I went to a Taylor Swift listening party.
I went to a Taylor Swift listening party.
Don't judge me: it was kind of dope.
Darren just wants to help.
“Each one of these has a different bonus track,” he says, shuffling four different records through his hands.
The 18-year-old is dispensing advice at Auckland record store Real Groovy – yet he doesn’t work there.
He’s a Swiftie who has studied the benefits of every edition of The Tortured Poets Department for weeks, saving up so he can get at least two of them.
Priced as much as $109.95, that’s at least a $200 splurge.
The parents and kids hovering around him hang off his every word.
“If you want this one,” he says, holding up the record with the greyest cover, “go down the street to JB Hi-Fi.
“It’s $2 less, and you’ll get the clear vinyl.”
It’s Friday evening and we’re standing around a rapidly disappearing bin full of different editions of Taylor Swift’s new record.
In front of us, fans queue for posters and tickets to a raffle in which they could win some of those special edition records, or, if they’re really lucky, an Eras tour T-shirt.
Behind us, kids with arms laden with bracelets spelling out song names and quotes sit at tables threading beads to add to their collections.
All around the store, kids push their parents away to run around with their friends, snap selfies and whisper in ears as the record store’s launch party gets underway.
One mum stumbles past while clutching a huge box containing a Project turntable, unsure of where to put it.
Soundtracking all of this is Swift.
The pop star’s 11th album has been out for mere minutes and it’s just hit the store’s stereo. Gasps echo around the room as lyrics are heard, discussed, dissected, debated and then discarded in favour of the next one.
When the album’s only certifiable banger ‘Florida!!!’ plays, heads nod and faces light up. Those threading beads dance in their seats not wanting to give up their sought-after space at the table.
Why am I here?
Great question.
If you have a 10-year-old daughter, it’s highly likely they’re a Taylor Swift fan.
For me, it happened fast. One minute, my daughter didn’t seem to know who she was.
Now, posters adorn her wall, books and magazines litter her floor, and she can list every single song Swift has ever released (all 274 of them) in order of importance.
In our house, the Eras tour movie plays, on average, twice a week.
So I drew the short straw, volunteering to take her and three of her friends to Real Groovy’s Friday night Taylor Swift listening party.
In the car, they kept checking their phones to see if the album would drop early.
When they discovered the song ‘Fortnite’ was out, they shushed each other and leaned forward in their seats to listen, then scream.
When I parked the car, they sprinted four entire blocks to Real Groovy.
And when we got there, my daughter immediately found the vinyl bin and gave me a look, the look, the one every dad knows because it hits your heart and melts your soul.
It’s a look I cannot possibly and will never be able to say no to.
So yes, she got the poster.
Yes, she added more bracelets to her arm.
And yes, she got the limited edition record, the one Darren advised me to get: one that comes with a 24-page book, the bonus song ‘The Manuscript’ and ghosted white vinyl.
I’m no Swifty, but I loved the entire experience. It reminded me of the days I’d queue at record stores for hours until midnight for albums to be released or concert tickets to go on sale.
Like the best kind of fan event, it seemed to be less about the music and more about the shared experience. It’s the same giddy sensation I still get when the date nears for a highly anticipated movie, TV show, album or concert, or when a Tool fan put his arm around me and we screamed the chorus to ‘Aenema’ together.
Afterwards, I asked my daughter to describe Tortured Poets in as much detail as she could muster.
She looked at me, rolled her eyes and said one word in the kind of way that only a 10-year-old can, making it clear that this was a super dumb question, dad.
“Awesome.”
Everything you need to know…
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Queues formed around the country on Saturday as Record Store Day got underway. Vinyl fans used it as a chance to stock up on special releases and imports. One store owner tells RNZ that day is now “bigger than Christmas”.
Eden Park is proving to be a crucial commercial driver in Auckland. Stuff reports Pink’s two Eden Park shows added $4.2 million to the Auckland economy, but Coldplay’s three November shows could top that, at $11 million. So can we let Eden Park have more than six shows a year now, please?
There are plenty of reasons to leave the house this week: The Dandy Warhols hit The Powerstation tonight; 6lack’s Town Hall show on Wednesday appears to have moved to The Powerstation; Chase & Status and Luude take over Trusts Arena on Friday; and on the same night, Niall Horan lights up Spark Arena.
Maybe it’s the algorithm serving me up grunge-tinged, country-infused, female-fronted alt-rock because of my Wednesday addiction, but there seems to be a lot of this stuff around right now. Pittsburgh singer-songwriter Merce Lemon is the latest, and I love her wistful alt-rock anthem ‘Will You Do Me A Kindness’, a song that feels like the perfect soundtrack for a wonky Monday morning…
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Love a good album release listening party. Good on you for taking your daughter and her friends :)
This is fascinating. Swift obviously occupies the space Justin Bieber took up for my daughter at that age.
Has this ever happened to a female artist before?