Taylearning Podcast 9/4/24 Taylearning Podcast 9/4/24

The Tortured Poet’s Department Prologue

Written By: Justice Sirotek

“At this hearing

I stand before my fellow

members

of The Tortured Poets

Department

With a summary of my findings

A debrief, a detailed rewinding

For the purpose of warning

For the sake of reminding”

How do you write about a world that just happens to change around you unexpectedly? How do you handle overwhelming publicity during one of your greatest hardships, especially as you navigate your biggest mistakes? In this episode, Olivia and Dani tackle Taylor Swift’s TTPD album prologue: the poem, In Summation. As a deeply confessional work, The Tortured Poets Department invites our hosts to analyze the backdrop Taylor has provided to better contextualize the album as a whole. They work through the poem in distinct sections, making analyses and observations about each one. Ultimately, they dive into Taylor Swift’s unique ability to write prolifically about her personal life without actually giving concrete markers for people and events; a true embodiment of “show rather than tell.” We can see the remains of a relationship culminating in disdain, although once riddled with affection. We can see the page-bound evidence of a love that ultimately hurt her despite all efforts to persevere. As listeners, we are left to ponder our role as the “jury” of Taylor Swift’s life, the chamber she will always have to answer to. Ultimately, this episode follows the story of the bolter who, above all else, tried to stay.

Taylearning Podcast 8/28/24 Taylearning Podcast 8/28/24

Taylor swift Songs About Matty Healy

Written By: Justice Sirotek

If there is one thing to take away from the poignant heartbreak Taylor Swift weaves into her music, it is that these emotions, as well as her art, do not exist within a vacuum. Her identity as an artist is deeply intertwined with both her public persona and the people she writes about. Due to this, it is often necessary to acknowledge the events surrounding her releases to get a more complete picture of them. Olivia and Dani kick off Season 4 by continuing to analyze who was seemingly her most unexpected muse: Matty Healy. When The Tortured Poets Department was released, fans were shocked by the sheer quantity of “Matty Healy songs” within the project. This posed many questions that were largely left unanswered. What was the scope of Matty’s role in Taylor’s love life? Should we rethink our perception of her previous work with him in mind? Lastly, how do the three muses of TTPD connect with each other narratively? Our hosts tackle these head-on, primarily using song analysis to speculate what these ‘Matty songs” are, taking into account their own ideas as well as those of the greater Swiftie community. We may not be able to fix him, but we can certainly piece together the lore behind him in the context of Taylor Swift’s music.