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Song of the Day #5,792: ‘Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?’ – Taylor Swift

Continuing the tracklist of my version of Taylor Swift’s latest album…

Taylor Swift’s Asylum
Track #9: ‘Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?’

Swift is angry on much of The Tortured Poets Department — at her exes, at her fans, at her rivals, at the media and the music industry. My Asylum tracklist includes a few of those songs, and none more bracing and compelling than today’s SOTD.

‘Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?’ finds Swift embracing the villain label slapped on her by the haters. If you paint me as the big bad wolf, she argues, don’t be surprised when I bite.

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Song of the Day #5,791: ‘So High School’ – Taylor Swift

Continuing the tracklist of my version of Taylor Swift’s latest album…

Taylor Swift’s Asylum
Track #8: ‘So High School’

I’m closing out the relationship songs with this sweet track about Swift’s current flame, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Granted, these lyrics don’t exactly paint Kelce as Swift’s intellectual equal (“you know how to ball, I know Aristotle” suggests to me not that Swift is an expert on the philosopher, but that unlike her beau, she has actually heard of him). But as a rebound to a rebound, she could do a lot worse.

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Song of the Day #5,790: ‘But Daddy I Love Him’ – Taylor Swift

Skipping Throwback Weekends this week to continue the tracklist of my version of Taylor Swift’s latest album…

Taylor Swift’s Asylum
Track #7: ‘But Daddy I Love Him’

If albums had sides anymore, yesterday’s track would have been the end of Side One and today’s the beginning of Side Two. On the back half of the album, we’re leaving the Joe Alwyn relationship behind and focusing on the highs and lows of the past year.

That means our first (and only) Matty Healy song. The Tortured Poets Department has a bunch of them, but I’m not a fan of most. Today’s track, however, is a standout.

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Song of the Day #5,789: ‘Florida!!!’ – Taylor Swift

Skipping Throwback Weekends this week to continue the tracklist of my version of Taylor Swift’s latest album…

Taylor Swift’s Asylum
Track #6: ‘Florida!!!’

Swift’s first tour stop following her split with Joe Alwyn was in Tampa, Florida, which is apparently the genesis of this track. She has also said that Florida is the state to which criminals flee, an action she compares to her own mindset after a breakup.

Given all that, I felt it appropriate to slot this song after my track five tearjerker, allowing listeners to escape along with Taylor.

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Song of the Day #5,788: ‘loml’ – Taylor Swift

Continuing the tracklist of my version of Taylor Swift’s latest album…

Taylor Swift’s Asylum
Track #5: ‘loml’

Every Swiftie knows track five holds a special place on Taylor Swift’s albums, as it’s generally reserved for the most emotionally raw and devastating track.

The Tortured Poets Department has a decent track five in ‘So Long, London,’ a post mortem on Swift’s six-year relationship with British actor Joe Alwyn. But it also has an infinitely better song about the same topic in ‘loml,’ and that one earns the coveted fifth position on Asylum.

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