Alicia's taking over *all* the podcasts this week, with the stories and spiderwebs of screen goddess Elizabeth Taylor. In this week's musically-themed episode, Alicia breaks down some of the lyrics in Taylor Swift's new track, Elizabeth Taylor, from her album The Life of a Showgirl. From Portofino to the very best table at Musso & Frank's, certain themes resonate across these two titanic figures in American pop culture - and leave our podcasts absolutely covered in spiderwebs.

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Alicia has now had a week to process album The Life of a Showgirl, and wow – there is a lot happening in 42 minutes of twelve straight bops. Taylor has done something incredible in this release, and this episode provides the foundation of how we are going to unfold the magic of TS 12 on Swiftory. It is a little bit Big Magic from Elizabeth Gilbert, and a little bit the Folklore track “Mirrorball” as we set up the themes of TLOAS and the evolution of Taylor Swift.

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Sources and Related Links:

Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert

⁠All 274 of Taylor Swift’s Songs, Ranked⁠, by Rob Sheffield. Rolling Stone, April 2024.

Mirrorball Lyric Version

⁠⁠Taylor Swift: The Stories Behind the Songs⁠⁠, by Annie Zaleski

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Welcome to the finale of the love affair of Queen Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley, today’s Trashy Royals crossover.

When Elizabeth assumed the throne in 1558, she made it clear to the members of her court that they shouldn’t plan to have their wives or female companions around the place. She intended to be singular as she consolidated power, but perhaps she had another motive as well; by banishing the wives, Robert Dudley, newly appointed Master of the Horse to Her Majesty the Queen, was not required to send for his wife, Amy Robsart, to join him in London.

Elizabeth and Robert were not overly discreet in their enjoyment of one another’s company, while the young queen’s advisors, especially William Cecil, her Secretary of State, grew more and more insistent that Elizabeth find a suitable strategic marriage to enter into with some titled European. This, of course, was not to be. Her relationship with Robert became such a scandal that Cecil himself decided it would cause her government to fall, and everything carried on very precariously until the morning of September 8, 1560, when Amy Robsart was discovered dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs at her home at Cumnor Place. The scandal banished Robert from court for more than a year, and while he and Elizabeth remained close for the rest of his life, the intense romance that characterized the beginnings of her reign was over.

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While Queen Elizabeth I of England famously never married, her close relationship with Robert Dudley began when the two were small children together in the court of Henry VIII. Elizabeth was a princess who was downgraded to a lady after her mother, Anne Boleyn’s, death. Robert was the grandson of an advisor to King Henry VII who was executed for treason upon the ascension of Henry VIII, forcing the Dudley family to struggle mightily to rehabilitate its noble image at court.

All of which is to say that these two could really relate to each other, tossed about as they were by their families’ fortunes and the whims of a King both had reasons to love and hate. But when Mary I seized the throne in 1553, everything changed for both of them. Robert’s father had engineered the ascension of Lady Jane Grey, his daughter in law, to the throne over Henry VIII’s eldest daughter, Mary, and after The Nine Days’ Queen was deposed, the male Dudleys were imprisoned in the Tower of London, condemned to death.

Catholic Mary also imprisoned her protestant half-sister Elizabeth, fearing a credible challenge to her reign. Alicia imagines – with the help of some Taylor Swift lyrics – what the months Elizabeth and Robert spent together in The Tower must have been like, doomed as they both believed themselves to be, confidants since they were toddlers.

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Alicia takes it super high level this week for her best intuition about what might be going down on The Life of a Showgirl. Part of the fun of being in a Swiftie is the clowning, and Alicia has a feeling that each track may correspond to an actual era. Tune in for the maybe details of how it

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Swiftorians, what an episode this is! Alicia is finally catching up with Listener Letters from all the way back, with so many poignant themes. Sad songs, heartbreak songs, and a historical bend too! We always love a little Tudor action around here. Also included, the winners of our book giveaway of Dear Reader by Viktoria Capek too! 

As always, we want your Midnights! Share your Swiftory stories at [email protected], or leave us a voicemail at 404-594-3658. We may use your Swiftories on a future episode!

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In this surprise Swiftory episode, Alicia dusts off a vintage file to dig into the song “Happiness” from Evermore. This blast from the past, recorded with Stacie years ago, connects through the current storylines this week on both Trashy Divorces and Done and Dunne as the life, loves, and literature of F. Scott Fitzgerald were featured. This sad elegy to the past relationships has many references to The Great Gatsby and the lives of Scott and Zelda, but on a larger level provides a guiding light for getting through a breakup. 

Check out the full Scott & Zelda saga at Trashy Divorces.

As always, we want your Midnights! Share your Swiftory stories at [email protected], or leave us a voicemail at 404-594-3658. We may use your Swiftories on a future episode!

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Sources

⁠⁠Taylor Swift: The Stories Behind the Songs⁠⁠, by Annie Zaleski (Amazon.com)

⁠All 274 of Taylor Swift’s Songs, Ranked⁠, by Rob Sheffield. Rolling Stone, April 2024.

Taylor Swift - happiness (Official Lyric Video) (YouTube)

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What a day, friends! In this episode, Alicia began with all the rumors surrounding a potential Taylor Swift movie coming to theaters, which happened by the time recording was done! Tune in to find out the rumored details, followed by the facts we know as of this moment. The Swift news is happening fast these days!

Tickets are on sale now for the limited showings of The Official Release Party for Life of A Showgirl! Also included in this episode is a listener giveaway! Send your name to [email protected] to enter to win!

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In this episode, Alicia is joined by Viktoria Capek, author of Dear Reader: An Immersive Literary Journey Through Taylor Swift’s Lyrics - now available at your local bookseller! This book is a delightful gem of an interactive journal blending literature and lyrics, uniting Taylor Swift’s worlds of storytelling and songwriting in a new and unique way. In this episode, Viktoria gives us tour through her songs, eras, and inspiration into making this magical release.

Buy the Book! ⁠Dear Reader: An Immersive Literary Journey Through Taylor Swift's Lyrics⁠, by Viktoria Capek

⁠Sign up for the Class!⁠

As always, we want your Midnights! Share your Swiftory stories at [email protected], or leave us a voicemail at 404-594-3658. We may use your Swiftories on a future episode!

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In today’s episode, we harken back to November 2009 when Taylor Swift hosted Saturday Night Live with perhaps the very best musical monologue in SNL’s history, appropriately enough titled “Monologue Song (La la la).” Stacie joins Alicia in this one for the song’s history and lyrics, in anticipation of a special Trashy Divorces episode coming this weekend about the teenage breakup of Taylor and Joe Jonas, one of the guys that Swift sings about in this very polite diss track.

As always, we want your Midnights! Share your Swiftory stories at [email protected], or leave us a voicemail at 404-594-3658. We may use your Swiftories on a future episode!

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Sources

Taylor Swift Monologue Song - SNL (YouTube)

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