Melissa Kacar

  "Renegade" was born from such a creatively fulfilling time for Taylor Swift , specifically of her work with frequent collaborators Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon . Coming off of folklore and evermore the year prior, and in the midst of the early stages of her Taylor's Version re-releasing journey, this remains a largely underrated, but very special chapter of her music catalog thus far. Those albums were made entirely on her own terms, unburdened by the expectations that had defined her career up until then. That spontaneity and refusal to overthink is what made this era so singular in her discography thus far. "Renegade" stands out as such a raw and confessional lament, opening up in a way that feels rare, even for a songwriter that has long been known for her deep, personal storytelling.  Aaron and Justin, who have collaborated countless times over the years together, formed the duo Big Red Machine in 2018 alongside the release of their debut self-title...

"Sold Out" by Gracie Abrams, Bon Iver & Aaron Dessner Gracie Abrams , Justin Vernon , and Aaron Dessner came together to create a deeply special song honoring the lives lost to gun violence. It's a heavy and important piece of music, written with such clarity and emotional weight. "Sold Out" captures not only the grief of where the world is right now, but the tragedies that continue to happen far too often, in the US and beyond. Alongside the release of the song, they shared; "We made this song last year in the wake of a school shooting. I was reminded of it this week as our hearts were broken yet again. It's a sad one to share during the holidays, but the world is hurting and we shouldn't look away." The song isn't available on streaming services currently, but you can purchase it through Gracie's Bandcamp . All proceeds are going to Everytown, which is an organization committed to reducing gun violence.   Buy the song here + fin...

٠࣪⭑ "I was catching my breath, floors of a cabin creaking under my step and I couldn't be sure, I had a feeling so peculiar, this pain wouldn't be for evermore" ⋆˚࿔ Taylor Swift released the stunning evermore 5 years ago today and it remains perhaps the most important creative chapter of her career thus far. It was her second surprise album of 2020, following folklore in the summer, which took her in a deeply poetic and introspective songwriting direction. Written through that period of isolation in the pandemic, she stepped back into the folklorian woods to continue to explore so many facets of her life through a narrative storytelling approach. Some rooted in her real life, others rooted in fictional stories, these songs brought such comfort through that time for so many. folklore feels like the embodiment of spring and summer, an album that is full of whimsy and nostalgia. In contrast,  evermore is its fall and winter counterpart. It approaches the same period o...

Now lost in the memory of a moment in time, Folklore is an album that offered an escape from the chaos of the world, creating space for timeless stories of love, loss, friendship, and heartbreak to be passed down like folk songs.  Folklore  was the first page in a new chapter for Taylor Swift , as the process of writing and releasing this album was completely different than anything she had done prior and went on to shape her approach to making music from that point forward. It was surprise released in the heat of the cruelest summer yet - with the intention for this music serving as a form of escapism from all of the stress and fear that was at the forefront of everyone's minds during the early months of the pandemic. Taylor wrote these songs from many different perspectives, some rooted in her real-life experiences, others more based on fiction. She built up storylines within the lyrics that were all intricately tied together by an invisible string.  Pulling from her pa...