The Taylor Seminars

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of her debut album (and her induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame), we're going back to where it all began. Join Hannah and Exquisite as they revisit Taylor Swift and trace the seeds of so many themes that would become central to her songwriting: feeling like an outsider, the power of memory, unrequited love, imagined relationships, and the need to turn every feeling into a song. From "The Outside" to "Our Song," "Tim McGraw," and "Cold As You," we explore just how much of the Taylor we know today was already there from the very beginning. Enjoy the episode? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy us a cup of coffee on Ko-Fi⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! ⁠Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thetaylorseminars⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@taylorseminars⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Cover Art by Alef Vernon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow him on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support Alef on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

NOTE: APOLOGIES for the delayed episode. We had some technical difficulties. BUT we promise we'll make it up with you with a special episode drop on Monday.... Join Hannah and Exquisite as they discuss the final of Taylor Swift's "Encore" tracks from The Life of a Showgirl: "Babylon." Listen as they go through line by line and connect it to songs throughout her discography. And definitely stick around for the end when Exquisite has a special theory about the song. Enjoy the episode? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy us a cup of coffee on Ko-Fi⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! ⁠Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thetaylorseminars⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@taylorseminars⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Cover Art by Alef Vernon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow him on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support Alef on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Join us up here on the pink cloud for "Pink Clouding," the third track from "The Encore" from Taylor Swift's "The Life of a Showgirl." Join Exquisite and Hannah as they analyze this song line by line, from the shades of pink to the exhilerating highs to the extreme vulnerability (hello, "Back to December"). And yes, we compare the song to "Getaway Car," but stick around to hear Exquisite compare it to another Taylor Swift classic, and how Taylor re-recording this song may have sparked this new perspective in "Pink Clouding." Also, we hope you enjoy the high quality video!! We're upgrading!! Enjoy the episode? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy us a cup of coffee on Ko-Fi⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! ⁠Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thetaylorseminars⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@taylorseminars⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Cover Art by Alef Vernon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow him on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support Alef on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

We had SO MUCH FUN talking about "Cleveland!", the second of four tracks on Taylor Swift's "The Encore: The Life of a Showgirl." And within this fun, celebratory song, we see the showgirl burst to life. Exquisite and Hannah also connect the song to "Blank Space" and "The Albatross." She takes us to Cleveland! and we love it here!Also, we hope you enjoy the high quality video!! We're upgrading!! Enjoy the episode? ⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy us a cup of coffee on Ko-Fi⁠⁠⁠⁠! ⁠Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@thetaylorseminars⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@taylorseminars⁠⁠⁠⁠Cover Art by Alef Vernon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow him on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠Support Alef on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠.

We had A LOT to say about the "Patient Zero," the first of four tracks on Taylor Swift's "The Encore." We see Taylor baring her soul, not just to the audience, but to another woman who is in the same predicament she was once in. We go through the song, line by line, seeing how ill the singer was but also how she's willing to help the woman who is now in her shoes. The, for the last third of the episode, we delve into the Patient Zero music video and how it gives us even more insight into the song. NOTE: If you or someone you know is in an unsafe relationship, please reach out to the DV hotline: 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) . We see you.P.S. If you're watching on video, the first few seconds are not synced properly with the sound (sorry!) but it should clear up pretty quick!!Enjoy the episode? ⁠⁠⁠Buy us a cup of coffee on Ko-Fi⁠⁠⁠! ⁠Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠@thetaylorseminars⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠@taylorseminars⁠⁠⁠Cover Art by Alef Vernon: ⁠⁠⁠Follow him on Instagram⁠⁠⁠Support Alef on ⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠.

Exquisite and Hannah are up at the magenta sunrise to do a quick analysis of all the songs on "The Encore:" Patient Zero, Cleveland!, Pink Clouding, and Babylon. This is the perfect way for you to orient yourself to the new tracks by getting some insight into the subjects of each song and how it connects to the rest of the Tayuniverse. 
P.S. Sorry we kept saying "crimson sunrise" in the episode. It's "magenta" and we only realized once we had to write this description. (We are so tired!!!) And sorry again in case we make any other lyric errors as we're still trying to memorize the songs :)Enjoy the episode? ⁠⁠Buy us a cup of coffee on Ko-Fi⁠⁠! ⁠Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠@thetaylorseminars⁠⁠ Follow us on Twitter: ⁠⁠@taylorseminars⁠⁠Cover Art by Alef Vernon: ⁠⁠Follow him on Instagram⁠⁠Support Alef on ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠.

Looks like we're going to have to step out of the "folklore" woods for a few weeks and head back to the stage for "The Encore." Here's a quick preview of our upcoming schedule and our initial thoughts on this new deluxe edition of "The Life of a Showgirl" and what we think of the new tracks:1. Patient Zero2. Cleveland!3. Pink Clouding4. BabylonEnjoy the episode? ⁠Buy us a cup of coffee on Ko-Fi⁠! ⁠Follow us on Instagram: ⁠@thetaylorseminars⁠ Follow us on Twitter: ⁠@taylorseminars⁠Cover Art by Alef Vernon: ⁠Follow him on Instagram⁠Support Alef on ⁠Patreon⁠.

Two people who love analyzing Taylor Swift songs together discuss two people who can never be together in this episode of "The Taylor Seminars." Exquisite and Hannah talk about "exile," track 4 of "folklore," to see how the two people are on completely opposite poles and compare it to a different song where a disagreement was resolved. Enjoy the episode? Buy us a cup of coffee on Ko-Fi! ⁠And don’t forget to join the conversation with #FolkloreSeminars on X/TwitterFollow us on Instagram: @thetaylorseminars Follow us on Twitter: @taylorseminarsCover Art by Alef Vernon: Follow him on InstagramSupport Alef on Patreon.

There's a reason Taylor Swift submitted "the last great american dynasty" to qualify for her historic induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Class of 2026: It's a masterpiece. From the songwriting to the production to the vocal performance, it's a perfectly crafted song that showcases Taylor Swift's genius. Plus, it has one of Taylor's favorite songwriting techniques. Join Exquisite and Hannah as they discuss Track 3 of of "folklore" and have a marvelous time. Enjoy the episode? Buy us a cup of coffee! ⁠https://ko-fi.com/thetaylorseminars⁠And don’t forget to join the conversation with #FolkloreSeminars on X/TwitterFollow us on Instagram: ⁠www.instagram.com/thetaylorseminars⁠Follow us on Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/taylorseminars⁠Cover Art by Alef Vernon: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/alefvernonart⁠ and ⁠https://x.com/alefvernon ⁠Support Alef on ⁠https://www.patreon.com/AlefVernonArt

We're back for an extralong episode to talk about cardigod, aka "cardigan," track 2 from Taylor Swift's AOTY-winning album "folklore. Tune in as we go line-by-line and crash out (several times) as we talk about the themes of youth, remembrance, the concept of "knowing," and, of course, reference a lot of other Taylor Swift songs. And you definitely want to tune in for Exquisite's theory on the character(s) in the first verse. Enjoy the episode? Buy us a cup of coffee! https://ko-fi.com/thetaylorseminarsAnd don’t forget to join the conversation with #FolkloreSeminars on X/TwitterFollow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/thetaylorseminarsFollow us on Twitter: https://x.com/taylorseminarsCover Art by Alef Vernon: https://www.instagram.com/alefvernonart and https://x.com/alefvernon Support Alef on https://www.patreon.com/AlefVernonArt