Over the next few days and weeks, I will listen to Taylor Swift’s new album 100+ times. This is how I absorb music

I’m biased toward rock and alternative but I consider my tastes very diverse. If a tune is catchy or authentic, I’ll appreciate it, no matter the genre. I can enjoy Eminem and I can appreciate Justin Bieber. I adore Radiohead and some of my favorite songs are by Katy Perry. I like Twenty One Pilots and I like Britney Spears. I like the Killers and I love Taylor Swift. I’m a huge fan of Lana Del Rey. I like the Rolling Stones. I like Coldplay. I love less-known artists like Fitz and the Tantrums. I love Kings Leon and I listen to Kendrick Lamar.

I’m a music junkie and there is nothing trivial about me being a music junkie. I spent my childhood in Soviet Moscow and discovered Western rock and pop music, thanks to my Dad. He didn’t give a fuck about the Iron Curtain. In the nineties, I listened to Russia’s first FM radio stations, day and night. I then spent many years in England. The era of Oasis, Blur, and Radiohead. Oasis are no longer, but Radiohead are forever!

Taylor Swift — she’s special. I’m trying to remember how I discovered her Folkore album. It was during the pandemic year. I imagine in the future my daughter will tell me she was the one who “discovered” Folklore. I just don’t remember. Then there was “Evermore”, an awesome record too.

We’d listened to Taylor Swift before Folklore and Evermore, but I found these two albums incredible. They are masterpieces…