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Song of the Day #6,310: ‘Elizabeth Taylor’ – Taylor Swift

Continuing my ranked list of the songs on Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl…

#6. ‘Wood’

I wish I could go back in time three years and place a bet that Taylor Swift would soon write a song about Travis Kelce’s penis. I imagine those long odds would have made me a rich man. But here we are… with a cornucopia of double entendres set to a groove that’s alarmingly similar to The Jackson Five’s ‘I Want You Back.’ Certainly much of the credit is due to that Motown classic (lawsuit incoming?), but this is a banger of a track regardless.

It’s also another reason why Kelce, he of the “redwood tree,” “magic wand,” and “key that opened [Taylor’s] thighs,” is this album’s biggest fan.

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Song of the Day #6,309: ‘Eldest Daughter’ – Taylor Swift

Continuing my ranked list of the songs on Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl…

#9. ‘Eldest Daughter’

Track five has always held a special place on Swift’s albums, and this is a decent choice to receive the honor. ‘Eldest Daughter’ is a sweet piano-based love song about setting aside negativity and fear and giving yourself permission to let someone in. It’s touching and romantic, especially in the second verse and bridge, where Swift uses childhood imagery to describe her emotions.

The song’s first verse is a bit of a mess, though, crammed with dated slang about toxic internet culture. That knocks an otherwise very good song down a few spots.

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Song of the Day #6,308: ‘Father Figure’ – Taylor Swift

I’m pausing my Decades installment on the year 1986 to write about the new album of an artist born in 1989.

Yes, I figured I might as well strike while the iron is still relatively hot and post my take on Taylor Swift’s 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl.

This has been Swift’s most polarizing release in years, with some critics and fans alike disappointed in the superficial goofiness of many of its lyrics. Others have hailed it as another triumph. And of course it’s breaking new sales records every day.

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Song of the Day #6,307: ‘Oh Sheila’ – Ready for the World

Today’s SOTD is the second straight Throwback Weekend selection that is entirely new to me. I have never heard ‘Oh Sheila’ and I have never heard of Ready for the World, the R&B band behind it.

This was the third single and biggest hit by the Michigan-based group, though they reached the top ten again the following year with ‘Love You Down.’

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Song of the Day #6,306: ‘Bad Blood’ – Neil Sedaka

Throwing back to the week of October 11, 1975, we find Neil Sedaka atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Bad Blood,’ a song I’m certain I’ve never heard before.

This was Sedaka’s third #1 hit, following 1962’s ‘Breaking Up is Hard to Do’ and 1974’s ‘Laughter in the Rain.’ This song remained at #1 for three weeks, becoming the biggest hit of the singer-songwriter’s career.

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