Episodes
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In this episode we are finally giving some of our first-hand thoughts, tips, reactions and recommendations for Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour after one of us was recently lucky enough to attend their local shows, while the other’s tour dates are just around the corner!! We go through some of the highlights of the concert, including Taylor’s changes in outfits, the new Tortured Poets Department section and, of course, the surprise songs.
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We finally give our reactions to the surprise second half of The Tortured Poets Department, a collection of incredible songs that transform the project into an Anthology! We reveal some of our absolute favourites, speculate about why Taylor may have chosen to add only four of these tracks onto the physical deluxe albums and analyse our favourite lyrics from these poetic songs.
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Missing episodes?
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In this episode we finally sit down after having gathered our thoughts on Taylor Swift’s eleventh studio album and discuss all of the intricate details and lyrics weaved into the standard version of The Tortured Poets Department. We give our first reactions to the revealing tracks, break down overarching themes and make tentative connections to previous work and between tracks. We also attempt to decode some of Taylor’s most chaotic, vulnerable, tortured, poetic songs to date!
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In our last episode before the release of The Tortured Poets Department, we break down Taylor Swift’s five stages of heartbreak playlists which she recently released through Apple Music. Said to have been inspired by Swiftie theories, these five lists compile many of her most loved tracks into the themes of denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. We go through these carefully selected compilations, commenting on some of the most shocking selections and then give our final thoughts on what may be awaiting us in just over a week’s time!
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With under a month to go for The Tortured Poets Department, inspired by a similar episode we made when Midnights was released, we decided to get together to create a list of thirteen songs we think should be listened to as a sort of “prequel” to Taylor Swift’s eleventh studio album. As we compiled this list we kept in mind lyrical content that might be paralleled, genre and sounds that could be explored, and stories that may be told as well as tried to make connections between Taylor’s songs and the little we know about her upcoming album. We also discuss the tracklist and the new tidbits of information we have received recently.
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As the most recent leg of The Eras Tour comes to an end, we’re getting closer and closer to Taylor Swift’s eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department. With just over a month to go we discuss everything we know about the four exclusive versions of the album, the lyrics that have been revealed, the details Taylor has given about the creation of her latest project, and of course we recap the outlandish rumours that have spread over the last few weeks.
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A couple of years ago Taylor Swift decided to classify her music into three groups, depending on the type of symbolic pen she felt like they were written with. The fun-loving, care-free, bubbly glitter gel pen; the confessional, heart-wrenching fountain pen; and the old-timey, poetic quill. Over time she released three playlists which included many of her songs classified into these groups, however, we disagree with some of these picks (which were made to primarily help with streaming and did not include any music which had not been rerecorded at that point). So, we decided to rearrange these lists, in an attempt to make coherent choices which fit the descriptions of each pen as well as include music from her entire discography. With The Tortured Poets Department on the horizon we also take a guess at what type of music we might find on her 11th studio album!
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After the surprise announcement Taylor gave on Sunday night at the Grammys we got together for an emergency episode in which we react to the exciting news of a new album being released on April 19th. We chat about Taylor's Grammy wins, her record breaking win for Album of the Year, and then of course theorise about The Tortured Poets Department. From the name, to the concept, to the confirmed tracklist, we give all our initial reactions and thoughts surrounding this new era we are suddenly in!
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As we have previously mentioned, we love breaking down strange relations between Taylor’s music, and that’s exactly what we do in this week’s episode. We discuss the relations between Taylor Swift’s ten studio albums, connecting them lyrically, thematically, based on real life events, or sometimes just purely due to vibes. Starting with Red we work our way through how we view these relations between the bodies of work that come together to form one big “family tree” or musical universe. From the established sisterly connection between folklore and evermore, to the reciprocal relations between 1989 and Midnights, and even the recent unexpected link between reputation and Debut (so lovingly called debutation), we explore our current intertwined interpretation of Taylor’s music.
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In our first episode back this year we discuss some of our predictions for what Taylor Swift may release or surprise us with in 2024. To do so, we describe our bingo board, which includes references to Reputation (Taylor’s Version), the upcoming possible changes to The Eras Tour, and the possibility of TS11, Taylor’s rumoured eleventh studio album. We also go through some of our hopes and dreams for what we’d like to see in this next leg of performances and our thoughts as to what might become of Debut (Taylor’s Version).
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Welcome to the final episode of 2023! In this one we celebrate Taylor’s amazing year as we reminisce over the many releases, tour dates, performances, and magic moments we’ve lived through over the last twelve months. We also announce the winners of our Swiftly Spoken Awards voted for by you! We’d like to thank you all for joining us this year and wish you all a very happy and healthy New Year!
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To celebrate the holidays we explore Taylor’s Christmas EP, initially released in 2007! We go over its multiple releases as well as the name change from Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection to its shorter version. Then we talk about the four covers Taylor included on this release in addition to her original two Christmas time songs, which are very different to what you may imagine from the Christmas Tree Farm songstress. Finally, we reveal what we think may happen to this EP, whether it may be included somehow in Debut (Taylor’s Version), or if it may once again have its own moment to shine in a future holiday time release.
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This week we delve into all things Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version), the final re-recording we have yet to discuss! When it comes to Taylor’s 2006 debut album, the reclaimed version has a lot of potential we explore in this episode, including the possible album aesthetics, release and promo predictions, and of course what may be included on the tracklist. Alongside the standard and deluxe songs, we of course go through other music from the era that could make an appearance (Beautiful Eyes and Crazier!), as well as the LONG list of leaked music that could be given a chance to shine by featuring it as a From The Vault track. Considering the world of Taylor Swift’s unreleased music is so vast, we discuss some of the biggest songs (I’d Lie and Permanent Marker), as well as many fan favourites (Dark Blue Tennessee, Songs About You, Just South of Knowing Why, Tell Me, R-E-V-E-N-G-E, and many more!). Finally, we also make a mention to the possible collaborators we’d love to see on debut, which include many amazing country artists!
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Motivated by Taylor Swift’s recent viral lyric change at The Eras Tour in Argentina, this week we explore some of her most memorable live lyric changes that have the potential to completely shift the interpretation of the full song! We go through our favourite performances that add or adjust lyrics from each and every era, which include an entire bridge added to Permanent Marker, a sweet shout out to Taylor Lautner during Back to December, and of course her latest live adlib while singing Karma (“Karma is the guy on the Chiefs!”). These fun and unexpected additions are sometimes short but almost always make the song a little more interesting or detailed.
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We finally get together to discuss all things 1989 (Taylor’s Version), including how well the rerecording fares against the original version, the changes in producers, the newly revealed cut lyrics from songs like Wonderland and New Romantics, and, of course, those incredible Vault Tracks! We break down some of the lyric parallels as well as try and work out why these songs never made the cut back in 2014. Our speculations include too many extremely direct references in those vulnerable lyrics, as well as a difficulty when it came to production. We wrap up the episode by giving our rankings as well as discussing the fun additions of Bad Blood (feat Kendrick Lamar) and Sweeter Than Fiction that tie 1989 (Taylor’s Version) into a perfect bow encompassing both the past and present.
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Last week we both attended the premiere screenings of The Eras Tour Film, and were overjoyed to see Taylor Swift’s record breaking performance in HD! In this episode we go over our experiences, from exchanging friendship bracelets, collecting the exclusive merch, and finding the appropriate moment to go to the bathroom. We also discuss our favourite moments from the movie, including the details we may have previously missed as we watched the grainy livestreams, the choice of surprise songs and how meaningful they were to the fandom, and, sadly, the five cut performances. -
With 1989 (Taylor’s Version) just around the corner, we make our return by going over all of the hidden details that have slowly been revealed over the last couple of weeks, including Sweeter Than Fiction (Taylor’s Version) being included on the Tangerine edition! We then break down all of the current theories and rumours surrounding the 1989 (TV) release. Some of the most prominent ones mention a possible surprise drop of reputation (Taylor’s Version), a double album release, a recreation of an acoustic or stripped back version, or even a random remixed edition that could include the iconic Bad Blood Kendrick Lamar Remix!
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This week we look into a phenomenon known in the music industry as the sophomore slump, which usually occurs when an artist's second album underperforms or underwhelms in comparison to their debut project. We explore how the term came about, look into the reasons behind why the sophomore slump may occur and then discuss some examples of albums that seem to have either suffered or avoided the slump altogether. These include artists such as Billie Eilish (Happier Than Ever), Harry Styles (Fine Line), Olivia Rodrigo (Guts), Haim (Something to Tell You), Nicki Minaj (Pink Friday Roman Reloaded), Jessie J (Alive) and many more. Finally, as a Taylor Swift podcast primarily, we of course talk about the case of Fearless.
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This week we celebrate the two year anniversary of Swiftly Spoken Podcast by going over some of our favourite moments, memories, and episodes. We also thank you for some of our achievements along the way and reflect on everything that has changed in the Taylor Swift fandom over the last couple of years. We then move on to classifying every single Taylor Swift album as seasons, be it Lover as a summer celebration, reputation as a cold winter, or Fearless as the new found hope of spring. We go through our reasonings for each choice and chat about the overall aesthetic and vibes of each album, their release date(s), and how our feelings towards them may have changed over time.
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Now Taylor Swift has wrapped up the first leg of The Eras Tour, we take a look back at every detail of the first North American dates. To recap these last six months of shows we go over the set changes, new outfits, guests and surprises Taylor has announced along the way. We also take the opportunity to discuss not just the upcoming LATAM dates, but the 2024 International legs of The Eras Tour. Considering some of the patterns we’ve seen we talk about what certain set changes could come about in the future as well as how the tour might evolve as it goes on. Throughout the episode we are lucky enough to be able to play or read out quotes our listeners and favourite fellow Taylor Swift creators sent in talking about their experiences at key dates (like Haim's first appearance or the 1989 Taylor’s Version announcement!), and giving helpful advice to those who may be attending future shows! We would like to extend our gratitude once again to everyone who took the time to be involved in this episode.
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