Today, our Swiftorians head back to 1989, pull out their dance cards, and dive into Taylor's 2014 bop Blank Space. To say this song was a monster hit doesn't really capture things - it was Taylor's first song to hit one billion streams on Spotify, and topped charts around the world on the way to numerous nominations and awards. As a piece of Taylor biography, Blank Space is unique in that it isn't about her, per se, but rather the caricature of her that had been formed in the public imagination. Rather than be annoyed by it, Taylor began to imagine what it would be like to be that person - and decided it might be fun.

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

Taylor Swift - Blank Space (YouTube)

Taylor performs "Blank Space" at The GRAMMY Museum (YouTube)

[Remastered 4K] Blank Space - Taylor Swift - 1989 World Tour 2015 - EAS Channel (YouTube)

Taylor Swift - Blank Space (Official Eras Tour Music Video) (YouTube)

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

S8E7: Blank Space | Lana Turner (trashydivorces.com)

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From the vault, welcome to Swiftory's first ever episode! Notably, Welcome To New York was not released as Episode 1, but why not for Episode 13? In it, our Swiftorians - Alicia and Melissa - take a look at New York City, its real estate, and the power of place.

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 superfan reveals everything he saw in the pop star’s $50M NYC home after being invited inside (pagesix.com)

34. Goodbye to All That, by Joan Didion (pressbooks.howardcc.edu)

Taylor Swift - Welcome To New York (Taylor's Version) (Lyric Video) (YouTube link)

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Alicia and Melissa are back with a bonus episode this week to commemorate two significant Tudor-era murders. On February 13, 1542, Queen Catherine Howard of England, the fifth wife of King Henry VIII, was executed on Tower Green, in the Tower of London, along with her lady in waiting, Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford.

As our Swiftorians ponder their stories, an array of Taylor's songs come into focus: Mad Woman, Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince, Haunted, Fifteen, Long Story Short, and Guilty as Sin?, among others. Join us for a ride across the centuries and an ocean, back to the Tudor court and an out-of-control monarch!

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 unexpectedly solo episode, Alicia announces the four winners of the Invisible Strings book contest (congrats!), and shares some of your reflections on Taylor's All Too Well (10 Minute Version).

The core of the episode centers around some neurological research pointing to why, and how, sad songs end up making us feel better. It turns out Taylor's not kidding about putting narcotics in her songs - sad songs have been shown to activate regions of the brain tied to emotional cues, processing, and regulation, which consequently flood the brain with various neurotransmitter chemicals tied to feelings of pleasure, comfort, and reward.

As always, we want your Midnights! Share your Swiftory stories at [email protected], or leave us a voicemail at 404-594-3658. What are your favorite Taylor Swift sad songs, and why? How about your favorite of Taylor's love songs? Help us craft a special upcoming episode with your musical gems from Taylor – we want to know.

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Sources

Why The Brain Seeks Out Sadness in Music (integrishealth.org)

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This week, Alicia and Melissa wander back in time as Taylor revisits a long-ago love affair that left her feeling like a crumpled up piece of paper lying here - and they remember it all too well. From Scarf Stealer's (Jake Gyllenhaal's) apparent continuing pattern of seducing women way too young for him - which is certainly one part of this song's origin story - to the glittering emotional clarity of these lyrics, our Swiftorians drink in this phenomenal and heartbreaking story set to music.

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)

All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault) (Lyric Video) (YouTube)

Taylor Swift - All Too Well (Sad Girl Autumn Verion) - Recorded at Long Pond Studios (YouTube)

Taylor Swift - All Too Well: The Short Film (YouTube)

The Movie Star and Me, by Domenica Feraud (medium.com)

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How does one even decide to own a million dollar couch? This week, Alicia and Melissa tackle I Bet You Think About Me, from 2012's Red and 2021's Red (Taylor's Version). Along the way, Jake Gyllenhaal gets a nickname (Scarf Stealer!), F. Scott Fitzgerald gets a shout out, and Stevie Nicks swoops in to play Fairy Godmother to Taylor. Is I Bet You Think About Me the spiritual descendant of Fleetwood Mac's Silver Springs? Our Swiftorians think so!

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 ft. Chris Stapleton - I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor's Version) (Official Video) (YouTube)

Taylor Swift - Speak Now (Taylor's Version) (Lyric Video) (YouTube)

Taylor Swift - If guys don't want me to write bad songs about them, they shouldn't do bad things (YouTube)

52nd Annual Grammy Performance with Taylor Swift (Facebook)

Fleetwood Mac - Silver Springs (Official Live Video) [HD] (YouTube)

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Alicia and Melissa sit down with award winning poet Melissa Studdard, whose Invisible Strings contribution, When You Rise from the Dead, I Drive You to the After Party, responds to Taylor's song Karma. This is a heartfelt conversation about the power and joy of language that will leave you inspired to dig into your own creative process, and hand you some tools for that journey, too.

Email [email protected] with the subject line Invisible Strings to enter our drawing to win your own copy!

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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One of Taylor's more interesting compositions is from her 2022 release, Midnights. Karma, which also served as the Eras Tour closing song, was widely expected to be a thorough takedown of the many industry figures who've wronged Mother over the years - but it turns out to instead be a canny, upbeat, and lyrically fluid praise song for all the good things that have come into Taylor's life by, as she says, keeping her side of the street clean. As Alicia says - Karma's not just a song; it's a movement, and it's a lifestyle.

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!

Taylor Swift - Karma (Lyric Video) (YouTube)

Taylor Swift ft. Ice Spice - Karma (Official Music Video) ft. Ice Spice (YouTube)

Grading Taylor Swift's 'Karma' With a Buddhist-Studies Professor (vulture.com)

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It's one thing to talk Taylor with friends, but what if your friends are some of the finest poets in the world? That's where professor, poet, and editor Kristie Frederick Daugherty found herself when Taylor announced The Tortured Poets Department, and she did what anyone in her position would do: She put out a call for poems, which became the exceptional new book Invisible Strings: 113 Poets respond to the songs of Taylor Swift.

Alicia and Melissa were so excited to talk the poetry of Taylor Swift and the art of poetry itself with Kristie, who also shares stories of her own trips to the Eras Tour, meeting Andrea Swift, and being dazzled by the artistry of the Shakespeare of the 21st Century.

Keep in touch with Kristie on the web and on Instagram, and see if your interpretation of the poems matches the poets' with the Invisible Strings Song List! Email [email protected] with the subject line Invisible Strings to enter our drawing to win your own copy!

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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Alicia is leading a Swiftory takeover of her podcast channels! To celebrate the launch, she's taking you into one of its origin stories - the life of Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII, through a five-song arc of Taylor Swift songs, as told to Melissa. This one will sate the palate of both Trashy Divorces and Trashy Royals listeners - and of course, Swiftorians!

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Here are lyrics and live performances for you to enjoy your own musical journey!

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