Emergency Press Conference: Christy’s Thoughts on TLOAS

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0:57It's proof that daily routine can be remarkable. That's the science of wow. Colgate Optic White. Hey, everybody. Welcome back to another bonus episode of Snarkbait. It's Christy. I am here recording solo. Sophie is spending some time with her family this weekend, and I wanted to just quickly hop on to talk about the life of a showgirl. We are releasing an Ask a Swifty Patreon episode on Wednesday, patreon.com slash snarkbait pod where Sophie interviews me as to you know my perspective on Taylor Swift how much her music is meant to me my favorite album my favorite song is that she's we kind of went deep about Taylor Swift really unintentionally not doing this the week of the life of a showgirl coming out but in any case I wanted to do a separate episode on the main feed just to talk about my thoughts and feelings on her most recent album and I've been listening to the album nonstop the entire weekend to really like flesh out my thoughts and feelings on it.

1:55I also saw the Life of a Showgirl movie in theaters and I wanted to basically just word vomit on you guys and tell you my thoughts and feelings on the album as a whole and then go basically song by song. You guys know I'm a Swifty. You guys know that I've been a fan since debut but I don't I'm not one of those fans that just says everything that she does turns to gold and that she's not without criticism and I think this album if I take it from a 3 ,000 foot like view it definitely is one of her least strong as it comes to the lyrics the lyricism is definitely it fell flat and we were promised folklore level writing and really this kind of feels like an album that should have been released even before 1989 even maybe even before red this feels like the life of a showgirl should have been like if i were to close my eyes and listen to all these albums without knowing her entire discography i would make the assumption based on the lyricism that life of a showgirl would have been like right after speak now or before it's wild to me that the same woman that wrote Folklore and Evermore and the Tortured Poets Department is the same woman doing the lyrics to The Life of a Showgirl.

3:21And you guys all know I'm far more biased towards like super, super sad songs, which then comes as no surprise that Ruin the Friendship was a song that I favored the most upon my first listen to the album. And I think that this album is really great to listen to while you're in the car and just singing along to. But I'm 1 million percent not crying to this album late at night like I am with like TGPD or Evermore Folklore. And I don't know. It's also hard for me to rank Taylor's albums when it's still so fresh in my mind. I always need like at least a year's distance from all of the albums to really tell you what I think.

3:53Because I remember when Midnights came out and I wasn't – like I was obsessed and I would listen to it every day. But now I rarely listen to any songs off Midnight's with the exception of Lavender Haze and Maroon, which I think are two of her best songs ever in her entire discography. But other than those two songs, I'm not like obsessed with Midnight's as a whole. But I wouldn't have been able to tell you that like a month to maybe even six months from the album release. Like I need a certain amount of distance. So my thoughts could definitely change and evolve, let's say, a year from now. but these are my initial thoughts and feelings like a couple of days out from the album release.

4:32I had to do some comparative analysis ahead of this episode and I was listening to How Did It End from TTPD. And it's just so clear that the person that wrote The Life of a Showgirl is in a completely different state of mind than the 2023 version of her that was dating Maddie Healy. And How Did It End, the bridge of that song is so impactful and deep and devastating and I was really hard pressed to find lyrics like the one I'm about to read to you in the life of a showgirl. So the bridge says, say it once again with feeling, sorry, this is how did it end. Say it once again with feeling, how the death rattled breathing, silence as the soul was leaving, the deflection of our dreaming, deflation of our dreaming, leaving me bereft and reeling, my beloved goes to me sitting in a tree, D-Y-I-N-G.

5:22Like, oh my God, rip my soul out. why don't you and then we're talking about wood and knocking on wood it's just it's such a crazy juxtaposition between these two albums and i know that ttpd wasn't necessarily as well received as folklore and evermore but i genuinely feel like the anthology the aaron desner tracks from ttpd are some of the most poignant beautifully written lyrics similar to the folkmore era but i want to talk about the life of a showgirl the movie and the way it was produced and how it kind of came together it was like probably a little over an hour and it pans between the making of the life uh the fate of ophelia and then it pans back to lyric videos but before the lyric video plays uh taylor swift is being interviewed before every song about the purpose of the song the inspiration behind the song again followed by that lyric video and the lyrics i found were really difficult to read.

6:19And when you were watching the lyric videos, they would replay the same image over and over again. It felt so lazy and frankly, just a cash grab. I will say I did enjoy like the making of The Fate of Ophelia. I felt like I was watching MTV's, I remember making the video when like 98 Degrees, for whatever reason, give me just one night, una noche. I feel like the making of that That music video is like fully ingrained in my brain as well as Dirty by Christina Aguilera. But that's what I felt like I was watching when I watched the movie. When they would do the behind the scenes and showing her with her choreographer, Mandy Moore.

6:58And if you guys ever watched So You Think You Can Dance, Mandy Moore was like a huge choreographer for that show. And she's behind the scenes for The Fate of Ophelia. Her dancers, the costumes. And what I found to be very interesting that my friend Maria, who I went to go see the movie with, she explained to me that when they're filming these music videos, there's no music. And the reason for that is because they don't want any leaks coming from the album before it's set to release. So it's completely silent when they're doing all the dancing in the video. And that just shows freaking professionalism, baby.

7:30Like the fact that Taylor and these dancers are able to exude so much confidence and pizazz and spirit fingers, dare I say, when they're filming these music videos, but there's no music in the background. It's just like you can hear the counting like five, six, seven, eight, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. I thought that was a very fascinating kind of component of the behind the scenes of the music video. But in any case, let's go down my every track and my thoughts. So The Fate of Ophelia, initial thoughts, this being the first track on the album, it was such a banger. I wanted to shake my knee to it and bought my head from side to side.

8:09It's a strong start. It really reminds me of how I felt when I was listening to Midnight's for the first time and Lavender Hayes strung out as the first track. And it gave me that kind of like that incredible like, yes, we're starting out strong. I was like very into the first track. But I did notice Taylor loves to paint herself like she's some damsel in distress. She has lyrics in The Fate of Ophelia like, And if you've never come for me, I might have drowned in the melancholy. All that time I sat alone in my tower, you were just honing your powers. You dug me out of my grave and saved me from, saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia.

8:43Again, this is giving love story, you know, Princess in the Castle being saved by Prince Charming. It's very juvenile and amateur, but I think because the beat is so strong, I really enjoy this song because like the melodies and the harmonies. I was LOLing when my friend Kelly from Laguna Biatch slash Beyond the Blind, she posted to her Instagram and she said something so funny. And I was just thinking about, again, how clearly different Taylor's lyrics are when she's with her muse Joe versus Travis. Kelly wrote something to the effect of, you know, this cannot be the same girl that wrote peace.

9:18And I looked at the peace lyrics and my God, it's like devastating. It goes, but I'm a fire and I'll keep your brittle heart warm. If your cascade ocean wave blues come. All these people think love's for show, but I would die for you in secret. How do you even come up with those lyrics, Taylor? It's so beautiful and the visualness and you could see the ocean waves come crashing down with the blues and the depression. But Taylor would still die for Joe in secret. I have chills as I'm even reciting those lyrics from Peace. And then again, she's talking about being a damsel in distress, like sitting in a tower, Travis honing his powers.

9:58It's just like very juvenile, the life of a showgirl. And people were comparing The Fate of Ophelia as sounding a lot similar, very similar to songs like Give Your Heart a Break, a la Demi Lovato. Although I think that The Fate of Ophelia is a far better song than Give Your Heart a Break. It was also giving summertime sadness the beginning. I felt like I was listening to a Lana song. People were also comparing it to Alejandro by Lady Gaga. And I find that's a huge kind of consistent factor throughout all of these songs. People are thinking they sound a lot like other pre-existing songs. I have to admit, the best lyrics I think on the entire album comes from this song.

10:38Not because they're super poignant or devastating or interesting. It's more just the beat and like the way that you sing it. Pledge allegiance to your hands, your team. your vibes. And then she said, keep it 100 on the land to see the sky. It's just so catchy. I just love belting it out when I'm in the car. Okay, track two, Elizabeth Taylor. Initial thoughts that bother the hell out of me. I don't know why, but the Elizabeth Taylor kind of stomping was giving me Evermore featuring Bon Iver. And I know, I know, I know, please don't hate me when I say this. I know everyone loves Evermore from Evermore and Exile from Folklore, both of which feature Bon Iver.

11:17But my sister and I always shit on both of those songs because we find Bon Iver's voice like so jarring and it's so out of place. And we always said like, God, we can't with either of these songs. It's too much. And to be clear, I love Bon Iver. Like I've seen him multiple times in concert. I saw him at the Hollywood Bowl, I think in 2016. And it was one of my favorite concerts I've ever been to. I'm not hating on Bon Iver. I really love him. But I don't know, the Elizabeth Taylor was giving the exile kind of edit that Bon Iver was giving when like the Elizabeth Taylor was so jarring to the ears.

11:51But I've had a lot of, I've been doing some research and people were very confused on the lyric, bed number one, but I never had to. So what does that lyric mean? People think, oh my God, she means that she's bed number one in the charts, musically speaking, professionally speaking, but she's never had someone to share it with, which is like really sad to think about. She never felt supported by Joe, which I feel is a huge reason why their relationship ultimately crumbled. But she also, you have to notice in that lyric, but number one, but I never had two and I can't have fun if I can't have. And then she does this moan.

12:22And then people say, oh my God, is it a double entendre that she's never had two orgasms before Travis? I don't know. How do you guys make that lyric? Honestly, both of them would make complete sense. Speaking of her song sounding like other pre-existing songs, people said that Elizabeth Taylor kind of sounds like peace to me, which it completely does. No, no, no, no, no. Don't. No, no, no. Like it completely does sound like Elizabeth Taylor. And I think another like thoroughfare of the life of a showgirl is that Taylor Swift freaking loves the lifestyle that she has. And she's unapologetic about it now.

13:00Everyone like shits on billionaires. But until like you have that amount of wealth, you can't help but love it. Like, come on. We're all human, right? and she's kind of admitting that she loves this lifestyle and she's down to be a showgirl for the rest of her life this life was made for her and in Elizabeth Taylor she goes hey what could you possibly get for the girl who has everything and nothing all at once babe I would trade the Cartier for someone to trust just kidding and then she says all my white diamonds and lovers are forever and yeah like she just loves her money which I mean I would do if I were a billionaire And I also love the part in the chorus where she says, be my NY when Hollywood hates me.

13:40It's kind of similar to the track of the land, the sky, the sea, hands your team your vibes. It just has that catchy kind of like pop synth that I really appreciate about this album with all else being said about that lyric. It's not really hitting. It's at least a fun bop. Okay, track three, Opalite. Initial thoughts is this is going to be a forever skip for me. it's kind of giving I forgot that you existed like it's kind of this almost very junior beat I always use the term junior when me and my best friend are talking about people that just are just incompetent we're like god this person's so junior I feel like this song is a very junior song I do appreciate the lyric that she says in Opalite saying I used to live with ghosts it's like god how much have we all related to this like living in your past living in a denial or reality that you're never even fully aware of the truth when you're actually even living in it because you're just, yeah, you're living with ghosts.

14:31You're living with your past. You're living this past life that doesn't even exist anymore. Taylor has been really open about what Opal means to her. In the movie, The Life of a Showgirl, when I saw it yesterday, she said that her and her mom have historically always loved Opal. And she said it's kind of their thing that they have a lot of jewelry that is made of Opal. And she said in an interview this week, she said, Opal Light is a man-made Opal. and she said opal can be man-made just like diamonds and Travis's birthstone is an opal and she points out that man-made opal and happiness can also be man-made too meaning that you create your own happiness in your life and Travis has created a lot of happiness for her life she says that opalite is Travis's favorite song which like give me a break you have to say that to the press but we're all we all know it's wood okay and I have to say after listening to opalite many a time I really can't with a song and I know a lot of people like the beat they say It's really fun.

15:27It has this good energy. Like there's more to life, even if you're going through difficult times. And I think the message of all that is well and good. I think it's a great message, but I just don't like the song. She said on Hits Radio interview, she said, when we go through something that doesn't work out, we oftentimes look at it as this major setback, like we've taken a step back. But I found that so many of these instances in my life can catapult you forward in growth and wisdom and perspective. Opalite is a song about forgiving yourself for having gone through something that didn't pan out the way you wanted it to.

15:57it's giving yourself permission to not have it all figured out or not marry the first person you've ever dated again all great sentiments the song fell flat for me okay let's move on to father figure this is getting a lot of good um reception people are saying this is one of their favorite songs on the album it obviously is a nod to scott borchetta the music industry it's like my tears ricochet sister i like it i wouldn't say it's my favorite when the chorus comes i just like picture her growing in size like the whole hulk with like her holding like a whiskey in her hand and she's like pumping her fist like jersey shore like that's what i envision when i hear her singing this song i don't know but it's clearly about the betrayal of scott borsheta to her her family scott borsheta took advantage of his young protege that was taylor swift when she was in her her early teen years when she went to start debut.

16:52But then Taylor kind of took the music industry in her own hands and became the most powerful person on this planet. Like, fuck the music industry. She's literally the most powerful person on this globe. One of the most influential people on this globe. Your home design should feel like you. And if it doesn't, it's not because you have bad taste. It might just be a budget problem. Well, Wayfair fixes that. This is my sixth apartment in 12 years in New York City, which is crazy to think about. So when you move that much, you become less and less enthusiastic about spending money on new pieces. Of course, I still want my apartment to feel chic and elevated, but knowing it's not my forever home makes it hard to want to splurge.

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21:45Actual prices may vary. Limited time offer. So now Taylor, who used to be Scott Borchetta's student, has now become the teacher. And she now kind of has the powers in the industry and wants to protect other young artists, is what she's kind of saying. She's changing perspectives while she's in the song. In the beginning, she's the young child being brought in by the father figure, Scott Borchetta. But now she's on the other side of it. Now she has the opportunity to kind of be the Scott Borchetta for other young artists. And she wants to change the narrative. But I think that's pretty rich coming from her who's saying nothing new on the vault tracks about how she's so threatened of young artists.

22:19She said, quote, how long will it be cute, all this crying in my room, when you can't blame it on my youth and roll your eyes with affection? Are we only biding time till I lose your attention? and someone else lights up the room, people love an ingenue. Ahem, Olivia Rodrigo apparently is who this song is about, who Taylor allegedly threatened to sue her for interpolating New Year's Day for Olivia's One Step Forward, Two Steps Back song without Taylor's permission, or so the rumor says. And I had to look up what an interpolation was. It's when an artist re-records a melody or other part of a melody from a pre-existing song for their new track, rather than using the original recording, which is what Taylor did for George Michael's for one of the songs on her album.

23:03She also talks about her family asking for George Michael's family's kind of blessing to do the interpolation from his song. And, you know, Taylor has historically had some issues with other younger artists in the industry. First, it's Olivia. Now, clearly, it's Charlie XCX, who Charlie, you know, toured with Taylor on Taylor's 2017 Reputation Tour. and listen I don't think Charlie was an angel I think Taylor you know uh took a chance on her allowed her to come on tour on her stadium tours like offered Charlie a lot of publicity and um popularity I mean look at Sabrina Carpenter she was on the Ares tour opening and now Sabrina's a full-fledged superstar completely outside of you know Taylor's shadow but I think I don't know it's it's clear that Taylor does have some issues with many female artists that she used to be friends with a la olivia and charlie and i think yes scott bruschetta one million percent screwed taylor over but she's also not some hero to these young artists like i think she is to some people who she mentors and who she feels safer on like sabrina but you literally taylor go so far as to release random special editions of your song in the uk the same week that brat was released which obviously led to controversy amongst fans about the timing and exclusivity of the release and like why you're trying to always break records even at the expense of someone else's new album coming out.

24:28People thought that was a very calculated move by Taylor when she did that the same week that Brat was released. And they called her out for being a mean girl. I also want to quickly look at George Michael's Taylor Swift father figure. Sorry, that was the song that she sampled from George Michael. So Eldest Daughter. This is a track five. And so everyone had really high expectations of this song. through my read of everyone talking about this on the internet this is by far the most divisive song due to the millennial core of it all so in the movie in theaters she described the constant quest to for perfectionism and being the eldest daughter so much so to the point that the eldest daughter often gets in their own way and she said there's a strong desire to look cool and to make look effortless, but you also shouldn't care whether you look cool or not.

25:23Apathy is just so in, but she says like, I'm just leaning into the fact that I will never be cool. I will never be this bad bitch. I will never be savage. Obviously these millennial cringeworthy terms are by design. She's doing this because she's trying to show the listener that she will never be, again, a bad bitch. She'll never be savage. And I think all the, the way that she described Elda's daughter in the movie, it made sense to me. I'm like, oh my God, I am the eldest daughter. There's a constant quest for perfectionism in a way that I never really thought had anything to do with my birth order.

25:57Potentially it could. And I think of all of the other older sisters that I know in my life, all my friends that are older sisters, and it really is a common issue that we all have. And I never thought about it in that way. But I think with all that being said, this song should have really resonated with me and it just didn't. The messaging is great, but the lyrics fell flat. There is one lyric that made me sad. She said, pretty soon I learned cautious discretion. When your first crush crushes something kind. When I said I didn't believe in marriage, that was a lie. The thing when she says the first crush crushing something kind, it's like when your innocence is just lost.

26:36Like you have a crush in elementary school and that person breaks their heart. They do something that makes fun of you and then you realize that not everyone is kind or good or wants the best for you. That felt like very, I don't know, I resonated a lot with that lyric, but the rest of the lyrics were incredibly cringy. And other than the lyric I just wrote, I don't really understand how it relates to my own experience as being the eldest daughter. So big question mark with this song. This is going to be a skip for me, unfortunately. Okay, let's talk about Ruin the Friendship. Interestingly enough, I don't see a lot of people talking about this but there's some john mayer references in this song despite this being a very high school like coming of age song that sounds like it should be like a fearless vault track she's talking about john mayer so in verse one it says glistening grass from september rain gray overpass full of neon names neon is a song by john mayer then she goes on to say you drive 85 gallatin road in the lakeside beach 85 is also another one of john mayer songs and she also uses the term would have and should have a lot in the song so she goes in the chorus and it was not an invitation but as this 50 cent play song played should have kissed you anyway and it was not convenient no would have been the best mistake should have kissed you anyways and we all know that would have should have could have is about john mayer from the midnight's album so i thought that was just a little easter egg that i haven't really seen being discussed and it's weird because this is clearly about high school and john mayer was not present in her high school but the intentional lyrics as a nod to John Mayer seems very clear but I genuinely have never been so gutted by a song when she dropped it like upon the first listen and she didn't uh clarify this or confirm anything about the boy she was talking about in the song on the life or the life of a showgirl movie.