Swiftly Spoken: Recent Episodes
Swiftly Spoken
A fan-made Taylor Swift Podcast in which we analyse her artistry, including her lyricism, music videos, and full album retrospectives. New episode every other Tuesday! Stay tuned for bonus episodes, announced on our Instagram (@swiftlyspokenpodcast)
As we continue to explore The Tortured Poets Department, in this episode we update our “songs that fit on other albums” series by attempting to classify Taylor Swift’s 31 songs compiled on The Anthology version of TTPD onto all of her previous ten studio albums. With some difficulty along the way, we chronologically work our way through her discography, matching songs with lyrical, sonic or thematic connections to her older work.
After listening to Taylor Swift’s eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, for the last few months, we decided to revisit the five playlists created back in April as a way to promote the project. While prior to the release we initially discussed these playlists and the songs they included, back then we promised to have another look once the new tracks from TTPD and the anthology had been added. We go through each stage of heartbreak and discover which songs made it into each - or in one case sadly didn’t seem to make the cut at all! We also briefly make reference to Taylor’s strange roll-out of TTPD’s second single.
After taking a brief pause from the Taylor’s Version project, we make the most of the height of The Eras Tour to look back at our old predictions for Taylor’s re-recorded albums. We go through some of the ideas and possible vault tracks we uncovered over the last couple of years and firstly compare our Speak Now and 1989 predictions to the real thing. This leads us into discussing the future for Reputation and Taylor Swift, with many changes in the landscape of the music industry, how Taylor herself has discussed her discography, and the unearthing of some recent hidden gems during the acoustic set on tour, a lot of what we once believed may now be subject to big changes. We then make a few final predictions as to what may be next all while remembering to enjoy the current celebration of all eras and take a moment to also pause and reflect on all of the music we have been given over the last six years. Sorry about the slight volume differences between us, we’ll get that sorted out for upcoming episodes! Also the irony of us speaking both about Sweeter Than Fiction and Mary’s Song being performed mere hours before they were indeed performed is not lost on us but we’ve left the comments in the video anyway haha
This Friday Taylor Swift finally brings The Eras Tour to London for the first round of shows. To celebrate, we have decided to compile all of the most interesting places a swiftie may want to visit in and around the English capital, including an in-depth review of all of the places mentioned in London Boy, as well as a long list of other, lesser known, interesting stops. From traditional pubs, exciting shopping and Taylor-themed merchandise opportunities, to iconic outfits on display, our resident London specialist shares some expert knowledge on all of the hidden gems Taylor may have name dropped in lyrics or famously visited over the years.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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).
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
On the last stop of The Eras Tour North American Leg in LA, California, Taylor Swift announced her next rerecording, 1989 (Taylor’s Version)! We react to the night’s surprises, including her new blue tour outfits and the reveal of her fourth overall Taylor’s Version project. We then discuss the cover and aesthetics this new/old era has brought about as well as break down all of the album editions that were made available and the secrets they contain. Finally, we go over the contents of the album, including what may appear from The Vault, the possible collaborators and the overall message conveyed. Throughout the episode we also speculate on how Taylor will approach the release of one of her most popular and iconic albums, the changes in how it is deemed as a body of music, and her relationship with the overall 1989 era.
In this episode we break down the most prominent Easter Eggs and details present in the only current music video from the Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) era, the star-studded I Can See You. Directed by Taylor Swift and featuring Presley Cash, Joey King and Taylor Lautner, all major players in the original Speak Now era, it follows the group as they break Taylor out of the vault, metaphorically allowing her to reclaim her music. Not only is the video full of fun references it also points us directly to what’s next in terms of the Taylor’s Version rerecording project. Throughout the episode we discuss the ramifications of this music video and who it features in relation to 1989 (Taylor’s Version), including our hopes and dreams for promotion, collabs, and possible timeline of events. We also speak about other current events such as The Eras Tour, a possible Cruel Summer music video, and August!
We finally reveal all of our thoughts about Speak Now (Taylor's Version) including what we really thought about Taylor's third recreated album, our opinions on the Better Than Revenge lyric change, and the infamous Last Kiss shaky breath. We go over which songs have grown on us and which may have been completely changed throughout the rerecording process. Then we breakdown and discuss the From The Vault tracks, the pop-rock sensibilities present in the Fall Out Boy collab track Electric Touch, the storytelling of When Emma Falls In Love, the bittersweet memories of Foolish One, the unexpectedly sultry lyrics of I Can See You, the devastating Hayley Williams feature on Castles Crumbling, and the poetic closer that is Timeless. Join us as we dissect why we believe these songs were not included in the original album and the insight into Taylor's life, worries, and outlook at the time.
Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) finally arrives this week! To celebrate we are concluding our Speak Now stories series by exploring the final few songs written for the album. In this episode we go over the nostalgia of Back to December and comment on the recent snippet released; talk about the incredible Dear John performance and Taylor’s “warning”; talk about Mine which was the original lead single of Speak Now; explore the rumours behind the title track; reminisce over the emotional message behind Long Live; and round the album off by breaking down the very real story behind The Story of Us. We conclude by talking about this Friday’s release! We cannot wait to hear the Vault Tracks and react to Taylor’s Version of this fan favourite album!
With under a month to go and the Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) Vault Tracks having been revealed, we continue our exploration into how Taylor wrote Speak Now by discussing the backstory, inspiration and details surrounding another five songs from the album. This batch includes two songs written about key events that occurred at award shows, the infamous Kanye West VMA incident which spawned Innocent, and the Grammy performance with Stevie Nicks that initiated a domino effect leading to the song Mean. We also go over both of the deluxe songs, Superman and Ours, which are inherently linked to Dear John. Finally, we discuss the only song from Speak Now that made it to the Eras Tour, Enchanted! It has yet another vivid backstory which includes an Owl City cover and a confession of love through music. To round the episode off we talk about the premature reveal of the Vault Track titles and features.
Sorry for the first 15 mins of bad audio quality, once we realised the microphone wasn't plugged in everything goes back to normal!
This week we’re taking a brief pause from our Speak Now Taylor’s Version content to react and break down the two new editions of Midnights! From the differences between the Til Dawn Edition and the Late Night Edition to their new designs, availability and which tracks they include. We talk about our preferences regarding the More Lana version of Snow on the Beach as well as the Karma remix featuring the up-and-coming Ice Spice. We also speak about the song coming to life in the colourful Karma music video and the fun recent performances. We then discuss the possible explanations as for the missing songs from the albums and finally reach the devastating new From the Vault track, You’re Losing Me. Join us as we break down as much as we can from these last few surprise Taylor Swift releases and let us know your thoughts about these two exclusive versions of Midnights.
- After this last weekend it looks like the physical editions of the Late Night version will be available at upcoming tour stops!
Now that Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is under two months away, we are finally getting back to our Speak Now Stories series, in which we explore the possible moments that may have inspired Taylor Swift’s most diaristic and detailed album. In this first part we look into what seems to be the first thematic batch of songs made for the album which include explanations and analysis of Haunted, Better Than Revenge, If This Was A Movie and Last Kiss. Through them an evolution in songwriting can be seen and many interesting details can be picked apart, including a reference to a Jonas Brothers song! Finally, we also discuss Never Grow Up, a touching song which marks another big theme that Taylor has spoken a lot about in connection to Speak Now retrospectively, the loss of innocence and naive sense of youth all too soon.
After one of the most chaotic weekends of The Eras Tour we finally get together to discuss Taylor Swift's announcement of Speak Now (Taylor's Version) her next rerecording project to be released on July 7th! We chat about our initial reactions to how the album was revealed, the cover and the tracks that will seemingly be included. We then go through which Vault Tracks we would like to see make the cut and round off the episode by discussing all of the recent theories and rumours regarding an upcoming music video that may be directly (or indirectly if it turns out that Karma is a single) related to Speak Now.
This episode we finally get around to discussing the many Taylor tracks we've gotten over the last month, either through official releases or by means of leaks spreading like wildfire around the internet. While some of the songs had been rumoured for years (Drama Queen), others we only found out about recently (All of the Girls You Loved Before and Need), one already had its own Taylor's Version we can compare it to (Forever Winter), and one has been long sought after in the fandom (This Is What You Came For). We discuss the differences between these rough demos and their final versions and wether the ones that haven't been released as of yet may ever see the light. Then we discuss the four most recently released tracks; All of the Girls You Loved Before, Safe and Sound (Taylor's Version), Eyes Open (Taylor's Version) and If This Was a Movie (Taylor's Version) as well as their placements in the Lover, Red and Fearless eras and what that may mean for Speak Now (Taylor's Version)!
From what we've seen from The Eras Tour, Taylor Swift has dedicated a specific acoustic segment in which she plays surprise songs from her vast discography. Every night she selects two tracks to play, one on guitar and the other on piano. We recap the fourteen surprise songs we've got at this point, which include fan favourites like Sad, Beautiful, Tragic, the debut performance of Snow on the Beach, and her first ever surprise guest being Marcus Mumford who joined her to play Cowboy Like Me! We then speak about the possible connections between the two songs she chooses to play and a slight pattern emerging. We also give our top ten songs we would love to hear Taylor play live (our top ten "not without me in the room" lists, if you will) and finally make some logical predictions as to which songs might make an appearance over the next few concerts.
This week we discuss our initial reactions to Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour after having seen her amazing performances in Glendale, Arizona for opening weekend. After counting down for ten weeks and making our guesses as to which songs she might play from each era, we react to the three hour long setlist and everything we got right and wrong in terms of the 44 songs played, the (lack of) mashups, the surprise songs and much more. We also very generally go over some of our favourite moments, outfits and little details that make this tour so magical. As a disclaimer if we missed anything big in this episode we will be covering the entire tour beat by beat, song by song and outfit by outfit very soon. We first want to see a few more shows and let Taylor settle into the performance! For now these are our unfiltered giddy first reactions to it all!
This week we welcome back our slightly longer form content to all platforms as we discuss our final thoughts and predictions for Taylor’s upcoming tour, which starts this friday!! Ahead of opening night for The Eras Tour we speak about what songs from Midnights we think might make the cut, our predictions as to costumes and looks, remixes she may want to add to the lineup and mashups between songs we think would make amazing additions. We speak about some of previous fan favourites like the Enchanted / Wildest Dreams mashup and also propose other more modern mixes like Question…? / Out of the Woods and Lavender Haze / I Think He Knows, a very popular mashup within the fandom. We also go over all of the rumours and confirmed information about the tour we’ve gotten over the last few days. Thank you to everyone who tuned in to our eras recap and countdown, we’ll now be returning to our regular biweekly episodes!
As the 2023 Grammys draw closer we look into Taylor's tricky history with the Song of the Year Grammy Award. Although she's been nominated a record amount of six times for this songwriting prize, she hasn't won for any of her previous tracks, which included You Belong With Me, Blank Space, Shake It Off, Lover and Cardigan. This year she has been nominated for All Too Well (Ten Minute Version) in the highly competitive category alongside titans such as Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar and Adele. We discuss her previous losses as well as her chances for this Sunday's Grammy awards.
Our final episode includes the complete recap of Taylor's performances, appearances, awards, records broken and music releases of 2022. Though the year started off slow with The Joker and The Queen Ed Sheeran Remix, after receiving her honorary doctorate from NYU Taylor Swift began to release droplets including This Love (Taylor's Version) and Carolina. She continued on with her promotion of All Too Well (Ten Minute Version) and won some very notable awards for her direction of the short film! The year wrapped up with the epic release of Midnights. We conclude the episode going through the winners of the Swiftly Spoken Awards and looking forward to what may be coming next in 2023! Wishing you all a very Happy and Healthy New Year!
Now that we’ve listened to Taylor Swift’s tenth studio album Midnights over the last month and a half we decided to challenge ourselves by trying to place every single Midnights standard, 3AM edition and deluxe version tracks onto one of her other nine albums. We go through her albums in chronological order and speak about the difficulties in finding sounds that could fit on the likes of her debut album or Fearless, the subtle signs Midnights tracks give us to what we may see in Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and the revisiting of Red on the album. We then speak about her pop and alternative albums which seem to have the most similarities to her newest release. Not only does 1989 lend Question…? a sample, but there are vocal effects reminiscent of reputation, romantic themes straight out of Lover, and a poetic nature to the 3AM tracks that prove Midnights to be a successor of these albums that, at the same time, has carved its own individual place in Taylor’s discography.
Taylor announced her first tour in five years earlier this month which aims to celebrate her entire career and discography, including her new releases that have gone untoured as well as her earlier music that has gained a second wave of popularity due to her steady release of Taylor's Versions. The excitement for the shows revealed for the first leg of The Eras Tour in the USA was soon brought to a halt due to the poor preparation from Ticketmaster when it came to distributing pre-sale codes and their lack of preparation in general. We discuss everything that has gone down over the last few weeks as well as break down what we know about the tour (including the amazing openers and interesting stage layout). Finally, we theorise about what may be included in the setlist, how each album will be represented (especially Midnights and Speak Now Taylor's Version), what surprises she may have in store and what our dreams and hopes are for when it comes to international dates.
Along with the standard edition of Midnights, Taylor Swift surprise-dropped another seven songs that make up the 3am tracks, expanding deeper into midnight thoughts. They brought with them the return of Aaron Dessner and a lot of metaphorical lyricism that showcases some of Taylor’s finest work. In this episode we go through them track by track, as well as talk about Hits Different and the two Target-exclusive remixes (the string remix of You’re On Your Own, Kid and the piano remix of Sweet Nothing). We give some insight, our opinions and chat about the standouts from these ten songs as well as attempt to rank our favourites.
Emergency episode alert! Ever since the release of Midnights Taylor Swift has been hinting, not so subtly, that Speak Now is up next in terms of rerecordings. The Bejeweled MV was our first taste of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) Easter Eggs and The Eras Tour announcement also seems to be filled with references to the album. With that in mind we decided to release this episode we recorded this summer as soon as we could to discuss everything we know about what may (or may not) be on the potential Taylor’s Version of her third studio album. We go over some of the controversial aspects of songs like Better Than Revenge, the pain she may have felt recording heart wrenching songs like Dear John and the overall highlights of the Speak Now era that may be placed into the spotlight. We also chat about what we might see in the Vault including the heavily rumoured Lets Go (Battle) or the Martin Johnson co-write.
After Taylor Swift's release of her long awaited tenth studio album, Midnights, last October 21st, we sat down to give our initial thoughts and reactions to the entire thirteen tracks included on the standard album. We go track by track from Lavender Haze to Mastermind discussing how our feelings towards the songs have changed over the last few days, revealing our favourite lyrics, drawing parallels between previous releases and picking apart certain hidden details. We also talk about the choices of Anti-hero and Bejeweled as the first music videos from the era taking into account how Taylor herself has described them. Finally we attempt to give our top five songs from the album!
This week we discuss Mary Siroky's Consequence of Sound article titled "Taylor Swift in 10 Songs", which comprises a list of ten essential songs that, according to the author, act as a gateway into Taylor's discography. We loved the choices so much that we decided to each expand upon this list by compiling our own ten recommendations we'd give to new fans looking to get into Taylor before Midnights drops, or even for fans looking to explore her discography through different lenses. We both chose specific themes and set about listing one song from each era that we think reflects Taylor's diversity from different points of view. We highly recommend anyone up for the challenge to try and make their own lists ahead of Midnights as it acts as a way to reminisce on eras past as well as recap everything nicely in time for her next big release.
To celebrate Taylor’s recent honour at the NSAI awards where she was named Songwriter-Artist of the decade, we look back at a handful of songs throughout her career that suffered lyric changes. Thanks to demo recordings, handwritten draft lyrics and making of the song videos posted by Taylor herself we’ve been lucky enough to see how song lyrics have changed and evolved from their original forms to final studio versions. Some of them change so drastically that the entire tone of the song slightly shifts, for example Tim Mcgraw’s original bridge, the many changes in Picture to Burn original version, the iconic ten minutes of All Too Well and of course, the infamous original Gorgeous lyrics we got to hear in reputation’s making of a song series. We go through 13 of these interesting lyric changes spanning throughout all Taylor’s eras and celebrate the evolution of her songwriting craft along the way.
In this episode we go over all the hidden details about Midnights we know so far, including lyrical content, length of the album and the general aesthetic of the era, that may point to the sound of her new project. Although all we have for now are details from Taylor's official store, a portion of the photoshoot and a couple of appearances they are much more revealing than they seem. We also take a look back at possible Easter Eggs that we may have missed over time and what these could mean for the future of the TS10 era now that they make sense.
After the surprise announcement Taylor gave on Sunday night at the VMAs we got together for an emergency episode in which we react to the exciting news of a new album being released on October 21st. We chat about Taylor's style and looks at the award ceremony, her record breaking wins for Best Long Form Video, Video of the Year and Best Direction, and then of course theorise about Midnights. From the name, to the concept, to the possible sound, we give all our initial reactions and thoughts surrounding this new era we are suddenly in! We are also very excited to announce that this episode marks the start of Season Two of Swiftly Spoken Podcast, thank you for your support over the past year, we can't wait to break down all the new content, promo, mvs, and performances to come.
This week we are joined by our very first guest, Madeeha, to celebrate Lover's anniversary by chatting about her experience at the Lover Secret Sessions. Back in 2019 a few weeks before the official Lover release, Taylor Swift hosted a series of listening parties in which groups of lucky fans got to hear the entire album, listen to her explanations track by track and then briefly meet her. Taylor Nation reached out to Madeeha to attend the London Secret Sessions and now she has graciously allowed us to ask her all about it, from a play-by-play run through of the nerve wracking day to some interesting anecdotes about meeting Taylor and her accidental run-in with Taylor Nation. We also discuss Lover itself and how attending such an event can entirely change your perspectives on an album. A big thank you to Madeeha for sharing her experience with us, make sure to check her out on instagram (@cantsayhellotoyou)
To celebrate folklore's recent two year anniversary, as well as the explosive popularity of august, we deep dive into Taylor Swift's first ever surprise album drop. We take a look back at the months that lead to the release in the summer of 2020, including how the folklorian collaborative team was made, Taylor's experience working remotely and the choices she made that lead to the eventual unusual album roll out. We then take a detailed look at the chronological creation of all the songs on the album, going through the themes and stand-out lyrics that thread throughout the tracks. We round the episode off by talking about folklore's Grammy Album of the Year win and discussing how Taylor created a crucial piece of quarantine art that has caused waves in the music industry ever since.
This episode is part 2 to our discussion about Taylor Swift's most interesting album variants, limited editions and interesting releases. Last time we spoke about her country releases, this time we go through 1989, reputation, Lover, folklore, evermore, Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version). Although there is no longer such a large quantity of limited editions with slight track changes for all of these albums, most probably due to the rise of the streaming era, the growth of her fame and the change in musical landscape, there are new incentives that Taylor and her team begin to implement to make physical editions of her albums and vinyl appeal to collectors and the wider public alike. We discuss some of our favourite deluxe editions and box sets, the decline of special editions and the madness of having multiples of exactly the same album. We'd like to apologise for the shift in audio throughout the episode, some segments had to be re-recorded and of course have a different sound to them. We're going to be making changes very soon going forward to avoid this happening again. Until then, thank you for bearing with us!
This week we discuss some interesting album editions and alternate versions Taylor has released over the years. Focusing on her first four country albums we deep dive into some of the most amazing collectable items and vinyl that exist out there. We also dispel some rumours that surround them and clarify why we think they were released and what additions or special content they each include. Whether you're an avid collector looking to complete your Taylor Swift ultimate album check off list or just love to hear about the differences between international album releases then make sure to subscribe or follow us so you don't miss out on Part 2 in which we will be breaking down all the particularly interesting releases from 1989 onwards!
*Disclaimer: at 16:16 we speak about the standard Walmart version of Fearless, we say it includes the making of videos for Breathe and Change but these are actually on the standard Target version of Fearless. The Walmart version includes the making of video for Picture to Burn MV. Sorry for the confusion!
As we near one of the most celebrated days in the Taylor Swift fandom, July 9th, we break down all of the heart-wrenching details of the song that originated the fandom "holiday", Last Kiss. Considered as one of Taylor's most vulnerable and personal songs, we analyse the entire six minute track, including the real life references to her then relationship with Joe Jonas, the conscious production choices she made and the poetic lyrics that paint a very colourful picture of a desperate end to a relationship. We also chat about how difficult Last Kiss (Taylor's Version) may be to record and an upcoming series we have in mind surrounding Speak Now (Taylor's Version)!
With each album Taylor released a pattern soon emerged that we now know as the famous emotionally devastating, personal and deeply vulnerable Track 5. As Red's iconic track 5, All Too Well, has recently been back in the spotlight, we decided to delve into the stories behind these highly esteemed tracks and debate whether Taylor (consciously or not) made the correct choice in each case. We explore the devastating lyrics of Cold As You, White Horse, Dear John and All Too Well; the shift in tone in the pop infused All You Had To Do Was Stay, Delicate and The Archer; and finally the incredible songwriting in My Tears Ricochet and Tolerate It. Throughout we take a look at the similarities and differences between the songs, suggest our alternate tracks we think could have made the cut and then wrap up by giving our official track 5 ranking.
This week we chat about which Taylor Swift songs we think could fit just as well on another one of her albums. We each made up a list for every one of her nine studio albums and discuss our choices to see if we coincide on any or have completely different opinions. These include examples such as Gorgeous from reputation which many fans believe fits the sound of Lover and could just as easily be placed on that album. Throughout we also speak about the transition in Taylor's sound and lyrics, how interesting it is to see songs from years previous resonating with albums she put out more recently and how she tends to hint towards her next sonic evolution in tracks which we later discover when she releases her next album.
With the recent release of This Love (Taylor's Version) fans are once again speculating that 1989 will be Taylor's next re-recorded album to be announced. With this in mind, we discuss all things 1989 (Taylor's Version) including how it may be promoted, what we can expect from the album and what the 1989 Vault may contain. Though the From the Vault Tracks seem to be a bit of a mystery, we deep dive into all the rumours that exist, debunk some songs that are thought to be rejects from the era, and take a look at what may actually be included. We have a chat about songs released around the era such as Sweeter Than Fiction that may find their home on 1989, as well as tracks we know very little about, like the Diane Warren co-write confirmed back in early 2014.
In this emergency episode we discuss This Love (Taylor's Version) after Taylor both announced and released the song a few days ago. We give all the interesting facts behind the creation of this self written 1989 track and then chat about the changes it has suffered throughout time. We of course give our opinions on Taylor's Version and excitedly try to take a guess at what may be coming next for us. We conclude with some thoughts about the new merchandise release that perhaps points to a change in Taylor's masters situation or could just be hinting at the next releases indeed being 1989 (Taylor's Version) and Speak Now (Taylor's Version).
On its third anniversary we're looking back at ME! and trying to uncover the answer to the question; did it flop as a lead single? To do so we speak about the incredible hype created by the thirteen day countdown that may have led to disappointment, the polarising reception from critics and fans alike, and the charts, awards and records the song received. With all that information we discuss if ME! made sense in Taylor's career at that point and talk about the reasons she may have chosen it as a lead single for Lover instead of going for other popular choices such as Cruel Summer. After going through the lyrics, message behind the song, its original lyrics and production, we draw our own conclusions on this memorable song.
To celebrate the recent anniversary of Taylor's first re-recording, Fearless (Taylor's Version) we deep dive into the six vault tracks included on the album. We go through each song one by one looking back at their history, the demos we previously knew of prior to last year and the changes that they went through before finding a home on the full version of Fearless. While nobody had previously heard Mr. Perfectly Fine and Don't You, we do know the minor changes that were made to You All Over Me and We Were Happy. We also know of the major interesting changes That's When and Bye Bye Baby went through, including a perspective change and an entire rework that saddened some fans to see The One Thing completely scrapped.
After this week's exciting announcement of a new song named "Carolina" to be featured in the upcoming Where the Crawdads Sing film we go over all of Taylor's songs used in movie soundtracks giving all the details surrounding their production and release and if we can expect to hear a Taylor's Version of them. We go back to 2009 to discuss some songs that Taylor had already written and thought were perfect for movies she featured in, such as Crazier for the Hannah Montana film. Then we go through her first exploration into writing from different perspectives in songs like Safe and Sound from The Hunger Games OST or Sweeter Than Fiction from One Chance, that strangely laid a base for what folklore and evermore would one day become. Finally, we discuss Carolina in-depth, chatting about the lyrics, the inspiration and when we might get to hear the full song.
In this episode we discuss all of the theories surrounding what may be released next in Taylor Swift's rerecording process to take control of her masters. With a lot of different ideas swirling around we explore the options for what order Debut, Speak Now, 1989 and reputation (Taylor's Version) may all be released in and the troubles that may be holding some of them up, including the notorious Shake It Off lawsuit or the recently rumoured Speak Now trademark issues. We also have a chat about which songs from each album could be given the All Too Well (Ten Minute Version) treatment, or if From the Vault Tracks may take preference in some cases. We end by discussing what a Taylor's Version era documentary could look like and celebrating the success of Fearless (TV) and Red (TV), looking forward to what seems to soon be on its way.
With the recent success of Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran's The Joker and The Queen Remix, we decided to compile a list of Taylor's official remixes throughout the years and rank them all on a tier list. We discuss each remix ranging from amazing collaborative tracks like Bad Blood Remix featuring Kendrick Lamar, recently released tracks such as Message in a Bottle remixed by Fat Max G, to the old classics from over a decade ago like the Love Story Digital Dog remix. We break each one down discussing what they bring to the table and if we prefer them over their original mixes. Let us know if you agree with our final rankings!
To celebrate Valentine's Day, this week we explore a part of the Lover era that sadly never came to be, the cancelled Lover Fests. Back in 2019 along with Taylor Swift's highly anticipated seventh studio album, a string of festival date appearances throughout Europe and South America were announced that would culminate in the USA Lover Fest East and West shows. These were all planed to reflect how the Lover album looked and sounded and were to be held during the summer of 2020. Nevertheless, they were of course postponed and eventually cancelled. We piece together what these shows could have been like, sifting through interesting inside information regarding the setlists, the friends that may have joined Taylor to perform, the stage setup and much more.
In this bonus episode, to celebrate one of our favourite artist, Harry Styles' birthday, we are taking a look back at songs that may have been inspired by 'Haylor' or the relationship between Taylor Swift and Harry Styles from a strictly lyrical and thematic point of view. We run through songs written by Taylor that may have been based around their time together, breaking down possible Easter Eggs and mentioning all the lyrical and thematic parallels in both artists' songwriting. We discuss Red songs such as Treacherous, some Vault songs, 1989 tracks including the infamous Style and Out of the Woods, and then some speculative but interesting reputation, Lover, folklore and evermore recordings. Though, of course, we can never be sure who these songs are truly about and this fact holds no weight in relation to their overall brilliance.
This week we take a look at one of Taylor's officially released songs with the most history, and perhaps even the most versions, behind it. Sparks Fly was originally written way back in October 2006, after a Halloween performance at Duke's Bar and Grill that served as its inspiration. It then gained traction as an unreleased song when a video of Taylor performing it circled around in 2007. However, it was not until 2010 that Sparks Fly as we know it was finally released on Speak Now, after fans' comments reached Taylor who decided to re-work the song for its official release. In this episode we discuss the origin story and development of the song, take a look at all of the changed lyrics (including what we consider to be its original version!), and its legacy as we look towards the eventual fate of the song on Speak Now (Taylor's Version).
It is now 2022 and that means that, later on this year, Taylor will finally be able to rerecord her sixth studio album, reputation. To celebrate this, we decided to discuss our theories regarding reputation (Taylor’s Version), including how it may be promoted, when it may be released, what it could look like, and, most importantly, what we can possibly expect from the reputation vault. We take a look back at songs Taylor collaborated or worked on around the era such as This Is What You Came For, some songs that may have been cut from other albums like the Lover reject Need and the rumoured collaborations from back in the day including the highly discussed Drake collab Velvet, among many other interesting mentions. We delve deep into all the conspiracies from back in the reputation era to take a guess and begin to get excited about some of the most highly anticipated From The Vault tracks.
This year's finally episode recaps all of Taylor Swift's releases, awards and performances throughout 2021 to make sure you didn't miss out on any of the details from the last twelve months. Moreover, we also reveal the winners of the first ever Swiftly Spoken Awards, all voted by you over on our Instagram. Some of these awards include Album of the Year, Best From the Vault Tracks, Best Collaboration and much more! Finally, we take a look towards 2022 and discuss what's coming next for Taylor, be it her next rerecorded release, newly teased collaborations or massive award nominations such as the Grammy's and Brit's! We hope you all have a very happy and healthy New Year!
In this special festive bonus episode we discuss Taylor Swift's most recent Christmas song, Christmas Tree Farm, originally released in 2019. With its recent Old Timey rerelease this year, Taylor seems to be guaranteeing the song's longevity as well as giving it a completely new feel. We have a chat about its composition and release (all undertaken in under a week!), the lifespan of a holiday song, all of the versions that exist of this particular song and what the future may look like for it. We also discuss our dreams of a possible new and improved Taylor's Version of her original Holiday Collection which could include Christmas Tree Farm and all of its variants some time in the future. We would like to wish you all very Happy Holidays and hope you are all enjoying the season however you may celebrate it!
To celebrate its recent anniversary and exciting Album of the Year Grammy nomination, this week we discuss evermore, the somewhat forgotten sister. For this first ever album retrospective we delve into evermore in a LOT of detail, discussing its creation, chronology, themes, reception, stand-out lyrics and much more. Join us as we celebrate (and not just tolerate) one of Taylor's most lyrically rich albums track by track.
For this bonus episode, we recorded our initial thoughts and reactions to hearing Red (Taylor's Version) just five days after it was released! Join us as we go track by track on a nostalgia filled breakdown of our old time favourites, newly appreciated songs and rediscovered gems. Then, we dive into The Vault, discussing what we know about these songs and giving our initial thoughts on them.
In this episode we celebrate the long-awaited release of All Too Well Ten Minute Version. We detail the serendipitous origin of this beloved song, breakdown ALL of the lyrics, discuss the controversies and theories that have appeared over the last week, and conclude by recapping the live performances Taylor has gifted us with recently.
With Red (Taylor’s Version) releasing this week, we dedicate this episode to exploring the fourth album curse and laying out how it affected or was avoided by Taylor’s fourth album, Red, back in 2012. Moreover, we also take some time to discuss everything you need to know before Red (TV) drops in just three days time! Finally, we were lucky enough to give our live reactions and theories about the newly announced All Too Well Short Film.
To celebrate Halloween, in this episode we rank all of the old Taylor looks that appear in the Look What You Made Me Do music video into a tier list. We go through all of the outfits, detailing some of our own obscure background finds and discussing how they may serve as inspiration for possible Halloween costumes!
Join us as we travel back to the 2012 Red era to discuss all things Everything Has Changed, Taylor and Ed's very first released collaboration. With Taylor's Version of this song, as well as the exciting second Ed feature from the vault, creeping ever closer, we go over the timeline behind the Sweeran friendship, when these songs were initially written and recorded, the changed lyrics, background stories, music video and many other details. We also express our hopes and guesses for what Run might sound like!
This week we discuss Taylor's poetry, which seems to have gone largely unexplored over the last couple of years. In particular we take a deep dive into 'Why She Disappeared', one of the three prominent poems Taylor published during the reputation era. This poem in specific was first included in the reputation deluxe magazines, and later was thrown into the spotlight by being featured as an interlude during the reputation Stadium Tour. While analysing verse by verse we chat about the songs it may be related to, the parallels it holds with Taylor's life during that period and all of the information she was able to convey about her feelings towards the end of the 1989 era through it. Finally, we also break down the tour visuals that were shown while the poem was read, rediscovering some forgotten Easter Eggs!
In this week's special episode we challenged ourselves to create a Taylor Swift compilation album each from scratch. To make it difficult we also established a series of rules to be followed. We then got together to describe the concepts we came up with, discussing the names and themes, cover art and carefully chosen tracklists. Make sure to head over to our Instagram to check out our mock-ups, cast a vote for your favourite and tag us in your own dream compilation albums!
In this episode we explore the backstory behind The Last Great American Dynasty, a song in which Taylor cleverly ties her life and experiences at her Rhode Island home to those of Rebekah Harkness, one of the previous owners of the grand estate. Known for her eccentricities and causing trouble, the parallels Taylor draws between herself and Rebekah are extremely fitting and touch upon how society tends to view women who choose to enjoy the marvelous times to be had, despite what others may say.
In our debut episode we take a deep dive into the Lover music video in order to celebrate its recent two year anniversary! After giving an overview, we go into depth describing all of the hidden Easter Eggs and background secrets that appear throughout the video, breaking it down frame by frame. With this in mind, this episode is highly analytical, future episodes will include both more laid back discussions as well as further scripted content. Make sure to follow us and leave a like if you enjoyed the Lover breakdown!