Because an “indie” record from Taylor Swift wouldn’t be complete without a song called “cardigan” (played up by the fact that Swift is even selling one as official Folklore merchandise on her website), this is the single she has chosen to lead her eighth surprise album with, proving that the “hipster” trend, already long ago over, is now peak over with this form of co-opting. Co-written with The National’s Aaron Dessner (which lends Swift slightly more “cred” than collaborating with Panic! At the Disco’s lead singer Brandon Urie on the shit-tastic “ME!” from Lover), the trilling sound of Swift’s voice mingles against the soft notes of a piano. One we’re immediately given an overhead shot of at the outset of the Swift-directed video (which she was sure to tell us all was filmed with the necessary precautions for social distancing). Its aged appearance is in keeping with the rest of the look of the abode she’s hiding away in (giving it self-quarantine vibes in spades), rounded out by a rocking chair next to a roaring fire.
Her dreary solo songwriting session is interrupted by the sudden appearance of magical golden dust emitting from the top of the piano. Awed by its presence, Swift, naturally, opens the lid and then climbs inside, being transported to another dimension. One in which her piano now doubles as part of a waterfall amid a breathtaking meadow. Still in her grandma-inspired nightgown, Swift suddenly seems much more invigorated about playing her song, speaking to the importance of the outside world in putting us all in a better mood despite its many annoyances–which is just one of the infinite reasons why COVID-19 has been such a treacherous unleashing upon the now vacuum-sealed masses.
Noticing another materialization of gold dust coming from the piano bench this time, Swift mistakenly believes that every portal will transport her somewhere just as beautiful (possibly an unwitting metaphor for how celebrities’ line of thinking worked before corona came along to knock them on their asses). Alas, it does not, with the portal-jumping this time leading to the not so greener pasture of choppy waters amid a squall–again, Swift is heavy-handed on the allegory of our current situation. Still, she does not want to count herself among just another cliche giving in to doom and gloom, offering subliminal hope to viewers when the piano emerges again in the middle of it all as her only port in the literal storm. Clutching to it for a bit before the piano finally decides to offer its magic dust to her once more, she takes a chance on climbing through the top again, leading her back to her cozy, “indie” cabin, where, obviously, a cardigan awaits her to put it on and get warm again.
Thanks to the cinematography skills of Rodrigo Prieto (who has worked on such masterpieces as Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Brokeback Mountain, Broken Embraces and, most recently, The Irishman), the video comes across as being far weightier in concept than it really is. And perhaps since Katy Perry and Swift have been publicly declaring their bestie status of late, the former won’t mind that the aesthetic often reminds one of Perry’s own waterfall-filled tableau in her recent video for “Daisies.”
Swift’s rosy perspective on things comes at a time when people need it most, and yet, is it really prudent to give her acolytes hope from her vantage point of ivory tower privilege? No matter. She’s going to anyway. For even if this is her “indie” record, she remains, at her core, a pop star. And pop stars only traffic in hope grounded in promoting the old school American dream.
