Maps of Music

The Tortured Poets Department (2024)

Where the lyrics of The Tortured Poets Department take you, and where it was really made.

A surprise double-album edition, The Anthology, was released two hours after the standard album.

Key places

Electric Lady Studios, New York City (2024)

Recording site Electric Lady Studios — Swift recorded and produced the album with Jack Antonoff at this New York City studio. It is one of the two studios where the standard edition was mainly made. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Conway Recording Studios, Los Angeles (2024)

Recording site Conway Recording Studios — Swift and Antonoff recorded the album at this Los Angeles studio, alongside the New York sessions at Electric Lady. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Long Pond Studios, Hudson Valley (2024)

Recording site Long Pond Studio — Dessner worked with Swift on the album at Long Pond Studios in the Hudson Valley. The pin marks the wider area, not the exact studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Esplanade Studios, New Orleans (2024)

Recording site Esplanade Studios — Three tracks, including Fresh Out the Slammer, were recorded at this New Orleans studio in addition to the main sessions. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Miloco Studios, London (2024)

Recording site Miloco Studios — The track Florida!!! was also recorded at this London studio, in addition to the main sessions. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Rue Boyer Studio A, Paris (2024)

Recording site Rue Boyer — The track I Can Fix Him was recorded at Rue Boyer Studio A in Paris, one of the album's less common recording locations. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Prime Recording Studio, Nashville (2024)

Recording site Prime Recording — Christopher Rowe recorded Swift's vocals at this Nashville studio for the album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Tortured Poets Department: eleventh studio album by Taylor Swift
• Released 19 April 2024 on Republic Records
• The Anthology, a double-album edition, surprise-released two hours later
• Standard edition has 16 songs; The Anthology adds 15 more
• Autobiographical album on ill-fated romance, grief, anger, longing, and delusion
• Hyperbolic, confrontational, self-aware lyrics with literary allusions
• Standard edition: minimalist synth-pop, mainly produced by Jack Antonoff
• The Anthology: acoustic chamber pop and folk-pop ballads, mainly produced by Aaron Dessner

Background

• Swift began the album right after finishing Midnights (2022)
• Written over two years, partly during the Eras Tour in 2023
• The Eras Tour became the first concert tour to gross $1 billion
• Her breakup with Joe Alwyn after six years was widely covered by the press in 2023
• At the 66th Grammy Awards on 4 February 2024, she announced the album title
• At a Melbourne Eras concert on 16 February 2024, she said writing the album was a lifeline

Recording

• Antonoff sessions at Electric Lady in New York City and Conway in Los Angeles
• Dessner sessions at Long Pond in the Hudson Valley
• Some tracks also recorded in New Orleans, London, Paris, and Nashville
• London Contemporary Orchestra strings, conducted by Robert Ames

Cover

• Standard cover: black-and-white glamour photo by Beth Garrabrant
• Swift shown lying on a bed in black loungewear
• Scholar Emily J. Orlando compared the booklet pose to paintings of Elizabeth Siddal

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born December 13, 1989, in West Reading, Pennsylvania.
• Named after singer-songwriter James Taylor.
• Moved to Nashville area at 14 to pursue a country music career.
• Signed with Big Machine Records in 2005.

Career

• Debut album Taylor Swift (2006) peaked at number five on the US Billboard 200.
• Fearless (2008) spent eleven weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 and was the best-selling album of 2009 in the US.
• Shifted from country to pop with 1989 (2014), which spent eleven weeks at number one.
• Released Folklore and Evermore (2020), indie folk albums that debuted at number one.
• Re-recorded her first six albums after a dispute over her master recordings.
• The Eras Tour (2023–2024) became the highest-grossing concert tour of all time.
• Holds 14 Grammy Awards, including a record four Album of the Year wins.
• Named Time Person of the Year in 2023.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Critics were divided; secondary sources described the consensus as positive or mixed
• Metacritic: generally favorable reviews, weighted average 76 out of 100 from 24 critic scores
• The Anthology: weighted average 69 from six reviews
• Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield praised the album as gloriously chaotic
• Pitchfork's Olivia Horn felt the lyrics did not distill an overarching emotional truth
• The Guardian's Alexis Petridis said it has Swift's wittiest lyrics
• Paste published an anonymous, negative review calling the album rushed, hollow, and unrelatable
• Multiple critics said the album's sound was similar to Swift and Antonoff's earlier work

Reappraisal

• Within weeks of release, several journalists reassessed the album more favorably
• Some argued that its length and Swift's media overexposure shaped the initial reception
• Slate's Chris Molanphy said he liked the album better a week after release than before
• CNN's Oliver Darcy later declared it one of Swift's best works

Records

• Debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 2.61 million album-equivalent units
• Spent 17 non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard 200
• 4 million album-equivalent units in its first release week, per Republic Records
• Sold 5.6 million copies, the global best-selling album of 2024 per IFPI
• Most-streamed album of 2024 on Spotify and Apple Music
• Certified eight-times platinum by the RIAA in September 2025
• Spent 11 weeks atop the UK chart
• Won an ARIA Music Award, a Premios Odeón, and a Japan Gold Disc Award
• Nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2025 Grammy Awards

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• All physical copies include a poem by Stevie Nicks, who is referenced in the track Clara Bow
• The closing track Clara Bow was named after the 1920s silent-film actress Clara Bow
• Swift called the album a data dump of everything she experienced in the two or three preceding years
• All 31 songs entered the Billboard Hot 100, and Swift held the top 14 positions at once
• The album leaked two days before release, and the phrase Taylor Swift leak was temporarily banned from searches on X

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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