“It's the first kiss, it's flawless, really something, it's fearless.” For our Paid Subscribers, we're in our Fearless era, diving deep into Taylor's second album track by track. We go through all 13 original tracks, from the sparkly country-pop opening of "Fearless" to the quietly defiant closer "Change,” examining what each song adds to the album, what literary and emotional threads connect them, and how this era set the template Taylor would spend the next eras of her career perfecting. Along the way, we track the evolution of Taylor's fearlessness from a teenager writing on tour buses to the artist who re-recorded her masters and looked the whole industry dead in the eye. Two ways to get more of AP Taylor Swift: Substack: free subscribers get episode updates. Paid subscribers get After School: bonus episodes, our full written archive, and a vote in what we cover next. Subscribe: http://aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe First 50 people to grab a Substack After School annual plan get 40% off: https://aptaylorswift.substack.com/wishlistmemberdiscount Apple Podcasts: paid subscribers get ad-free episodes, early episode access, and bonus episodes Mentioned in this episode: "Fearless," Fearless (2008) "15," Fearless (2008) "Love Story," Fearless (2008) "Hey Stephen," Fearless (2008) "White Horse," Fearless (2008) "You Belong With Me," Fearless (2008) "Breathe," Fearless (2008) "Tell Me Why," Fearless (2008) "You're Not Sorry," Fearless (2008) "The Way I Loved You," Fearless (2008) "Forever & Always," Fearless (2008) "The Best Day," Fearless (2008) "Change," Fearless (2008) Fearless (Taylor's Version) (2021) Ep 1: Hey Stephen Ep 81: Show & Tell — Female Artists (The Best Day) Ep 88: Weather Songs (Fearless) Ep 110: High School Musical (White Horse, Change) Ep 124–125: Time / 15 Deep Dive Doppelganger by Naomi Klein Colbie Caillat Episode Highlights: [00:00] Welcome to After School — Fearless era begins [01:11] Fearless as a sophomore album: branding, stakes, and proving it wasn't a fluke [06:46] Why "Fearless" and not "Love Story": the title as identity[09:00] The album's critical reception and Billboard dominance [12:14] The Kanye VMAs moment and what it meant for the era [29:43] Track 1 — "Fearless": dancing in the rain, connective tissue to debut [01:35:44] Track 13 — "Change": ending on a note of inevitability [01:43:31] What the album is actually about: manifesting fearlessness [01:46:01] The lesson from Fearless: just do the thing, even badly [01:49:27] Taylor's Version and why she started with Fearless Follow AP Taylor Swift podcast on social! TikTok → tiktok.com/@APTaylorSwift Instagram → instagram.com/APTaylorSwift YouTube → youtube.com/@APTaylorSwift Link Tree → linktr.ee/aptaylorswift Bookshop.org → bookshop.org/shop/apts Libro.fm → tinyurl.com/aptslibro Contact us at aptaylorswift@gmail.com Affiliate Codes: Krowned Krystals - krownedkrystals.com use code APTS at checkout for 10% off! Libro.fm - Looking for an audiobook? Check out our Libro.fm playlist and use code APTS30 for 30% off books found here tinyurl.com/aptslibro This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.
