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!

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

Sources

Taylor Swift Monologue Song - SNL (YouTube)

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This week we give a lot of love to grandmothers. Taylor Swift wrote a beautiful song for her grandmother Marjorie Finlay, released as Track 13 on Evermore. In this episode we explore a little bit about Marjorie’s life and legacy as well take a look at the lyrics of the song, full of literary devices, remembrance and love 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!

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

Sources

Taylor Swift on writing "Marjorie" (YouTube)

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

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On the heels of the last episode in which we explored the Folklore Love Triangle, this week seemed like the perfect time for a little surprise episode about 1989’s Track 10 banger, “How You Get the Girl”. This is Taylor Swift coaching every dumb boy on how to get the girl back after he broke her heart in the first place.

⁠⁠Taylor Swift: The Stories

⁠All

HYGTG

HYGTG, Grammy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXMLz8VRU1w

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In today’s episode, we harken back to the Folklore album to get into all the messy teenage drama of Augustine, Betty and James. Taylor writes three songs that unfold this teenage love triangle, August, Betty and Cardigan. Alicia takes you through the details of each track and then details the lyrics for all of the angst and bad decision making. Also, many thoughts about James, who could have done better.

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: 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 talking about august (YouTube)

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

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

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

Taylor Swift - august (folklore: the long pond studio sessions) HQ video (YouTube)

Taylor Swift - betty (folklore: the long pond studio sessions) (Live/2020) (YouTube)

Taylor Swift - cardigan (folklore: long pond studio sessions) (Live/2020) (YouTube)

Taylor Swift - betty (Live from the 2020 Academy of Country Music Awards) (YouTube)

Sources

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In this super-fast emergency episode, Alicia is dropping everything we know about Taylor Swift’s 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl, so far! We all moved Monday night with the countdown, and from that moment it seems collective orange and green fever has swept the world.

Clever Taylor was dropping hints for years about this album that now make so much more sense. Join Alicia for this ride of what we know right now, and send your thoughts and theories to [email protected] to be included in the follow-up episode!

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Crystal Haryanto joins Alicia and Melissa this week for a discussion about her book, The Glory of Giving Everything: The Taylor Swift Business Model. Crystal shares so much about the book as well as her work as the founder of UC Berkeley’s globally recognized course “Artistry, Policy, & Entrepreneurship: Taylor’s Version”.

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It’s a mash-up episode this week, with Alicia bringing you all the details on “The 1” from Folklore, and its musical journey this summer with the Counting Crows. Adam Duritz is using this Taylor Swift song as a compliment to his “A Long December” on tour this summer. What is the story of these songs, and why do they blend so well together? 

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

What does "the 1" by Taylor Swift mean? (popsongprofessor.com)

Counting Crows' 'A Long December' Is The Best Holiday Song (uproxx.com)

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

⁠Rolling Stone: Taylor Swift⁠ (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)

Songs

Taylor Swift - the 1 (Official Lyric Video) (YouTube)

taylor swift - the 1 (folklore: the long pond studio session) (YouTube)

Counting Crows - A Long December (Jimmy Kimmel Live) (YouTube)

Counting Crows "The 1" and "A Long December" Live on the Stern Show (YouTube)

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Join us this week as we take a little tour of New York City through Taylor Swift’s songs. Taylor’s love for this city is well known and she references many locations in The Big Apple in her lyrics. Also included, a wonderful excerpt from Dorothy Parker about the city 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!

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

Sources

All the NYC Spots Taylor Swift Mentions in Her Songs (thrillist.com)

Dorothy Parker on New York: Autumn is the Springtime of Big Cities (polyarchive.com)

Places / Songs

Chelsea Hotel / Taylor Swift - The Tortured Poets Department (Official Lyric Video) (YouTube)

Central Park Lake / Taylor Swift - The Bolter (Official Lyric Video) (YouTube)

Cornelia Street / Taylor Swift - Cornelia Street (Live From Paris) Lyrics (YouTube)

Lovers of Today / Taylor Swift - Delicate (Lyrics) (YouTube)

Taylor Swift - Cruel Summer (Lyrics) (YouTube)

The High Line / Taylor Swift - cardigan (Official Lyric Video) (YouTube)

Olive Garden / Taylor Swift - no body, no crime (Official Lyric Video) ft. HAIM (YouTube)

Coney Island / Taylor Swift - coney island (Lyric Video) ft. The National (YouTube)

Bus Stop Cafe / Taylor Swift - the 1 (Official Lyric Video) (YouTube)

Housing Works Bookstore / Taylor Swift - All Too Well: The Short Film (YouTube)

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