The Taylor Swift of recent years has been big-budget and choreographed to a T, with Todrick Hall and dancers always in tow. But sans red-herring singles “Me!†and “You Need to Calm Down,†Lover has provided a rare opportunity for Taylor Swift to … chill. Her NPR Tiny Desk Concert exemplifies that by just being the girl and the guitar-string scars on her hands. “You guys ever have costume changes at Tiny Desk?†she jokes while taking off her jacket. On top of Lover’s title track, the pop star sang “The Man,†“Death by a Thousand Cuts,†and Red’s fifth track, “All Too Well.†(The last two being breakup songs that she’s very happy she doesn’t relate to anymore.) “There’s one song that I’m particularly proud of because when the Red album came out there was this one song on the album and I’m like ‘I’m the only one who likes this song this much, but it’s only because it happened to me and it’s personal. No one is going to like “All Too Well†as much,’†she recalls, adding that it’s crazy how “All Too Well†usually makes No. 1 on any Taylor Swift song ranking. It’s No. 2 on Vulture’s, but that’s only because “You Belong With Me†is a bop.
