damn it hits so hard and works perfectly. What. a. song. heart.gif
exile is an absolutely terrific song and whilst its not my absolute favourite on the album, I can see why its resonated so much and why lots of us are already seeing this track as a career highlight! I'd say it's probs 7th on the album for me, but not too far off 4th, and who knows with an inevitable single push + hopefully music video, it can easily vault up further in my rankings (a bit like Delicate vaulting up from 7th (with 4th to 8th being neck & neck) to 2nd after it became a single/the music video as it completely hit me). Taylor and Justin's vocals compliment each other perfectly on this song, especially during the bridge with the conversational aspect of the lyrics. This is one of the best Taylor has ever sounded and Bon Iver were such a perfect choice on this collab! hopefully no more ginger weasel from now on xxx The lyrics are terrific and the film lyrics HIT ME SO HARD EVERY SINGLE TIME. the production is beautiful and works amazingly and this song really does feel like it has a timeless quality to it. a masterpiece heart.gif


The rate commentary:
and this means the winner of the folklore first impressions rate is exile cheer.gif exile was seen by many instantly as one of Taylor's career best songs and got a unanimously incredible reaction, on this site & elsewhere. Tbh if I had to predict a winner I'd have said cardigan, but exile was definitely the only other song that I thought could pull off the win! And it did, quite comfortably in the end! as I said in the cardigan commentary it was v. close for a while, but in the end exile managed to comfortably triumph with a terrific average of 9.70! ohmy.gif exile received a massive five 11's, by far the most in this rate (TLGAD was the only other song to get more than two 11's) and meaning 20% of the raters gave this there 11! exile also received a massive twelve 10's (2nd most in the rate), meaning it only received 8 out of 25 scores below a 10 ohmy.gif However four 8's (inc. from some of the biggest stans of the album in this rate!) managed to slightly drag down its final average but not enough to prevent exile from taking the win! exile is the 4th highest average to appear in any of the Taylor rates on this site either (go see the newly recently pinned rates collation thread if you are interested in checking out the results of past rates!), with it being pipped by 3 songs from the discography rate in 2014! a fabulous winner for this rate and what an amazing average <3

thank you so much to everyone that has rated, followed along, predicted & commented wub.gif we did it cheer.gif full rate results coming below this post and I'll look through the predictions later aha cos I'm exhausted from commentary x

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 9 2020, 04:39 PM

Thanks so much for all the participation during this guys, way more than I was expecting!! wub.gif

Here are the full results:
1. exile (ft. Bon Iver) - 9.70
2. cardigan - 9.54
3. august - 9.46
4. epiphany - 9.02
5. the last great american dynasty - 9.00
6. seven - 8.90
7. the 1 - 8.82
8. this is me trying - 8.72
9. Betty - 8.52
10. my tears ricochet - 8.38

11. invisible string - 8.34
12. mirrorball - 8.30
13. mad woman - 8.14
14. hoax - 7.74
15. illicit affairs - 7.58
16. peace - 7.16

Posted by: RabbitFurCoat Aug 9 2020, 05:00 PM

It's been a hell of a long while since I've been as obsessed with a song as I currently am with Exile, it's absolutely stunning.

My playcounts for a song I love are nowhere near the counts of listens that most people seem to do, however since Folklore came out my most listened to songs are Exile with 17 and Cardigan 10, nothing else above 8.

Posted by: Jonjoliday Aug 9 2020, 06:18 PM

What a beauty of a winner. exile is stunning. Sam messaged me during her listen saying that I'd love it as it's 'The Last Time', but better. (TLT is one of my favourite T Swift songs) I get the comparison between the two.

cardigan isn't instant, but it's a huge, HUGE grower. It holds one of my favourite lyrics ("tried to change the ending, Peter losing Wendy") which is just so depressing and really thought provoking, to me! laugh.gif

Thank you Sam. I'm SO excited for the next one as I can see a fair few changes! I'd probably rank mirrorball higher than I did!

Posted by: Ansel Aug 9 2020, 06:35 PM

Such a great winner! to be honest exile might now be my favourite from the album, at the time it was probably like 3rd but it's grown on me so well!

Posted by: London81 Aug 9 2020, 09:02 PM

Thanks for organising this and for all the commentaries! I really enjoyed this. Exile is a great winner - a fantastic song & depending on the day, my fav from the album.

Posted by: Jonjoliday Aug 9 2020, 09:03 PM

Oh yes, Sam. The commentaries were stunning! So, SO good wub.gif

Posted by: ...ready for it Aug 9 2020, 10:26 PM

cardigan > exile for me. I knew exile was winning, though.

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 11 2020, 12:48 AM

QUOTE(London81 @ Aug 9 2020, 10:02 PM) *
Thanks for organising this and for all the commentaries! I really enjoyed this. Exile is a great winner - a fantastic song & depending on the day, my fav from the album.

QUOTE(Jonjoliday @ Aug 9 2020, 10:03 PM) *
Oh yes, Sam. The commentaries were stunning! So, SO good wub.gif

thank you guys wub.gif wub.gif I'm glad you've enjoyed! cheer.gif

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 11 2020, 12:52 AM

by the way this is how y'all did with the predictions in the end!

Cremey 7/10
...Ready For It 4/8
Jonjo 3/5
London81 2/10
Ansel 1/10
Jade 1/10 (screaming at the way you got 1 & 2, 3 & 4 and 5 & 6 all the other way round!!)


congrats Cremey cheer.gif and yasss at everyone at least getting one right! kink.gif cheer.gif

Posted by: UltraFolklore Aug 11 2020, 01:02 AM

one last fun thing, here is a combined ranking of all the rate scores from the first impressions rates of reputation, lover & folklore!

01. exile (ft. Bon Iver) - 9.70
02. Cruel Summer - 9.63
03. Lover - 9.57
04. cardigan - 9.54
05. august - 9.46
06. ...Ready For It? - 9.18
07. The Man - 9.17
08. Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince - 9.04
09. epiphany - 9.02
10. the last great american dynasty - 9.00

11. seven - 8.90
12. Delicate - 8.83
13. the 1 - 8.82
14. this is me trying - 8.72
15. Betty - 8.52
16. Call It What You Want - 8.48
17. Look What You Made Me Do - 8.45
18. my tears ricochet - 8.38
19. Gorgeous - 8.35
20. invisible string - 8.34

21. mirrorball - 8.30
22. Getaway Car - 8.28
23. I Did Something Bad - 8.23
24. End Game - 8.18
25. mad woman - 8.14
26. Don't Blame Me - 8.13
27. Cornelia Street - 8.09
28. You Need To Calm Down - 7.93
29. Daylight - 7.91
30. hoax - 7.74

31. Dancing With Our Hands Tied - 7.70
32. illicit affairs - 7.58
33. I Think He Knows - 7.46
34. The Archer - 7.43
35. Afterglow - 7.41
36. Paper Rings - 7.35
37. King Of My Heart - 7.28
38. Dress - 7.28
39. False God - 7.20
40. peace - 7.16

41. Soon You'll Get Better - 7.13 (more 10's)
42. It's Nice To Have A Friend - 7.13 (less 10's)
43. Death By A Thousand Cuts - 7.11
44. Me! (ft. Brendon Urie) - 7.04
45. New Year's Day - 6.73
46. London Boy - 6.69
47. So It Goes... - 6.53
48. I Forgot That You Existed - 6.50
49. This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things - 6.48

poor the lakes missing the deadline so we miss out on a fab 50 haha

Posted by: Cremey Aug 11 2020, 07:13 AM

Thanks for doing this all, UV (or UF now? 😂), great commentary throughout and so good to see other people’s first impressions. Amazing that the top 5 all had an average of over 9, really shows how strong the album is.
More than happy to see exile coming out on top too, what a gorgeous song heart.gif

Surprised I ended up getting 7 right in my prediction haha, was sure after I got the first couple right they’d all start falling out of place :’)

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