Because I have to:
-Taylor Swift's "Red" could just as easily be called "Jake Gyllenhaal's Neediness." For that is what it is. It is a portrait of one (recognizable) man's neediness.
-This neediness takes the form of phone-calling. Apparently, shattered by the breakup, Gyllenhaal would call and call TS so he could waffle, in real time, on the phone. He infected her with his mealy-mouthed-ness. Clearly, the sadistic and mind-blowing phone calls had a strong impact on songwriter TS. She alludes to them in not one, not two, but three songs.
-Song One. "You call me up again, just to break me like a promise. So casually cruel in the name of being honest."
-Song Two. "So he calls me up again and he's, like, I STILL LOVE YOU. And I'm like, THIS IS EXHAUSTING...."
-Song Three. "You think I moved on or hate you. Cuz each time you call? There's no reply."
-TS is the younger half of this relationship, but clearly she is the mature half. The songwriter takes pleasure in this bit of irony. As she reminds us, and Jake, "It takes everything in ME not to call YOU." Implied: Though it's a struggle, note that I'm being an adult and NOT calling you.
-In "I Almost Do," TS has Jake "sitting by the window, looking out at the city." Presumably, he is doing that looking while also showing off his "sweet disposition." Once, I was walking in Greenwich Village, and there, at an outdoor cafe, was Jake Gyllenhaal. He was displaying his sweet disposition. His chair was facing the sidewalk; though he was a major celebrity, and without sunglasses or disguise, oddly enough, he was opting to "look out at the city."
-After his TS break-up, Jake Gyllenhaal had an atypical stint: He essayed a role in a Broadway musical. It was his first and only Broadway musical outing. His role: Stephen Sondheim's Georges Seurat. Of course, Sondheim's Seurat is known for his sadism, his emotional volatility and inaccessibility, his neediness. His on-again/off-again girlfriend scolds him: "Georges has many secrets." Later, she sings, very loudly, "WE DO NOT BELONG TOGETHER." (Like, ever.) I guess Taylor Swift was not available for this Broadway production.
-With her scalpel, and her notable blend of compassion and satire, TS makes us aware of Jake's pettiness, his childishness. It's not just the (semi-)unwanted phone calls. It's the small cruelties: Telling your girlfriend her album isn't as cool as various "indie records." Refusing to laugh at good jokes. Criticizing various dresses, claiming not to understand an array of songs that have sentimental importance to your girlfriend. Do you see how this album begins to have the texture of really good short fiction?
-I believe that TS entered a new sensual world between "Speak Now" and "Red." There's a great leap forward. There's a wisdom, a sadness, and an occasional brittleness in "Red" that is really stunning. TS satirizes herself, as well: "I should walk away, but you're quicksand.... I'll do anything you say, if you say it with your hands..." The child prodigy is--suddenly and shockingly--an adult.
-TS herself has indicated that a perfect storm happened and helped to bring about "Red." Entering adulthood while also contending with a particularly charismatic/maddening boyfriend/ex-boyfriend--That's a rare and profitable turning point. Recently, Lena Dunham sat next to Maggie Gyllenhaal and had to answer, for Andy Cohen, "Which of Swift's exes do you like the least?" She went with Calvin Harris--an understandable move. But, listening to "Red," I sometimes wonder if Jake did the most lasting and the most fascinating damage. I suppose we will never know...
P.S. He would not let her wear heels! He was habitually late!!!
-Taylor Swift's "Red" could just as easily be called "Jake Gyllenhaal's Neediness." For that is what it is. It is a portrait of one (recognizable) man's neediness.
-This neediness takes the form of phone-calling. Apparently, shattered by the breakup, Gyllenhaal would call and call TS so he could waffle, in real time, on the phone. He infected her with his mealy-mouthed-ness. Clearly, the sadistic and mind-blowing phone calls had a strong impact on songwriter TS. She alludes to them in not one, not two, but three songs.
-Song One. "You call me up again, just to break me like a promise. So casually cruel in the name of being honest."
-Song Two. "So he calls me up again and he's, like, I STILL LOVE YOU. And I'm like, THIS IS EXHAUSTING...."
-Song Three. "You think I moved on or hate you. Cuz each time you call? There's no reply."
-TS is the younger half of this relationship, but clearly she is the mature half. The songwriter takes pleasure in this bit of irony. As she reminds us, and Jake, "It takes everything in ME not to call YOU." Implied: Though it's a struggle, note that I'm being an adult and NOT calling you.
-In "I Almost Do," TS has Jake "sitting by the window, looking out at the city." Presumably, he is doing that looking while also showing off his "sweet disposition." Once, I was walking in Greenwich Village, and there, at an outdoor cafe, was Jake Gyllenhaal. He was displaying his sweet disposition. His chair was facing the sidewalk; though he was a major celebrity, and without sunglasses or disguise, oddly enough, he was opting to "look out at the city."
-After his TS break-up, Jake Gyllenhaal had an atypical stint: He essayed a role in a Broadway musical. It was his first and only Broadway musical outing. His role: Stephen Sondheim's Georges Seurat. Of course, Sondheim's Seurat is known for his sadism, his emotional volatility and inaccessibility, his neediness. His on-again/off-again girlfriend scolds him: "Georges has many secrets." Later, she sings, very loudly, "WE DO NOT BELONG TOGETHER." (Like, ever.) I guess Taylor Swift was not available for this Broadway production.
-With her scalpel, and her notable blend of compassion and satire, TS makes us aware of Jake's pettiness, his childishness. It's not just the (semi-)unwanted phone calls. It's the small cruelties: Telling your girlfriend her album isn't as cool as various "indie records." Refusing to laugh at good jokes. Criticizing various dresses, claiming not to understand an array of songs that have sentimental importance to your girlfriend. Do you see how this album begins to have the texture of really good short fiction?
-I believe that TS entered a new sensual world between "Speak Now" and "Red." There's a great leap forward. There's a wisdom, a sadness, and an occasional brittleness in "Red" that is really stunning. TS satirizes herself, as well: "I should walk away, but you're quicksand.... I'll do anything you say, if you say it with your hands..." The child prodigy is--suddenly and shockingly--an adult.
-TS herself has indicated that a perfect storm happened and helped to bring about "Red." Entering adulthood while also contending with a particularly charismatic/maddening boyfriend/ex-boyfriend--That's a rare and profitable turning point. Recently, Lena Dunham sat next to Maggie Gyllenhaal and had to answer, for Andy Cohen, "Which of Swift's exes do you like the least?" She went with Calvin Harris--an understandable move. But, listening to "Red," I sometimes wonder if Jake did the most lasting and the most fascinating damage. I suppose we will never know...
P.S. He would not let her wear heels! He was habitually late!!!
Comments
Post a Comment