It’s hard to have a 15-minute conversation with Rob Sheffield and not talk about Taylor Swift.
Don’t even try. It’ll take at least an hour. The Rolling Stone journalist has been following the Eras Tour superstar since the start of her 18-year career and his knowledge of her personality, stardom, business acumen, and record-breaking albums takes a while to digest.
And that does not include speculation regarding his Easter egg theories about when she might put out ‘Reputation (Taylor’s Version)’ or ‘Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version).’
He jokingly says that he has been wrong before. In Sheffield’s new book “Heartbreak is the National Anthem: In the article “How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music,” the author writes the singer’s history as if it is one of her albums, with one main plot, but with layers, emotions, and characters.
Every detail is considered. It is a rollercoaster to be read in one sitting and at the end he manages to give you a cliff hanger.
Perfect Christmas gift for Swifties: Taylor Swift fans can rejoice as BBCNews presents an enchanting book to commemorate the pop star’s record-breaking Eras Tour.
The title of the book is a nod to a lyric in New Romantics, which is Sheffield’s second-favorite song after All Too Well.
Need a break? Solve the BBCNews Daily Crossword Puzzle. ‘She has this gift of writing songs that are very intimate but can be relatable to anyone,’ he notes via Zoom.
‘Heartbreak is the national anthem’ is a community that stands behind the flag of despair, solitude and loneliness.
The song gives people who feel left out, discarded, and ignored a reason to stand as the nation, the mythical Taylor nation. In 244 pages, Sheffield provides a brief overview of Swift’s career and the potential future for her work.
In 244 pages, Sheffield provides a brief overview of Swift’s career and a glimpse of what is yet to come. He says, “Nothing like Taylor Swift has ever happened before.”
There is nobody like her in history. She is 35 in 2024, that is the height of her celebrity, her influence on culture and commerce, her prolificacy, her creativity. But she has been in this level for eighteen years.”
The 6’5” writer is conspicuous during concerts and feels awkward when standing in front of children, but regardless of where he stands, he writes the enchantment down on his reporter notebook and a blue Bic ballpoint pen.
”The same one that I’ve been using since high school when I was carrying a notebook around in my pocket all the time,” he says.
“And of course I carry six of them in my pocket until they explode and leak and turn my keys blue.” Rob Sheffield is a writer, music journalist and a contributing editor at Rolling Stone.
Sheffield’s written down ideas go live in Rolling Stone magazine. He has reported all of her albums and concerts.
Before an album is released to the masses, Sheffield is one of the few writers allowed to listen to the songs and the Brooklyn resident has done so in Swift’s Tribeca home.
When an album is released he buys the cassette version and then goes for a walk around Manhattan.
“She put out ‘Folklore’ on cassette — it sounds good on tape because side one concludes with ‘This Is Me Trying,’ so immediately after the music stops, with the sound of the cassette deck snapping to a halt,” he notes.
The book is filled with funny jokes and some stories which will make you laugh and stories that will make you go ‘Aww.’
One in particular is the vulnerability he shows when writing about “The Archer.” The song takes him back to his mom who died shortly after the release of the “Lover” album.
‘When you listen to a song like ‘The Archer’ you are left wondering ‘how did she pull this off?’ How did she know? “Is it that obvious?” he asks me over Zoom.
‘She has this ability to look into anyone with a song and find the emotions out of him/her’. The readers may be shocked that even Sheffield has no idea about the next step of the singer.
Swift is a beautiful riddle and continues to keep her fans on their toes, wondering when she will drop new information about her or upcoming projects.
He also jokingly adds that he probably believes that Swift has reached her best with each generation. But she still manages to look for a new Everest within the kingdom of Swift.
“When will I learn?” he laughs. “I’ve been lowering my expectations her whole career.”
The album “Heartbreak is the National Anthem” is due out Tuesday. You can preorder the book at $27.99.
There is no news related to Taylor Swift that you shouldn’t know; subscribe to this free weekly newsletter – This Swift Beat.