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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Song of the Day #5,787: ‘thanK you aIMee’ – Taylor Swift

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

Taylor Swift’s Asylum
Track #4: ‘thanK you aIMee’

Yesterday’s track, ‘Cassandra,’ was a darkly mysterious portrait of betrayal and redemption framed around the story of a mythological Greek priestess. Today’s song is a spritely diss track about Kim Kardashian.

That Taylor Swift can channel her trauma into such starkly different, but equally winning, art is a sign of her genius.

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Song of the Day #5,786: ‘Cassandra’ – Taylor Swift

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

Taylor Swift’s Asylum
Track #3: ‘Cassandra’

Much of The Tortured Poets Department sounds like the malformed child of folklore and Midnights. ‘Cassandra,’ produced by Aaron Dessner, is a gorgeous exception — this one is pure folklore, with a haunting piano playing under a spooky tale of betrayal and anger.

I try not to go too far down the rabbit hole of references to Swift’s personal life, but this song feels to me very much about the Reputation period, when she was painted by many as a villain only to be exonerated later.

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