Fire and Water Records: Taylor Swift

The Brothers Daly return with even more Girl Power in this latest episode of Fire and Water RecordsNeil and Ryan discuss the award-winning, chart-topping, phenomenally talented Country/Pop/Folk crossover megastar Taylor Swift, reminiscing on how they discovered her music and sharing some of their favorite tracks from the nine studio album's recorded by the 31 year old Swift in just the last fifteen years.

Track list

  1. “Getaway Car” from REPUTATION
  2. “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” from RED
  3. “Blank Space” from 1989
  4. “The 1” from FOLKLORE
  5. “Love Story” from FEARLESS
  6. “The Man” from LOVER
  7. "New Year's Day" from REPUTATION
  8. "The Last Great American Dynasty" from FOLKLORE
  9. "White Horse" from FEARLESS
  10. "No Body, No Crime" from EVERMORE
  11. “Style” from 1989
  12. “Champaign Problems” from EVERMORE
  13. “All Too Well” from RED
  14. "Shake It Off" from 1989

Let us know what you think! Leave a comment or send an email to: RDalyPodcast@gmail.com.

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8 responses to “Fire and Water Records: Taylor Swift

  1. How I love these forays into music by the Brothers Daly! Finally, Sean Ross is excluded!!

    Interesting topic, yet I find it distressing Swift’s greatest achievement – playing with Def Leppard – was horribly ignored. Other than that, the show kicked much ass.

    Now, isn’t it about time there was some Mandy Moore spotlighted here? Her last three albums are pop masterpieces.

  2. Saw her in concert opening day 2007 at Dodger Stadium. This has given me a weirdly large amount of street cred among the kids in the neighborhood.

  3. My girlfriend took her nieces to see Taylor Swift years back. I think I was invited, but nah, I was good, thanks.

    I feel a lot of ambivalence toward Taylor Swift. I was definitely Team Katy Perry when they were beefing, since I preferred her politics and more of her songs. I feel like Miley Cyrus naturally drifted toward her raunchy stoner pop persona because it reflected her interests and scene, where with Swift going mainstream felt more “synergistic,” and she was eventually cornered into taking a side barely left of center. While much more exasperating with her secondhand art house pretensions, I have a lot more respect for Lady Gaga as a writer and performer. I never realized how many Fiona Apple songs were about relationships until your podcast foregrounded it, because she was so raw and introspective, where I find Swift self-involved and cannily exhibitionistic. Swift is clearly very conventionally pretty, but not particularly attractive to me, fairly reeking of entitled, affluent upbringing. That said, she does write her own stuff, she knows her way around a hook at a nigh-Beatles level, and she may have transcendent work along the lines of their later period in her someday. I haven’t listened to the critical darlings from last year, so maybe that’s already arrived. She deserves all of her success, and only about half of her criticism. But I’m never, ever, ever going to be a legit fan.

    I skipped Reputation because I relished Kim dropping receipts on “Famous” and I still think “Look What You Made Me Do” is the Ceti eel of earworms (somehow worse than even Spice Girls’ “Wannabe.”) On listening today, I found “Getaway Car” cliche-riddled with lame, obvious rhymes.

    I don’t think I’d heard of Swift before “You Belong with Me,” and since I hate most country music from the ’90s onward, I wouldn’t have been tuned into her station. Aside from the ridiculousness of her being beyond playing the nerd in an ’80s teen rom-com, I thought the video and tune were pleasant enough. I guess the Kanye/MTV thing was around this time, but honestly, that album and the one that followed stayed below my radar. I may have heard some of those songs, but I don’t recognize anything on song titles alone. It wasn’t until “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” that I started paying attention again, which also had a novel video. I agree with your assessment of the tune, and the flat asides work. I really like her attitudinal cadence throughout the versus.

    I remember when everybody was talking about “Blank Space” and for some reason I just went “no” and completely ignored it. Maybe that was when the Alt-Right were talking her up as their Aryan princess? Not sure if I heard it before today. It’s a solid tune and you guys talk it up well. “The 1” also seems fun.

    Hard pass on any “Love Story” not sung my Robert Smith. Worse, the YouTube algorithm went deeper into the hick stuff when she had big hair and now I’m even less attracted to her than I was at the top of the comment.

    “The Man” is excellent, and draws out comparisons to Madonna, specifically “What It Feels Like for a Girl.” I got a rip of Lover from my father, so it’s the only full album that I’ve had a lot of exposure to.

    “New Year’s Day” is nice.

    I still think “I Knew You Were Trouble” is the best of her songs that I’ve heard. The change-ups and tone remind me of “New” by No Doubt. I also thought “22” was cute, but I haven’t heard it in probably seven years, based on when this YouTube video was posted. It’s always nice to have these age landmark songs, like blink-182’s “What’s My Age Again?” or more obscure and personal to me, “25” by Veruca Salt.

    Still listening to the episode, but not confident I’ll have a second comment in me, so I’ll do “Shake It Off” JIC. Not huge on it, but acknowledge it’s effectiveness as a single, plus I had it on one of my Playstation karaoke games a decade or so back. Good times.

    Yo Taylor, I’m really happy for you, Imma let you finish but Bacon had one of the best movies of all time…one of the best Tremors of all time!

    Have I ever mentioned that Slither is way better than Tremors though?

    And yeah, Mandy Moore is underrated. Covering Joan Armatrading always gets you street cred on our block.

    1. Oh wait, “Lovesong.” Duh. Where’s the edit button when you need one? While I’ve brought it up, nobody ever cover “Lovesong” again, FFS. Please. Thanks.

  4. What a great episode, gentlemen! I know older gentlemen, like myself, get labeled as only listening to “Dad rock” so it was great to hear an episode about a pop artist in their prime (though I guess Fiona Apple is still going, too). It really helps me branch out and listen to other types of music.

    I think, like yourselves, when she was just getting started, I dismissed Taylor as pop singer that was targeted to young girls who live in the country so I figured her music just wasn’t for me, but as she has transitioned to a not-strictly-Country sound, I’ve enjoyed more and more of her songs.

    Having said that, I find her songs are pretty hit and miss for me. Some I really like and can listen to over and over again and some I find I can’t even get through one listening. I love Shake It Off (and the attitude it inspires), but hated Look What You Made Me Do (which is almost the anti-thesis of Shake It Off!). Having heard some more from this episode, it does make me want to try out her other less-country albums. Nothing against country music, but it’s just not a genre that I particularly like.

    Well done again! I can’t wait to hear who’s the spotlight of the next episode. Fingers crossed for some dad rock or Oingo Boingo (if you can’t tell, I’m a big fan of Danny Elfman). Keep up the great work!

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