Try and come for my job. We’ve got a special episode to discuss “The Tortured Poets Department” songs that Taylor Swift added to The Eras Tour setlist this weekend. We share our reactions and observations about the changes like the visuals in “But Daddy I Love Him,” the levitating platform in 'Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?' and how “So High School” feels like “Fearless”- era Taylor. We cover the UFO effects in “Down Bad” and how “Fortnight” mirrors the music video. Finally, we have to talk about the epic marching band in “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,” and the Clara Bow and “A Chorus Line” references in “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart.” The TTPD section of the Eras tour is an emotional, fun, and powerful journey in The Eras Tour! 

Episode Highlights:

[03:20] First reactions to the changes

[06:32] “But Daddy I Love Him”

[10:25] “So High School”

[11:43] “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me”

[16:10] “Down Bad”

[20:18] “Fortnight”

[24:51] “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived”

[27:47] “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart”

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***

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This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.

How the kingdom lights shined just for me and you. Hear ye! Hear ye! This week’s show and tell topic is “Royalty!” We explore the historical and religious roots of royalty, and its portrayal in fantasy literature, and high school. Maansi discusses “Long Live” from Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). Jodi brings in “Castle's Crumbling” Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault).  And finally,  Jenn shares “King of My Heart” from Reputation.

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Mentioned in this episode: 

The Lord of the Rings 

Newsies

The Plantagenets by Dan Jones 

Le Morte D’Artur by Thomas Malory 

The Last Kingdom on Netflix 

Beowulf 

Robin Hood 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Throne of Glass series 

Frozen (Disney film)

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***

Episode Highlights: 

[00:01:00] Introduction to Royalty

[00:04:58] “Long Live” Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)

[00:26:32] “Castle's Crumbling” Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)

[00:48:22] “King of My Heart” Reputation

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They are the hunters we are the foxes, and we run.  This week we’re covering “I Know Places” from 1989 (Taylor’s Version). Who’s running? Why are they running? What are the places they’re trying to get to? Does she actually know a place to hide? This is a dark and anxious song and we have questions! We explore how Taylor Swift uses metaphors to help make the relationship she’s singing about relatable. Then we examine how the music changes between the verses and the choruses, from anxious and scared to romantic and beautiful. And we’re left trying to answer the question: is this a reliable narrator? Tune in to find out!

Mentioned in this episode: 

Fall episode

Metaphors episode

Pirates of the Caribbean

Friends

“Wonderland” episode

Zootopia

The Diary of Anne Frank

Star Wars: Rogue One

AIDA, Original Broadway Cast Recording 

The Audacity of Hope

Marxist episode

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***

Episode Highlights: 

[01:15] How we do a deep dive

[04:30] “It’s a scene and we’re out here in plain sight”

[09:01] “Baby…I know places we won’t be found”

[16:30] “Just grab my hand and don’t ever drop it”

[21:52] Is there a bridge?

[28:48] What’s the purpose of the song?

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This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.

Now it’s too late for you and your white horse. What do white horses, foxes, vultures, and wolves all have in common? They all show up in our favorite Taylor Swift songs! This week, we’re looking to understand how Taylor Swift uses animals in her lyrics, through the lens of animal studies! Jenn takes us back to medieval times to help us understand the origins of the white horse and what that means for “White Horse” (Fearless, 2008). Then Jodi talks to us about the many connotations associated with foxes and vultures, which are referenced in “I know places,” (1989, 2014). And finally, Maansi talks us through the song “Daylight” (Lover, 2014) where there are implications of the animalistic concept of hibernation, and also references to wolves. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling 

Looking for an audio book? Check out our Libro.fm playlist https://tidd.ly/47uhRVI

***

Episode Highlights: 

[01:12] Introduction to Animal Studies

[03:36] White horses in “White Horse,” Fearless, 2008

[23:05] Foxes & vultures in “I know places,” 1989, 2014 

[38:19] Wolves in “Daylight,” Lover, 2019

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This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.

All’s fair in love and poetry. The long-awaited album The Tortured Poets Department is officially out, and of course, we have thoughts! This bonus episode strays from our usual format to bring you as comprehensive of an overview as we can provide in one (rather long) episode. Be warned: you won’t find speculation about Taylor’s love life here. True to our usual content, we focus on the lyrics, the themes, and the literary choices Taylor makes to better understand what this album is all about. Join us as we give our first reactions, talk about Taylor’s “In Summation poem,” and briefly dissect a handful of songs that stood out to each of us.

Mentioned in this episode: 

Check out our “The Tortured Poets Department” Booklist on Bookshop.org/APTS

E29: Show and Tell - Aestheticism

E27: Show and Tell - Poetic Repetition

E23: Show and Tell - Mad Women

E7: Show and Tell - Ecocriticism

Bonus: "The Tortured Poets Department" Announcement

E32: Deep Dive - Love Story 

Episode Highlights:

[02:48] Our initial album reactions

[17:22] “In Summation” Poem overview

[29:53] Is this what we expected TTPD to be?

[38:16] loml 

[44:39] I Can Do It With a Broken Heart

[53:24] So High School

[56:34] Florida!!!

[59:20] Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?

[01:05:04] Down Bad

[01:13:28] So Long, London

[01:18:27] But Daddy I Love Him

[01:27:00] How Did It End?

[01:37:49] The Manuscript

[01:46:08] What do we think the album is about?

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You were Romeo, I was a Scarlet Letter. This week we’re covering an oldie but goodie–Taylor Swift’s “Love Story”, from Fearless (Taylor’s Version). In this very narrative-driven song, we get a chance to explore who the protagonists are and what they’re trying to say about their love “story.  We explore why Taylor Swift references high school favorites “Romeo and Juliet” and “Scarlet Letter,” and what those metaphors may mean. The “Scarlet Letter” reference makes us look at this song from a whole new lens, forcing us to look at pronouns, verb tenses, and points of view–we promise you’ll never hear this song the same way again. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

Love Story, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) 

Romeo and Juliet

Titanic

The Notebook 

Tarzan of the Apes

Tim McGraw

Enchanted

Pride and Prejudice 

Cinderella

How I Met Your Mother

Scarlet Letter

Easy A

I Did Something Bad

Jane Eyre

Emma

& Juliet 

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

Don’t Matter, Akon

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Libro.fm - Looking for an audiobook? Check out our Libro.fm playlist and use code APTS30 for 30% off books found here tinyurl.com/aptslibro

***

Episode Highlights: 

[1:30] How we do a deep dive

[08:19] “You’ll be the prince and I’ll be the princess” The fairytale references

[14:50] “I was a Scarlet Letter” What this reference may mean

[20:32] “All that’s left to do is run” Where it all takes a turn

[28:42] “When I met you on the outside of town” We approach the bridge

[41:11] What we think the purpose of “Love Story” really is

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This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.

Fever dream high in the quiet of the night. What’s an AP class without a not-so-brief discussion about Shakespeare? Join us as we compare Taylor Swift to William Shakespeare, and find out why we think Shakespeare may have been the original pop star of his day. Shakespeare’s plays remain so relevant even today, so it’s only natural that Taylor Swift would find ways to allude to his works in her music. In this Show & Tell, we each pick one Shakespeare play and a Taylor Swift song that we feel best references and represents that play. Maansi ties Romeo & Juliet to “Love Story” (Fearless 2008), Jenn talks us through Julius Caesar references in “Bad Blood” (Reputation 2017), and Jodi draws parallels between Midsummer Night’s Dream and “Cruel Summer” (Lover 2019). We really put the AP in APTS with this discussion so push up your reading glasses, dust off your old Shakespeare text books, and get ready to get nerdy with us!

Mentioned in this episode: 

William Shakespeare

The Tempest, William Shakespeare

The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer

Come Clean, Hilary Duff

Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare

Love Story, Fearless 2008

William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, 1996 film version

Romeo and Juliet, 1968 film version

Jenn’s Zac Efron version of 1960 Romeo and Juliet

West Side Story

Bad Blood, Reputation 2017

Shakespeare Birth Trust TL;DR

Folger Shakespeare Library

Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare

Julius Caesar, Performed at the Globe Theater, 2015

Bridgerton

Shakespeare in a Divided America, by James Shapiro

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare

A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1999 film version 

Cruel Summer, Lover 2019

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***

Episode Highlights: 

[01:00] Shakespeare: The original pop artist

[09:38] Romeo & Juliet’s Love Story

[30:34] Julius Caesar’s Bad Blood

[51:06] Cruel Midsummer Night’s Dream

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This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.

What must it be like to grow up that beautiful? In this episode, we deep dive into the beautiful “gold rush.” We dive into the historical context of the real-life gold rush and how the gold rush was presented to us as kids versus today as adults. Then, we dive into how the reality of history affects how we interpret this song. We also explore how fame or popularity connects to this song. Finally, we examine the siren call motif and the speaker's ultimate decision to resist the temptation of the gold rush. Ultimately, our takeaway is the importance of agency, boundaries, and the speaker’s decision to not engage with a gold rush. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

Oregon Trail (website)

Empty Mansions by Bell Deadman and Paul Clark Newell

Mean Girls

Harry Potter series

Mythology by Edith Hamilton

Glee

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Villette by Charlotte Bronte

“You’re Beautiful” by James Blunt

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Libro.fm - Looking for an audiobook? Check out our Libro.fm playlist and use code APTS30 for 30% off books found here tinyurl.com/aptslibro

***

Episode Highlights: 

[05:15] - Introduction to historical context of the gold rush 

[09:12] - The speaker’s perspective

[14:38] - The temptation to “jump in” 

[24:08] - The siren call

[31:10] - The structure of the song

[38:52] - The convenience of a dream

[48:50] - Is this person worth it?

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Every bait and switch was a work of art. It’s time to get theoretical! In this week’s episode, we cover Aesthetic Theory–the experience of beauty, for the sake of beauty. Jodi starts us off quite literally with “Gorgeous” from reputation (2017). This prompts a discussion of “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde, and the similarities between the song’s obsession with the subject’s beauty, and the book’s fixation on the beauty and youth of Dorian Gray. Naturally, we talk about gender roles and the negative sides of focusing exclusively on a person’s beauty. Then, Jenn brings in “willow” from evermore (2020) as an example of a song that gave her an aesthetic experience. And Maansi brings it home with “gold rush,” also from evermore (2020), focusing on the detailed, artistic descriptions of beauty throughout the song. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

“The Picture of Dorian Gray,” Oscar Wilde 

“The Giver,” Lois Lowry 

“The Giver” movie

“Gorgeous,” reputation 

“willow,” folklore

“gold rush,” folklore

The Aeneid, Virgil

The Pit and the Pendulum, Edgar Allen Poe

The Odyssey, Homer 

Important definitions: 

Aestheticism: aestheticism promoted an "art for art's sake" philosophy, celebrating beauty as free of moral or utilitarian considerations

Hedonism: the pursuit of pleasure; sensual self-indulgence.

Ekphrasis: the use of detailed description of a work of visual art as a literary device. 

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Bookshop.org/ - Use code APTS until 4/10/24 for 10% off any order!

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Libro.fm - Looking for an audiobook? Check out our Libro.fm playlist and use code APTS30 for 30% off books found here tinyurl.com/aptslibro

***

Episode Highlights: 

[01:10] Introduction to Aestheticism 

[08:59] “Gorgeous,” reputation 

[26:03] “willow,” evermore

[40:37] “gold rush,” evermore

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This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.

That’s What People Say (ooh ooh). In this deep dive episode, we get into the groove of Taylor Swift's “Shake It Off” from her album 1989 (Taylor’s Version). We start by discussing how the song acts as a strategic move by Swift to rebrand herself as a pop artist and connect with a larger audience. We look at how Taylor addresses the haters and criticisms she’s received over the years through her lyrics. And we make the case that this is not a simple song–it’s a therapeutic anthem of resilience, empowerment, and growth. Jodi and Jenn get flashbacks to grad school thinking about this song, and Maansi…well, listen to hear what Maansi really thinks about this song. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

“Shake It Off”

How Taylor Swift Made Me a Better Marketer

The Spare

Clare @colormelovely

Mean 

TIME Person of the Year profile

Risky Business, the rock band at Ross

Mean Girls

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***

Episode Highlights: 

[02:15] How “Shake It Off” fits into Taylor’s musical catalog 

[07:01] “It’s gonna be alright” 

[10:44] Taylor as a marketing GENIUS

[16:41] “I stay out too late”

[22:52] Looking at this song 10 years later

[30:30] Was there another option as the first single?

[37:25] The purpose of the song

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Follow us on social! 

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This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.