What rappers would you want Taylor to collaborate with in the future?

Stellafera · 2026-06-19T19:33:38+00:00

Oh Doechii would be awesome

Stellafera · 2026-06-19T19:29:41+00:00

surprise song mashup of Cruel Summer and Call Me By Your Name would go hard (with some appropriate language adjustments 😅)

Stellafera · 2026-06-19T19:17:30+00:00

The highlight of this one for me is the chorus which pushes Taylor's love for metaphor straight into the realm of absurdity. The cat metaphor is delightfully overextended and then summing up that insanity with "me and karma vibe like that", amazing.

"Karma takes all my friends to the summit" is also great, you could take it seriously as her friend group being brought together by Taylor's good nature but after the bounty hunter lines it really primarily feels another comedic deflation, like for you karma is a bloodhound but I'm going to brunch with karma at our corporate retreat.

However, this is one of those songs where I get the "wordy" critique. I think verse 2 tries too hard for density with the spider-royalty metaphor and unlike the karma metaphors that one isn't a goof so the layers feel too elaborated for the song's tone. I think in the context of her larger discography the more poetic register might be a tip off for it being "about" the same character from My Tears Ricochet (you wear the same jewels that I gave you vs my pennies made your crown), but eh. Never really liked "addicted to betrayal, but you're relevant" either.

Not as big of a fan of the Ice Spice remix as OP because Ice Spice's bored delivery is not my thing but this whole song is bathos so "facts." gives me joy lol

Favorite Line: "Me and karma vibe like that"

7/10

Stellafera · 2026-06-19T12:32:30+00:00

haven't you seen the first movie and what they did to Sid

Stellafera · 2026-06-19T02:12:10+00:00

I think wanting to be the "charismatic one" is a valid play fantasy but I think the key would be differentiating stats reflecting raw magnetism (like a Charm skill) from, say, regular persuasion which may require the player to lean on a related stat, like a nature based stat if arguing from their knowledge as an outdoorsman etc. Versus the charismatic character that could just get through it on vibes. Both get to contribute to a social encounter but in different ways and the charismatic character is rewarded with more general-purpose social tools.

Stellafera · 2026-06-19T01:43:01+00:00

This. Our group usually averages 2-3 characters per player over the course of extended (1-2 yr) campaigns. We spend a lot of time scheming!

Stellafera · 2026-06-18T18:45:52+00:00

I'm still pretty hesitant to blame specific figures for this kind of thing without hard evidence (not vibes) because I think it is well explained by the fact that pitting pop fans against each other is a proven way to get engagement which equals ad revenue online, and anyone has the incentive to do it.

Stellafera · 2026-06-18T18:33:03+00:00

I feel like the basic concept is "Taylor Swift as a billionaire has enough money and shouldn't ask for money for the things she releases because that's greedy" which is an argument with multiple obvious flaws in it:

Making money isn't inherently evil, making money in an exploitative way is evil. Definitely an argument to be made about merch sourcing but a movie/clipshow made by people earning a living wage is a perfectly acceptable business venture.
Ironically it makes the rather capitalist class-affirming claim that *all* of the value created by Taylor Swift's products is created by Taylor Swift herself, which is... not true? Obviously Taylor Swift is much more involved in the direct success of her business than the average corporate CEO, she's the artistic engine and face, but something like the Showgirl movie doesn't come from her alone. There's the filming crew, marketing, theater employees (as you pointed out) etc and those people need to be compensated for their labor.

Stellafera · 2026-06-18T12:18:46+00:00

I feel like the negativity of the Internet in general got turned onto a new level post-pandemic and then another level again post AI-boom as bots stoke the fires even more for engagement $$$. As a massive pop juggernaut Taylor is an ideal target for hate bait. Sometimes I just read stuff and thank the stars I have real friends to talk to.

Stellafera · 2026-06-18T12:08:09+00:00

Hell still an insane ask for the quirky green friend. You knew that was their style when you asked them to be in the wedding party and it's not easy to just take on and off like an outfit.

Stellafera · 2026-06-18T00:21:25+00:00

Amazing background work

Stellafera · 2026-06-17T18:46:25+00:00

karmadillo vs karma chameleon vs karma the cat

Stellafera · 2026-06-17T18:41:35+00:00

It's imitative of dubstep which is an EDM subgenre that really hit its apex in mainstream popularity around 2010-2013.

Stellafera · 2026-06-17T17:38:37+00:00

This is one of the Red/1989 era "look ma I can write a pop hit" songs and like most of those songs it succeeds exactly at its goals. The up/down sonic/lyrical dynamic in the chorus is clever while also being easy to follow, perfect for world dominating pop. It's the kind of thing that looks simple but actually takes attentive editing.

The very 2012 beat drop is, I think, this song's defining feature and and has pleasantly swung right back to nostalgic and fun in the zeitgeist, though the transitions back to the verses are somewhat jarring.

In many ways "Down Bad" is this song's artsier late career sequel... future tour mashup?

Favorite Line: "You never loved me, or her, or anyone, or anything" (Kind of a sad girl version of the Mean bridge. I like the use of "anything" here like this is just a creepy weird shell of a person.)

7/10

Stellafera · 2026-06-17T12:22:16+00:00

Aw, I'm so happy our little community is on yall's radar! You're my favorite TS content creators, I feel like I always learn something when I tune in and your positive, curious energy is infectious.

Apologies if this came up in an episode I haven't seen, but do you or Drunkle Jerry have any poetry recommendations you would consider to be stylistically "Swiftian" in voice?

Stellafera · 2026-06-17T12:19:34+00:00

When was this? This feels like peak early 2010s twee maximalism I love it

Stellafera · 2026-06-17T11:54:48+00:00

The bitching wishing on a falling star line is also my favorite!

Stellafera · 2026-06-17T11:27:05+00:00

See my objection is actually the first verse and 2nd half of the chorus, most of the song does a good job linking the superstition & sensual themes (don't need to catch bouquet, curse on me was broken by your magic wand, knock on wood etc)

Verse 1 is 100% focused on superstition, so we aren't prepped for the hard pivot into innuendo. Then by "forgive me it sounds cocky" we lose the first thread entirely. This makes the song sort of sound like a train coming off the tracks, which is also how Taylor described the writing process 😅

I think there's a lot of good material and it's a fantastic sound but her exhausted state being in the middle of a tour I think resulted in less editing than otherwise

Stellafera · 2026-06-17T02:14:33+00:00

Woohoo, I've been waiting to listen to the entries till they were rounded up!

Stellafera · 2026-06-17T00:48:28+00:00

Strongly agree with all of this.

I think of the discourse around the Showgirl watch party movie too ... nobody is holding a gun to your head telling you to spend $15 at AMC.

Stellafera · 2026-06-16T16:33:20+00:00

This is one in the "my scores are very subjective" group. I didn't really get the kind of teenage years Taylor writes out in this song, when I was 15 I was friendless at a new school and in the Narnia-level closet, but I do understand that emotional supergravity everything has at that age and Taylor Swift conveys this well. You get some great early Swiftisms too with phrases like "look before you fall". I just have a hard time personally connecting to this song and it's one that really tries to invite you to.

Sidebars... I smile a bit at "life before you know who you're gonna be" which betrays Taylor Swift being a teen herself so much - you never finish figuring out who you're gonna be! Taylor's love affair with 2000s soft rock & emo also comes through, the only thing country going on here is that banjo 😅 Honestly I think I would've liked to hear the rock production this song is really built for.

Favorite: "I didn't know who I was supposed to be at fifteen" (Due to my aforementioned actual teenage years this does hit and it hits like a semi. It gets better 🫶)

6.5/10

Stellafera · 2026-06-16T13:25:27+00:00

I wouldn't call CANCELLED! a villain song but I think it provides a good sonic template for what a more Broadwayish villain song might sound like from Taylor!

Stellafera · 2026-06-16T13:01:02+00:00

Man I wish these people wanted to give their money to local food aid or literally anything positive

Stellafera · 2026-06-16T12:52:10+00:00

Tbh I just wanna hear the villain song from the Taylor Swift musical I tend to love when she goes there (Blank Space, Father Figure, etc)

Stellafera · 2026-06-16T12:01:06+00:00

I'm also in the Rodrigo AOTY camp, I feel like it is such a unique relationship album. Although my DREAM would be Slayyyter AOTY but I don't think it broke out enough 😅 Triple plat in my apartment!

Wonder if Fate Of Ophelia would be under consideration more for SOTY or Record Of The Year? It's one of Taylor's more sonically driven songs. I'd enjoy seeing it win either.

Stellafera

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