Blank Plate: A Podcast for Swifties with an Appetite

Blank Plate
  • 4.8 (11)
  • Music Commentary
  • Updated Biweekly

Join Sara and Laura as they do deep dives into the Tay-lore of individual Taylor Swift songs, react to new releases, discuss Taylor in the news, and overall just chat about all things regarding our Pop Queen Lord and Savior, Taylor Alison Swift. Each episode also touches on food in some way - It could be a recipe pairing for a song, deciding what kind of pizza each album would be, or trying to figure out why Taylor gets that Milk Bar cake for her birthday each year, so be sure to bring your appetite!

  1. Sep 26

    Reacting to the "Encore" Tracks from The Life of a Showgirl

    Join us as we live react to the four brand new tracks for The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore. If you want the full experience and to see our facial expressions, you’ll want to check out this episode on YouTube. But since it is roughly 75% discussion, we decided to also release it on our podcast feed as an audio-only reaction. Time will tell where these tracks land for us in the greater landscape of the Taylor Swift discography, but we certainly had a blast listening to them for the first time. Enjoy! Chapters (0:00) intro (1:37) Patient Zero (theories) (4:42) Patient Zero (listening) (8:15) Patient Zero (discussion) (14:41) Cleveland! (theories) (15:58) Cleveland! (listening) (18:58) Cleveland! (discussion) (25:06) Pink Clouding (theories) (27:20) Pink Clouding (listening) (30:28) Pink Clouding (discussion) (35:44) speculation about more tracks (39:54) Babylon (theories) (42:02) Babylon (listening) (45:43) Babylon (discussion) (54:22) sister songs (55:39) personal rankings and final thoughts SUPPORT US ON PATREON! Show us some love and get monthly bonus episodes and first dibs on upcoming episode ideas. We’d be enchanted to have you join our Swiftie community! Please make sure to subscribe and leave a review. If you’d like to reach out to send in a question or comment, please do so via any of these platforms: email blankplatepod@gmail.com leave a voicemail at (717) 382-831 Patreon (get bonus episodes and first dibs on episode ideas) YouTube Instagram TikTok You can also follow Sara and Laura individually: • Laura: Instagram and Tiktok• Sara: Instagram Listen to our previous podcast: Passports & Pizza

    Reacting to the "Encore" Tracks from The Life of a Showgirl

  2. Sep 25

    My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys

    **Correction about the SNL theory: there IS a musical guest already scheduled for Dakota Johnson’s appearance on SNL on Oct 3, so …. take that theory we mentioned with a huge grain of salt. Today we’re covering My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys, one of the only true bangers from TTPD. Did Taylor have Toy Story on the brain while she was writing this one? Maybe … In personal updates we recap our annual Feast of St. Pizza and discuss some new music we’ve been listening to, and then in Taylor Updates we chat about her Emmys sketch and all of the Easter eggs she left for us. Then at the end we get a bonus recommendation from Sara for boxed mac and cheese. Enjoy! Note for those viewing on YouTube: Sara’s video cuts out a few times due to technical difficulties, but there is no effect on the audio. Chapters (0:00) intro (0:44) what’s on our plates (15:19) Taylor updates (26:46) introducing the song (29:01) personal associations (30:43) folk’lore’ of the song (35:36) verse 1: rain + rivulets (44:46) chorus 1: queen of sand castles (51:36) verse 2: pull my string (55:55) chorus 2: smashing up forever (58:30) bridge and outro: once I fix me, he’s gonna miss me (1:07:11) music theory analysis (1:08:53) favorite lyrics and ratings (1:10:27) this song as a recipe (1:14:24) signing off SUPPORT US ON PATREON! Show us some love and get monthly bonus episodes and first dibs on upcoming episode ideas. We’d be enchanted to have you join our Swiftie community! Links Referenced Sara Bareilles performs “Forever” Live at SiriusXM Emmys Producers Dish On Taylor Swift ‘SVU’ Sketch Taylor Swift's First Draft of 'My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys' Has a Heartbreaking Lyric Left Out of Final Version Please make sure to subscribe and leave a review. If you’d like to reach out to send in a question or comment, please do so via any of these platforms: email blankplatepod@gmail.com leave a voicemail at (717) 382-831 Patreon (get bonus episodes and first dibs on episode ideas) YouTube Instagram TikTok You can also follow Sara and Laura individually: • Laura: Instagram and Tiktok• Sara: Instagram Listen to our previous podcast: Passports & Pizza

    My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys

  3. Sep 11

    Fortnight

    We’re back in TTPD Land! While this is admittedly not one of our favorite tracks from the album, we still had a great time breaking down the fever dream that is this song, as well as the world Taylor has created for it. During the “Taylor Updates” section we get into the recent Grammys Museum interview and performance she did, and in our “What’s On Our Plates” section we go on a tangent about hormones and walkability. We hope you enjoy! Chapters (0:00) intro (1:34) what’s on our plates (17:55) Taylor updates (29:54) introducing the song (33:09) personal associations (38:37) folk’lore’ of the song (44:46) verse 1: they forgot to come and get me and what is “quite treason?” (52:40) chorus 1: turned into good neighbors (59:26) verse 2: the miracle move-on drug (1:05:48) chorus 2: “come and tug my sweater” (1:11:57) bridge + outro: take me to Flo-ri-da (1:19:43) musical theory analysis (1:21:52) favorite lyrics and ratings (1:24:07) this song as a recipe (1:26:15) signing off SUPPORT US ON PATREON! Show us some love and get monthly bonus episodes and first dibs on upcoming episode ideas. We’d be enchanted to have you join our Swiftie community! Links Referenced Sylvia Plath Connections to “Fortnight” Please make sure to subscribe and leave a review. If you’d like to reach out to send in a question or comment, please do so via any of these platforms: email blankplatepod@gmail.com leave a voicemail at (717) 382-831 Patreon (get bonus episodes and first dibs on episode ideas) YouTube Instagram TikTok You can also follow Sara and Laura individually: • Laura: Instagram and Tiktok• Sara: Instagram Listen to our previous podcast: Passports & Pizza

    Fortnight

  4. Aug 21

    I Knew It, I Knew You (and catching up!)

    Content warning: This episode touches on pregnancy, postpartum, infertility and pregnancy loss, mainly during the personal updates section between timestamps (0:55) and (38:15). If that is not something you’re in a place to hear about right now, please take care of yourself and skip this episode. We’ll see you in the next one (and send you virtual hugs). WELCOME BACK, LAURA!! Laura’s back from maternity leave!! We have a lot of catching up to do so this episode is heavy on the personal updates, and the personal updates are also heavy. We also chat a little bit about recent new music and our go-to summer meals. Once all that is out of the way we get to dive into this joyful little number that Taylor wrote for Toy Story 5. We had a lot of fun dissecting this song and remarking on how well Taylor writes about the innocence of childhood. As usual, expect plenty of tears mixed with some laughter and an overall great time. It feels good to be back. Enjoy! Chapters (0:00) intro (0:55) personal updates (38:15) thoughts on new music lately (47:14) our go-to summer meals (48:52) quick Taylor updates ‍(50:55) introducing the song (53:16) personal associations (1:00:31) folk’lore’ of the song (1:06:36) verse 1: the innocence of childhood (1:15:07) chorus 1: a cozy kind of coming home (1:18:44) verse 2: familiarity and bringing things back to life (1:21:43) bridge: rivulets! (1:23:29) chorus 3 and outro (1:24:22) musical theory notes (1:28:24) favorite lyrics and ratings (1:30:10) this song as a recipe (1:32:09) signing off SUPPORT US ON PATREON! Show us some love and get monthly bonus episodes and first dibs on upcoming episode ideas. We’d be enchanted to have you join our Swiftie community! Links Referenced Instagram post with Taylor’s video about writing the song ‘Toy Story 5’ VFX Supervisor Has Been Keeping Taylor Swift Song a Secret Since February: ‘We Had to Create a Decoy Version of the Film’ Without It TikTok video by Brigid Kaelin about the chord progression Meadow Tea recipe Please make sure to subscribe and leave a review. If you’d like to reach out to send in a question or comment, please do so via any of these platforms: email blankplatepod@gmail.com leave a voicemail at (717) 382-831 Patreon (get bonus episodes and first dibs on episode ideas) YouTube Instagram TikTok You can also follow Sara and Laura individually: • Laura: Instagram and Tiktok• Sara: Instagram Listen to our previous podcast: Passports & Pizza

    I Knew It, I Knew You (and catching up!)

  5. Jul 24

    Swiftie Sessions with our friend Brittany

    For this final installment of the Swiftie Sessions before Laura returns to the pod, Sara talks to her friend Brittany. They get into all of the good Swiftie stuff, including some chit chat about Taylor’s wedding! There’s also talk of Taylor’s collabs and features, her fashion sense, and one of Brittany’s favorite lyrics from “New Romantics.” We hope you enjoy! Chapters (00:00) intro (4:13) Brittany’s Swiftie origin story (6:50) wedding chit chat (12:10) sun, moon and rising albums (14:46) favorite album (16:10) least favorite album (17:23) top 5 songs (20:35) songs Brittany hates (23:30) Taylor songs that feel personal (26:25) Showgirl thoughts (32:09) Swiftie “hot takes” (40:58) adding to the Eras Tour set list (45:28) 10 minute versions (47:47) zooming in on “New Romantics” (53:24) hopes for TS13 (55:57) artist recommendation (1:04:33) signing off SUPPORT US ON PATREON! Show us some love and get monthly bonus episodes and first dibs on upcoming episode ideas. We’d be enchanted to have you join our Swiftie community! Please make sure to subscribe and leave a review. If you’d like to reach out to send in a question or comment, please do so via any of these platforms: email blankplatepod@gmail.com leave a voicemail at (717) 382-831 Patreon (get bonus episodes and first dibs on episode ideas) YouTube Instagram TikTok You can also follow Sara and Laura individually: • Laura: Instagram and Tiktok• Sara: Instagram Listen to our previous podcast: Passports & Pizza

    Swiftie Sessions with our friend Brittany

  6. Jul 10

    Swiftie Sessions with The Taylor Seminars

    In this edition of “Swiftie Sessions,” Sara chats with fellow podcasters Hannah and Exquisite from “The Taylor Seminars.” They discuss their personal journeys to becoming Swifties, how they started their own podcast, favorite albums and songs, thoughts on Showgirl as an album, missing songs from the Eras Tour set list, hopes for TS13 and more. We hope you enjoy, and make sure to check out The Taylor Seminars podcast! (All of their info is linked below.) Chapters (00:00) intro / getting to know Hannah and Exquisite (4:05) Swiftie origin stories (11:52) favorite album (14:13) least favorite album (19:27) top 5 songs (24:57) songs we hate (28:06) Taylor songs that feel uniquely personal (30:13) honest thoughts on Showgirl (33:29) underrated songs (39:34) adding to the Eras Tour setlist (42:35) 10-min versions (44:57) hopes for TS13 (48:36) other artist recommendations (52:31) where to find The Taylor Seminars online (54:06) outro and signing off SUPPORT US ON PATREON! Show us some love and get monthly bonus episodes and first dibs on upcoming episode ideas. We’d be enchanted to have you join our Swiftie community! Links Referenced The Taylor Seminars on Twitter (X) The Taylor Seminars on Instagram The Taylor Seminars on YouTube The Taylor Seminars on Spotify The Taylor Seminars on Apple Podcasts Please make sure to subscribe and leave a review. If you’d like to reach out to send in a question or comment, please do so via any of these platforms: email blankplatepod@gmail.com leave a voicemail at (717) 382-831 Patreon (get bonus episodes and first dibs on episode ideas) YouTube Instagram TikTok You can also follow Sara and Laura individually: • Laura: Instagram and Tiktok• Sara: Instagram Listen to our previous podcast: Passports & Pizza

    Swiftie Sessions with The Taylor Seminars

  7. Jun 5

    Swiftie Sessions with our friend Katie

    For another installment of “Swiftie Sessions,” we have Sara’s friend Katie joining us today. We discuss how Katie met Taylor (!!!) during the 1989 era, how basically everyone has a Matty Healy, and her honest thoughts on Showgirl. We also go down a rabbit hole about the song “ivy,” speculate on what Taylor actually meant by the “paternity test” comment during her NYT interview, go on some tangents about Heated Rivalry and Off Campus, and we even touch a bit on the craziness of the Karlie Kloss conspiracy. Enjoy! Chapters (0:00) intro (1:28) Katie’s Swiftie origin story / meeting Taylor Swift (19:37) sun, moon and rising albums (21:57) favorite / least favorite albums (22:28) top 5 songs (23:57) hated songs (25:27) a Taylor song that feels uniquely personal to you (27:51) honest thoughts on Showgirl (35:41) Swiftie “hot takes” (46:24) defending “Jump Then Fall” (49:29) adding “ivy” to the Eras Tour set list (55:36) What song do you want a 10-minute version of? (56:24) hopes for TS13 (58:17) the “paternity test” comment from the NYT interview (1:05:02) the Karlie Kloss conspiracy (1:13:57) chit-chatting about Noah Kahan, Heated Rivalry and Off Campus (1:21:34) signing off / thank you Katie! SUPPORT US ON PATREON! Show us some love and get monthly bonus episodes and first dibs on upcoming episode ideas. We’d be enchanted to have you join our Swiftie community! Links Referenced Katie’s TikTok account Please make sure to subscribe and leave a review. If you’d like to reach out to send in a question or comment, please do so via any of these platforms: email blankplatepod@gmail.com leave a voicemail at (717) 382-831 Patreon (get bonus episodes and first dibs on episode ideas) YouTube Instagram TikTok You can also follow Sara and Laura individually: • Laura: Instagram and Tiktok• Sara: Instagram Listen to our previous podcast: Passports & Pizza

    Swiftie Sessions with our friend Katie

  8. May 22

    Unpacking "The Great Divide: The Last of the Bugs" (with Stef)

    Calling all Swifties who are also Noah Kahan fans, or who are Noah-curious! Today Sara is joined by her friend Stef (again) to dive into Noah’s newest album, “The Great Divide: The Last of the Bugs” while Laura is still on maternity leave. They reacted to the whole album for YouTube (linked below), and loved it so much they knew they had to come on here and break it down. Laura even shares her two cents in a few places via some voice memos, which is really fun. They begin by talking about how Noah’s songwriting is similar to Taylor’s before diving more deeply into the album with specific tracks, and then ending with favorite songs, lyrics and ratings, etc. A couple notes: we goofed and didn’t realize that evermore was INDEED nominated for Album of the Year in 2022. Our bad! Also, we forgot to play Laura’s voice memo about her top 3 songs from the album, so her 3 favorites are: End of August, Orbiter and Willing and Able. We hope you enjoy this one, and please let us know if you’d like us to do more of this kind of episode in the future. Chapters (00:00) Intro (1:35) Taylor Updates (11:37) Our backgrounds with Noah (18:18) Noah’s similarities to Taylor (34:22) Introducing “The Great Divide” - overall thoughts and themes (50:46) End of August (56:51) Doors (1:03:56) American Cars (1:09:21) Downfall (1:14:23) Paid Time Off (1:17:43) Staying Still (1:20:23) Haircut (1:22:56) Willing and Able (1:27:14) Dashboard (1:28:30) 23 (1:32:01) All Them Horses + A Few Of Your Own (1:33:58) Orbiter (1:39:21) Dan (1:45:20) Top 3 Favorite Songs (1:46:54) Skips (1:51:07) Best Bridge (1:59:58) Song for Taylor to be featured on (2:07:18) Favorite Lyrics (2:10:33) Rating the album (2:16:05) Signing off / outro SUPPORT US ON PATREON! Show us some love and get monthly bonus episodes and first dibs on upcoming episode ideas. We’d be enchanted to have you join our Swiftie community! Links Referenced NYT - 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters National Recording Registry Inducts Sounds of Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, The Go-Go’s, Vince Gill, Weezer, Reba McEntire and More Chats and Reacts girls react to “Stick Season” Sara and Stef react to “The Great Divide: The Last of the Bugs” Please make sure to subscribe and leave a review. If you’d like to reach out to send in a question or comment, please do so via any of these platforms: email blankplatepod@gmail.com leave a voicemail at (717) 382-831 Patreon (get bonus episodes and first dibs on episode ideas) YouTube Instagram TikTok You can also follow Sara and Laura individually: • Laura: Instagram and Tiktok• Sara: Instagram Listen to our previous podcast: Passports & Pizza

    Unpacking "The Great Divide: The Last of the Bugs" (with Stef)
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4.8
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

Join Sara and Laura as they do deep dives into the Tay-lore of individual Taylor Swift songs, react to new releases, discuss Taylor in the news, and overall just chat about all things regarding our Pop Queen Lord and Savior, Taylor Alison Swift. Each episode also touches on food in some way - It could be a recipe pairing for a song, deciding what kind of pizza each album would be, or trying to figure out why Taylor gets that Milk Bar cake for her birthday each year, so be sure to bring your appetite!

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