Taylor Swift is back in the conversation, so naturally I have some thoughts. This week, I’m talking about the four new songs from The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore — “Patient Zero,” “Cleveland,” “Pink Clouding” and “Babylon” — and what they tell us about this era, Taylor’s songwriting, fame, privacy, and the increasingly interesting tension between her personal life and her art.

I also get into why I think “Babylon” is the standout of the four, my frustrations with some of the writing on The Life of a Showgirl, and where I think Taylor could go from here. Plus, I share this week’s Songs of the Week

You can follow me on Instagram and Threads @robscal.jpg, on TikTok @robscal.com and on Twitter @robscaltweets

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