Evolution of a Snake: The Taylor Swift Podcast

The Snakes are back post-hiatus with a surprise episode: a deep dive into folklore. In a year of surprises, The Evolution of a snake is taking a turn with the content and discussing 'current' events as well. After the shock of the surprise drop eased, Zack and Madeline jump into the album to discuss the production, writing, visuals, and promo of folklore. Track by track. Comparisons are drawn to the Lover era and...well... they're not flattering. The betty discourse is mentioned, the trilogy of songs is dismissed, Haylor continues to thrive, tour plans are discussed, Connor Kennedy is still on our minds in 2020, and a new chapter of Taylor Swiftology is unleashed on the masses. Send your feedback on this episode to @tswiftpodcast on twitter. @hoaxlakes and @tsfolklore for the hosts. 

It's been a while....there's a pandemic but we're still thinking about the end of 2012. That's how monumental it was. We discuss the tumultuous highs and lows of one of the most prolific album cycles that Taylor Swift has barged through. We discuss the release strategy for Red, review all of the singles, and dive into a track-by-track review of what is widely thought of as her most experimental album. There's a lot of drama, too. Old flames flicker with John Mayer, Joe Jonas, and Taylor Lautner. We get a fresh and impending heartache in Harry Styles, and discuss one of Taylor's first intense public backlashes. We talk music videos, property purchases through shell companies, rocky live performances, and the sheer artistry behind some of the best writing in her career. Some of the juiciest easter eggs hatch in this short span of time. We rehash the fandom discourse of Taylor Swift becoming a pop artist, and revisit some foundational image changes, as well as the 'good girl' pathology that endured until very recently. Follow us on twitter for more updates, and let us know your thoughts @tswiftpodcast. 

After a long hiatus (that included an ENGAGEMENT!!) Madeline and Zack are back to discuss the game changing year of 2012. First off - we plug our Patreon! We need your support to continue creating high quality content. Taylor slowly but surely drops prehistoric easter eggs that she'll be releasing an album. The bangs that were cut at the end of 2011, seem to give her some power.....the power to become obsessed with the Kennedy's. Her hyper-fixation tendencies really jumped out this year. On today's agenda:  her whirlwind romance with Conor Kennedy, her almost role in Les Miserables and acting chops in general, the Grammy serve of the century, a brief interlude with Zac Efron, some nasty words from the internet's garbage can John Mayer, and the show stopping Red live chat. Oh.....and a sweet ditty called We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together. Heard of it? We also discuss our upcoming plans to release two episodes a month, and to diversify our content. https://www.patreon.com/theevolutionofasnake

Zack and Madeline deep dive into the second half of 2011 - which upon reflection, is a year of immense growth, evolution, and development. The Speak Now Tour continues and the arm lyrics and interviews that she gives on tour reveal a surprising amount of information if you know where to connect the dots. The earliest and purest form of the Easter Eggs reveal themselves as arm lyrics. Connecting the dots she draws leads us to the conclusion that perhaps her and Joe Jonas tried it again, or at least reconciled in this year. Taylor Lautner makes several unnecessary appearances and Miss Swift's bizarre obsession with the Kennedy's begins.  We take a look at a few in depth profiles that are more revealing than they appear, and discuss Taylor's complicity in a goody-two-shoes imagery.  T-Party is discussed publicly as a concept, and we analyze how that has changed - for worse - in recent years. Two final and superior singles with lacklustre videos wrap up the Speak Now era - Sparks Fly and Ours. Wonderstruck is dropped and we have to stan. Taylor gets her most iconic cat Meredith, and shockingly - in an earth shattering moment, cuts her hair and drops Safe and Sound in the same month. She turns 22 and never aged again. 

Zack and Madeline address an issue of housekeeping first and foremost. LEAVE US ALONE! Moving on, we discuss Taylor's incessant need to be everywhere during 2011 - and her slight obsession with the many boys of the hit television show Glee. There are some odd moments in the beginning of the year: Taylor performs on the high seas and attends the Montblan cocktail party with the one and only Emma Stone. We discuss some confusing single choices of songs that are pushed to radio concurrently, and we reiterate the fact that we are charting higher than Bob Lesfetz. We talk her Vanity Fair party serve of an appearance, that one famous gif that reigns supreme, and the gold cavalli dress that shook us all. We also discuss the Speak Now Tour in its entirety. We get into Madeline vs Swiftsecrets and the ridiculous quotes that stormed our dashboards way back in 2011. Please dear listeners, promise us, that you will never forget the essence of your spark. 

Madeine and Zack pick up where they left off in 2010: Part 1 with the Mine video. It drops and we are completely and utterly shaken by the talent, the emotion, the power. Toby Hemingway is discussed as the elusive enigma that he is, and Taylor embarrassingly performs Innocent at the VMAs. We get four pre-releases from Speak Now that mislead us towards the greatness that is impending, and Taylor attends a taping of SNL where she meets someone who will change her life forever. Speak Now is released to critical and commercial acclaim, and we go through each song like the true Taylor Swift Sluts that we are. If This Was A Movie finally gets her chance to shine. John Mayer is very embarrassed. We get some incredible performances from the Thanksgiving special and Taylor spends the holiday with a family she grows close to. She is spotted arm in arm with a gentleman drinking maple lattes. Surely that is of some significance to you, Swifties. Back to December is made a single and we get some mixed performances. The year ends excruciatingly, with a guest mysteriously absent from Taylor’s 21st birthday bash. Buckle up y’all. 

Zack and Madeline dive into the year that catapulted Taylor from twangy teenager to adult pop star. 2010 was a professionally incredible year for Taylor that was unfortunately full of personal heartbreak . We get into the John Mayer saga, the emergence of Katy Perry & Taylor's friendship, as well as Taylor's longstanding beef with distinct nobody: Bob Lesfetz! Her disastrous acting career continues with Valentine's Day, and Zack and Madeline disagree about the merits of Today Was A Fairytale. The never-ending Fearless tour finally wraps up with a stadium show and Taylor wraps up living with her parents and moves into her now iconic Nashville apartment. We are served a legendary live chat with tea Miss Swift would never give us all at once in 2019. Speak Now is announced, Mine leaks and the experience of a leak scars Taylor for all of eternity. George W. Bush attends the premiere of Mine in Maine. 

Zack and Madeline pick up from where they left off in the first part of 2009. The impact of the VMAs shake the world so hard that President Obama chimes in and calls Kanye West a jackass. They discuss the media circus that unfolds as a result, and the classiness and godliness of Beyonce Knowles. A radio interview from this year is unearthed - an uncomfortable encounter Taylor had with a radio host who refused to stop badgering her, we hear the voice of the elusive (and now fired!) publicist Paula.  The Platinum Edition of Fearless comes out, and The Other Side of The Door came in and spanked Madeline. The year ends rockily with Taylor's questionable SNL appearance, a horrific rendition of Forever and Always at the CMAS and a social justice (?) mishap at Katy Perry's birthday party. Yup, you read that right. Tune in to hear the drama. 

Zack and Madeline deep dive into the jam packed, legendary, very busy year of 2009 - where Taylor continues to conquer the world with Fearless, has her first questionable encounters with Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato and plugs You’re Not Sorry like it’s her next #1 single. We take a trip down memory lane to her first Rolling Stone profile, the iconic Fearless Tour, her dramatic wins at various award shows, the beginning of Taylor Squared, her continued beef with Joe Jonas, her first (terrible) Grammy performance, her short-lived friendship with Katy Perry and two music videos: You Belong With Me and Fifteen. The beginnings of her acting career are also discussed - Taylor Swift on CSI, anyone? 

Zack and Madeline dissect the year that skyrocketed Taylor Swift from a successful country artist, to a crossover pop star. 2008 was a formative year for TSwizzle creatively and personally - she continued her iconic work with Liz Rose, wrote much of Fearless by herself, and fell in and out of love with the famously intelligent Joe Jonas. This episode deep dives into the creative process behind Fearless and its astonishing commercial success, and follows some of the drama you may not have heard of - Emily Poe getting fired, anyone? 

Zack and Madeline discuss the beginning of Taylor Swift's career from the years 2006 to 2007. Covering her first music video, award show win, and album release period - the first episode of The Evolution of a Snake delves into some swiftie drama, Taylor Swift's legendary heart tattoo, the injustice done to "I'd Lie", the origins of some of the most legendary memes, a promotional moment for "Cold as You" and a word on Taylor's sketchy country accent. There is a track by track analysis of the debut with some hot takes (A Place in This World is garbage), a sponsorship from Drew Hardwick, a discussion of Taylor's brief interest in headset microphones, and a review of her first three singles and music videos, "Tim McGraw", "Teardrops On My Guitar" and "Our Song." 

Welcome to TayRewind, a moment where The Snakes can zoom in on a canonical event, moment, or disaster from the Taylor Swift archives in excruciating detail. Sometimes, in the yearly episodes, there isn't enough space to Go Deep on absolutely everything. Here's your first taste of that: flashbacks to a simpler time, 2009. Picture this: Taylor Swift is hot off the heels of her first Pop Culture Moment, and she's here to have another one...by hosting and performing on Saturday Night Live. In this episode, her monologue is reviewed (to acclaim) and the skits that you forgot about are drudged up in all their horror. Enjoy! GET US WEEKLY ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/swiftologist

GET EOAS WEEKLY ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/swiftologist Welcome back to Phone a Snake, the monthly listener call in segment. In today’s episode there’s a new approach on the table: reacting to your most unhinged (and shocking) unpopular Taylor Swift opinions. Some of these calls are truly shocking. Swiftie cards will be checked at the door prior to entry!  

Get EOAS weekly on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/swiftologist Welcome back to Sister Songs, an Evolution of a Snake series that tackles the invisible strings woven through Taylor Swift's lengthy and convoluted discography. In today's episode, The Snakes trace a particular feeling of anxiety through one of her much-written-about relationships. By first deconstructing Peace from 2020's folklore, several tangents are discovered in Dancing With Our Hands Tied, Afterglow, and even The Archer. Enjoy!

Welcome back to Evolution of a Snake. In today's episode, The Snakes recount the many events that happened during MTV's lifeless carcass: the VMAs. It was, for once, a semi-exciting year with many gag-worthy performances. Taylor Swift's fashion choices are of course, dissected and cheered over, as are her interesting Tayvis Pilled speeches. Elsewhere: this year is declared as the SabMA's, thanks to Sabrina Carpenter's deeply referential and iconic medley. Chappell Roan gets her Joan of Arc flowers without an untimely fiery end, and Katy Perry is booed for being herself. Join the Patreon for Zack's full VMA Reaction and weekly bonus episodes! https://www.patreon/com/swiftologist

GET WEEKLY BONUS EPISODES OF EOAS HERE: https://www.patreon.com/swiftologist Welcome back to The Taylor Swift Podcast. In today's episode, we gaze at the mammoth, seismic, alluring, shocking, intimidating European leg of Eras. It's no secret that the HBIC has developed a fondness for gagging her audience, and gag us she did, with these high-level, occasionally terrible but frequently excellent pairings of various songs throughout her discography. We rank the best and worst nights and create our very best list of mashups we would've gagged for. There were wins. And there were losses. Enjoy!

In today's episode, the Snakes take calls from the audience and cover some hot topics in the Taylorverse. We start with a direct example of Taylor's impact: Sabrina Carpenter's triumphant latest release, Short n' Sweet. The Shawnmila of it all is a telling and juicy preface to this 'Taydaughter's' debutante ball. Then it's onto another Taydaughter...Olivia Rodrigo, and whether Sour can be compared to Fearless and/or Debut. Finally, we muse on the evolution of Taylor Nation as a marketing tool. Get one more hour of this on Patreon each and every week! https://www.patreon.com/swiftologist

In this episode of Evolution of a Snake, THE Taylor Swift Podcast, we do our best to rank the muses in Taylor Swift's catalog objectively. Though there is a subjective 'hotness' category, we strive to view these purses for their contributions to the discography and lore, and also by their impact on Taylor's relationship to love (as written through her songs) going forward. If you're craving more EOAS, you can find us weekly on https://www.patreon.com/swiftologist

Today's episode: Charli Xcx & Taylor Swift's reactions to Sympathy is a Knife, creating our dream Eras Tour setlists working with the confines of the existing show, and whether the Taylor's Version project will continue or not. All of this and much more in our monthly call-in segment 1800-Phone-A-Snake, where we turn to the congregation for questions. If you'd like to participate in the future and hear ONE MORE HOUR of this conversation, join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/swiftologist

Welcome back to Evolution of a Snake. In this episode, we're introducing a new format: Sister Songs. This is a series where we draw parallels and themes between two (or more!) songs from different points in Taylor Swift's discography. On the menu today is an evergreen connective tissue: Taylor's musings on fame, being replaced, and ageing. Initially, we were inspired by the mashup she performed for Stevie Nicks in Dublin. But as we got into our in-depth lyrical analysis, it quickly became clear there are more than just two songs to pay attention to. We delve into Nothing New and Mirrorball to flesh out our analysis and better understand how Taylor's relationship to the public eye has evolved but also stayed the same over the years. As always, you can find more EOAS on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/swiftologist