In Defense of My Fave

Morgan Cottrill
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Music Commentary
  • Updated Weekly

In Defense Of My Fave is where music lovers plead their case. Each episode, a guest passionately defends an album or artist they’d go to bat for—flaws, skips, and all. Expect strong opinions, deep nostalgia, and spirited debate, all in good fun. If you’ve ever said “no, you don’t get this album,” this podcast is for you.

  1. 2d ago

    In Defense of Taylor Swift's the Life of a Showgirl

    Morgan hosts In Defense of My Fave, a music commentary podcast where guests defend albums, and wraps Season One’s 12-album Taylor Swift run with Life of a Showgirl alongside returning guests Stef and Sara, noting the episode was recorded before the deluxe bonus tracks. They recap their Swiftie histories, speculate about a new single (“Patient Zero”), possible deluxe/VMAs announcements, and discuss the album’s cultural context: post-Eras Tour, The Tortured Poets Department’s success, Swift buying back her masters, and her engagement to Travis Kelce. They outline the showgirl-maximalist aesthetic, Max Martin/Shellback producing all 12 tracks, fan backlash and lore, and commercial performance. The group then tier-ranks tracks with major disagreements (e.g., “Father Figure,” “Eldest Daughter,” “Wood,” title track), and Morgan shares overall album ranking scores and teases a final bonus episode building perfect 13-track Taylor albums. Follow the show: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/indefenseofmyfave/Tier ranking visual: https://www.instagram.com/p/DeRk5MgCEt6/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&dlrf=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==&srtk=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Spotify playlist for every Taylor Swift song Morgan ranked God Tier: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5nX8DYcpI7zdp69zySyWJQ?si=6579456cf9964dad Spotify playlist for every song Morgan ranked God Tier so far on the pod: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4lUwq292MomaBpKiCXoAVg?si=0b6a29b6dd6c4ef1

    In Defense of Taylor Swift's the Life of a Showgirl

  2. Oct 2

    In Defense of Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department (Part 2)

    Morgan continues her In Defense of My Fave conversation with Ronni and Steph on the back half of Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department (the Anthology), debating whether Taylor should slow down on new music, what Taylor Swift 13 could be, and how fans read into hair, marriage, and country-root hints. They track-by-track rank songs like “The Black Dog,” “imgonnagetyouback,” “So High School,” “How Did It End?,” “I Look in People’s Windows,” “The Prophecy,” and “The Manuscript,” discussing lore ties to The 1975, grief stages, and personal breakup parallels, while criticizing several Dessner-produced tracks and revisiting Kim/Kanye with “thanK you aIMee.” They choose best bridges/songs and reveal the tier-ranking scores. As she does every week, Morgan uses math to get a final score for The Tortured Poets Department. Tier ranking visuals: https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd_ogkPFv1Y/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&stkn=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Follow the show! https://www.instagram.com/indefenseofmyfave/

    In Defense of Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department (Part 2)

  3. Sep 25

    In Defense of Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department (Part 1)

    In Defense of My Fave: The Tortured Poets Department (Part 1) — Swiftie History, Lore, and Track RankingsMorgan introduces In Defense of My Fave and explains this Tortured Poets Department episode’s altered format. They share their Swiftie histories and Morgan’s Spotify Wrapped highlights before revisiting their initial reactions to TTPD. In cultural context, they discuss Taylor Swift’s 2024 commercial peak, the 31-track surprise double drop, polarizing critical response, massive sales and streaming records, variant controversy, and Jack Antonoff vs. Aaron Dessner’s production roles. They outline key relationship lore around Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy, then begin ranking Part 1 tracks through “Clara Bow,” debating favorites like “Down Bad,” “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?,” “Guilty as Sin,” and “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.” Tier ranking visuals: https://www.instagram.com/p/DdthuwrDU3I/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&stkn=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Follow the show: https://www.instagram.com/indefenseofmyfave/

    In Defense of Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department (Part 1)

  4. Sep 18

    In Defense of Taylor Swift's Midnights Album

    In Defense of My Fave: Taylor Swift’s Midnights (feat. Zack + Stef) Morgan hosts an episode of In Defense of My Fave centered on defending Taylor Swift’s Midnights with guests Zack and Stef, discussing their Swiftie origins, first listens, and the album’s cultural context, rollout, and Jack Antonoff-led production. They explore lore around Joe Alwyn, Matty Healy, and John Mayer, debate whether context enriches the songs, and react to marketing strategies like Midnights Mayhem, vinyl variants, and the 3 a.m. edition. In a track-by-track tier ranking, they praise songs like “Anti-Hero,” “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve,” “Mastermind,” and “You’re Losing Me,” critique others including “Vigilante Shit” and “Snow on the Beach,” and discuss themes of introspection, vulnerability, and relationships. Morgan uses math to confirm how these albums stack up against each other. Tier ranking visuals: https://www.instagram.com/p/DdbgA-biunG/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&stkn=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Follow the show! https://www.instagram.com/indefenseofmyfave/

    In Defense of Taylor Swift's Midnights Album

  5. Sep 11

    In Defense of Taylor Swift's Evermore Album

    Evermore Deep Dive (with Stef & Bev) | Spotify Wrapped, Pandemic Era Context & Track Rankings Host Morgan welcomes returning guests Stef and Bev to discuss Taylor Swift’s Evermore in Season 1 of In Defense of My Fave, after a detour through 2020 Spotify Wrapped and a breakdown of how folklore and evermore arrived as surprise pandemic-era sister albums. They cover cultural context, producers and collaborators (including Aaron Dessner, Jack Antonoff, Bon Iver, and Joe Alwyn/“William Bowery”), chart performance, and fandom lore about Evermore as the “forgotten middle child.” The trio then goes track-by-track with tier rankings and lyric analysis, debating standouts like “willow,” “champagne problems,” “’tis the damn season,” “tolerate it,” “ivy,” “marjorie,” and “right where you left me,” while disagreeing on songs like “coney island.” Morgan reveals her math-based album ranking, and teases next week’s Midnights episode with Zack. Tier ranking visuals: https://www.instagram.com/p/DdJmhtSDd53/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&stkn=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Follow the show!: https://www.instagram.com/indefenseofmyfave/

    In Defense of Taylor Swift's Evermore Album

  6. Sep 4

    In Defense of Taylor Swift's Folklore Album

    Host Morgan introduces In Defense of My Fave and welcomes first-time couple guests Nicole and Michelle (met at Taylor Swift karaoke) alongside recurring guest Stef to defend Taylor Swift’s Folklore. They share their Swiftie backgrounds, where they were during the album’s surprise 2020 release, and discuss the pandemic-era pivot from Lover Fest into a surprise rollout, critical acclaim, Grammy history, collaborators (Aaron Dessner, Jack Antonoff, Bon Iver, and “William Bowery”/Joe Alwyn), and the Long Pond Studio Sessions. Morgan presents cultural context, industry details, and theories about song inspirations, then leads a track-by-track tier ranking with lyrical analysis, personal stories, and debate over storytelling songs and production styles. The group picks favorite bridges and songs, and Morgan reveals her math-based album scoring to see which Taylor Swift album takes the top spot. Follow the show! ⁠https://www.instagram.com/indefenseofmyfave/⁠ Tier ranking visuals: https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc3czokCKXc/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&stkn=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

    In Defense of Taylor Swift's Folklore Album

  7. Aug 28

    In Defense of Taylor Swift's Lover Album

    In Defense of Lover: Hot Takes, Medium Talk, and the “Flop Era” Debate Morgan introduces In Defense of My Fave, a music commentary podcast where rotating guests defend albums, noting season one covers 12 Taylor Swift albums. In this episode, Morgan and guests discuss Taylor Swift’s Lover (released Aug. 23, 2019), its context as her first album post–Big Machine amid the Scooter Braun masters sale, and how it competed in a stacked 2019. They review critical and commercial notes (Metacritic 79, best-selling album of 2019, sixth straight No. 1 debut), key collaborators (Jack Antonoff, Joel Little, Louis Bell, Frank Dukes, Soundwave), and Joe Alwyn song associations, then go track-by-track with tier rankings, praising songs like “Cruel Summer,” “Lover,” “The Archer,” “False God,” and “Death by a Thousand Cuts,” while debating “You Need to Calm Down” and especially “ME!,” before tallying album scores to see where Lover ranks on Morgan's definitive album ranking list. Visuals of our tier rankings: https://www.instagram.com/p/DclbInHDd-9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsi=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Follow the show! https://www.instagram.com/indefenseofmyfave/

    In Defense of Taylor Swift's Lover Album

  8. Aug 21

    In Defense of Taylor Swift's Reputation Album

    In Defense of My Fave is a podcast where guests defend albums through track-by-track tier rankings, hot takes, context, lore, and personal stories, with Season 1 focused on Taylor Swift. For this episode, Bev and the host Morgan defend Taylor Swift’s Reputation to Raina, a country-era Swift fan. The discussion covers 2017’s darker pop landscape, Taylor’s media backlash after 1989 and the Kanye/Kim controversy, and how Reputation functions as a bait-and-switch concept album mixing public-image songs with Joe Alwyn love songs. They debate production choices, fandom culture, and favorite tracks. Morgan reveals how the albums stack up against each other in her personal preference, backed by math, of course!

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

In Defense Of My Fave is where music lovers plead their case. Each episode, a guest passionately defends an album or artist they’d go to bat for—flaws, skips, and all. Expect strong opinions, deep nostalgia, and spirited debate, all in good fun. If you’ve ever said “no, you don’t get this album,” this podcast is for you.

Information

  • Creator
    Morgan Cottrill
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    14
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Morgan Cottrill
  • Show Website
    In Defense of My Fave