Taylor Swift fans are scrambling to decipher clues left around a new library pop-up in Los Angeles, as the singer prepares to release her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department.
Ahead of the record’s release on Friday 19 April, Swift has partnered with streaming service Spotify to create an open-air library at The Grove in LA, which will remain open until Thursday (18 April). It can be visited by fans between 10am to 9pm each day.
She also shared a video teaser that follows the camera as it exits the Midnights room and enters the Tortured Poets Department, a stark office with bright white lights.
Here are the clues fans have deciphered (or think they’ve worked out) so far, from an artist with a notorious love of easter eggs.
A teaser clip shows six glitter gel pens abandoned on the table as we follow the camera out of the Midnights room (referencing Swift’s Grammy-winning 2022 album).
Swift revealed before releasing Midnights that she has secret “genres” she refers to while writing new music: Quill Lyrics, Fountain Pen Lyrics, and Glitter Gel Pen Lyrics.
“I’ve never talked about this publicly before, because, well, it’s dorky,” she said, during a speech for Songwriter-Artist of the Decade at the annual Nashville Songwriters Association International ceremony.
“But I also have, in my mind, secretly established genre categories for lyrics I write. Three of them, to be exact. They are affectionately titled Quill Lyrics, Fountain Pen Lyrics, and Glitter Gel Pen Lyrics.”
She continued: “I came up with these categories based on what writing tool I imagine having in my hand when I scribbled it down, figuratively.”
Citing her hit single “Shake It Off” as an example, Swift said her Glitter Gel Pen category “lives up to its name in every way”.
“Frivolous, carefree, bouncy, syncopated perfectly to the beat,” she explained.
Which suggests that, given the glitter gel pens have been left behind, fans should expect songs written either in Swift’s “Quill” or “Fountain Pen” styles.
A book of lyrics
Protected by a glass window, Swift’s library contains a book with excerpts of lyrics from her forthcoming songs. On Tuesday 16 April it revealed the lyric: “Even statues crumble / If they’re made to wait.”
More lyrics have been unveiled up both in the book and on billboards around the US, including Times Square: “One less temptress / One less dagger to sharpen.”
Open drawers
The library’s Dewey Decimal System Drawers (mistaken by some younger fans for mail boxes or even a miniature morgue) have six of the 72 opened, revealing their contents including dried flowers and lace. One fan speculated that six drawers might reference her six-year relationship with British actor Joe Alwyn. However, this theory appears to have been debunked as other fans report more drawers have since been opened.
The clock set to 2:00
The clock in the library is set to 2:00, which might refer to the fact that the page of the opened book was turned to reveal more lyrics each day at 2pm. Other fans have theorised that a lot seems to happen to Swift around this time; she has referred to 2am on songs including “Enchanted”, “The Way I Loved You”, “Breathe”, “Mine” and “I Wish You Would”.
Miami, Florida!
A small globe on one of the library shelves has a pin stuck in Miami. Probably alluding to “Florida!” a song on TTPS featuring Florence and the Machine.
Friday, December 13
A daily calendar display is propped up in the library marked at the date Friday 13 December, which happens to be the forthcoming date of Swift’s 35th birthday.
Fans are speculating that this might point to plans for another release... perhaps the re-recorded (long-awaited) version of her 2017 album, Reputation?
Another date flagged in the video is release date at 8pm, when Swift has announced that a new music video will drop.
Swift releases The Tortured Poets Department on Friday 19 April.
Local News