Will The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection Be Re-recorded?

Hosts Lisa and Cameron delve into Taylor Swift's "Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection," exploring its origins, evolution, and potential future re-recording. They discuss its initial exclusive release, digital availability, and speculate on its place within Swift's discography, especially in light of her re-recording campaign. The hosts also analyze the EP's content, from the eclectic mix of covers like "Last Christmas" and "Silent Night" to original tracks "Christmas Must Be Something More" and "Christmases When You Were Mine," considering their lyrical themes and Swift's evolving artistry. Additionally, they ponder the possibility of a new Christmas album featuring reworked originals and potential new covers, reflecting on the EP's marketing strategy and limited promotion during Swift's early career.

• Lisa and Cameron host the Taylor Swift-themed podcast Swiftly Spoken.
• The podcast features deep dives into Taylor Swift's lyrics, album retrospectives, and theories about future releases.
• The holiday-themed episode focuses on Taylor Swift's Christmas EP.

"Welcome to Swiftly Spoken, a fan-made Taylor Swift podcast in which we break down her lyrics, deep dive into full album retrospectives, and theorize about what may be coming next."

The quote introduces the podcast and its content, emphasizing the detailed analysis of Taylor Swift's work.

• Discussion of Taylor Swift's Christmas EP and its connection to her debut album.
• Speculation on the possibility of the EP being re-recorded.

"So as it is the festive season, we have decided to talk about the Taylor Swift Holiday Collection and how, you know, it came about, how it's res through time, and what may become of it."

The quote introduces the episode's focus on Taylor Swift's Christmas EP and its history, as well as its potential future re-recording.

• The EP was released exclusively at Target in October 2007.
• It was made available to other retailers in December 2008.
• Re-released at Target in October 2009 with digital availability and minor cover changes.
• The title was shortened from "Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection" to "The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection."

"Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection was originally released as a Target exclusive EP back in October of 2007."

The quote details the initial release of Taylor Swift's Christmas EP and its exclusivity to Target.

• The EP's long title and marketing strategy aimed to avoid confusion with Taylor Swift's standard albums.
• The use of "holiday" instead of "Christmas" in the title was likely a marketing decision.
• Exclusive EP releases, like "Beautiful Eyes" at Walmart, were part of the marketing strategy.
• The EP's availability on streaming platforms like Spotify is a recent development.

"It was a very long title, it had a lot going on to be honest with you."

The quote comments on the original lengthy title of the Christmas EP and implies it was unnecessarily complex.

• The Christmas EP was Taylor Swift's second project after her debut album.
• The choice to release a holiday-themed album early in her career is considered unusual.
• The risk of becoming a "Christmas artist" is discussed, with references to Mariah Carey and Michael Bublé.

"It's interesting, extremely interesting to see that her second-ever project is a holiday, is a Christmas album basically."

The quote reflects on the unique decision by Taylor Swift to release a Christmas-themed project so early in her career.

• The EP includes a mix of covers and original songs.
• The choices of covers are described as "rogue" and "bizarre."
• The discussion touches on the selection of specific songs and their arrangements.

"I think the next one is an interesting choice as well. Santa Baby."

The quote introduces the song "Santa Baby" as an example of an unconventional song choice for the EP.

• "Last Christmas" is praised as a favorite Christmas song, but Taylor Swift's cover is critiqued for its youthful country voice.
• "Santa Baby" is noted for its extensive history of covers and lyric changes to suit different artists.
• The production quality of the EP is considered rushed and clanky, reflecting the early stage of Taylor Swift's career.

"Last Christmas, I love Last Christmas. It is my favorite. I think it's my favorite Christmas song."

The quote expresses a personal preference for the song "Last Christmas," setting up the discussion of Taylor Swift's cover of the song.

• Lisa finds it bizarre that "Silent Night" is not commonly featured on Christmas albums, despite being a traditional Christmas carol.
• Cameron enjoys Justin Bieber's "Mistletoe" from his Christmas album.
• Lisa prefers Kacey Musgraves' Christmas album for its unique take on holiday songs without being overly cheesy.
• They both agree that "Silent Night" is not a song they typically listen to, preferring more pop-oriented Christmas music.

"Silent Night isn't really a Christmas song that I listen to."

This quote illustrates Lisa's personal preference for Christmas music, indicating that "Silent Night" is not among her favorites.

"I'm a bit more of like a pop Christmas person."

Lisa clarifies her taste in Christmas music, showing a preference for pop over traditional carols.

• Cameron notes that the album they are discussing includes a variety of Christmas music styles.
• They observe that the album contains a mix of pop hits, traditional carols, fun songs like "Santa Baby," and nostalgic tunes like "White Christmas."
• Lisa and Cameron agree that while the album offers a broad range of Christmas music, the songs do not necessarily cohere well together.

"I feel like what they were trying to do was almost tick every box."

Cameron's quote suggests that the album's creators aimed to appeal to a wide audience by including a diverse selection of Christmas songs.

• Lisa and Cameron discuss the hit-or-miss nature of original Christmas songs, with some being excellent and others not as successful.
• They agree that original songs need to strike a balance between being cheesy and enjoyable.
• The conversation touches on the difficulty of creating Christmas music that is both sincere and commercially successful.

"The most exciting bit of the whole thing is the original songs."

Lisa expresses enthusiasm for original tracks on Christmas albums, highlighting their importance in creating a memorable holiday album.

"With original Christmas songs they are one or the other; they are really good, or they are just trash."

Cameron notes the polarizing quality of original Christmas songs, indicating that they can either be very successful or complete failures.

• Lisa and Cameron critique "Christmas Must Be Something More," labeling it as too corny and a miss.
• They discuss Taylor Swift's approach to Christmas music, noting her deviation from typical holiday themes.
• The pair talks about the potential for re-recording and improving certain Christmas tracks, especially from Taylor Swift's Christmas EP.

"Christmas must be something more just doesn't hit."

Cameron expresses disappointment in the song "Christmas Must Be Something More," indicating that it fails to impress.

"Christmas When You Were Mine... I've always loved."

Lisa shares her fondness for "Christmas When You Were Mine," praising its strong lyricism and emotional impact.

• Lisa highlights the personal touch in Taylor Swift's songwriting, especially in "Christmas When You Were Mine."
• They both appreciate the details in Swift's lyrics that convey a personal story.
• Cameron agrees that "Christmas When You Were Mine" stands out as a strong track due to its traditional Taylor Swift style.

"Christmas When You Were Mine... I think that lyrically I think this one is the strongest."

Lisa praises the songwriting in "Christmas When You Were Mine," considering it the strongest among Taylor Swift's Christmas originals.

"It is just like a standard Taylor song."

Cameron acknowledges that "Christmas When You Were Mine" has the essence of Taylor Swift's typical songwriting, even with the addition of Christmas elements.

• Christmas music often evokes a sense of joy and festivity, with many classic hits being upbeat and merry.
• Sad Christmas songs exist but are typically less popular than their cheerful counterparts.
• The discussed EP includes songs that are untraditional Christmas hits with a sadder tone.
• The rarity of sad Christmas songs becoming classics is noted, with a few exceptions like Elvis' "Blue Christmas."

"Often sad Christmas songs are not big hits...at Christmas everyone wants to be listening to fun happy songs."

The quote explains that sad Christmas songs generally do not achieve the same level of success as upbeat ones because people prefer festive and joyful music during the holiday season.

• Early in her career, Taylor Swift faced scrutiny over her musical decisions.
• Decisions regarding song selection and artistic direction were heavily influenced by her label, Big Machine Records.
• The EP may have included songs chosen by the label to cover a range of Christmas music styles.
• The addition of original songs was likely a strategy to attract listeners to the new material.

"Every decision was questioned...only since she moved to Republic have they been like whatever you put out we'll support."

This quote reflects on Taylor Swift's experience with her former label, Big Machine Records, where she had to fight for her artistic choices, in contrast to the greater freedom she experienced after moving to Republic Records.

• The EP served as a marketing tool to maintain Taylor Swift's relevance between major releases.
• The strategy included covering a variety of Christmas music styles and adding a few original songs to pique interest.
• The release and promotion of the EP were minimal, avoiding confusion with a major album release.
• Keeping the artist in the public consciousness and engaging fans with new content is a common industry practice.

"It was just to keep her name relevant for those two years as she was going moving towards Fearless definitely 100% it was used as like a marketing thing."

The quote suggests that the release of the EP was primarily a marketing strategy to keep Taylor Swift's name in the public eye as she transitioned to her next major album, "Fearless."

• The EPs released by Taylor Swift in her early career were heavily influenced by the country genre.
• There was an effort to market her within the country music scene, despite her pop tendencies.
• The visual presentation of the EPs, including cover art, was minimal and often repurposed from previous work.
• These early releases helped to establish her initial fan base and image as an artist.

"It's definitely interesting to see as like how this was a part of the beginning of her career and how she was establishing herself as an extremely artist."

The quote reflects on the role of the EP in shaping Taylor Swift's early career, highlighting how it contributed to her image and fan base development.

• Christmas albums have a short promotional window, typically from November to December.
• Taylor Swift's Christmas album had limited promotion, with a few live performances.
• The lifecycle of such albums is inherently brief, aligning with the holiday season.

"It has a very limited time and lifespan because it's often November to December."

This quote emphasizes the short promotional period specific to Christmas albums, which is constrained to the holiday season.

• The EP was initially released exclusively and later made available to other retailers and digitally.
• Big Machine Records did not consistently promote the EP after its initial release.
• Changes to the EP's cover art were made over time, with some regional variations.
• Taylor Swift and her current team do not promote the EP due to rights ownership.

"It's interesting to see the and they also have changed up the cover as well...but other than that other than a couple of mentions it used to be available on big machines like website you could buy the CD."

The quote discusses the evolution of the EP's availability and presentation, including changes to the cover art and limited promotion by Big Machine Records.

• Taylor Swift is re-recording her catalog to regain control over her music.
• The project aims to include every song she has ever released.
• Non-album singles and other tracks are being incorporated into her discography.
• There is speculation about where the Taylor Swift Holiday Collection will be placed.
• Possibilities include adding it to the 'debut' album re-recording or creating a new Christmas EP.

"what is going to happen what is next for these songs like where will they end up because like you said the point of the whole project is to not leave anything behind to take control of every single song that she has ever put out and that much has been proven true because she has not left anything behind"

This quote emphasizes the comprehensive nature of Taylor Swift's re-recording project, which aims to include all her music, ensuring she retains control over her entire catalog.

• The Holiday Collection could be added to the 'debut' album as bonus content.
• It might not appear on physical releases like CDs or vinyl but could be available on streaming platforms.
• The timing of 'debut' re-recording release may influence inclusion of holiday songs.

"Will Taylor Swift holiday collection find a home in debut for example or in a more debut or will it get its own moment and will she produce a new Christmas EP"

This quote discusses the potential for the Taylor Swift Holiday Collection to be included in the re-recording of her 'debut' album or to be featured in a new Christmas EP.

• Taylor Swift could rework and include original Christmas songs in a new album.
• There is interest in updated versions of her Christmas songs and covers.
• The potential for a full Christmas album is considered exciting and fitting for Swift's love of the holiday season.

"I think that she could really do last Christmas and Santa Baby Justice nowadays a lot more Justice than she did."

This quote suggests that Taylor Swift has the potential to revisit and improve upon her previous Christmas covers, bringing a fresh perspective to these classics.

• There is uncertainty about which Christmas songs Taylor Swift should cover.
• Fans express interest in hearing new originals as well as reimagined covers.
• The idea of a Christmas album that reflects Swift's storytelling songwriting style is appealing.

"I think F New York that's a really good one. oh yeah. I love that one I love the Christmas one and it has more songwriter Vibe doesn't it exactly that's storying the more Storyteller ones"

This quote reflects the desire for Taylor Swift to cover songs that align with her narrative songwriting talents, suggesting that she could bring a unique touch to storytelling Christmas songs.

• Re-recording is seen as a strategic move to prevent Big Machine from leveraging her old recordings.
• There is anticipation for a "full-blown photo shoot" and a special moment around a potential Christmas release.
• Fans are curious about the future of the Holiday Collection and how Swift will choose to incorporate it.

"I do think that these will be included somewhere because she would be just silly not to like that's the whole cuz then big machine have a leverage over her and that you know what I mean they."

This quote highlights the strategic importance of re-recording the Holiday Collection to prevent Big Machine Records from having any control over those aspects of Taylor Swift's music.

• The podcast invites listeners to share their thoughts on the fate of Taylor Swift's Holiday Collection.
• There is encouragement for audience interaction on YouTube and other social media platforms.
• The discussion extends an invitation for fans to speculate on future releases and share their preferences for Christmas covers.

"let us know what you think will become what is the Fate in your opinion of these songs will they end up on debut on more debut only is like a digital kind of exclusive thing streaming thing will we suddenly get a Christmas ep one day"

This quote actively seeks listener engagement, asking fans to contribute their opinions on how Taylor Swift will handle the inclusion of her Holiday Collection in her re-recordings or as a separate release.