Alicia and Melissa were thrilled to have a chance to speak with Kevin Evers, Senior Editor at Harvard Business Review and author of There's Nothing Like This: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift. Kevin really brought the goods to Swiftory this week speaking about what makes Swift the savviest decision maker and disruptor of our time.

This conversation was truly a delight, exploring a variety of topics including Swift’s consistent ability to reinvent herself, devotion to the craft, and commitment to the fan experience. We fan out a bit too with theories and the Eras Tour experiences as well.

Swiftorians – we LOVED this work: it was a whole new way to get to know Taylor Swift.

Find the book here:

There's Nothing Like This: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift (Amazon.com)

There's Nothing Like This: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift (Bookshop.org)

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!

To advertise on our podcast, please reach out to [email protected].

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In our BIG finale of All Songs Anne Boleyn week, there could be no other song to send this Queen of England into her afterlife. Our featured song this week is “My Tears Ricochet” from Taylor Swift’s 2020 Folklore album. Alicia breaks down this haunting, ghostly classic from Taylor’s point of view in the first half, and then switches the focus to Anne Boleyn for the second half. Truly Shakespearean in its themes and imagery, My Tears Ricochet could describe no other than this murdered queen.

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!

To advertise on our podcast, please reach out to [email protected].

Sources

⁠Rolling Stone: Taylor Swift⁠ (Amazon.com)

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

Taylor Swift by the Book: The Literature Behind the Lyrics, from Fairy Tales to Tortured Poets⁠, by Rachel Feder and Tiffany Tatreau (Amazon)

Lyric Version: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWbDJFtHl3w⁠

Long Pond Studio Session: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Idjs-hw7Spg⁠

My Tears Ricochet Long Pond Session Interview: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xIm5mALut8⁠

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In this continuing arc of Anne Boleyn’s Swiftory Playlist, Alicia continues with songs three and four of Anne’s traumatic 1536, "False God" and "If This Was a Movie". These choices, from Lover and Speak Now respectively, provide an insight into Anne’s thoughts and feeling through this very difficult year, taking her up to the final days of her life.

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!

To advertise on our podcast, please reach out to [email protected].

Sources

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

Who is Taylor Praying to? Complete "False God" Analysis (swiftlysungstories.com)

False God Lyrics: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t63MeBe2xYU⁠

False God Live SNL: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjD3LoXp-Pw⁠

False God Live From Paris: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLZuAXAGEH4⁠

If This Was a Movie Video: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh6a6vDOFzE⁠

If This Was a Movie Lyric Version: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cf2J4BPEeM

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In this second installment of the Taylor Swift Playlist of Anne Boleyn, it's time to pull out the anti-Anne song Paper Rings from the Lover album. Alicia feels that Anne gets handed a terrible reputation through history as a scheming homewrecker, but the real story is quite a bit different. This episode takes us from Shrovetide 1522 all the way through the reluctant and rocky courtship of the Henry VIII and this lady of the court, right up to their marriage in 1532.

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!

To advertise on our podcast, please reach out to [email protected].

Sources

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

Lyric Video: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL3NKbMScco⁠

Live from The Eras Tour: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTYVM-Y1pyM

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In this episode, Alicia begins her Anne Boleyn/Taylor Swift playlist with The Archer, from the Lover album. This song is packed full of literature references along with self-sabotage, revenge and so much more! You will likely not ever think of Henry the VIII or Anne in quite the same way!

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!

To advertise on our podcast, please reach out to [email protected].

Sources

⁠Taylor Swift by the Book: The Literature Behind the Lyrics, from Fairy Tales to Tortured Poets⁠, by Rachel Feder and Tiffany Tatreau (Amazon)

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

⁠Rolling Stone: Taylor Swift⁠ (Amazon.com)

The archer Live From Paris: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_2WyBcFbFY⁠

The Archer Lyrics: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KpKc3C9V3w

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This week, Alicia takes us through her imagined Taylor Swift musical journey of Mary, Queen of Scots! Mary has been the focus of one of her other podcasts, Trashy Royals, recently, and there is so much more to say about Mary, a glamazon queen with a terrible picker. Talk about being born at the wrong time. Mary’s story is a ride through her three ultimate Taylor songs, according to Alicia.

Mary’s song’s include Anti-Hero, Cruel Summer, and Evermore, with the Taylor history included. It's time to go deep into this Tudor soundtrack, filled with a flawed character you root for, bad romances, and a complicated relationship with so many folks, including Mary's cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.

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!

To advertise on our podcast, please reach out to [email protected].

Sources

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

Rolling Stone: Taylor Swift (Amazon.com)

Taylor Swift - Anti-Hero (Official Music Video) (YouTube)

Taylor Swift - Anti-Hero (Official Lyric Video) (YouTube)

[Enhanced 4K] "Cruel Summer" - Taylor Swift | THE ERAS TOUR 2023 | EAS Channel (YouTube)

Taylor Swift - Cruel Summer (Lyrics) (YouTube)

Taylor Swift - evermore (Official Lyric Video) ft. Bon Iver (YouTube)

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Hello Swiftorians, I want to tell you about a new show that I’m really excited about. My friend Rainbow Valentine has been collecting the stories of the first generation of women to have access to The Pill, Rock ‘n’ Roll, and LSD. 

In her podcast Psychedelic Women, Rainbow talks to the women who lived and made the counterculture in 1960s San Francisco and, eventually, the world. It's a fascinating, beautifully crafted show featuring real-life stories that'll blow your mind.

Coming up is the trailer for Psychedelic Women, and Episode 1 lands today. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you’re listening.

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This week, Melissa takes us through The Swiftory of Queen Victoria, with seven songs to take this long-reigning Queen of England from childhood through her romantic entanglements. 

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!

To advertise on our podcast, please reach out to [email protected].

Taylor Swift - I Hate It Here (Official Lyric Video) (YouTube)

Taylor Swift - Enchanted (Taylor's Version) (Lyric Video) (YouTube)

Taylor Swift - Red (Taylor's Version) (Lyric Video) (YouTube)

Taylor Swift - Soon You'll Get Better (Official Audio) ft. The Chicks (YouTube)

Taylor Swift - We Were Happy (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault) (YouTube)

right where you left me (bonus track) (YouTube)

Taylor Swift - Labyrinth (Lyric Video) (YouTube)

For more about Queen Victoria, check out Trashy Royals on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening.

Sources

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In this episode of Swiftory, Alicia and Melissa are feeling 22! From Taylor's RED album, 22 is a joyous glitter pen ride of a song. It is hard not to groove along to this one - this one is truly 22,000 times more fun than the actual age. Also included in this one, a TTPD ChatGPT listing which is a real hoot. 

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!

To advertise on our podcast, please reach out to [email protected].

Taylor Swift - 22 (YouTube)

Sources

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This week, Alicia and Melissa reveal their love for “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart”, the standout track 13 from The Tortured Poets Department. This one has a real message within its infectious pop beat, and we are here for it!  

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!

To advertise on our podcast, please reach out to [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices