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So High School

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"So High School"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology
ReleasedApril 19, 2024 (2024-04-19)
Genre
Length3:48
LabelRepublic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Taylor Swift
  • Aaron Dessner
Lyric video
"So High School" on YouTube

"So High School" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from the double album edition of her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology (2024). Written and produced by Swift and Aaron Dessner, "So High School" has a 1990s-tinged production incorporating various rock styles like alternative rock, indie rock, and pop rock. The lyrics are about how a romantic relationship makes Swift relive the feeling of young love. Some critics praised the nostalgia-inducing production, but some others found the lyrical content lightweight.

Background

Swift revealed The Tortured Poets Department at the Grammy Awards on February 4, 2024, while accepting the award for Best Pop Vocal Album for Midnights (2022).[1] The album's physical edition would include "The Manuscript" as a bonus track. Subsequent editions with bonus tracks "The Bolter," "The Albatross," and "The Black Dog" were revealed during her Eras Tour shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Singapore, respectively.[2] Two hours after the release of The Tortured Poets Department at midnight Eastern Time on April 19, Swift surprise-released The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology; the second volume of the double album. The Anthology added fifteen songs to the album, in addition to the songs on the first volume.[3] "So High School" is the twenty-second track from the album.[4]

Music and lyrics

"So High School" is a song that combines 1990s musical styles[5] such as alternative rock,[6] indie rock,[7] pop rock,[8] and power pop,[9] with touches of dream pop.[10] The lively and melodic guitar instrumental is reminiscent of "Hits Different" from Midnights (2022).[9] The lyrics of "So High School" revolves around careless teenage romance. Swift sings about youth experiences in the lines: "I'm watching American Pie with you on a Saturday night", "Truth, dare, spin bottles" and "Touch me while your bros play Grand Theft Auto".[11] In the lyrics, she compares the public image of her love interest and herself to the feeling of young love and popularity encapsulated in high school romances.[12]

Critical reception

Bryanna Cappadona of Today wrote that the song takes audiences "back to feeling like you’re 16 again."[11] Similarly, Bustle's Jake Viswanath said: "ode to a new romance that will take you back to your youth."[5] Reviewing the album as a whole, Mary Kate Carr of The A.V. Club said The Anthology feels repetitive or derivative due to its lack of new musical ideas making its songs indistinguishable from each other. "So High School" is a "fun, poppy number that disrupts the whispery melancholy"; such "energy and freshness" needed in the 31-track album to prevent it from becoming monotonous.[13]

Writing for Mashable, Elena Cavender found the track hilarious, attributing to its lyrical references, and said the line "You know how to ball, I know Aristotle" is a "perfect depiction" of her relationship with Kelce.[14] In Billboard's ranking of all 31 tracks, "So High School" was placed seventh, with Jason Lipshutz writing: "obvious back-half highlight, simply by flexing a little muscle amidst the nostalgia trip."[8] Mark Richardson of The Wall Street Journal called it a highlight off of the album in his generally negative review, "evoking bands like The Primitives and The Sundays, and it serves as a temporary respite from the word-drunk confessionals that dominate the record."[10] Craig Jenkins shared a similar sentiment, "Swift greets the ’90s alt-rock airs of 'So High School' with the gorgeous reediness of a Sheryl Crow or Aimee Mann."[6]

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for "So High School"
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[15] 26
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[16] 28
Global 200 (Billboard)[17] 30
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[18] 33
Portugal (AFP)[19] 82
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[20] 5
UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[21] 33
UK Singles Sales (OCC)[22] 66
UK Streaming (OCC)[23] 35
US Billboard Hot 100[24] 24

References

  1. ^ West, Bryan (April 21, 2024). "Taylor Swift makes Grammys history with fourth album of the year win for 'Midnights'". USA Today. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  2. ^ West, Bryan (February 11, 2024). "What we know about Taylor Swift 'The Tortured Poets Department' album so far". USA Today. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  3. ^ Longeretta, Emily; Jackson, Angelique; Woerner, Meredith (April 18, 2024). "Taylor Swift Drops 15 Surprise Songs, Announces 'The Tortured Poets Department' Is a Double Album". Variety. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  4. ^ "The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology". Apple Music. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Viswanath, Jake (April 20, 2024). "Taylor Swift's 'So High School' Will Make You Miss Your Teen Days". Bustle. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Jenkins, Craig (April 23, 2024). "The Performative Poets Department". Vulture. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  7. ^ Exposito, Suzy (April 19, 2024). "Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department – And Its Surprise Companion, The Anthology – Mine The Darkness To Pop Perfection". British Vogue. Archived from the original on April 19, 2024. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Lipshutz, Jason (April 19, 2024). "Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department: All 31 Tracks Ranked". Billboard. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Sheffeld, Rob (April 21, 2024). "Taylor Swift Busts Out the Quill Pen and Delivers an Epic Double Album with TTPD: The Anthology". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  10. ^ a b Richardson, Mark (April 23, 2024). "The Tortured Poets Department Review: Taylor Swift's Songs of the Self". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  11. ^ a b Cappadona, Bryanna (April 20, 2024). "'So High School' lyrics: What does the Taylor Swift song mean?". Today. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  12. ^ Bailey, Alyssa (April 19, 2024). "Taylor Swift Sings About Wanting to Marry Travis Kelce in 'So High School'". Elle. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  13. ^ Carr, Mary Kate (April 21, 2024). "Okay, so how about the second part of The Tortured Poets Department?". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  14. ^ Cavender, Elena (April 19, 2024). "The wildest lyrics on Taylor Swift's 'The Tortured Poets Department,' from 'Grand Theft Auto' to Charlie Puth". Mashable. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  15. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. April 29, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  16. ^ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  17. ^ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  18. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. April 29, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  19. ^ "Taylor Swift – So High School". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  20. ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 17". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  21. ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  22. ^ "Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  23. ^ "Official Streaming Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  24. ^ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
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