Stanford University is offering an entire course,
an entire course on one Taylor Swift song Kind of.
Now the course called All Too Well, 10 week version promised
an in depth analysis of Swift song that came out in 2012 and
then re released in 2021 as an unabridged 10 minute
track on the artists Red Taylor version album.
The songs latter version also led to a highly acclaimed short film.
Now, fans believe the song documents Taylor's brief relationship with actor
Jake Gyllenhaal in 2010 and obviously,
you need to shell out thousands of dollars to learn about that.
The 10 week class has allowed instructor Nona Hon Gate
to spend each week deconstructing, one minute of the 10 minute song.
She said of the class, we focus on different elements of the song.
So we can think about how the lyrics affected it,
how the vocal line affects it, how instrumentation affects it.
And then we looked at the film itself and
we looked at how the imagery and the coloring and the lighting and
all the juxtapositions of the film itself affects the storytelling and the song.
I just don't get it [LAUGH] I don't know, maybe I'm being too negative towards this.
What do you think?
>> I wonder if there's maybe a lot of Swifties at Stanford or something and
they were like, okay, maybe they'll be into this.
But I don't even think if you were gonna pick a Taylor Swift song,
I don't think that would be the one I was reading this and
I thought it might be cool to pick one pop artist song and let's figure out how,
how they did this production wise, lyric writing everything.
That's kind of a cool idea.
>> Mm-hm.
>> But, okay man, TYT is gonna be not good with the Swifties after I say this,
I don't even think that song is the one that they should pick.
It's one of those right out of the diary kind of songs, and
it's like, well, how do you write that?
You, transcribe your diary into, into the microphone and
that's [LAUGH] pretty much it.
But who knows?
Maybe Stanford's got something on this.
I would have picked that song, Lavender Haze.
I think that's like a perfect pop song- >> [CROSSTALK]
>> You gotta check it out if you're okay.
You're a raver though.
From what I understand.
>> [LAUGH] >> You only listen to techno,
you only listen to this music that you have to be as the kids called Tripping on.
>> [LAUGH] >> So you wouldn't get it, Anna, but
I think it's like a perfect pop song I would have loved.
They could absolutely teach a class on that because it would be like,
how do you write this perfect hook.
How do you work in, sort of vocal stylings that aren't sort of her, you know,
Wheelhouse, but I don't know what, they picked this one, Swifties.
You come at me for that one, but I don't get it.
I'm with you, Anna.
I don't get it.
>> So let me just clarify that.
Well, techno is fine.
[LAUGH] [INAUDIBLE] >> I'm more of a house type person, okay?
>> Okay. >> I'm experiencing a Taiko kick these
days.
I don't know, I just can't knock it, I'm loving it.
But no, I mean, look, to me is this course just on one song and
also how much are students paying for this?
And are they like if there's actually a curriculum tied to this,
that's educational and the students are really learning something great.
And I don't mind the hook, right?
I don't mind Taylor Swift.
I don't mind,
leaning on one musical artist to kind of entice students to enroll in your class.
I just wanna make sure they're getting something decent out of it.
You know what I'm saying?
And I hear you on picking other songs.
Honestly, I think picking a few classic rock songs might be better, you know?
Classic rock. >> Yeah, I like that.
>> I love classic rock too, and I think there's a lot you can learn not just from
the lyrics, not just from the way the, I'm not like an expert on music, so I'm gonna
use the inaccurate terminology here but the way that the songs are constructed and
all of that, I think that could really bode well for a class like this.
Anyway, the teacher or the professor here continues,
I have always been really passionate about music and
I've always been really passionate about literary analysis.
But in my time of taking music theory classes, it was really hard for
me to engage in the coursework because we're always looking at songs that have
been written hundreds of years ago.
So look that reasoning, I'm 100% in favor of.
So she's like, let's modernize this bitch, if that's what she's thinking and
she's just teaching a course that uses more modern music in order to make it
a little more interesting for the students, great.
Now our producer Kate Pitino is the one who both pitched and produced this story.
I thought she was upset because the annual tuition at Stanford is $56,169,
and of course this seems like a waste of money, but no, she's a deadhead.
So, I think it's more about the music selection here and I get it Kate.
I see you.