Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard - Flightless Bird: Taylor Swift

Episode Date: April 9, 2024

In this week's Flightless Bird, a new format that we will bust out occasionally called "American Gods." David, Monica, and Rob pick an American that's reached fever status. They share their initial thoughts, before going away for a week of research and "assignments" to do - gathering together again to share what they've learned. This week, we look at Taylor Swift - what we know, what we think we know, and what we definitely don't know! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I'm a flightless bird, touchdown in America. Okay we're going to try something new today. Yeah, we are. We're calling it American Gods. Yes. Because we thought about American heroes, but American heroes sounds too earnest. Yeah, and that is not us. American Gods are not actually not earnest.

We're going to release these episodes from time to time. We don't have an exact schedule, but every couple of months one of them is going to pop up. And I can't wait to learn more about these American gods. You know, we're talking, I don't know if celebrities are the right word. Sometimes they will be. They could be political figures. Leaders.

Exactly. They are Americans who have been elevated within the world of society and pop culture to the level of God. Yes. And we just want to deep dive into them and also what's made them become godly to us. Because, I mean, we're all trying to do good in life. But some people do ascend to the status where everyone knows their name. The reasons they ascend can be good, they can be bad.

And what we want to try and do, the show is going to be in two halves. So the first half, we're just going to bring our thoughts to the table. I'll argue, I'll probably know less because I'm not American. I'm here to be educated. And then that first half, we're going to come up with a lot of questions. So there's going to be things we don't know. And we're going to go away with a little assignment, a little bit of homework. And part two will be us coming in with some fact bombs for you all. We decided we would start with a goddess. A goddess, yes. That I personally elevate, I do elevate to, I don't, I don't.

You do. I don't, I don't elevate anyone to a god. I actually think that's very dangerous. No, and to be clear, yeah, this is, the name is slightly tongue in cheek. We don't think these people are literal gods. We don't, but people are literal gods We don't but people do people do who are we going to talk about? Miss Tay Taylor Swift Taylor Swift Taylor Swift

I mean we've been talking about Taylor on and off for like a year at this point and also You've been teasing that we might do a flightless bird on her Yes been teasing that we might do a flightless bird on her. Yes, that's kind of where this came from. Because I did, I had an idea of doing a Taylor Swift episode. So I bought tickets to her documentary. I went to the Grove at about 7pm. I'd watch the early TikToks and Instagram videos of just the audiences going crazy. And I thought this would be that.

Let's just say this night wasn't. This was the most reserved crowd I've ever been in. I approached a few fans to talk about it with my little microphone. They were all really shy to talk about it. And so the whole Taylor Swift standalone episode just didn't get off to a good start. And so we're elevating her to God status. And we're going to just bring our thoughts to the table about this woman. Because I think we have slightly differing thoughts about Taylor. Look, should we just start with you? I want to know about your relationship with this woman, what you think of her and, yeah, but mainly where it started for you. I remember hearing Tim McGraw, her first hit that hit the radio.

And I remember hearing them. On the actual radio? I heard on the radio. And I remember hearing that. On the actual radio? I heard on the radio. Like car radio, I love this. Yes, in Georgia. So it might have been on a country station. So how old would have you have been? In my head, I was in college, but I can't be.

This is like one of those where the memory. No, everything starts to blur. Because let me look up when that song came out. Cause that's the thing. We forget that she's been around for a while. For so long. With a lot of output. She genre hopped, right?

She was originally country. She was country. Country girl. And then became kind of country pop and then pop. And then further into the career with folklore and ever more, more of a, what's it called? This keeps changing. Folky.

Folky. Yeah. Folky. She brought Justin Vernon in from Bonnevere for some of that. Oh really? Right. Yeah. So she's hopped.

She's really bounced her way. And that's incredible, right? That's so hard to do, to jump genres. I feel every musician, every artist I like to, they stick to a genre, they never move. And to be able to move around genre, it is a crazy ability to have. Okay, so Tim McGraw came out in 2006. So that I'm right.

Is that an album or a song? It's a song. Okay. And a singer. A song about a singer, yes. Wait, do you not know that? No, I don't know who this, I don't know what this is. Tim McGraw? No, who's Tim McGraw? He's a huge. Yes. Wait, do you not know? No, I don't know who this is. I don't know who Tim McGraw is. No, who's Tim McGraw? He's a huge country star.

All right. Okay. Oh my God. Wait, so the song's not with him. It's about him. Yeah, it's about him. Oh, I thought they had like a duet as well. You heard of him. No, no, no. All right. Okay. The song is called Tim McGraw and it's like- An ode to this man. Are you a fan of Tim McGraw? It's a love song. I was. Okay. I mean, this is all so fascinating because I grew up in the South So I knew Tim McGraw. The idea that you guys don't know who that is

I know who it is. I'm not a... Is actually shocking to me. You know, so country as a genre is something from New Zealand Look, there are country musicians in New Zealand, certainly But they're not you don't make a living out of being a country musician generally from New Zealand. Look, there are country musicians in New Zealand, certainly, but they're not, you don't make a living out of being a country musician, generally in New Zealand. You need to do a flightless bird on country music. I do, don't I?

Yes. So I need to go to what's the ground zero for like country town? Tennessee. Nashville. Nashville. Has a ton of up, and she did, she went to Nashville as a young kid. So obvious. It's something I haven't thought about doing as a topic and literally until now. It'll be so fun. Like if you go to a Honky Tonk bar in Nashville, they're so fun. Country music's great.

I have such an affinity for it and that's where she started. And so I heard Tim McGraw and I liked it, but I wasn't enamored by her or anything. You'll be all right. this is a catchy song. Catchy song, young girl, new artist, cool. And that's sort of how I felt about her always. I've always liked her and always think her music is very catchy. But the level, it skyrocketed last year. It did, right?

It did. It's hit some kind of cultural moment where it's like when we talk about AI hitting this moment where suddenly it's just going to become so smart overnight. It feels like that happened to Taylor. She was already big. She was already huge, but this is God status. I think something happened. I mean, I want to give credit to her because she's an impeccable businesswoman and I deeply

respect her. I wanna pick her brain so badly. But I think what really happened is women in her age, me, I'm a couple of years older than her, we hit this new level of understanding ourselves. It's a time of female empowerment and women understanding their place in the world and trying to.

So she's sort of aligned with this moment, this bigger shift. She's become a mascot for a strong woman. And it's this millennial female, I think that has looked to be like is smart works. I don't know the stats, but my guess is the percentage of millennial women who work is extremely high. We have money. A lot of us are not in relationships

or like marriage rate is falling. And that's interesting because that's so much of her stuff is relatable, right? Cause it is generally about her lived experience with relationships. So that's a big part of her thing, right? A lot of it is about her relationships, but her experience in the relationship,

it's not like a general love song. Right. It's about her and therefore it's about me. It's about a woman of that age. I also have heard this thing, and I don't know if it's true, but I believe it, that my generation, give or take five years, like within this, I guess millennial, but not full millennial.

Like my brother's a millennial, he doesn't count as this. So it's in the year 30s, mid 30s, that gen is the most nostalgic generation because we have the advent of the phone sliced through our adolescence. So we really, really remember what it was like to be adolescent without it and then with it. I see.

Yeah, it's like this dramatic shift. Exactly. That we look back to that time almost. Yeah. We have a nostalgia for a time before, whereas Gen X has that too, but it's different because technology hit once they were passed. Yeah, yeah. We remember the before times. Exactly.

When, yeah, the internet wasn't as, wasn't, yeah, I mean, I remember, cause I'm 41, I remember being 16 and 17 and yeah, like we were just getting phones and shit. I remember when we got the internet, when we had dial-up modems, that was the before times. Exactly. But we, we had enough time for it to impact our social lives and impact the way we communicated with people, but enough time before it too.

So anyway, so I've read that before. I've heard that before. It really rings true. And I think the eras tour made this nostalgic generation reflect on like, And go, holy shit. Yes. On all of our own eras. Coming of age for a lot of people.

I guess, I guess. Yeah. And I hadn't thought about the construction of that tour as actually being that important. Obviously I was thinking, oh, she's looking back through her career. But when you look at it with that frame, you're like, what a masterful thing to do because you've got an entire audience going on this incredibly emotional ride, thinking about their own lives as well as like, oh my God, there's that song I like. Exactly. Wait, just quickly, Rob, what's your relationship? And we want to be honest here because I'm- With Taylor? Yeah. I feel I'm probably going to be the most skeptical about Taylor. Yeah. But yeah, Rob, what's your relationship? And we want to be honest here, cause I'm- With Taylor? Yeah, I feel I'm probably gonna be the most skeptical about Taylor.

Yeah. But, yeah, Rob, where do you sit? I don't listen to her music, but I respect her as a musician. Like, she, even this last tour, she brought out a lot of really cool female artists. She had Phoebe Bridgers out. Oh, you love Phoebe? Yeah. Gracie Abel.

Hair more, Gracie Abrams, Heim sisters, doing stuff with Bon Affair, which I like Bon Affair. So musically, I respect her. I was never into country and I'm not into country pop. So for me, it was never something I listened to. But have you seen a Taylor Swift show? Have you been? No.

Right. I've been to one, I went to one in New Zealand, Red. Was that an album? Oh yeah, Red. I think just after Red, she went to one in New Zealand, Red, was that an album? Oh yeah, Red. I think just after Red, she came, whatever that was, she came, so a lot of the show felt country, but then it was like also during her, oh no, here's a pop star, that is like a big deal.

And it was a packed out stadium in New Zealand, Taylor Swift felt big then. Right. And I went in, cynical, I went in with a friend who loved Taylor Swift and I left going, oh no, like she's talented as hell. This is great. But just since then, and especially, you know, you mentioned this last year of her reaching this whole new level, it's just been an interesting time to be an American, to see that happen. Because I went

to the Super Bowl at Rob's house. He had a few people over, so I'm trying to become more American, you know, eating snacks and watching these big men play. And obviously this whole Travis, Kelsey, that I find, look, I find it hilarious. I find it fascinating. It's like prom to me. It's like my idea of what prom is. And part of me is like, this is great, but there's also this really cynical part of me that looks at it and goes, this could not be more American. You've got like the high school football star dating the prom queen.

And that's on one level, I don't know why it probably says more about me. Part of it I'm like, people and love is great, but then I look at it, it's too much. You think it's too on the nose? Kind of, I'm like, I feel like it's too American. So I want to know about how you feel about this, because I also come from reading a few headlines

and watching them kissing on a big screen at the football. Well, what you don't know, but which is actually very interesting as an observer, she does not identify as the prom queen at all. And that her early eras, you know, her like speak now era and some of her huge early songs are about that. I mean, there's a whole song saying, she's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers. Like she is the girl on the bleachers.

She's not the prom queen. She's the outsider. Yeah, she's not that person. Yes. And it's hilarious because of course she's the prom queen right now of the world. But for her, she is not. She is the girl who couldn't get the football star. And so for her, this is such a full circle that she has achieved that. She has this American dream. Yeah, it's not what she set out to do. So it's kind of surreal that she's the one that is in this position.

Well, it's like I wasn't ever able to have this and now I can't. And so I think a lot of people who have been following her for a long time, they connect with that. It's like, oh, my God, she's with the football star. Like she wanted that or manifest that or whatever. So it's like an aspirational thing. I think so. Now look, I have my own opinions on Travis.

Because he's also exploded recently, right? I read this amazing article about him and maybe I should bring this in for part two. I need to reread it, but it was basically the making of him and how he has this, as everyone who like makes it in this town has, has a team and how they very carefully constructed his entire life. But the wild card is they never expected the Daily Something to happen. So like, this is like a cherry on the top,

but they're being directing him in a way where he would be very mindfully bigger, not just a football player, but like a celebrity. A brand. A brand. Which everyone's doing. It's America. It's America.

I mean, I think it actually is more than just America at this point, but definitely very American to... We're all brands now. I mean, it's bizarre. Definitely. That's what social media has given us, right? Exactly. Just so quickly, Travis, and again, I know nothing here.

Is he like a good wholesome guy? Is he a jock? Do we know? He's like a man's man. He's a man's man. He's a classic football player. A good football player. He's a good player.

He was good before Taylor. Yeah. The only thing I don't like about that narrative or the narrative that I spelled out, which is, oh my gosh, she was a girl on the bleachers and now she got the football star, which I believe in my heart, she thinks, right? Like she feels excited that-

That this is happening. Yeah, she got the most popular guy in high school. Yeah. But what I find upsetting is no, no, no, no, no. He got the most popular person in the whole world. Like he is the one winning here. And I want that to be the narrative. And that's the, cause that's the truth.

Yeah. Well, you're right. Because the number of new fans that that team or that football has cut, like has come in through her, right? Like it's the biggest peak in people's interests in football and forever. She is the get. Yeah, totally. I wish you don't often see.

Exactly. Well, and it's sad that that's the narrative for her. And look, that's what my belief is as someone who I can sort of relate to that. I can relate to that feeling of like, well, I'm never going to be on homecoming quarter. I'm never going to like, that's not me. That's not my position in this world. And then to find yourself in it. You're like, holy mack.

Yeah. You're going to like try to have all those things you couldn't have. Yeah. I don't know really what's going on in her mind, but I want her to know that she's the get. Totally. Yeah, because it's sort of clear to the rest of the world. I think so. I agree with you completely. It is funny. We do think these people know what we know, but everyone's sort of an insecure mess down deep and it doesn't matter and I think that can almost get worse if you get more fame because you're so more

aware of that. So yeah, of course you'll have all this shit going on. Yeah. Let's talk about our favorite songs. Okay. The record I like is 1989. Beautiful record. I don't like Shake It Off. I think that song's annoying. Okay. Everything else on that record, I like. It's the only record of hers I've listened to all the way through and that I really enjoy.

That's it. I don't know any of the other things. You haven't listened to any of the new, like the ones during the pandemic? I've listened to nothing. Okay. So look for part two, what should I listen? Like what should I go away? I don't think I've listened. Like I've heard to nothing. Okay. So look for part two, what should I listen? Like what should I go away? I don't think I've listened.

Like I've heard obviously songs. Okay. Give me and give Rob and I a different album each that we can go in. Oh, and then deep dive in? Yeah. That we can just listen and think about a bit and come back with. I would like to give you guys a list right now of songs to make a playlist. A song would be great.

Okay. So I have one to be fair. I already have one. What's it called? It's the same list or we just get our own list. I think you should do the same list so that we can. Yeah, that's good. I made a list of songs for someone I was dating for a minute. This is really nice.

Okay. What bought this, and apologies if you've talked about this before, but like what bought on that? Were you like, they didn't know Taylor and apologies if you've talked about this before, but like what bought on that were you like, they didn't know Taylor and you're like, listen to this motherfucker. Basically this person and I had different musical interests and we were talking about that. What genre are they like? What were they into?

They were going to a concert. Okay. We had a date before they were going to this concert and I didn't know who that person was. Okay. Who that band was. Yeah. And so they were informing me on that person and then they said, what do you listen to?

And I was like, well, pretty much- He has a hundred Taylor Swift songs. Pretty much Taylor at this point exclusively. He said, kind of what Rob is saying, I respect her. I like her theory, but I don't really know. And I think he said, I'll send you these songs, you send me. This is really nice, I like this.

So it didn't work out with him. But. But the playlist remains. The playlist remains, and then I made one for Callie, because she also was like, I need to get more in. Give us like maybe five. Oh, five, no, I'm giving you a lot more than that. I think as each taking an album is maybe good too. Okay. Well, can we do both? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Absolutely.

It's like when you did your list of... You know, good. You can't just do five. I'm going to read, because maybe our listeners will want to also make this playlist. This is my playlist. Okay. This was the one I made for Callie. Dress, Bad Blood featuring Kendrick Lamar. I love Kendrick. Don't Blame Me, I Know Places, Taylor's version. All Too Well, 10-Minute Version, Taylor's version. Oh, 10 minutes.

Yeah. New Romantics, Taylor's version. My Tears Ricochet, which is my favorite Taylor Swift song of all time. Of all time, okay. Mm-hmm. Clean, which is in my top five. The One, Better Man, Taylor's version. Speak Now, Taylor's version.

Dear John, Taylor's version. Mad Woman, also in my top five. Treacherous, Taylor's version. Nothing New, featuring Phoebe Bridgers. Okay. Anti-Hero, Nothing New, featuring Phoebe Bridgers, Antihero, Exile, featuring Bonnie Bear, Invisible String, The Last Great American Dynasty, Party Game, Cruel Summer, Love It.

No, these are the best songs. Look, she has so many. Yeah, absolutely, she's prolific. I'm gonna read these, but I'm gonna send this to you. Okay, so you guys don't have to write it down. I got most of them. I'm going to send them to you. Okay. Antihero, exile, invisible string, the last great American dynasty, cardigan, cruel summer, lover, delicate,

willow, tis the damn season, enchanted, Taylor's version, fearless, Taylor's version, wildest dreams, Taylor's version, and blank space. Okay, if you listen to all those. You'll get the career. You'll get the errors. Exactly, you'll get the whole thing. Okay, cool. Now, if I was gonna assign you both albums. Can I pick mine?

That doesn't feel, okay, sure. I'm just thinking the one that I'll probably enjoy the most would be folklore. I think so, I would have assigned you folklore. Yeah, that's your kind of bullshit, Rob. It's so good. It's my favorite album. Don't say that, David.

Did Jack Antonoff do that one too? It's my favorite. It's so good. Now for you. Can you give me maybe like a country one because it's something I haven't heard of hers and I don't know much about country. That was so long ago. Okay, give me something, you know me, I like.

Well, we want to cover the eras, right? Cover the eras. Well, we can't cover the eras with just two albums. Well, that's why you guys have to. Why mean the eras of Taylor? Oh, well, I know, but I know David specifically isn't gonna like early eras. I liked 89, like 1989 felt like full of like bangers.

Is there something like that that I'd like? I mean, maybe you should do reputation. Okay. Is that earlier than 89 or that came later? I think it's right after. Okay. I'll do reputation. Do reputation.

Okay. But then if you get really hooked and you want to go back in time, do speak now. Okay. And what's our assignment on this? This is research, listen, but then like, what it was about. Yeah. I think we listened to the record and we come back with some new thoughts. I want to surprise Monica with something that she doesn't know.

Oh, I would like to do with these records. That's what I want to do. One thing for you to consider as you're listening and doing your research. Taylor is a writer on every single song she has ever put out, which is incredible. Yeah. It's incredible. Yeah, it is completely. And she, to me, the music, great.

Her voice, great. It's the lyrics. Yeah, that's the writing. Yeah, the writing. Well, I think that's what connects, right? She's got this thing, obviously, where she can connect with her fan base in a really personal way. And the lyrics are that.

She's a poet. All her communications are like that. I feel like her records have polaroids that fall out of them. I know. I know this one. That's smart and it's cool and it's genuine, which feels good.

Wait, wait, what album are you doing? Oh, I mean, I'm always doing... What do you want me to do? Do you want to give me... You want some things to do? I'm always listening to all of them. You are. I'm going to think of some activity you have to do.

Okay. I just haven't thought of it yet. Like a goire album or something? No! Comparing Contrast it to... Absolutely not. I will next time also highlight a couple of my favorite lyrics. Okay.

And I kind of want you guys to come with some lyrics you liked. Okay. Lyrics sharing. Yeah. I think that's really nice. Part two, we're going to share our lyrics. I want to look a bit more into some of her influence in America because I know there's been a lot of talk regarding election coming up,

and there have been some pieces written that she could sort of be a person that has the level of power to actually sway voters to change an election. That is remarkable to me. I wanna sort of learn a bit more about that. And talk more. She's been pretty silent as far as her political.

Normally, except she was outspoken before the last election or... Yeah, and I think she's urging people to vote. But yeah, I'm curious. I want to look a bit more. And it's also, yeah, I'm interested where she's from in America, what way she might lean. And I'm also curious about the importance of whether you do say, hey, this is who I'm voting for. Because that is a huge statement to make. It is. It's gonna come with a lot of repercussions. Especially in this current fucking world we live in that is so polarized.

Yeah, way to get some death threats is probably to come and be outspoken about politics, which is just an interesting position that she's in because she will have beliefs. At what point do you put those into the world? And at what point is her being a unifying force, which she is, more important than her creating more divide? You know what I mean?

It's complicated, I think. Yeah, it is. I just think there's not many individuals that could do a tweet that could sway the outcome of the election. I find that fascinating. So I want to think about that a bit more for part two. I feel like if it was more middle ground between the candidates, then it would be less of a thing.

Yeah. Well, that's what she did say about Trump. Yeah, completely. Yeah, it's a bit murkier this time around. Knowing you have that power and don't use it. I cannot believe we're here. I cannot believe we're here. No, it is.

I mean, that's why she's a perfect starting point because she's this giant pop figure who also has a lot of influence over, who governs this country. So yeah, let's in part two, let's come back with some lyrics. Yeah. I'm gonna listen to some of that stuff.

Can you guys please watch the doc as well? Oh, I can't just stop. So, no, I've seen, I've been to the era's thing. I went to the movies. No, no, no, no, no. Not the era's tour. I can't do the doc as well? Oh, stop. So I've seen, I've been to the heiress thing. I went to the movies. No, no, no, no, not the heiress tour. I can't do a doc as well. Miss Americana, it's so good. If you want to know about her, you have to.

Can I watch Miss Americana? Yeah. In fact, I would say you should do that before. Before the records. Yeah, because then you're learning about her. And there's a lot about her. She's had a lot of struggles with eating and there's a lot. There's a lot.

An hour on her is not really enough. That's not enough. Okay. But I'm looking forward to hearing your favorite lyrics that speak to you, why they speak to you, why you like them. Do you want me to come back with things I don't like about like, I mean, like push back or something? No, come back with things you think are legitimate criticisms.

But I don't like really doing that. I don't want to push her down. Oh yeah, like push back or something? No, you come back with things you think are legitimate criticisms. But I don't like really doing that. I don't want to push her down. No, I mean, she's going to be okay. I know, but you know what I mean. Like I just personally don't like that. No, think about if there's anything that you think, this is something that I think I reacted badly to. I think that there is anything like that. Okay, okay. I'll be critical. Be critical.

Okay, I can do it. Alright, part two soon. Stay tuned be critical. Be critical. Okay. This is good. All right. Part two soon. Stay tuned for more Flightless Bird. We'll be right back after a word from our sponsors. This episode of Flightless Bird is brought to you by Booking.com. Booking.yeah. Booking.com offers possibilities across the US for all the travelers you want to be. From cozy vacation homes to fun-filled resorts with so many choices around the US, you can book travelers you want to be. From cozy vacation homes to fun-filled resorts with so many choices around the US you can book whoever you want to be. It's true when I'm on vacation I feel like I can have a different personality. This makes me want to vacation more because I am a bad vacationer. If I don't go somewhere for work to like achieve something I can't

relax I'm all angsty so I probably need to actually check this out. Yeah, you need to go to booking.com and you need to go to a beach with like a nice sun and no work and you can be luxury David. Yeah, I wanna be luxury David. I wanna be beach side or pool side cause I do like the water, I'm gonna do that. You should do it. Okay, booking.com.

This spring, check out booking.com for your ideal hotel or vacation home, no matter where you go in the US. Book whoever you want to be on Booking.com. Booking.year. Support for Flightless Bird comes from Rocket Money. Now, do you find any subscriptions you forgot about completely? I have so many subscriptions that I accidentally forget about, and a lot of this has to do with my impulse control,

buying stuff. And I wanted to watch the Academy Awards and I didn't know how to do that. And I still couldn't find it. And I was not understanding. And I kept buying more subscriptions and more subscriptions. And then I realized it was the following weekend.

And I still have, they're all there. Thank goodness for Rocket Money, that's so annoying. And I still have, they're all there. Thank goodness for Rocket Money who's flagging. I need this because I'm one of those people that I'm sort of cheap and I will subscribe to a subscription service for a week to watch a thing. And then I forgot I've got it. I know, and sometimes you have multiples of the same. The fact is 75% of people have subscriptions

they've completely forgotten about. And that's where Rocket Money comes in. Rocket Money is a personal finance app, and it finds and cancels, which we love, your unwanted subscriptions, monitoring your spending, and it helps you lower your bills so you can grow your savings. So I can log in there and see all of my subscriptions in one place, and if I see something I don't want, Rocket Money can help me cancel it with just a couple of taps. Rocket Money has over 5 million users and has saved a total of $500 million in cancelled subscriptions, saving members up to $740 a year when using all of the app's features.

Stop wasting money on things you don't use. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to rocketmoney.com slash bird. That's rocketmoney.com slash bird. Rocketmoney.com slash bird. Rocketmoney.com slash bird. We're back. This is part two. We had a lot of homework to do, Rob and I. You guys both had a lot of homework to do.

It did feel like homework. I haven't felt like this since school, where you go home on the weekend, and you're like, oh my God, I've got all this homework to do. Yeah, how does it feel to you? We didn't have a ton of time for it either. Right. Yeah. It was fun though.

I enjoyed hoovering up Taylor Swift, someone I haven't hoovered a lot of, apart from that 89 album. Overall reflections, Rob? Takeaways from the weekend? I mean, I liked the documentary more than I expected to. I learned a lot about her. So you both watched The Doc? We both watched The Doc?

We both watched The Doc. That was our first assignment, yeah. Okay. Yeah. The documentary was really well made. It was really well made. Right? It was good.

It felt like very intimate. Yeah. I liked that you saw her be vulnerable, which I think is really bold to be like that on camera. She talks a lot about her journey with her body. Yeah. Which I think for all the girls that are so obsessed with her was a really good thing for her to do.

Yeah, and just being reminded of the constant pressure someone like that is under when they're constantly being fed photos of themselves from every angle at random times and what that does to her brain. And I was also really surprised, and Rob texted me about this actually, how crippled she was with taking validation and that journey from other people and taking it from that to having her own internal sort of happiness. You just don't think of people like that relying on other people because they're amazing and you expect them just to be okay with all that.

Yeah. Yeah, I didn't know about all her kind of falls from grace and how hard it hit each time, which though by the end of it, just made me terrified for her today. But I also think she has more tools now. I think she does. Yeah, yeah. And it's one of the beautiful things about her. And I do think when people of my age who like her were on that same journey,

where it's like things that used to take us down, won't anymore. I got a fright actually, because Joel Little popped up, and he's a New Zealand producer and I forgot that he produced a bunch of a few of her songs. So Jack Antonoff, he was in there. But then just before him, there's a little quiet man, Joel Little, who used to be in sort of a pop punk band in New Zealand. Is he your friend?

Because you know all the New Zealanders? He's not a friend. We know each other, like we're friendly to each other because it's New Zealand. And he's the loveliest man. But he was in this pop punk band and then he disappeared for like a decade. And he started producing and he produced Lorde's first record and made Lorde the superstar. And it was just funny when he pops up in the stock because I forget sometimes that Joel

is working with all these incredible people. I had the same thing with Jack because I used to see Jack's band when I was like 15. He had played in this band Steel Train. And I would see him at the little clubs in Chicago. How funny. And then now he's in this doc with Taylor Swift. Just as he's this amazing like song writing brain. And the other thing I liked about the doc is how you had these moments where she would

be realizing a song and then it would hard cut to the final performance of it. I liked that. Yeah, that was really cool because you suddenly saw this idea being birthed and then holy shit here it is executed. I get very suspicious of documentaries that they have the approval of the artist and there's so many of them at the moment and of course they're all approved by the talent and that can water stuff down because obviously they're not going to put out some scandalous documentary about themselves but I thought this was super vulnerable and honest. It was a good doc.

I was impressed with that too. She was willing to tell the story in that way. It clearly was a part of it giving her entire side. Completely. And she wasn't always flattering. And I thought that was pretty amazing. And did you get any more insight into what we were touching on about the political landscape and her being, obviously this figure that could make big changes. There was that really great scene where she was with her whole team. Yes, and her mom and dad.

And her mom and dad. Yeah, her dad. I was not a fan of him during that scene. But he was trying to protect her. I know. And you have to remember that. It was amazing to see her and then this table of old white men with like beards. Oh, I know.

That table was really incredible. Oh, that, yes. And she's just the fucking boss. I love that. Yeah, she comes in and it's just funny seeing she was like, right, this record is going to be like 20 tracks or whatever. And all these old men are like, oh yeah, sounds good. It's such a funny dynamic. It is. And I guess that, yeah, they're obviously the people in the industry, but she was leading that meeting and it was just such a funny table to look at.

God, I can't believe we didn't talk about the most important part of her. The burrito. Well, yeah, actually I think about that a lot when I eat burritos. 27, she had her first burrito. I know, it's huge. Her re-recording her music, the fact that we forgot to talk about that in the first time.

Yeah, very confusing when you go to find on Spotify, because I didn't realize she had re-recorded so many of them. Yeah. The tailoration. She's threw a bunch of them. Yeah. So that was what? It was some skufuffle with, is that a word?

Yeah, well, kerfuffle. Kerfuffle, yeah. I went for skufuffle. Kerfuffle with Scooter Braun. Exactly. And she was like, screw you guys, I'm just gonna rerecord it all. And then I own everything.

Scooter Braun and another guy. Some other dude. Scott, I think is his name. Right. Borchetta. Yeah, it's Scott, right? Scott Borchetta. Scott Borchetta, who she wanted to buy her music back

and they weren't letting her. And she was like, fuck this. Power move. It's such a power move. Huge power move. And it's hard to do. Can you imagine having to go back? She could be spending that time working on new albums

and she's like, it's important to me that I own this. And it's such a good lesson for anyone in any creative industry and especially women who are just like, everything's run by men and you're just like, okay, I guess it's fine. Yeah. No. Yeah.

Kind of leading the way in that respect. Yeah. Yeah. So, love the doc. I took a few notes on here. Okay, great. See if there's anything else. The cat backpack was cool that you had on.

Do you guys know about the conspiracy theory? No, no, I wanted to look up them though. I thought about doing that last night for David. There's a conspiracy theory. Okay. You know that movie Argyle? Oh, okay. This is all coming into place.

Yeah. I haven't seen it, but yes. I haven't seen it either, but Matthew Vaughn, right? Directed it. I think the theory is that she wrote it. Wrote the movies. Under a pseudonym. Yes.

The movie is based on the book, Argyle. No one knows who writes it. It was a pen name. Yeah. And this cat thing. Yeah. Okay. This all falls into place.

Cause yeah, when I saw the cat, I was like, I've only seen this ad nauseam on that fucking Argyle trailer, which way shoved down our throats. So yeah, in the documentary, she has the cat backpack with an open hole or whatever. Cats making a very similar facial expression to the Argyle cat. Oh, that's so funny. So people think, and it looks like her cat, Meredith. Oh, it's good, Meredith.

She doesn't have time to write a movie. No, she does. That's the other thing about her. She's so prolific. She's re-recording all her music. She's doing the Arrows Tour. She announced a new album. Her capacity is insane. She's a busy woman. Busy lady. But yeah, so she might have written Argyle. It's good to have in this day and age a really pure conspiracy theory. I agree.

And that's a fun one to have. And I fully support all of it. It's not harmful at all. Yeah, exactly. It's one of the rare non-harmful conspiracy theory. And that's a fun one to have. And I fully support harmful at all. Yeah, exactly. It's one of the rare non harmful conspiracy theories. Speaking of pure, this is not about Taylor, but it's an update. Okay, update time. Last week, we did true crime. I've since watched Dear Zachary. Oh, yeah, we had some text exchanges during the year. You settled in. I was surprised when you texted because it was quite late already. It was past your bedtime. Yeah, it was.

But I was ready for a movie. What did you think of it? Have you recovered yet? Not really. It is so devastating. And I was really mad at you that you made me watch that. I kind of warned you a little bit. You tried, but not with enough.

Are you glad that you watched it? Because it's so devastating, right? That's the one that I watched in the cinema, and the whole cinema was crying a lot of the time. It's so much further on emotionally than other docs. Yeah. It hits you. It does.

And again, it's one of those something happens. Whilst they're making it. Yeah. So you think you're watching one thing and then you're like, Oh God. Oh my God. Yeah, devastating. So yeah, take care if you do watch Dear Zachary. It's a lot. It's upsetting and it's a lot, but I am glad I watched it. I think it's impactful. It's incredibly personal Impactful and meaningful. And if it was important to the filmmaker, then I think that's, you

know, it's his personal journey important to us. Exactly. Because, yeah, it's such a small personal story. It's not about any specific big issue. It's not Blackfish. But it's so harrowing. Thanks for watching. Yeah. And now I'm scared to watch the others on your list. I think next will be the Jinx. But I've seen that, I love it.

Oh, you've done the Jinx. Yeah. Okay, next will be- The Imposter. The Imposter. Okay, I'll do that one next. That won't devastate you as much. Yeah, watch Reputation by Taylor Swift and then Dear Zachary is a double-

No, Miss Americana. Oh, Miss Americana. Oh, Reputation is the album. He watched the wrong documentary. Oh no, what was I watching? I think there is a Reputation is the album. You watched the wrong documentary. Oh no, what was I watching? I think there is a reputation thing on Netflix, but I think it's just her concert. Right. Because I went to see the Eris film in the cinema, and I would say that Mr. Americana

was just so much better. I thought the Eris thing was just kind of rushed to a cinema. It wasn't shot particularly. It's also, it's a concert movie. Like it's going to be, I don't know. Yeah, but it was just a concert. There were no behind the scenes. There were no interstitials. It was just, it was, it felt a bit rushed. So I would say if you want to watch a good Taylor Swift doc, watch Miss Americana. Yeah. I was hoping, knowing that there was going to a ERA's doc, I was really hoping that there'd be some behind the scenes,

some interviews with her. What was her regimen to stay afloat during that? Yeah, because Beyonce doc came out, I think about a month after, because they had more time. There was much more of interstitials. You got to see behind the scenes, you got to see the process, and I really loved that. And I wish that that Taylor doc just had a bit more. But if you want to go and just read the concert then it was

a great time, but I just wish there was a little bit more added value. What do you feel about what America has done about pitting Taylor against Beyonce, pitting them against each other? I mean it's ridiculous. I mean America loves to pit people against each other and again Rob was texting me with me about, this was in the documentary, that Kanye moment, where Kanye took the stage and made both of us really resent Kanye even sort of more than we do. You know, she's just this kid who's won this award and suddenly... Well, her just standing up there by herself while everyone was booing.

Yeah. And I, but what I forgot is that Kanye was basically saying like Beyonce should have got the award So it's always been fuel this sort of rift between the two of them Yeah, and it's so interesting because obviously Beyonce at the moment is going and doing a country record She's doing her take on that which is this interesting counter I mean I think back to like when I was a teenager like Blur and Oasis would be against each other There's always this certain fun in pitting bands against each other, but it's so manufactured and so stupid. And I will say, I think it's a little different when bands are pitted

as opposed to two women solo artists, because it's a part of this bigger problem we have of only one woman is allowed to be on top. It seems a bit more personal, right? And a bit more pointed in a way. That I don't think either of them are participating in. Like they don't care. No, I think they both seem to be fine with each other. Yeah. I think Beyonce turned up to Taylor Swift's documentary.

Yes, and vice versa. And yeah, this is really novel idea that you're allowed to like two artists at the same time. Exactly. It doesn't have to be a death match between the two. Yeah, support as many women as you can. Totally. OK, so that was a doc.

You got me to listen to Reputation and Speak Now. Speak Now, I had to turn it off. You, but it wasn't for you. It wasn't for me. OK. I tried. It was obviously, it's great to hear her country roots. And early days.

And I loved hearing how much she has changed and morphed over that time. Reputation, I dug. You liked it? I dug it a lot. Yeah, it was good. Okay, what was your favorite song? I wrote down, Don't Blame Me. I love that song.

That was the one that stood out to me. I liked to absorb an album over months to really let it get under my skin. I haven't had a chance to do that. But that was the track I really, really liked. And apparently the album was a response to 1989 not being that critically well received, which I didn't know about at the time. Because I really liked 89.

It was like very synthy and I really liked that record. Apparently this was kind of like a response to all the media scrutiny about 89. My knowledge around Reputation is that it was, she went dark for a long time. She's gone. Because all of this media scrutiny and then the stuff with Kanye again, remember the song? That's right, sampled. Yeah.

And he said, he said that Taylor approved it and she didn't and they cut together her voice saying, yeah, as him saying that we'll still have sex, whatever. And doing it at Gates constantly. So that all happened. And then it was like Kim was involved and and then it was like Kim's people were against Taylor. And so she just went fully dark. And then when she came back, she just put a snake up.

Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. I see. I like that record. Good. Good. What did you listen to, Rob? Folklore. Folklore. Which was her, what, 2020 quarantine- COVID.

Surprise album. Yeah. More folksy-ish? Yeah, folksy. Sort of in your vein ballpark of what you might like. Yeah. I mean, a little more poppy and electronic-y than I would normally. I mean, it reminded me a lot of the Bonavere, Forever Forever Ago album, when he wrote that. The shots of her, black and white in the forest. There was a lot of lore around that Bonavere album.

Him getting sick, going into the woods in Wisconsin. In a cabin, and writing that record and recording it by himself. It's got this whole story around it. So I kind of felt that with this album a little bit. Okay. Did you overall like it or no? I didn't dislike it. I'm not going to listen to it.

Oh wow. Okay. But. I mean, that's the thing with me. I'm like, will I go back and listen to more of this? And I mean, it's so interesting because it's such a, music's such a personal thing. My idea of a good time is this seems like a big dumb band, like Slipknot.

I'm that person. And it's what my brain likes, but it's that thing of appreciating other things, but I don't know if I'll listen to more or not. Does it mean you, that's okay. Yeah. I appreciate it, but I also seen her journey of everything. I don't think it's also written for David and I.

It's such a personal thing for, I think, women listening to her music that it's fine if it's not for us. Totally. That's true. Did you have a favorite song? The Exile featuring Bon Iver. Okay, Exile, classic. Another thing I said I was going to come back with and think a bit more about was her influence

on American politics. I had one more question about folklore. It said it was produced. So it was produced by Erin from the national, which I like that. And then Jack Antonoff. But then it says produced by Joe Allen. Oh, Joe is her ex boyfriend. He helped write a couple of the songs. They wrote a couple of the songs together. So he must have done. Who's that? Who's that man? They were together for like five years.

Was he the secret one? He is her last boyfriend before Travis. Was he the secret boyfriend she had in the documentary? Oh yeah, who was the boy? Yeah. Joe. Oh, it was Joe. Yeah, he was notoriously very private.

Okay. And did not want, um- Didn't want all the craziness that came with the fame. Exactly. Which is kind of interesting because they broke up and now she's in this very public relationship coming out of a very private one. Yeah, yeah, like the most public. I think it would be sort of scary to date someone like Taylor for so many reasons, but

I would always be worried about if the breakup came, you know, oh God, the song, there's gonna be a song and everyone's gonna know it's about me. I'll poke holes in that because- Taylor singing about all my shortcomings. Most people are singing about people in their lives. They are, but with Taylor, you know who it is.

We've done this, I think. Like, we, the world, the Swifties have made it. And part of it's her marketing. It's all part of this business where, who is it about? What is it? And we gotta figure it out. It would be in the back of my mind. Well, it happens with every band.

Even like Phoebe Bridgers, Paul Maskell, and now Bo Burnham. Everyone knows what this love song is about. I mean, it's been from the beginning of time. Every song is about basically a love interest. And the more famous you are... I don't run into this in slipknot. It's not something I'm writing about. Corey Taylor's wife screaming.

That would be like domestic abuse. That's bad. No, you're right though. It's always been a thing. In the back of my mind, I just feel, oh man, what's the song going to be about? Maybe it would be nice if you were nice. Maybe it would be nice if I was nice. We wouldn't be broken up and the song wouldn't be written, I suppose. Sometimes people break up just because it's not a good fit.

Because it's not a good fit. I also think it's highly unlikely during my time here I will date Taylor. So I'm not saying that's not out. We're not ruling it out though. I appreciate that. After this episode, she might fall in love with you. She might listen and really get, the guy really gets my music. He really gets it.

He really gets it. Well, don't blame me as a great pick. So yeah. I thought it was, that was the one for me. Her influence in American voting, obviously that was part of that documentary as well. She got fired up about politics. I found the article on Newsweek, Newsweek did a poll and found that 18% of voters say they'd be more likely or significantly more likely to vote for a candidate endorsed by

Swift. Really? 18%? It's pretty high. I mean, that could definitely make or break. Totally. But then there's another thing, I read another stat that when she posted on Instagram last year about voter registration, 35,000 people sign up immediately, which is a lot, but also

she's got 270 million followers. So not that much. So the call, I'm just wondering how big the call to action is. My guess is for the most part her audience is already registered or immediately registers as soon as they turn 18. Was that for the just the Tennessee election that you're referencing or that was for the country? That was for.

Because in the documentary it was specific to. This was for the country. Okay. This is like a bigger thing after. A couple years ago. Yeah. Newsweek's poll found that an endorsement from Swift would have the greatest impact on younger voters.

Roughly three in 10 Americans under 35 said they'd be more likely to vote for a candidate backed by Swift. Wow. So yeah, she's got a big sway. So it'll be interesting to see by the time this episode comes out or after whether she does back someone or not. Well, there's an article in CNN, Belgian University launches course to analyze Taylor Swift lyrics. Oh, this is for you.

It's called Swift-er-ature. Get University in Belgium. I should take this course. I wonder if you can do it remote. Yeah. That'd be the one for you. Oh my God. Do you get the certificate mounted on the wall?

Literature Taylor's version. I mean, she's got a lot of literature. She's got a lot of songs. That'd be the one for you. Question. Oh my god, you get the certificate mounted on the wall? Literature Taylor's version. It's really, I mean, she's got a lot of literature. She's got a lot of songs. The other thing I said I'd look into was, see there was an article about Travis Kelsey. Kelce? Kelsey. Kelsey.

And the New York Times wrote the piece and I just wanted to read a little excerpt. In the only recent year in which Travis Kelsey and the Kansas City Chiefs weren't playing in the Super Bowl, the NFL star was driving around LA in early February with his business managers Andre and Aaron Hines, marveling at billboards featuring Dwayne Johnson, the actor and entertainer better known as The Rock. Man, I don't think I'll ever be famous as The Rock, Mr. Kelsey said. His co-managers looked at each other and they were like, yes, you can. And that's how the article starts. And it's basically about how these two men, Aaron and Andre, just built up his whole timeline, not factoring in the Taylor Swift factor.

And- Just building him a brand. Just building him a brand. Yeah. Which everyone's doing. Totally. Mr. Kelsey's first glint of mainstream publicity came in 2015, featuring Complex magazine, in which he stood on a pool table wearing burgundy velvet Versace jumpsuit and Gucci sunglasses. A short time later, Aaron Eynes got a call from a producer from E about a reality dating

show. I was like, absolutely not, Mr. Eynes said. The brothers eventually relented, thinking a TV show might open some doors. After catching Kelsey, which ran for eight episodes, never did find Mr. Kelsey's true love. They agreed that reality television was one and done. Instead, Mr. Kelsey, a Lifeline comedy fan, gave his co-managers a lofty golder chase.

He wanted to be on SNL. And the article traces how he ended up on SNL. Oh, hosting. I thought it was a cast member. Oh yeah, hosting. During the opening monologue. So yeah, it just bases, this piece is really compelling kind of charts how he got to SNL after saying we're going to do this. And it's all so carefully plotted. And I always think these people just end up there organically, but of course there's a team around them, like pushing them there.

And a vision. I want that. I want to be on SNL, okay? What are the steps to get to SNL? Yeah, what are we gonna do? And like, I know you have to have talent there, but it's the team as well. Well, I mean, the football, he's good at football.

Like, there's no getting around that. He plays good football. Okay, I found my lyrics. Okay, your assignment was to share some of your faves. Some lyrics I like. Okay, hit us. Okay, this is from my tears ricochetaves. Some lyrics I like. Okay. Hit us. Okay. This is from My Tears Ricochet. This is my favorite song.

It's on folklore, right? It's on folklore. Yeah, I know. And you didn't like it that much. You're like the kid in school. I recognized. They did the work. I think that was the one song I recognized

out of the whole album. I didn't know any of the others. A lot of my favorite songs are off folklore. That's my favorite album. Which one? Okay. So this is from My Tears Ricochet and it's about being fucked over basically in business.

I feel uncomfortable reading these. That's okay. It's always, no, that's the thing. It's always uncomfortable reading lyrics because they shouldn't be read. It's like when people post on Facebook, used to post song lyrics as their Facebook status updates. Right. Just a very funny thing to do. I don't think I can do this. Can you sing it? We'll sing it. It's like when people post on Facebook used to post song lyrics as their Facebook status updates

Just a very funny thing. I don't think I can do this. We'll sing it. We can auto tune it No, we know it's on the context lean into the awkwardness You want me to do it? Yeah, do it do it to counter this. I'm gonna read some slipknot lyrics to you afterwards That's a good idea and that'll make you feel sound worse It's okay, here's some slipknot lyrics. It's going to be worse than what you're going to read. Everyone hates me now, so fuck it. Blood's on my face and my hands. I don't know why.

I'm not afraid to cry, but that's none of your business. Whose life is it? Get it, see it, feel it, eat it, spin it around so I can spit in its face. I want to leave without a trace, because I don't want to die in this place. They're not going to be more embarrassing than that. That's scary. It's not scary. It's very silly.

All lyric. And when you hear that song, you're like, oh, so intense. Read it out. Terrible. You're right. It happens. Okay. So these are not long like that. These are just like couplets.

So the first one, my tears ricochet. And I still talk to you when I'm screaming at the sky. And when you can't sleep at night, you hear my stolen lullabies. That's really nice. Okay, now this one is from All Too Well. And you call me up again just to break me like a promise, so casually cruel in the name of being honest.

I like that. Right? They're really good. She's a great writer. You know, these are great lines. I like that they're not rhyming too much. Yeah. I've just found a Slipknot song

that I think maybe is about a relationship. Oh my God, let's hear it. I've never listened to the lyrics because they're being screamed. Who needs another mess? We could just start over. Just look me in the eyes and say I'm wrong. Now there's only emptiness, venomous and sippid.

I think we're done and I'm not the only one. That's maybe about a relationship. That sounds like it. Do you know any Slipknot lyrics? No, I never really listened to them. So you, oh. Yeah, that's a song called Psychosocial, which is, I've listened to it so much, but they're kind of screaming and it's more about the guitar solos.

Right, are they screaming like, that a mess? Like what? A little bit like that. Okay, okay. My brain doesn't really care about the lyrics too much. It's more like the vibe. Jess and I have had this conversation before because I'm always trying to play Taylor Swift songs for him.

He does like her and I brought him to the concert. But he's the same. I mean, he is not Slipknot. He's like Whitney Houston, but he likes sound over lyrics. He likes the melody as opposed to listen. Now, that's a really interesting thing. I'm lyrics over sound across the board.

Yeah, that's really interesting. You're sound over lyrics. Yeah. I think with metal music, you have to be, because the lyrics are so silly. I think if you take the lyrics to Taha, you'll just be like, oh God, I can't take this seriously at all. If you can even understand it.

If you can even understand them in the first place. Are you sound over lyrics? If you have to pick. You have to pick. I'm like, pretty 50-50 villain. You have to pick. I'm music first. Okay.

But I think when lyrics are combined with it. Best case. If a favorite band of yours or a musician started writing terrible lyrics, eventually it would grate you. Yeah, yeah. I mean, like, Creep's not great lyrically. That's not, is it? No, you're right.

Yeah, I mean, they at least went the other way. But it's just such a song. They at least went the other way. It's such a song. Yeah, I mean, they at least want the other way. But it's just such a song. They at least want the other way. It's such a song, yeah. Interesting. I've got a friend that won't listen to a song if there's some bad grammar in it. They'll just be like,

I can't take that line seriously and they're out. Really? Yeah. Wow. Bad grammar, they're out of there. Those lyrics are great. Those are a couple. I think they're really beautiful. I love the song also on folklore called Mad Woman.

My lyric was from that. Oh shit. Okay. So did you both write down lyrics you liked? No, I didn't get that far. Okay, but Rob did. Mine was just from that. It was, does the scorpion sting when fighting back?

They strike to kill and you know I will. And it was only just from knowing her story and like how much power is behind that. That could be a slipknot lyric. Yeah. I can see that. Angst in it. The other thing I came across that I thought was quite interesting, there's this critic in New Zealand, Duncan Grieve, who I really like, and he wrote an article saying, don't

understand the appeal of Taylor Swift, let a critic explain it. And he actually made some really good points. Just really quickly, Swift started young, like really young, 11. Debut came out, she was 16. He made the point that her singles are not that important. They go out to the masses, but fans are there for the whole experience, which is unique. That her creative and business strategy is incredibly singular and he kind of likened it to how Apple operates on this whole different level to like Dell or HP.

It's just a whole other place. And he wrote that few artists in history have studied and fed their fans so well. That's right. And that's through, I think, a combination of these really personal lyrics that people take ownership of and also just how she treats her fans. And treats, but also studies is the appropriate word. She is on the comments. She is not responding.

She knows what's going on. She knows what's going on. She knows what people want and she'll do that. She plays games with Swifties and she'll drop hints and there's clues. It's a whole world. Yeah, I wrote this line down that Duncan wrote. Her albums and their packages are studded with clues,

nods and signals devoured by fans and able to be endlessly re-examined. Yeah. And so that's something that she's so, so smart with, obviously. So yeah, I mean, look, I came out of this sort of very quick weekend deep dive liking her a lot more than when I went in. I feel like I appreciate a lot of things about her. You want to date her now. I want to date her. Here's this guy, Travis Kals or Kelsey in the way. Some guy. Oh is that why you're doing it? You're like trying to be alpha like Kels.

Yeah, territorial. This guy. They do seem very happy though. I hope so. Yeah, they seem good. I really hope so. But yeah, I'd give Taylor Swift two thumbs up. Yay.

Yeah, two thumbs up. That makes me feel happy. Well thanks for the direction and what to watch and listen to, because it's like a big thing to wade into if you don't know where to begin. So you gave some good pointers. Thank you. And what are you? Where are you?

Are you two thumbs up? I agree. Yeah, I had very neutral opinion going in. I didn't think poorly. Yeah, I was more skeptical. Yeah, but yeah, I have't think. Yeah, I was more skeptical. Poorly, yeah. Right. But yeah, I have a lot of respect for her and... I did have my windows down at one point on a trip to the supermarket and I was playing

that country record very loudly. Speak Now? Speak Now. And someone looked at me and sort of openly laughed. In a kind way, but they just didn't expect to see me, this 40 year old man, sort of there, just like bobbing his little head, you know? Because Speak Now, it's the anthem. It came out when I first moved to LA.

It's very mixed in with those core memories of moving here and reading the CD. What's it called? The art, the cover art, the lyric booklet. Yeah. That's one thing I think new music fans miss out on is that tactile thing of having a thing to look at at a record or a CD.

You know, if you're listening to something on streaming, you miss that thing. I think that's something Taylor's put effort into is when she does release stuff, it's cool and you wanna look through it and hold it and it doesn't feel disposable. I think that's, again, that's her smarts coming through with how she does things.

The other weekend was Lincoln's birthday. Lincoln Shepherd, Dexter Chris' daughter. She's a big fan. Yeah. She's a big fan. It was his kid. Yeah. She's a big fan.

She turned 11 and it was a Taylor Swift birthday theme. Also, another pod kid some months ago had a Taylor Swift birthday theme. I saw on Instagram, someone I know in Georgia, their kid had a Taylor Swift birthday theme. It's like, it's so incredible. But anyway, everyone's gifts to Lincoln were Taylor Swift merch. And it was all different. Like there was a cute backpack, but there was like kind of like fancy. So much stuff.

You can get anything. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah Would you know her favorite thing was did her eyes light up a typical thing or just be so overwhelming? I think it was just everything was great. Cool Do people dress up as Taylor at a Taylor Swift themed party or is it more just blasting the music? Well some people and I know this for the concert a lot of people dresses their favorite era But also the era that they feel that they connect to right now.

So a lot of people would dress like that. I can't wait for her goth era. Oh, that's what I'm waiting for. Yeah, the goth. It might happen. It might happen. I'll be there for that. What's your day, Her?

Oh, God. She's really falling off the rails. It's probably something to do with David. You're going to get assassinated if that happens. Oh my God. Yeah, so your two thumbs up. Okay, great. Oh my God. Yeah, so you're two thumbs up.

Okay, great. I love it. Thanks Monica. Should we go ahead and pick our next God? Should we do it live? It's a good idea. I mean, the only person I genuinely want to find out more about is Bruce Springsteen. American God. And I feel as he's so American. That's my thought. That'd be great.

You have anything floating around? You're happy with Springsteen? Yeah. I think he's... I don't know enough about him, so I also will find this very interesting. Great. I've seen... I went to a Springsteen concert in New Zealand and he was amazing. I didn't realize how many of the songs that I knew just from being absorbed from that atmosphere.

Well, OK, so Springsteen's next next month. Yeah, let's do Springsteen will be sometime in the next couple of months. And then also in the comments, write who you want us to do. Yeah, who do we dive into? And it doesn't need to be musicians. It can be actors, it can be politicians.

It can be just an American that has done something epic that we don't even know about. In that case, that would be really fun. Yeah, there's, I mean, there's quite a few people in America. We should do Michael Jordan. Oh, Jordan. Yeah. Yeah, Jordan. Yeah, I mean, there's quite a few people in America. We should do Michael Jordan. Oh, Jordan. Yeah.

Jordan's great. I mean, in New Zealand, me and my brother were obsessed with Michael Jordan growing up. God. I'm obsessed with him. Yeah. And I don't even care about basketball. Yeah, your sport.

Again, that's the criteria for these gods, right? That you don't have to care about their niche or what they're really even doing. They transcend their category. Yeah, completely. And your people that aren't into sport can appreciate them or not into their music can appreciate them. Should we do Jordan next then? To mix up the concept of another musician? Let's do Jordan. Michael Jordan.

Spring scene later down the line. But Jordan next. Okay, great. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.