AP Taylor Swift

E23: Show and Tell - Mad Women

There’s nothing like a mad woman, what a shame she went mad.  What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than with some songs about women scorned? In this episode, we bring to you three songs that represent mad women. Maansi kicks off the discussion with the scornful, vengeful mad woman in “Better Than Revenge,” Jodi walks us through the woman who’s driven to insanity in “mad woman,” and Jenn wraps up the discussion with an example of the mad woman who is stuck in bonus track “right where you left me.” We close out the discussion by acknowledging how all of these songs are indicative of a movement that’s giving women everywhere the opportunity to reclaim the “mad woman” stigma.
Did we know this episode would drop on Valentine’s Day when we recorded it? No. Are we mad about it? Not at all!
 
Mentioned in this episode: 
Hildegard of Bingen
Sigmund Freud
Mean Girls
“Before He Cheats,” Carrie Underwood
“Mama’s Broken Heart,” Miranda Lambert
“Jolene,” Dolly Parton
“Vigilante shit,” Taylor Swift
The Country of the Blind, HG Wells
Game of Thrones
Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf
Pride & Prejudice, Jane Austen
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
The Female Malady, Elaine Showalter 
Villette, Charlotte Bronte
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
Cinderella’s Sisters: A Revisionist History of Foot Binding, Dorothy Ko
“Mama’s broken heart,” Miranda Lambert
Looking for an audio book? Check out our Libro.fm playlist https://tidd.ly/47uhRVI
***
 
Episode Highlights: 
[01:47] Intro to “mad women” & hysteria
[09:43] “Better than revenge,” Speak Now
[33:52] “mad woman,” folklore
[50:52] “right where you left me,” evermore
[1:13:02] Reclaiming the mad woman
 
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This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.

E22: Deep Dive - The Outside

We’ve all been in a lot of lonely places. In this week’s deep dive, your hosts take you back to one of the original sad songs from Taylor’s debut album, “The Outside.” Perhaps more of a deep cut, this song cuts straight to the heart of what it feels like to be left out. Join us to discover what this song meant to us in our high school years vs today. We’ll explore how Taylor’s writing and musical styles may have changed, but she’s always known how to capture some of the most universal experiences, particularly for women! TW: We do discuss eating issues and disorders in this episode. We are fortunately recovered so the ultimate result is body positivity, but FYI! 
Mentioned in this episode: 
The Outside - the song 
Pride & Prejudice 
Lizzie McGuire 
Untangled by Lisa Damour
Queen Bees & Wannabes 
Robert Frost
The Good Enough Job 
Mean Girls 
Hamilton
 
Looking for an audio book? Check out our Libro.fm playlist https://tidd.ly/47uhRVI
 
***
Episode Highlights: 
[00:56] Introduction to “The Outside” 
[02:59] Lizzie McGuire captures the spirit of “The Outside” 
[09:11] Taylor references Robert Frost
[17:01] “I’ve never been on the outside” 
[21:35] Is there a bridge in this song? 
[24:09] Feeling on “the outside” when you start a new job 
[30:48] The purpose of “The Outside” 
Subscribe to get new episode updates: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe
 
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This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.

Bonus - Taylor Swift's "The Tortured Poets Department" Announcement Analysis

And so I enter into evidence…In this very special BONUS episode, your Unofficial Professors of Taylor Swift go deep into the artifacts that Taylor has released for her upcoming album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” From the album art, the title, and the poem, to the track titles, we discuss it all! Is this album going to be more intellectual or emotional? Is Taylor on defense or offense? How wrong will all of our predictions be when the album is actually released? Well, we give you our hypotheses for the first two questions, but we will all have to wait until April 19th to see how well this conversation ages!   
 
Mentioned in this episode: 
Euphues by John Lyly (origin of “all’s fair in love and war”)
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf 
The Poetry of Dorothy Parker
Mythology by Edith Hamilton
Potter Puppet Pals: The Mysterious Ticking Noise
Tick, Tick…Boom! by Jonathan Larson, Directed by Lin Manuel Miranda
 
Looking for an audio book? Check out our Libro.fm playlist https://tidd.ly/47uhRVI
***
 
Episode Highlights: 
01:08 - Analyzing the Album Cover
03:07 - The Title: "Chairman of the Tortured Poets Department"
07:12 - The Poem: "And So I Enter Into Evidence"
36:30 - All's Fair in Love and Poetry
45:36 - Tracklist Analysis
54:11 - The Back Cover Image
Subscribe to get new episode updates: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe
 
Follow us on social! 
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Libro.fm → https://tidd.ly/47uhRVI
This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.

E21: Show and Tell - Musicals

If I was a [rich] man, I’d be the man. Curtain up! Light the lights! Today we are finally devoting an entire episode to one of our favorite topics: MUSICALS. Jenn identifies “The Outside,” from Taylor Swift, as the perfect song for the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera. (Never seen it? No worries, Jenn gives a full synopsis!). Then, Jodi finds parallels between “The Man” and “If I Were a Rich Man,” from Fiddler on the Roof. And finally, we can’t talk about musicals without Hamilton! Maansi brings it home by comparing “Midnight Rain” to “Satisfied,” and we wonder if (and when!) Lin Manuel Miranda and Taylor Swift will bring their lyrical genius minds together. 
 
Mentioned in this episode: 
“The Outside,” Taylor Swift, 2007
Phantom of the Opera Movie
Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux Book
Phantom of the Opera: Live from London 
“Musicals that wouldn’t exist if the man had just gone to therapy” 
“The Man,” Lover, 2019
Fiddler on the Roof
“If I Were a Rich Man,” Chiam Topol, Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
“Midnight Rain,” Midnights, 2022
“Satisfied,” Hamilton
Hamilton
Singin’ in the Rain
Mean Girls 
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
 
Looking for an audio book? Check out our Libro.fm playlist https://tidd.ly/47uhRVI
 
***
Episode Highlights: 
[02:01] Curtain up: Introduction to Musicals
[06:47] “The Outside” and Phantom of the Opera
[23:34] “The Man” and “If I Was a Rich Man,” Fiddler on the Roof
[36:50] “Midnight Rain” and “Satisfied,” Hamilton
 
Subscribe to get new episode updates: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe
 
Follow us on social! 
TikTok → tiktok.com/@APTaylorSwift
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Link Tree →linktr.ee/aptaylorswift
Bookshop.org → bookshop.org/shop/apts
Libro.fm → https://tidd.ly/47uhRVI
 
This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.

E20: Deep Dive - Mastermind

None of it was accidental. This week we’re going deep into Midnights favorite “Mastermind.” After looking at this Taylor Swift song from the perspective of satire in our previous episode, we take another look to examine what Taylor is actually “mastermind”-ing. Is it a relationship? Or is it a nod to her many (many) easter eggs she leaves her fans? Maansi explores how Taylor weaves strategic language into the lyrics to reclaim the idea that she’s “calculating.” Jodi finds connections to The Odyssey, Oedipus Rex, and Greek mythology to bring this to an AP-level conversation. And Jenn shares more context about why “all the wisest women had to do it this way,” has deep roots in literature and history. Join us as we unpack this cryptic and potentially Machiavellian song!
Mentioned in this episode: 
TIME Magazine December 7, 1981 “Crazy Over Cats” 
TIME Magazine Person of the Year 2023
Phantom Thread
Mythology, Edith Hamilton 
The Odyssey, Homer, Emily Wilson translation  
Oedipus Rex, Sophocles  
Guys and Dolls
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen 
Hamilton 
Founding Mothers, Cokie Roberts
RBG 
Jackie
The Voices of Neims, Suzannah Lipscomb 
Matilda, Roald Dahl  
Harry Potter, JK Rowling  
Broadway Sings
Mean Girls 
The Woman in Me, Britney Spears
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn
I Care A Lot
 
Looking for an audio book? Check out our Libro.fm playlist https://tidd.ly/47uhRVI
 
***
 
Episode Highlights: 
[02:23] “And now you’re mine” - WHO?
[05:05] Mastermind: Benji’s Vision 
[10:00] “The planets, and the fates…” Greek mythology 
[16:26] “We were born to the the pawn in every lover’s game”
[26:44] “I’ve been scheming like a criminal ever since” The Bridge!
[33:40] “I’m only cryptic and Machiavellian cause I care” 
[43:31] “Check Mate: I couldn’t lose” 
[47:23] What is the purpose of this song?
Subscribe to get new episode updates: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe
Follow us on social! 
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Libro.fm → https://tidd.ly/47uhRVI
 
This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig akaScotty Z.

E19: Show and Tell - Satire

I’m dying to see how this one ends. We talk about satire - what it is, how it’s different from parody or hyperbole, how Taylor uses it and why. Jodi starts with the quintessential satirical example from Taylor’s catalog - “Blank Space,” Jenn argues that Reputation is actually a satirical album, and Maansi makes a case for satire in “Mastermind.” Find out what witch hunts and chess have to do with it all. We acknowledge that satire is an intellectual form of comedy, which requires us to examine what Taylor is saying in a more nuanced way. Hear our first read interpretations, and then hunker down for the second read interpretations that unravel the threads of satire a bit to get to the heart of what she’s trying to say.
Mentioned in this episode: 
"Blank Space" 1989
"I did something bad" reputation
"Mastermind" Midnights
Oxford languages dictionary, Satire
The Onion
SNL
Weird Al 
Animal Farm, George Orwell
Best in Show
Scary Movies
Hunger Games
Weekend Update, SNL
“A Modest Proposal” Jonathan Swift, 1729
Aristophenes
English Professor Discusses Satire & Performs Rhetorical Analysis on Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”
Witches, midwives, and nurses, Barbara Ehrenreich
The Prince, Machiavelli
The Art of War, Machiavelli
Queen’s Gambit
Looking for an audio book? Check out our Libro.fm playlist https://tidd.ly/47uhRVI
***
Episode Highlights: 
[00:38] What is satire and how is it different from Parody?
[04:33] Jonathan Swift satire
[07:33] Blank Space
[20:28] I did something bad
[32:28] Mastermind
 
Subscribe to get new episode updates: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe
 
Follow us on social! 
TikTok → tiktok.com/@APTaylorSwift
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Bookshop.org → bookshop.org/shop/apts
Libro.fm → https://tidd.ly/47uhRVI
This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.

E18: Deep Dive - Death By a Thousand Cuts

My, my, my, my. We get deep into our feelings on this deep dive today with “Death By a Thousand Cuts,” from Lover. With a title referencing an imperial form of torture, what is this Taylor Swift song really about? As always, our hosts look at the lyrics from very different perspectives based on our own personal experiences, from moving out of a childhood home (“chandelier still flickering here”) to a breakup (“You said it was a great love”) to Spiderman (“I see you everywhere”). We talk about idioms, loss, grief, the emotional burden of pain, and how asking the traffic lights for answers maybe isn’t as far-fetched as some of us originally thought. Will we ever hear this song the same way again? “I don’t know!”
Mentioned in this episode: 
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
“Death By a Thousand Cuts,” Lover (2019)
“Death By a Thousand Cuts” Tiny Desk Concert
Wikipedia definition of “death by a thousand cuts”
Tom Holland’s Umbrella Lip Sync Battle
Finding Nemo 
Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
The Notebook
Moby Dick, Herman Melville 
Love Again 
Someone Great 
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, Lori Gottlieb 
 
***
Episode Highlights: 
[02:15] Defining “death by a thousand cuts”
[08:18] My, my, my, my: What is this opening?
[15:50] United we stand: The things shared in a relationship 
[20:03] Paper thin plans: Connecting this song to “Paper Rings”
[22:11] Trying to find a part of me you didn't take up: Why this love is so hard to get over 
[28:11] I ask the traffic lights: Looking anywhere for answers
[34:00] It's just a thousand cuts: The purpose of the song
 
Subscribe to get new episode updates: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe
 
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This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.
 

E17: Show and Tell - The Great Gatsby

Feeling so Gatsby for that whole year. Taylor Swift loves to make direct and indirect references to the classic American novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. So we decided to dive into those connections and see what all the fuss is about. In this week’s episode, we each picked a song that we wanted to relate to The Great Gatsby. Join us as Maansi brings the party with “This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things,” Jenn explores Gatsby’s motivations with “Death by a Thousand Cuts,” and Jodi brings it all together by digging into the character of Daisy with “happiness.” 
Mentioned in this episode: 
“This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” reputation 
“Death by a Thousand Cuts” Lover 
“happiness” evermore
"The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald 
Taylor’s 2014 Gatsby-Inspired People Magazine cover 
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" by J.K. Rowling
“Funny Girl” 
Zelda Fitzgerald - The History Chicks Podcast 
"Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald," by Therese Anne Fowler
"The Edible Woman" by Margaret Atwood 
"Romeo & Juliet," by William Shakespeare
 
***
 
Episode Highlights: 
[00:30] Introduction to The Great Gatsby 
[07:25] “This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things,” reputation
[23:21] “Death by a Thousand Cuts,” Lover
[34:35] “happiness,” evermore
 
Subscribe to get new episode updates: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe
 
Follow us on social! 
TikTok → tiktok.com/@APTaylorSwift
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Link Tree → linktr.ee/aptaylorswift
Bookshop.org → bookshop.org/shop/apts
 
This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.

Re-Release: Deep Dive - Enchanted

Enchanted to (re)meet you. Revisit one of our favorite early episodes with us! As a holiday treat, we are giving our Deep Dive into “Enchanted” its own time to shine. In our first deep dive episode, we did a deep reading of Taylor Swift’s song “Enchanted” from Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). We’re wonderstruck as we learn how to analyze a text using the rhetorical triangle to better understand who is speaking, who they are speaking to, and the purpose of the text. We find connections to “Pride and Prejudice,” “Singin’ in the Rain,” Barbie, Cinderella, college, and Greek mythology…all in one 5ish minute song. We left no lingering questions to keep us up! 
 
Mentioned in the episode:
“Enchanted” by Taylor Swift
“Cinderella” Disney Film
“Pride and Prejudice,” by Jane Austen 
“Singin’ in the Rain” 
“Barbie,” 2023 movie
 
***
Episode Highlights: 
[01:30] APTS 101: How to analyze a text
[02:54] Who is this speaker forcing laughter, and does she fit in? 
[04:21] Why “Enchanted” is “Pride and Prejudice”-coded 
[06:28] Exploring word choice to examine the time period
[08:44] How the song ruminates on a single moment and feeling
[10:48] Who is the song speaking to? A person? The Universe?
[16:53] Why “Hey Stephen” and “Enchanted” feel so different
[19:02] The words and phrases that create mystique and depth
[22:15] “Flawless,” “Forever,” and the power of hyperbole
[24:00] Our takeaways from our playful conversation 
Subscribe to get new episode updates: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe
 
Follow us on social! 
TikTok → tiktok.com/@APTaylorSwift
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Link Tree →linktr.ee/aptaylorswift
Bookshop.org → bookshop.org/shop/apts
 
This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.

E16: Deep Dive - tis the damn season

Messy as the mud on your truck tires. We couldn’t let a holiday season go by without THE song about THE damn season, could we? Continuing the conversation from our Show and Tell episode on holidays, this week we deep dive “tis the damn season,” from evermore (2020). We start by diving into Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” to get a better understanding of the song. Then our hosts spend a lot of time trying to figure out who the characters are, what their relationship is to one another, and what exactly they’re trying to call “even.” From examining what makes this a small town song, to figuring out why it “always” leads to “you” and “my hometown,” to imagining this song as a movie–we go on a whole deep dive journey on this one, with a lot of film, TV, and music references. Listen to see what “300,” “Groundhog Day,” and “Friends” all have in common with this song!
Mentioned in the episode:
“tis the damn season,” evermore (2020)
“The Road Not Taken,” Robert Frost
“Midnight Rain,” Midnights (2022)
“Say don’t go,” 1989 (Taylor’s Version), 2023
“You’re On Your Own Kid,” Midnights (2022)
“300” (2007)
“Phantom of the Opera” (2004)
“Before Sunset” (2004)
“Before Sunrise” (1995)
“Groundhog Day” (1993)
“Friends: The One With the Red Sweater” (S8 E2)
“Don’t Blame Me,” reputation (2017)
“Enchanted,” Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) 2023
E2: Deep Dive - Enchanted 
“The Great” (2020)
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” (2022) 
 
***
 
Episode Highlights: 
[01:09] We could call it even: Who are the characters here?
[06:25] The road not taken looks real good now: The role of Robert Frost’s poem
[08:58] You can call me babe for the weekend: What’s the relationship here?
[12:45] Remember how you watched me leave: Why do they only have the weekend together?
[19:16] So I’ll Go Back to LA: Choosing big-city life over small town life
[22:26] And the heart I know I’m breaking is my own: Y tho?
[29:40] To leave the warmest bed I've ever known: Debating the emotions of the song
[33:15] And I’ll be yours for the weekend: It’s always the bridge!
[39:40] It always leads to you in my hometown: What is the purpose of this song?
 
Subscribe to get new episode updates: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe
Follow us on social! 
TikTok → tiktok.com/@APTaylorSwift
Instagram → instagram.com/APTaylorSwift
YouTube → youtube.com/@APTaylorSwift
Link Tree →linktr.ee/aptaylorswift
Bookshop.org → bookshop.org/shop/apts
This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.