Michele Lallai on Taylor Swift: Recordings of a music icon

On December 13, 1989, the most important artist of our time was born, who, from a young age, was able to outshine all the brightest stars in the history of music. Taylor Swift is a musician, singer and songwriter of undisputed talent, as well as a brilliant businesswoman. Are we exaggerating? Not so much, if we look at the numbers that underline the success of this girl, which has remained simple despite her ability to influence consumption and even the GDP of the United States. In this book by journalist Michele Lallai (published in Italian by Pendragon), written not only for Swifties, Tay’s life and career are traced, starting from her debut, characterized by typical country sounds, up to midnight and the triumphant Epoch Tourwith sold-out concerts all over the world and millions of fans under their stage. The first ten albums are described and analyzed here, 144 songs in an unprecedented in-depth musical examination of their work. In parallel, the reader can relive the most important episodes of their life, both artistic and personal, made up of triumphs and fears, happy and dramatic relationships, collaborations and betrayals, which create a rounded portrait of a true media, social, cultural and corporate phenomenon. The one.

First of all, I would like to ask you how this work came about and how you went about researching such a complex character?

You are right – a complex character with interesting insights from all aspects of his life. Writing, music, personal life, character psychology and gossip are inextricably linked. For this reason, research was carried out on all these aspects simultaneously. I wanted to make a book that would focus not only on her music, but also on her person and her artistic career, and this made the work tiring for me at times. Also, the sources are often not true, and sensationalism and conjecture sometimes crowd out the truth of the facts, so a lot of fact-checking was also required.

Do you think Taylor’s origins and background are still evident in the artist we admire today?

Absolutely, both in terms of the themes addressed in the lyrics and the way she approaches the difficulties. Already with the Pandemic albums she has shown a new mature and tender side, which is nothing other than the expression of her soul as a dreamy child, while in midnight She has decided to face the wounds and demons that she has carried with her since childhood and that were more than evident in the simple authenticity of her first albums. I am very excited to see what is to come!

The song-by-song approach of your volume is really great. What do Taylor’s songs tell us about his personal and professional development?

Thank you very much! Do you know that game where you have to connect the dots? Each and every one of Taylor’s songs is one of those dots and with the song by song approach I wanted to connect them to arrive at the final drawing, which is a portrait of the artist and the person. Those who know her know how intimate and personal the taste is in each verse she writes and how much one can identify with the situations, feelings and images she expresses in her songwriting. I also didn’t want to leave out the technical musical analysis, which is particularly dear to me because her journey through different instruments, genres and productions also speaks volumes about her expressive versatility.

The book is great for fans and non-fans alike. What do you hope your readers will learn about Swift?

I wanted to write a book that was simple in its implementation, in terms of vocabulary and analytical approach, but that could also penetrate deeply into the characters. What I wanted to highlight, beyond the simple biographical part or the study of lyrics and music, is that Taylor’s entire career can show us the human and psychological development of an artist who, beyond her innate artistic, communicative and entrepreneurial skills, is a human being like any other, who suffers and rejoices for things common to all human beings. In Taylor’s path of growth lies the path of growth of everyone. The maturation from child to girl and then to woman, with all the psychological pains and problems that mark the different stages of life. If she is followed and appreciated by millions and millions of people around the world, it is precisely for this reason.

May I ask what future projects you are working on?

I can tell you that Taylor still has a lot to say and tell, and given the success of this book and demand from fans, I am working on a new volume that will delve even deeper into the discography and the person, and also include bonus tracks from all LPs, off-album singles, collaborations, etc. More news on that to come in due course!