The Long Pond Studio Sessions
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''Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions'' is a 2020 American
documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
concert film A concert film or concert movie is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert, by either a musician or a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian. Ea ...
directed and produced by the American singer-songwriter
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...
, released on
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
on November 25, 2020. The documentary is set at Long Pond Studio, an isolated
recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and Audio mixing, mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home proje ...
in a forested area in the
Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...
, New York; Swift performs all of the 17 tracks of her eighth
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
, ''
Folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...
'' (2020), whilst discussing the creative process behind the songs with her collaborators
Aaron Dessner Aaron Brooking Dessner (born April 23, 1976) is an American musician. He is best known as a founding member of the rock band The National (band), the National, with whom he has recorded nine studio albums; a co-founder of the indie rock duo Big ...
and
Jack Antonoff Jack Michael Antonoff (born March 31, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is the lead vocalist of the rock band Bleachers, and previously the guitarist and drummer for the pop band Fun and the lead vocalist of t ...
. Swift made her debut as a film director with the documentary, which is her fourth film to be released on a
streaming service Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...
, following the releases of ''
The 1989 World Tour Live The 1989 World Tour was the fourth concert tour by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, in support of her fifth studio album, ''1989'' (2014). It began in Tokyo, Japan, on May 5, 2015, and concluded in Melbourne, Australia, on December ...
'' (2015), '' Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour'' (2018), and ''
Miss Americana ''Miss Americana'' (also known as ''Taylor Swift: Miss Americana'') is a 2020 American documentary film that follows the singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and her life over the course of several years of her career. It was directed by Lana Wilson, ...
'' (2020). Receiving widespread critical acclaim, ''Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions'' was praised for its music, intimacy, visuals, and insight provided on ''Folklore'', with many critics labeling the film an admirable supplement to the album. It received an approval rating of on
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
. Imbued by the sessions, Swift wrote and recorded several new songs off-screen while shooting the documentary. These songs came to be a major portion of Swift's ninth studio album, ''
Evermore ''Evermore'' (stylized in all lowercase) is the ninth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was surprise-released on December 11, 2020, by Republic Records. Swift conceived ''Evermore'' as a "sister record" to its p ...
'' (2020), which was released fifteen days after the documentary. The film received the Gracie Grand Award for Outstanding Special or Variety. Accompanying the film's premiere, a
live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...
soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
, entitled ''Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions (From the Disney+ Special)'', consisting of the recordings of the live performances featured in the film, was released to
music streaming A music streaming service is a type of online streaming media service that focuses primarily on music, and sometimes other forms of digital audio content such as podcasts. These services are usually subscription-based services allowing users to s ...
and
digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Businesses *Digital bank, a form of financial institution *Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) or Digital, a computer company *Digital Research (DR or DRI), a software ...
platforms. For the 2023
Record Store Day Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...
, a run of 115,000
limited-edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition or expanded edition are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as b ...
vinyl LPs of the album was released exclusively via independent record stores across the world, selling out in three days. The album topped the US ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' Soundtracks, Vinyl Albums, Top Alternative Albums, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, and Tastemaker Albums charts, and became the first-ever Record Store Day-exclusive in history to enter the top 10 of the overall ''Billboard'' 200 chart, landing at number three.


Synopsis

In September 2020, Swift and her co-producers for her eighth studio album, Dessner and Antonoff, assembled together at Long Pond Studio—a secluded, rustic cabin in
upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...
—to play the complete album for the first time in the same room after writing, recording, and producing it in isolation due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. The result was the concert documentary, ''Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions'', where the three performed stripped-down, acoustic renditions of all 17 tracks in order, while revealing the creative process, stories, and inspirations behind the songs through discussions. The film's premise on Disney+ reads: "Taylor Swift performs every song from her best-selling album, "Folklore", in a truly intimate concert experience. Accompanied by her co-producers, Aaron Dessner (of The National) and Jack Antonoff (of
Bleachers Bleachers (North American English), or stands, are raised, tiered rows of benches found at sports-fields and at other spectator events. Stairways provide access to the horizontal rows of seats, often with every other step enabling access to a ...
), along with a guest appearance by Justin Vernon (of
Bon Iver Bon Iver ( ) is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Vernon had originally formed Bon Iver as a solo project, but it eventually became a band consisting of Vernon (vocals, guit ...
), Taylor filmed the event at the historic Long Pond Studios in upstate New York, a setting that evokes the nostalgic, wistful nature of the album. In between live performances, she and her collaborators discuss the creation and meaning behind each song, and also share the challenges and joys of remotely producing this acclaimed and record-setting collection".


Cast

*
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...
, vocalist and instrumentalist *
Aaron Dessner Aaron Brooking Dessner (born April 23, 1976) is an American musician. He is best known as a founding member of the rock band The National (band), the National, with whom he has recorded nine studio albums; a co-founder of the indie rock duo Big ...
, instrumentalist *
Jack Antonoff Jack Michael Antonoff (born March 31, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is the lead vocalist of the rock band Bleachers, and previously the guitarist and drummer for the pop band Fun and the lead vocalist of t ...
, instrumentalist *
Justin Vernon Justin DeYarmond Edison Vernon (born April 30, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is best-known as the primary songwriter and Lead vocalist, frontman of indie folk band Bon Iver. He is also a member o ...
, vocalist


Production

''Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions'' is a hybrid between a documentary and a concert film. It marked the first time Swift, Dessner and Antonoff had assembled together in person after several months of COVID-19
quarantining A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals, and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...
. Due to the pandemic, they were filmed not by a
film crew A film crew is a group of people, hired by a production company, for the purpose of Filmmaking, producing a film or motion picture. The crew is distinguished from the Ensemble cast, cast, as the cast are understood to be the actors who appear ...
, but instead by six
Panasonic is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturer, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Japan. It was founded in 1918 as in Fukushima-ku, Osaka, Fukushima by Kōnosuke Matsushita. The company was incorporated in 1935 and renamed and c ...
Lumix Lumix is Panasonic's brand of digital cameras, ranging from pocket point-and-shoot models to digital SLRs. Compact digital cameras DMC-LC5 and DMC-F7 were the first products of the Lumix series, released in 2001. Most Lumix cameras use diffe ...
S1H
mirrorless camera A mirrorless camera (sometimes referred to as a mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera (MILC) or digital single-lens mirrorless (DSLM)) is a digital camera which, in contrast to DSLRs, does not use a mirror in order to ensure that the image ...
s with
Leica lenses Leica may refer to: Companies * Ernst Leitz GmbH, later divided into: ** Leica Biosystems GmbH, a cancer diagnostics company ** Leica Camera AG, a German camera and optics manufacturer ** Leica Geosystems AG, a Swiss manufacturer of surveying and ...
embedded in the studio, along with one
Arri Alexa The Arri Alexa is a digital motion picture camera system developed by Arri. The Arri Alexa was introduced in April 2010 and was Arri's first major transition into digital cinematography, after previous efforts including the Arriflex D-20 and ...
LF with an
Angénieux Angénieux is a French manufacturer of photographic and cinematographic lenses. The main markets are cinema, television, space travel and medicine. The company is part of the Thales Group, which represents Angénieux in 48 countries. The company ...
24-290 lens on an Agito Trax modular dolly system with more than 30 feet of curved track that occasionally scans the recording session from the background. A
drone Drone or The Drones may refer to: Science and technology Vehicle * Drone, a type of uncrewed vehicle, a class of robot ** Unmanned aerial vehicle or aerial drone *** Unmanned combat aerial vehicle ** Unmanned ground vehicle or ground drone ** Unma ...
camera was also used to capture
aerial shot This article contains a list of cinematic techniques that are divided into categories and briefly described. Basic definitions of terms ;180-degree rule :A continuity editorial technique in which sequential shots of two or more actors within ...
s of the studio and the surrounding forested estate. Justin Vernon appeared via
video stream Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typical static broadcasting ...
from
Eau Claire, Wisconsin Eau Claire ( ; lit. "clear water") is a city in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, Eau Claire and Chippewa County, Wisconsin, Chippewa counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the county seat, seat of Eau Claire County. It is the List of citie ...
, to perform "
Exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...
" with Swift. The film is characterized by a casual, small-scale production, and a softly lit,
cottagecore Cottagecore is an internet aesthetic and subculture concerned with an idealised rural lifestyle. The aesthetic centres on traditional and vernacular architecture, clothing, interior design and crafts. Based primarily on the visual and material c ...
aesthetic. Apart from a few videos of Swift at her home studio, the film was entirely recorded at Long Pond Studios in New York's
Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...
—one of the places where ''Folklore'' was engineered. The studio, which is located near Dessner's residence and was originally a
barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G ...
, had been converted into a wooden cabin situated in a waterfront estate beside an elongated pond and surrounded by chairs,
string lights A rope light is primarily used as a decorative lighting fixture, featuring small lights linked together and encased in a PVC jacket to create a string of lights. Rope lights can be used in many applications both indoors and outdoors. Used in place ...
and
fire pit The defining feature of fire pits is that they are designed to contain fire and prevent it from spreading. A fire pit can vary from a pit dug in the ground (fire hole) to an elaborate gas burning structure of stone, brick, and metal. Certain cont ...
s. The studio is an open room with a church-high ceiling, tall windows, and a woodland view, set up with a variety of Dessner's musical instruments. The ambience outside the studio consists of sounds of birds, insects, frogs or the trees swaying in the wind. In the film, Swift performed seated on a couch in an oversized plaid shirt-dress, singing directly into a microphone, with Antonoff and Dessner playing instruments and an engineer in the back of the room. The instruments used in the film include a variety of guitars, keyboards, a Fender
bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
, a piano, a
drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...
and a
snare SNARE proteins – "Soluble NSF attachment protein, SNAP REceptors" – are a large protein family consisting of at least 24 members in yeasts and more than 60 members in mammalian and plant cells. The primary role of SNARE proteins is to m ...
.


Release

Like the release of ''Folklore'', ''Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions'' was a surprise release, announced hours before its launch at midnight. It was released on Disney+ on November 25, 2020 and on
Hotstar Disney+ Hotstar, also known as JioHotstar or simply Hotstar, is an Indian subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Disney Star. The brand was introduced as Hotstar for a streaming service carrying content from Di ...
in India and Indonesia on November 26, 2020.


Reception


Critical response

''Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions'' received universal acclaim from film and music critics. On
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, it has a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Andrew Barker of ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' praised the film's
picturesque Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in ''Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year ...
setting, performances, and ability to recreate ''Folklore'''s "sparse yet carefully textured soundscapes" with fewer instruments, and dubbed Swift's vocals as the film's "most striking element". ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' writer Will Richards named it a perfect "early
Christmas present A Christmas gift or Christmas present is a gift given in celebration of Christmas. Christmas gifts are often exchanged on Christmas Eve (December 24), Christmas Day itself (December 25) or on the last day of the twelve-day Christmas season, Twel ...
" and praised its editing, especially when Swift and Dessner have a "genuinely touching" discussion on the meaning behind the song "Peace", followed by a performance of the song that "hits right in the gut". Writing for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'',
Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...
. '' i'' newspaper's Sarah Carson defined the film as "artfully crafted, aesthetically gorgeous, cosy cottagecore
escapism Escapism is mental diversion from unpleasant aspects of daily life, typically through activities involving imagination or entertainment. Escapism also may be used to occupy one's self away from persistent feelings of depression or general s ...
" with diverse conversations, such as light-hearted "giggly" discussions around the campfire to formal
introspection Introspection is the examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings. In psychology, the process of introspection relies on the observation of one's mental state, while in a spiritual context it may refer to the examination of one's s ...
on stiff chairs. Carson opined that it sheds "genuine light" on Swift's work, seeing her at peace with her life, laughing, "publicly relaxed for the first time in a decade". ''
Decider Decider is both a real word and a "Bushism". It may refer to: * ''Decider'' (website), a pop culture website operated by the ''New York Post'' * '' Bill Maher: The Decider'', a stand-up comedy special * Decider (Turing machine), a Turing machin ...
'' critic Johnny Loftus found it refreshing to see and hear Swift in the "dressed-down setting" of ''Long Pond Studio Sessions'', calling the film "a balm for the soul as we wind down an extremely not cool year" and an intimate portrait of artists at work, in contrast to the pop persona that dominated Swift's career. '' Little White Lies'' critic Sydney Urbanek lauded the film as a "triumphant debut" for Swift as a film director, as well as the cast's on-screen presence: Swift's and Antonoff's "captivating" one-on-one chats and Dessner's studio focus. Alex Hudson of ''
Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...
'' described the film as "an oasis of tranquility in a chaotic time", in which "even the biggest pop star on Earth holed up and got cozy and insular". He admired Swift's rapport with Antonoff—their "laugh-out-loud" jokes—and the discussions that yielded "interesting insights and factoids" about the songwriting of ''Folklore''. ''
Junkee Junkee.com is an Australian popular culture and news website run by new media company Junkee Media. It covers various topics including film, university, food, TV, politics, travel, career, health, and Internet culture. Its target demographic is ...
'''s Richard He complimented Swift's vocals, emotion, the film's visuals and intimacy, and the cast's instrumental skills; he described the film as a "masterclass" in songcraft and "a rare glimpse inside a genius songwriter's mind". In He's words, "Great popstars embody our times; great songwriters address them. Taylor Swift is doing both".
Rob Sheffield Robert James Sheffield (born February 2, 1966) is an American music journalist and author. He is a long time contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'', writing about music, TV, and pop culture. Previously, he was a contributing editor at '' Blen ...
of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' praised the cast's chemistry, and asserted that ''The Long Pond Studio Sessions'' is not a mere
footnote In publishing, a note is a brief text in which the author comments on the subject and themes of the book and names supporting citations. In the editorial production of books and documents, typographically, a note is usually several lines of tex ...
to the album, but a "stunning musical statement in its own right, full of stripped-down acoustic warmth". He underlined how Swift moves past vague anecdotes about the tracks by explaining why she felt the need to write such music in the first place. Branding it a "very beautifully done" film, ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
''s Kate Solomon called it a "very warm two hours of music that gives the songs a new lease of life", and observed the parallels between the "luscious, remote surroundings" of the studio and how they reflect the "lusciousness and isolation" of the songs. ''
Stuff Stuff, stuffed, and stuffing may refer to: *Physical matter *General, unspecific things, or entities Arts, media, and entertainment Books *''Stuff'' (1997), a novel by Joseph Connolly *''Stuff'' (2005), a book by Jeremy Strong Fictional c ...
'' critic James Croot compared the special's atmosphere to that of ''
MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV. It showcases recorded live performances of popular music artists playing acoustic instrument, acoustic or "unplugged" variations of songs. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999. F ...
'', and added that the film's production is slick despite the intimate appeal, similar to Swift's 2020
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
documentary, ''
Miss Americana ''Miss Americana'' (also known as ''Taylor Swift: Miss Americana'') is a 2020 American documentary film that follows the singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and her life over the course of several years of her career. It was directed by Lana Wilson, ...
''. Drew Taylor of ''
Collider A collider is a type of particle accelerator that brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Compared to other particle accelerators in which the moving particles collide with a stationary matter target, collid ...
'' labelled the film "a winning examination and celebration" of ''Folklore'', and "a look at one of the world's biggest pop stars at her most vulnerable and artistically ambitious". He picked Antonoff as the more active personality, while Dessner is "terse", except at the point where he opens up about his depression—"a moment that is both incredibly vulnerable and also powerful". Ryan Lattanzio of '' IndieWire'' described the film as "a window into the introspective songwriting" of ''Folklore'' that "isn't going to blow your head off" but is a "fine supplement to one of the year's most beloved albums". ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'''s Elle Hunt wrote that the film shows Swift at ease, but also at the "peak of her power" with little to prove, while her song-by-song commentary depicts the "shifting emotional tenor" she felt in quarantine. However, Hunt felt that Swift not name-dropping her detractors "seems coy" as it limits the film's personal reflection.


Accolades


Impact

American comedian
Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an Americans, American comedian, television host, actor, singer, writer, and producer. Best known for his work in television, Fallon's breakthrough came during his tenure as a cast member on the ...
released a
parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
of the documentary on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
, titled ''Fallonlore: The 30 Rock Sessions'', featuring American hip-hop band
the Roots The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...
. In the skit, Fallon wrote an album in quarantine, enlisting
Questlove Ahmir K. Thompson (born January 20, 1971), known professionally as Questlove (stylized as ), is an American drummer, record producer, disc jockey, filmmaker, music journalist, and actor. He is the drummer and joint frontman (with Black Thought ...
and
Black Thought Tariq Luqmaan Trotter (born October 3, 1973), better known as Black Thought, is an American rapper, singer, actor and the lead Emcee (hip hop), MC of the hip hop group The Roots, which he co-founded with drummer Questlove in Philadelphia. Regar ...
to help him finish it remotely. Months later, the trio gather at
30 Rockefeller Center 30 Rockefeller Plaza (officially the Comcast Building; formerly RCA Building and GE Building) is a skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York. Completed in 1933 ...
to perform their tracks together for the first time. The setlist included songs titled "Peed My Pants in an Applebee's", "Song About Milk", "Sourdough Heart", and "Fuzzy Wuzzy" featuring
Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the vocalist, pianist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Martin went to University Colleg ...
of
Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...
. Most of the songs on ''
Evermore ''Evermore'' (stylized in all lowercase) is the ninth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was surprise-released on December 11, 2020, by Republic Records. Swift conceived ''Evermore'' as a "sister record" to its p ...
''—Swift's ninth studio album and ''Folklore''s sister album—were recorded while filming ''The Long Pond Studio Sessions''. A still from the film was featured in a 2021 television advertisement by ''The New York Times'', titled "The Truth Is Essential: Life Right Now", showcasing a variety of articles from the publication. The Department of English of the
Queen's University at Kingston Queen's University at Kingston, commonly known as Queen's University or simply Queen's, is a public university, public research university in Kingston, Ontario, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Queen's holds more than of land throughout Ontario and ...
, a
public research university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...
in
Ontario, Canada Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, offers a fall semester course titled "Taylor Swift's Literary Legacy (Taylor's Version)", with a syllabus requiring students to watch and analyze many of Swift's works, including ''Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions''; the course objective is to examine Swift's music, its literary references, and her
sociopolitical Political sociology is an interdisciplinary field of study concerned with exploring how governance and society interact and influence one another at the micro to macro levels of analysis. Interested in the social causes and consequences of how p ...
impact on contemporary culture. After the release of ''Folklore'', ''Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions'' and ''Evermore'', artists such as
Maya Hawke Maya Ray Thurman Hawke (born July 8, 1998) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of Hollywood actors Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman. She began her career in modeling, and subsequently made her screen debut as Jo March in ...
,
Gracie Abrams Gracie Madigan Abrams (; born September 7, 1999) is an American singer-songwriter. The daughter of the director J. J. Abrams, she signed with Interscope Records in 2019, and gained recognition after releasing her debut extended play, '' Minor' ...
,
Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...
,
King Princess Mikaela Mullaney Straus (born December 19, 1998), known by her stage name King Princess, is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Brooklyn, New York. She is signed to Mark Ronson's label Zelig Records, an imprint of Colu ...
, and
Girl in Red Marie Ulven Ringheim (born 16 February 1999) known professionally as girl in red (stylised in all lowercase), is a Norwegian singer-songwriter and record producer. Her first EPs ''Chapter 1'' (2018) and ''Chapter 2'' (2019) were recorded in her ...
desired to collaborate with Dessner and record songs at his Long Pond Studio. Dessner stated, "After Taylor, it was a bit crazy how many people reached out. And getting to meet and write songs with people you wouldn’t have had access to… I’m so grateful for it." He described the studio as a "creative oasis" for artists.


Live album

''Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions (From the Disney+ Special)'', or simply ''Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions'', is the third
live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...
and first
soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...
by the American singer-songwriter
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...
. It was released to
streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...
and
digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Businesses *Digital bank, a form of financial institution *Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) or Digital, a computer company *Digital Research (DR or DRI), a software ...
platforms on November 25, 2020, alongside the film, and in a limited number of vinyl LPs on April 22, 2023, by
Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...
. The album contains the acoustic renditions of ''Folklore'' tracks performed in the ''Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions'' film.


Commercial performance

To commemorate the 2023
Record Store Day Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...
(RSD), a limited vinyl edition of ''Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions'' was released on April 22, 2023, exclusively via independent
record shop A record shop or record store is a retail outlet that sells Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music. Per the name, in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, record shops only sold gramophone records. But over the course of t ...
s participating in the event. All of the 75,000 vinyl LPs of the album available for purchase in the US sold out, giving Swift the largest single vinyl sales week in 2023. The album debuted at number three on the ''Billboard'' 200. With ''
Midnights ''Midnights'' is the tenth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on October 21, 2022, by Republic Records. She conceived ''Midnights'' as a concept album about nocturnal ruminations inspired by her sleepl ...
'' (2022) charting at number four and '' Lover'' (2019) at number ten that week, Swift became the first artist since
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
in 2016 to concurrently chart three albums in the top ten. It also marked the first-ever RSD exclusive in history to land in the chart's top ten. Furthermore, the live album topped the ''Billboard''
Vinyl Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...
, Soundtracks, Top Alternative Albums, Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Tastemaker Albums charts—Swift's tenth, first, third, first and ninth number-one on the respective charts—and placed second on the
Top Album Sales The Top Album Sales is a music chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine listing each week's top-selling albums in the United States. The chart has been published since December 13, 2014, although the magazine also retrospectively recognize ...
chart. A total of 115,000 copies were available for purchase worldwide, all of which sold out within the first few days.


Track listing

Notes * All track titles are stylized in
all lowercase Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (more formally ''minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing systems ...
, noted as "The Long Pond Studio Sessions", and produced by Swift. * In the deluxe edition, Disc 1 mirrors the track listing of the deluxe edition of ''
Folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...
'' (2020) with the live tracks on Disc 2.


Charts


Release history


See also

*
List of Disney+ original films A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
*
Cultural impact of Taylor Swift The American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift has influenced popular culture with Taylor Swift albums discography, her music, artistry, List of Taylor Swift live performances, performances, Public image of Taylor Swift, image, Political impact ...


References


Footnote


Citations


External links

* * {{Taylor Swift 2020 films Disney+ original films Documentary films about singers Documentary films about women in music Films shot in New York (state) Films impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 documentary films Concert films Films directed by Taylor Swift American documentary films 2020s English-language films 2020s American films English-language documentary films