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A review by speculativeshelves
Heartbreak Is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music by Rob Sheffield
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
I think some readers may go into this book with wrong expectations because it's less a straightforward nonfiction book about "How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music" and more a collection of essays about Taylor Swift, her songwriting, and the impact her music has had on the author's life. This may not work for some readers but it worked for me - a longtime Taylor Swift fan who enjoys delving into her lyrics, making connections between songs, and hearing stories from people who have felt the impact of her music.
I've always loved reading Rob Sheffield's writing about Taylor Swift because he really does get it. I don't always agree with his opinions - both in this book and outside of it (he ranks "The Last Time" at 265 in his ranking of "All 274 Taylor Swift Songs" which is wild to me) - but I appreciate his reflections and analysis all the same. I felt particularly seen by his essay on "The Archer" - I also consider "Lover" to be a grief album due to what was happening in my own life when that album was released.
This book feels like a love letter to Taylor Swift and her impact on the music industry - right down to the book's structure. Sheffield's spotlight on "All Too Well" is Chapter 5 (of course) and when you look at the table of contents you can see that all of the albums have a specific essay dedicated to them outside of "Taylor Swift", "Speak Now", and "Evermore" (disappointing but not at all surprising considering they're the three albums most often overlooked even by Taylor Swift herself). There are also many lyric references throughout which can feel heavy handed at times but work as fun easter eggs.
It's also just a bit strangely organized in general - roughly chronological by Era, but not quite. This bugged me until I realized my annoyance with the strange structuring of chapters echoes my own annoyance at the tracklist order for "Reputation" (which nearly tells a perfectly chronological story but not quite). I'm not sure if this was intentional of Sheffield's part, but it amused me all the same.
If you're a Taylor Swift fan, I do think this book is worth picking up. It's a quick read and will likely inspire you to reflect on how her music has impacted your own life.
I've always loved reading Rob Sheffield's writing about Taylor Swift because he really does get it. I don't always agree with his opinions - both in this book and outside of it (he ranks "The Last Time" at 265 in his ranking of "All 274 Taylor Swift Songs" which is wild to me) - but I appreciate his reflections and analysis all the same. I felt particularly seen by his essay on "The Archer" - I also consider "Lover" to be a grief album due to what was happening in my own life when that album was released.
This book feels like a love letter to Taylor Swift and her impact on the music industry - right down to the book's structure. Sheffield's spotlight on "All Too Well" is Chapter 5 (of course) and when you look at the table of contents you can see that all of the albums have a specific essay dedicated to them outside of "Taylor Swift", "Speak Now", and "Evermore" (disappointing but not at all surprising considering they're the three albums most often overlooked even by Taylor Swift herself). There are also many lyric references throughout which can feel heavy handed at times but work as fun easter eggs.
It's also just a bit strangely organized in general - roughly chronological by Era, but not quite. This bugged me until I realized my annoyance with the strange structuring of chapters echoes my own annoyance at the tracklist order for "Reputation" (which nearly tells a perfectly chronological story but not quite). I'm not sure if this was intentional of Sheffield's part, but it amused me all the same.
If you're a Taylor Swift fan, I do think this book is worth picking up. It's a quick read and will likely inspire you to reflect on how her music has impacted your own life.