The Showgirl and the Swiftcourse

We’re trying something different this week and dropping a very low-stakes subscriber-only episode on… Taylor Swift’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl. Melody joins me to talk about our own reactions (favorite songs, skips), the online reactions (and reactions to the reactions), various theories about what’s going on with this album, and how to place The Life of Showgirl in her larger discography and star image. We talk about “Eldest Daughter,” burnout, some fan theories re: album #12, Charlie XCX, Sabrina Carpenter, and so much more — and can’t wait to hear your thoughts, too.

A few things Melody and I realized we wanted to say after we were finished recording:

• I think it’s easier than ever to find yourself in an echo-chamber of people saying the same thing about an album, PARTICULARLY if you’re watching TikTok (once I watched one Tok criticizing the album, I was fed a nonstop stream of them). We get to decide for ourselves how we feel!

• I (Melody) have always needed time to process a Taylor Swift album. It took me YEARS to embrace Reputation. I don’t think it’s fun or useful to solidify my one true take after just a couple of days, so I reserve the right to change my mind on all of this (except “Eldest Daughter”)!