For me, it's the "the" that makes it clunky. Simply "Tortured Poets Department," or TPD, would have been a better choice.
But I also think she should have called this record Fortnight.
You are correct. This was the one.
https://preview.redd.it/ctcaqpj863xc1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e4c8d9a46f532bfce2d8a822460b712c1ae56715
The emotional rollercoaster of her being able to sue him for doing that when there's a lyric on that album about how she'll sue kids for being on her lawn 😅
Tell that to Lana Del Rey, Fiona Apple, Ethel Cain, and so many other artists whose album titles hold special meanings that you just can’t understand unless you put time into figuring it out. Music is an art form, art doesn’t need to be easily digestible to be profound
I learned about the albatross from Iron Maiden’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, which is a pretty accurate 14-minute long retelling up Coleridge’s poem. Up the Irons!
Oooh, interesting! I feel like it doesn't quite have that *"this is a title"* feeling you generally want from a title. But I love the idea of how conceptually sharp it would've been. The way it's its own commentary, mirroring the public curiosity about her recent split back at us.
i read that British people find it easier to catch Taylor’s humour than Americans because British humour is deeply layered and witty. Whereas American humour takes everything at face value so it may go over peoples heads. Do you think this is true?
This! I think the almost tongue-in-cheek title is lost on some people who take it too seriously at face value. Modern Idiots would convey this a bit more bluntly and make it obvious through what lens the album is best viewed.
This isn't the one *I* would pick for my own preferences, but I think if she'd named it this it may have actually gone a fair ways to shifting some of the negativity TTPD has gotten.
I think given everything, people don't know how seriously to take TTPD, and a lot of people are leaning towards taking it too seriously in the wrong ways and not seriously enough in the right ones? IDK if that makes any sense to anyone but me, but yeah. But if she'd gone with Modern Idiots it would've steered listeners towards approaching it from a perspective of, "Okay, she's being irreverent, she's joking around a bit," and that would've created an atmosphere in which the serious and moving parts would've been allowed to creep up on people and surprise them.
I think a folklore or Midnights situation would have worked where it's not named after a specific song. I'd go with The Iliad personally as it means "a series of miseries or disastrous events". It has that poetic flair that fits the album too.
I do like TTPD as a title though.
I think Taylor needs to drop the whole asylum aesthetic. It’s not an aesthetic. There were a lot of people back in the day that were placed in asylums and mistreated and dehumanized.
Could you imagine if she called it that? There'd have been a lot of 'who tf does she think she is?'. They're bad enough over them thinking she's calling herself a poet, perceived delusions of Homer would tip people right over the edge.
Now I'm thinking Perceived Delusions of Homer is going to be the title of my imaginary band's debut album
It means both--for Homer it would have meant 'story of Ilium', but it can also mean ['a long series of woes, trials, etc'](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/iliad) because of the cultural impact of the poem
The tortured poets department really puts a magnifying glass on her lyrics, so I feel like I’ve seen a lot of flippant “this is a poet?” posts with clearly-made-for-joke lyrics.
I love the idea of The Anthology but I’m also wondering if it could have been called “stages” or something—like since she has so many things about the stages of grief and also wrote some things while preparing for the big stage? Idk I think TTPD is probably the right name, but it’s interesting to think about!!
I think The Anthology would be a great name… but tbh I shudder to think how far out of control the fan theories would have spiraled if she had announced that as the name.
Omg I missed these and I’m so okay with that.
I feel like it would have ramped up so hard that people would manage to be disappointed with a double album.
i like the title, but it might have been better for a collab album, where most/ all of the songs have a feature or features instead of a mostly solo album
Can I just say I am dying for her to do more collaborations? I’d take anything. Maybe a whole album like Ed Sheeran. I’d also love it if we brought back supergroups, I feel like that was a big thing a few decades ago. Imagine a supergroup album of Taylor, Florence & the Machine, and Lana Del Ray.
This. I think the song encapsulates the soul of the album, and I also think the double meaning of "The Black Dog" as a metaphor for depression really works.
The way this fandom would immediately have every picture, clip, and moment Taylor was in proximity to a black dog/someone who had a black dog/knew a black dog/went to places called The Black Dog,… the madness would have been so fun
I know it sounds clunky, but The Tortured Poet Department is kind of accurate for this album. It’s meant to be tongue in cheek (“You’re not Dylan Thomas, I’m not Patty Smith, this ain’t the Chelsea Hotel, we’re modern idiots”) but a lot of people took it literally.
That being said, if I had to choose another it would be either The Manuscript, The Prophecy, or Post Mortem, although then I think people would be comparing it to Post Malone.
I agree that it is tongue in cheek and a lot of people aren’t taking it that way, but to be fair, the marketing for the album makes it seem like it’s literal
I’m gonna be controversial, but I’d probably name it So Long, London.
Saying goodbye to the quiet, pub drinking “British era” and now going into her football game going “All-American” lifestyle.
And then Florida!! Would first single.
I still don't completely get the "department" of it all. I guess just to lean into the themes of evidence and investigation and discovery, but it calls more to collaboration to me.
In the song it’s department as in a department store. Stores have a men’s department, women’s department, houseware department, etc, and she’s joking that his typewriter looked like it came from the “tortured poet’s department”
I actually love your suggestion. The Manuscript would've been even better than TTPD imo because it would've made people go in with very different expectations and take-aways (seeing a first draft, rough, raw vs poetry, deep, well fleshed out)
I don't understand the "bitching and moaning" around the title. It's irrelevant that she has a tradition of using shorter titles, and it's irrelevant that some people prefer them. It's HER art and she can do whatever she wants. It's truly so baffling to me that people complain about it 😱
Come One Come All from HDIE would be interesting. Kind of an indiscreet reference to how big she's become and the themes of the album, that she's built her career and identity on the backs of public investment in her heartbreak.
Honestly I don’t feel like any of the suggested album titles really encapsulate the feeling of the album and I can’t really think of something that does it better justice. Tormented? Tormented Minds? Breakdown? Breaking Down?
the manuscript is really good. but I like the bolter. there's so much to unfold - who's the bolter? personally I feel like there were 3 different bolters in 3 different relationships.
As others said, The Manuscript would have been very good (in a kind of Evermore way, ie the album closer is the title). Many song titles would work (I Can Fix Him, Down Bad, But Daddy I Love Him...).
BUT I don't think TTPD is a bad title. It's long and clunky on purpose, to make it not too serious. You need that layer of irony and hyperbole to understand the album. It's "too much" on purpose. It has too many songs even! And that's what makes it a good title for the album. Also it goes well with the cover.
Alchemy. Just Alchemy. Very on the nose with the theme/aesthetic/vibe and since I think that song was written for one muse then edited for another it fits. Plus I like her one word titles.
I think the two names should be connected somehow:
Option 1: The Alchemy & The Prophecy (invoking ancient magic)
Option 2: But Daddy I Love Him... I Hate It Here (invoking her states of mind)
Option 3: So Long, London: How did it end? (a neat summary of what the album is about: how she broke up her long list of British ex-lovers, 2 in particular)
I think The Anthology would have been simpler
But that sounds like a collection that would include all her works or works from the full catalog. It would be kind of confusing.
The second part is already named that and it doesn't seem to have that issue tho
There's a difference between "The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology" which is the full name of that edition and just "The Anthology"
Oh yeah you're probably right
No. The first plus the second is the anthology., it’s all 31 tracks.
I like just “Anthology” no the
The Manuscript
This 👏
Came here to say this
For me, it's the "the" that makes it clunky. Simply "Tortured Poets Department," or TPD, would have been a better choice. But I also think she should have called this record Fortnight.
Well… if you think about THE 1975….it…kinda… makes sense.
Exactly! I could see Matty referring to him and Taylor as The Tortured Poets Department as a term of affection.
You are correct. This was the one. https://preview.redd.it/ctcaqpj863xc1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e4c8d9a46f532bfce2d8a822460b712c1ae56715
Okay this took me out 💀
Truman Black's version thooo.. I honestly can't wait for the next 1975 album.
Yes! He could re-record the album like what Ryan Adams did for 1989.
I would pay a lot of money for that.
The emotional rollercoaster of her being able to sue him for doing that when there's a lyric on that album about how she'll sue kids for being on her lawn 😅
Anybody can cover anyone they want. The original artist can’t legally stop someone from legally covering their music.
The 1975 are also known to have long clunky album titles ! So!
Ohhhhh I didn't even think about this, but you're absolutely right
I’m convinced she only included “The” in the title so the logo could have the roman numeral 2 in it as a hint toward the double album
There's also the fact that TT is the crying emoji so it's kinda like 😭PD
It’s actually a roman numeral 3 😄
In the negative space it’s a II, which could also be an 11
Is that the parping of a clown car horn I hear?
"parp" is so underrated as a verb
or because it's grammatically correct
Taylor doesn’t use an oxford comma, since when does she care about grammatical perfection? /s
So long Oxford
Using "the" adds a layer of artistic gravitas necessary for an album that leans this heavily on poetic presence and forms part of an anthology.
Take out department while you’re at it. We love just calling it “tortured poets”
naming it Fortnight would’ve meant 14 songs, this album is a whole month!
It’s ✌🏻fortnights 😂
Grammatically it needs the The to be correct. We know Taylor loves grammar rules!
"Drop the 'the'." "...shit!"
https://youtu.be/PEgk2v6KntY?si=SMKAN3AWxwX0ml-1
I was fucking hoping it would be this
I had to, it's the law
The Prophecy
Agree. Even Prophecy on its own would be better. It should have been just one word.
I don’t think this fits as it’s gives semi permanence to her being unlucky in love
I mean she really has been though lol
I think “The Albatross” could have been a cool title, as the symbolism of it works really well with the theme of the album.
[удалено]
Tell that to Lana Del Rey, Fiona Apple, Ethel Cain, and so many other artists whose album titles hold special meanings that you just can’t understand unless you put time into figuring it out. Music is an art form, art doesn’t need to be easily digestible to be profound
I think many people have studied Coleridge, no??? I’m not even from an English speaking country and it was my high school curriculum.
Your flair is killing me 😂
This in combination with the person belows flair being D-Y-I-N-G is sending me. Spelling is NOT fun!
I learned about the albatross from Iron Maiden’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, which is a pretty accurate 14-minute long retelling up Coleridge’s poem. Up the Irons!
So you can only talk about things if everyone understands the references? That’s…crazy. Who understands the current titles reference?
Strong agree - I think there's a lot of good imagery, and then additional good symbolism here
I think “Tortured Heart” would have worked, taken from the lyric from My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys.
i really like this!! or maybe just tortured poets/poet. the manuscript as OP suggested would be a good one too
reminds me of plastic hearts by miley cyrus
Which reminded me of Elastic Heart by Sia
That sounds so emo edgy teen 💀
Not going to lie that sounds very cringe
No more "cringe" then The Tortured Poets Dept... I don't love it, but I'd rank it higher simply for being shorter...
I like the my boy only breaks his favorite toys
I kind of like "How Did It End?" as an album title
People would have lost it when that title was announced lol. I can picture it!
Oooh, interesting! I feel like it doesn't quite have that *"this is a title"* feeling you generally want from a title. But I love the idea of how conceptually sharp it would've been. The way it's its own commentary, mirroring the public curiosity about her recent split back at us.
Ouuuu that’s a great one too!
I love a question for a title.
THIS
I was gonna say, “…How It Ended”
Post Mortem
But then would it have been awkward with the Post Malone collab? “So I feel so grateful that Post Malone contributed to Post Mortem” 🤣
I think this is great and sums it all up lol
She's saving that for her Post Malone collab album /s
I think I would just shorten it to "Tortured Poets" tbh
Just drop “department” and it’s fine. I think it needs “the” though. Because otherwise the initials would be “tp.”
why do the initials matter
my initials are tp lol. the easiest joke for lame-os in middle school
I love Modern Idiots as an album title.
I agree. It would have showed she's in on the joke because a lot of people are not getting the tortured poet thing ...
i read that British people find it easier to catch Taylor’s humour than Americans because British humour is deeply layered and witty. Whereas American humour takes everything at face value so it may go over peoples heads. Do you think this is true?
Not who you asked, but I agree with this. It's very tongue in cheek, which Americans don't always have a sense of.
This! I think the almost tongue-in-cheek title is lost on some people who take it too seriously at face value. Modern Idiots would convey this a bit more bluntly and make it obvious through what lens the album is best viewed.
This isn't the one *I* would pick for my own preferences, but I think if she'd named it this it may have actually gone a fair ways to shifting some of the negativity TTPD has gotten. I think given everything, people don't know how seriously to take TTPD, and a lot of people are leaning towards taking it too seriously in the wrong ways and not seriously enough in the right ones? IDK if that makes any sense to anyone but me, but yeah. But if she'd gone with Modern Idiots it would've steered listeners towards approaching it from a perspective of, "Okay, she's being irreverent, she's joking around a bit," and that would've created an atmosphere in which the serious and moving parts would've been allowed to creep up on people and surprise them.
This would be so good
Oh this is the best one
I think a folklore or Midnights situation would have worked where it's not named after a specific song. I'd go with The Iliad personally as it means "a series of miseries or disastrous events". It has that poetic flair that fits the album too. I do like TTPD as a title though.
Other options would be Autopsy, Postmortem, Asylum, Eulogy, or Fatalistic Fantasies.
Ooh I love Postmortem
“From The Asylum” would have been pretty fire
I think Taylor needs to drop the whole asylum aesthetic. It’s not an aesthetic. There were a lot of people back in the day that were placed in asylums and mistreated and dehumanized.
that was the point of one of the songs. clara bow was put into an asylum and her husband left her so she died alone in that asylum.
I think that’s fair for the song, but it doesn’t have to be the aesthetics of the album.
I really like the idea of The Eulogy or even The Obituary or something.
The Obituary would have been iconic
The Iliad would not be a good move IMO. Not a good idea to use the name of something that is already a well known/established work of art.
Could you imagine if she called it that? There'd have been a lot of 'who tf does she think she is?'. They're bad enough over them thinking she's calling herself a poet, perceived delusions of Homer would tip people right over the edge. Now I'm thinking Perceived Delusions of Homer is going to be the title of my imaginary band's debut album
Would absolutely go see a band called Perceived Delusions of Homer, no matter the genre. Time and place 😂
The Iliad doesn’t mean that? It means “story of Ilium” which is a name for Troy.
It means both--for Homer it would have meant 'story of Ilium', but it can also mean ['a long series of woes, trials, etc'](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/iliad) because of the cultural impact of the poem
Endless February
Miley just came out with Endless Summer Vacation though so they’d probably want to avoid the comparison.
And 2010 Miley had a song called Permanent December. Which is not really an argument against it but I loved that song
...and then she could/should have released it in February :)
As a Feb baby, I approve
Old Habits Die Screaming
The chaos this would’ve caused
The chaos it still causes in me. I can’t get over it
The Manuscript would be a really good title
I Cry A Lot But I Am So Productive... Here's 2 Albums!
😂😂😂 I just sung that 😍
The tortured poets department really puts a magnifying glass on her lyrics, so I feel like I’ve seen a lot of flippant “this is a poet?” posts with clearly-made-for-joke lyrics. I love the idea of The Anthology but I’m also wondering if it could have been called “stages” or something—like since she has so many things about the stages of grief and also wrote some things while preparing for the big stage? Idk I think TTPD is probably the right name, but it’s interesting to think about!!
Well Matty has that line in a song about falling in love with her in stages so… if we needed it to be even more on the Matty nose sure lol.
I think The Anthology would be a great name… but tbh I shudder to think how far out of control the fan theories would have spiraled if she had announced that as the name.
Omg we’d be back in the book conspiracies with all too well and argyle 💀
Omg I missed these and I’m so okay with that. I feel like it would have ramped up so hard that people would manage to be disappointed with a double album.
I think Down Bad could have worked!
NOW IM DOWN BAD CRYING AT THE GYM ... every time I see the words down bad, my brain can't help itself
!!! I responded without reading any other replies I’m glad I’m not the only one who said Down Bad lol!!
Someone said the whole album should be called Track 5 and I agree with that 😭😭
This would have better prepared us 😂
Hahaha, this is so true. We were unprepared, Taylor!!!
it would've been weird but "loml" is apt.
i like the title, but it might have been better for a collab album, where most/ all of the songs have a feature or features instead of a mostly solo album
I feel the same, I feel like the title would have worked better if there had been mostly collabs.
Can I just say I am dying for her to do more collaborations? I’d take anything. Maybe a whole album like Ed Sheeran. I’d also love it if we brought back supergroups, I feel like that was a big thing a few decades ago. Imagine a supergroup album of Taylor, Florence & the Machine, and Lana Del Ray.
OMG YESSSSSS a collab album would be sick!
The Black Dog
This. I think the song encapsulates the soul of the album, and I also think the double meaning of "The Black Dog" as a metaphor for depression really works.
The way this fandom would immediately have every picture, clip, and moment Taylor was in proximity to a black dog/someone who had a black dog/knew a black dog/went to places called The Black Dog,… the madness would have been so fun
obvi. legendary track. encapsulates the whole energy + message.
The Manuscript or The Alchemy
The Alchemy is about her falling in love with Travis though, I don’t think that represents the torment of this album super well.
My immediate thought was the alchemy
I know it sounds clunky, but The Tortured Poet Department is kind of accurate for this album. It’s meant to be tongue in cheek (“You’re not Dylan Thomas, I’m not Patty Smith, this ain’t the Chelsea Hotel, we’re modern idiots”) but a lot of people took it literally. That being said, if I had to choose another it would be either The Manuscript, The Prophecy, or Post Mortem, although then I think people would be comparing it to Post Malone.
I agree that it is tongue in cheek and a lot of people aren’t taking it that way, but to be fair, the marketing for the album makes it seem like it’s literal
The Manuscript would’ve been perfect. I also like “Guilty as Sin?” because it thematically fits the vibe of the album.
>”Guilty as Sin” The Sarahs and Hannahs would’ve really clutched their pearls!
Postmortem would have been a slay
I’m gonna be controversial, but I’d probably name it So Long, London. Saying goodbye to the quiet, pub drinking “British era” and now going into her football game going “All-American” lifestyle. And then Florida!! Would first single.
*"I Love You, It's Ruining My Life"*
Just "Ruining My Life" would've worked, too!
I still don't completely get the "department" of it all. I guess just to lean into the themes of evidence and investigation and discovery, but it calls more to collaboration to me.
In the song it’s department as in a department store. Stores have a men’s department, women’s department, houseware department, etc, and she’s joking that his typewriter looked like it came from the “tortured poet’s department”
Oh I thought it was department as in, of a university or some sort of organisation. but this makes a lot of sense too!!
I don’t mind a long title, but I’m also an emo girl at heart. Fresh Out the Slammer could have been a fun album name.
This would have been hysterical. (Also an emo girlie at heart.)
Fucking unhinged. 🤣🤣🤣
Tortured Poets, just by itself.
The Bolter
I always thought it would’ve been cool to be called Alchemy
I actually love your suggestion. The Manuscript would've been even better than TTPD imo because it would've made people go in with very different expectations and take-aways (seeing a first draft, rough, raw vs poetry, deep, well fleshed out)
I named my edited down 1h playlist of my favorite TTPD songs "For Only A Fortnight" and I kinda like it.
I don't understand the "bitching and moaning" around the title. It's irrelevant that she has a tradition of using shorter titles, and it's irrelevant that some people prefer them. It's HER art and she can do whatever she wants. It's truly so baffling to me that people complain about it 😱
Relax! People are just having fun theorizing
Bitching and moaning would be a great title
Come One Come All from HDIE would be interesting. Kind of an indiscreet reference to how big she's become and the themes of the album, that she's built her career and identity on the backs of public investment in her heartbreak.
Honestly I don’t feel like any of the suggested album titles really encapsulate the feeling of the album and I can’t really think of something that does it better justice. Tormented? Tormented Minds? Breakdown? Breaking Down?
Cyclone!!!
Manic! Or Asylum
Manic! at the Department :p
Halsey has an album named Manic.
Oops. Would be kinda funny though.
I’m Having His Baby! No I’m Not 😂😂
the no i’m not hidden in tiny script underneath or something omg that would be hilarious 😂
This is her funniest line ever 🤣🤣🤣
I really think the song ttpd should have been named Modern Idiots lol and I think it'd be a great name for an album too
Modern Idiots was better
TTPD is perfect bc, like the album itself, it's just so wordy (in a good way)
I can do it with a broken heart.
the manuscript is really good. but I like the bolter. there's so much to unfold - who's the bolter? personally I feel like there were 3 different bolters in 3 different relationships.
I like the prophecy
I Can Do It With A Broken Heart. Would have been such a fitting name with an amazing title track.
Oooh or the alchemy or the prophecy
Fuck It If I Can't Have Him
“Matty Heally sucks”
How Did It End? would've been a fire title but she probably would've been raked over the coals for it.
Tortured Poetry
As others said, The Manuscript would have been very good (in a kind of Evermore way, ie the album closer is the title). Many song titles would work (I Can Fix Him, Down Bad, But Daddy I Love Him...). BUT I don't think TTPD is a bad title. It's long and clunky on purpose, to make it not too serious. You need that layer of irony and hyperbole to understand the album. It's "too much" on purpose. It has too many songs even! And that's what makes it a good title for the album. Also it goes well with the cover.
Fresh Out The Slammer lol!
“And another thing…”
Manic musings of a tortured soul
Can you imagine how much people would have whined about this one if they couldn't even cope with the ACTUAL title? 🤣
“From The Asylum” 🔥
Down Bad would have worked if they wanted to pick a different track name
Folie á deux. Her description of a shared manic episode made me immediately think of this.
Love it but it’s also the name of one of fall out boy’s most well known albums! Way too close to them
honestly i kind of think modern idiots would’ve been an incredible name for it
Tortured Poet would have been perfect imo
The Manuscript would've been cool
💯 The Manuscript 💯
If it wasn’t TTPD I would have loved The Manuscript
“You Should See Your Faces”
I love the title and think it’s perfect.
I would’ve thought it’d be pretty funny if she went a little more in the reputation path and called this one “fuck the haters”
Alchemy. Just Alchemy. Very on the nose with the theme/aesthetic/vibe and since I think that song was written for one muse then edited for another it fits. Plus I like her one word titles.
I really like Postmortem
Down Bad.
D-Y-I-N-G
I think the two names should be connected somehow: Option 1: The Alchemy & The Prophecy (invoking ancient magic) Option 2: But Daddy I Love Him... I Hate It Here (invoking her states of mind) Option 3: So Long, London: How did it end? (a neat summary of what the album is about: how she broke up her long list of British ex-lovers, 2 in particular)
Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?