My man, so happy you're discovering Taylor. I'm a 35 year old "Guy's guy" who grew up listening to her with girlfriends and stuff. But the last two years found a few co-worker guys who are all Swifties. We're all ex-military and work with mostly mil or ex-mil people and finally just said fuck it, and two weeks ago did a Europe Trip with a Taylor Swift Concert in Stockholm, Sweden and it was the most amazing time. She is INCREDIBLE live, and I've been to a lot, lot of concerts. She is one of, if not the best I've ever seen. The entire city was a part of the experience, Stockholm had a population increase of 200 THOUSAND, yes 200K people for that weekend! The city was electric and every bar and restaurant was playing her music and had themed drinks and food tongue-in-cheek, and we met people from all over the world who had travelled to see her and make a Euro trip out if it. I'm a grown enough man to like any music I want to and honestly I keep becoming more and more of a fan. The community is great and the songs have meant different things to me at every stage of life. Love watching your reactions and honest growing appreciation. Keep it up!
She is amazing. Single father, my daughter was into TS about 15 years ago when she was 12. All she played was TS music. I got into her music, so we had something to bond over. I have taken my daughter to 5 TS concerts now, including Eras a few months ago. It has been a wonderful time with my daughter at concerts with her friends, watching them all having the time of their lives. I thank TS for assisting me navigate my daughter’s teenage years😅 She turned out awesome, now a specialist ER nurse for brain trauma. TS did her no harm.
@@ZEDZDead2 Taylor made a comment in an interview that this video has the most Easter eggs she's ever put in a video. She hinted at a lot different people in this video.
Random subscriber here, haha. Best wishes with your Taylor journey. I'm looking forward to watching more of your reactions. I'm a 56-yo very happily married white dude, retired from the Army, living in Utah; been a Swiftie for a good decade. So yeah, your UA-cam presence reaches total randos, lol. Thanks for allowing me to vicariously experience Taylor's hits for the first time, again! It's fun. Good luck, my friend!
haha awesome, i'm quickly finding out there isn't really a typical Swift fan, she really has a wide reach. Thank you for the kind words and most importantly, thank you for your service!
Pretty much the same here, just passed by and couldn’t resist! I just like looking for new people who put out new reactions. I love watching newbies truly see the story of how amazing Taylor is.
I’ve always thought the giant cage was a reference to her old label. How her albums and discography were sold out from under her. They thought they owned her and could control her. She took back control and re-recorded her own songs and rereleased those albums ( Taylor’s Version)
Also, a section about music streaming companies and her not allowing her music on it unless they paid all artists better. Not just her - lots of love shown to her from upcoming artists who need the money
@@ZEDZDead2oh, this one was big. She still has Reputation and Debut album for rerecord. Long story short - she was sign for 13 years. Before her, that lebel wasn't existing. Not sure exactly what the problem was, but they wanted to sell the entire label. She wanted to buy her masters and was in negotiations with them for years. And the end of the day, without any notice they sold her rights to one really nasty person, that she knows and hate with passion - real dirty scumbag. Thay try to keep her, offering a deal - for every new album they receive from her, thay will gave her on of the old one, back to her. Imagine how much time she was supposed to sit under that monster. So she decided to send them to hell and rerecord all of her previous music. 6 albums. Meanwhile she came up with 3 new albums and started the Eras tour - basically something like the greatest hits tour with all of her music - old and new. 17/18 years of music. And in April drop the newest new album - the tortured poems department - 31 songs album. How she do it is a mystery to me. Did she ever eat or sleep. 4 hours long concert 3/4/6 nights in a roll.
I went down the Taylor Swift rabbit hole a couple of years ago and have loved every second lol. Her lyrics are deep and beautiful. Some are boppy and fun. There's a lot to explore and us swifties love first time reactions!!! 🫶
@@ZEDZDead2 If you are looking for haunting lyricism, try "right where you left me" (a fictional story about not being able to move on from someone) and "Would've Could've Should've" (Regretting the choice of dating a much older man in your youth and letting it leave you emotionally scarred. Its about her relationship with John Mayer when she was 19 and he was 32. She released the song when she turned 32 in 2022, and the track is Track 19. Shes long over John Mayer, the track is only there because her alhum is talking about things that keep her up at night.)
This video is so deep you have to research it. At surface level, it's cool when you know all the Easter eggs and all the hidden things it's mind blowing
Glad you watched it twice. Her videos (and songs) are so layered it takes a few times to soak it in. And, when you check out all the easter eggs it's mind blowing. The level of her artistry is just out of this world. Genius.
Taylor's favorite number is 13. The tilted stage refers to Kanye West. Kim Kardashian edited a phone call, said she had receipts where TS agreed to Kanye calling her a B#TCH "I made that B famous", posted a bunch of snake emojis, hence Taylor owning up snakes. The kingdom keys refers to Scott Borschetta (spelling?); he signed her, then when he was selling his label, she wanted to buy her music, but he sold it to Scooter B. She had many conversations with Scott about not selling her music to Scooter B, but as she says "He had $300 million reasons to betray her." I got stronger, smarter and harder refers to deciding to re-record her first 6 albums in order to own her music rights. She literally hid out for a year and wrote Reputation album. The Vault refers to her fight for rights with Spotify to pay artists for streams
Scooter B has ties to Kanye, and the Swifts talking to each other refer to Kim K, the other remarks are referring to press remarks about her playing the victim etc
When the truth came out that Kim K edited the phone call and lied nobody cared (press wise it was a non story) she got back at an awards ceremony saying people would try to take credit for your hard work. Kanye also made a video of his song with an AI generated naked Taylor is his bed. Way too far.
The characters at the end are all Taylor from various music videos and tour outfits (except the zombie, which I believe is unique to this video). The number 13 is Taylor's favorite for various reasons. You'll see references to it in lots of places. The snake theme came with the Reputation era (her 6th album and most of the links I gave are related to it because I figured it was a good place for your to start). There was a bunch of drama between Taylor, Kanye, and Kim K. that lead to Taylor being "cancelled" for a few years and the Reputation album was her comeback. Long story; I won't explain much more here. Taylor ended up being vindicated. K&K were eventually seen as the true villains. You'll pick up the lore over time if you keep doing TS reactions. For future reference: You can find all of Taylor's official music videos and lyric videos here: Taylor Swift videos www.youtube.com/@TaylorSwift/videos If someone suggests a song and they don't give a link, you can probably find it there unless it is a clip from a tour movie (like the "Don't Blame Me" link that I gave you. That is a clip from the Reputation Stadium Tour movie). Fans upload clips from various movies and from the on-going Eras Tour. Speaking of movies, you might eventually want to see those. Here is a list of most of them: The Eras Tour movie (Disney+) Don't overlook the acoustic set version attached at the end after the credits. Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions (Disney+) Watch carefully for the first few minutes so that you understand the setup. Miss Americana (official documentary on Netflix) This is the single best source of info about Taylor and is very entertaining. The Reputation Stadium Tour (hard to find the movie itself at the moment but fans have uploaded clips) The 1989 World Tour (free on UA-cam) ua-cam.com/video/P5JLMp08GC0/v-deo.html If you like a bunch of her videos and eventually want to see the movies, I suggest The Eras Tour and Miss Americana to start. I personally love folklore, but I'm not sure if it will be great for you.
Wow, as i said before, thanks so much for all the info and links! This is super helpful. I’m excited to dive into the Reputation era and get all the backstory on the drama. Can’t wait to check out the music videos and those movies you mentioned, especially The Eras Tour and Miss Americana. Your tips are awesome, and I really appreciate you taking the time to share them. Looking forward to discovering more about Taylor Swift with your help!
swiftie here! lol. always love seeing people react to this video, and discovering who TS is as an artist. She is also very funny. Nice to meet you all.
Totally!! She been involved in the production for several years now, and if you like the visuals you’ll like almost all her videos! I’m not the biggest fan of her country stuff, but ‘teardrops on my guitar’ has a great video
Wow I just found your channel and I’ve loved your insights! I think since you enjoyed the music video I think you would enjoy “The Man” music video or her “All Too Well” short film. She started directing her own videos for the last several albums and they are so good
wow didn't even know she directed her videos, how does she even have the time! so impressive, thank you for your recommendation and kind words. I'll be sure to add those to the list.
Snakes - that is for Kim K...her fans tried to cancel Taylor on socials years ago and so Taylor flipped it and started using the snakes herself. Now anytime there are snakes we know that is a throwback to Kim and to the Rep (Reputation era).
TS = Taylor Swift, but any signs of 13 in any video/performance is because it's her favorite number. She was born in 1989, so you will see those references from songs from that album when you get to any of those. YES, this song is about Kanye and his diss at the 2009 VMA's. She basically re-invented herself after that happened. Intro+Ready For It performance from the Rep Tour better explains it. The line about getting receipts and editing them later is about Kim K. And all the Taylor's at the end are all characters/costumes from other videos of hers. Not only are Taylor's budgets massive for her videos, they are always filled with Easter Eggs that reference past, present, or future songs or albums, or people. You'll start getting the lore from people as you go through each reaction. As long has you continue to be authentic and genuinely interested in learning more, the Swifties will come and guide you.
Thanks for breaking that down! It's awesome to learn about all the 13 and 1989 references. The Kanye diss at the VMAs and her whole reinvention makes so much more sense now. I’ll definitely check out the Intro+Ready For It performance from the Rep Tour for more context. And those Easter eggs sound like a fun challenge to spot as I go through her videos, i'll definitely have to run this back! I appreciate you sharing all this. I’m really enjoying discovering more about Taylor Swift and her music, and I love hearing from you guys.
And Kanye's song Famous "I made that b!tch famous" and the edited recording led to her being called a snake, the only nod to the VMA's was at the very end with her holding the VMA award.
Taylor is a savage, so many Easter Eggs in this video. This was the first single from the Reputation album, she refused to do any interviews/press for this album and released this video. You already did the Reputation Tour intro, well she invited all the media people that talked shit about her to the first night VIP tent and opened the show with Intro+Ready For It followed by I Did Something Bad 🤌. Video Easter Eggs(timestamp music video, not your reaction video too difficult to go back and forth. 1. Tilted stage - Kanye 0:27 2. Grave stone Nils Sjoberg - Clavin Harris 0:30 background they were in a relationship, she wrote lyrics to his hit song with Rhianna, in an interview promoting that song he said he would never work with her, she got pissed they broke up and she killed the pen name. 3. Dollar bill - sexual assault lawsuit. 0:37 background an asshole DJ put his hand up her skirt and grabbed her (with witnesses) she spoke up, he was fired, HE sued her for getting him fired, she counter sued for $1 and won. 4. Snakes - Kim K 0:54 Kim started the whole Taylor is a snake on Instagram and tried to cancel Tay. 5. Crashing the car - Katy Perry 01:14 At the time they had a long standing beef. She's styled like Katy with same hair from Katy's diss track Swish Swish and she's holding one of her Grammy which Katy doesn't have. 6. Taylor's fight with streaming services - the industry 1:48 Taylor refused to let her music go to streaming services until artists received a better deal for their songs. Fun fact she finally released her music to streaming (once she got the deal she wanted) on the same day the Katy Perry released her album Witness 🤌 7. The phone call - Kanye & KimK 2:55 Kim K recorded and edited a phone call between Kanye and Taylor to make it look like Taylor approved of the lyrics in his song Famous...she did not. The unedited call was leaked years later and proved Taylor right. 8. Dance scene 3:09 - the haters that said she cant dance. I'm sure I missed some. Subscribed for more Taylor. Would love to see you react to her performance of I Did Something Bad live from the AMA here's the correct link ua-cam.com/video/uQS1GWJHJ-Y/v-deo.htmlsi=WskMT4t6HrtfJULq
If there's a cat, it usually just means Taylor loves cats... Everything else has meaning. 13 is Taylors number. If you love high concept quality music videos, you are going to love getting caught up on Taylor. She now writes and directs most of her videos. The snake was what she was labelled when Kim released an edited version of her conversation with Kanye, making it sound like Taylor was lying.
Great reaction. People call her fans a cult. She premiered this video at an MTV Awards show. I saw an homage to pop culture events & other pop artist music video visuals & tv shows- mostly female ones. This was one of the highest music video budgets. The director (Kahn) has worked with Britney Spears. I think the tub with jewels kinda references her 1989 Grammy talk on Blank Space- a parody of media & general public thought of her love life- where she cries in the tub with jewels. The dollar in a shot refers to the DJ defamation/sexual assault lawsuit (by Jury) she was involved with (assault- 2013) (trial- 2017). She called Kanye wax image of her in his 2016 video- revenge porn. (She has tried to be proactive of her image- she even had to buy adult domain sites in her name in 2015 to prevent people from misusing it.) I liked the editor's BTS video on the creation of this music video. ua-cam.com/video/YfvzK0QBhoY/v-deo.htmlsi=xSSTIJ0GaX6vn3MT
Book of Codes: PART ONE "I don't like your tilted stage" refers to Kanye and his tilted stage on his Saint Pablo / Life of Pablo tour. The tombstone "Here Lies Taylor Swift's Reputation" refers to Kim and Kanye falsely accusing her of lying, destroying her reputation as a person of good character. The bad press sent her into hiding, almost killing her career, hence the scene of her crawling out of the grave a zombie, undead. She's coming for them and everyone else who's pissed her off. A tombstone behind her reads Nils Sjoberg, the pen name she used for the song "This Is What You Came For" which she, and her boyfriend at the time, Calvin Harris, wrote together. He didn't want anyone to know she had written a song for him. He did the music; she wrote the melody and lyrics. It became a huge hit for him and Rihanna. On the day of the song's release, April 29 (see High Infidelity) Harris was doing press for the song and was asked by Ryan Seacrest if he'd ever work with his famous girlfriend. He lied and said no. Taylor, who was co-hosting the Met Gala 2016, was at a dinner party given by Anna Wintour where she met Joe Alwyn and didn't bother showing up for the song's release day party. After they broke up, he became petty and vindictive on social media so, she revealed she was Nils Sjoberg taking rightful credit for her part of the hit song. He was peeved that she got more kudos for writing the song than he did - probably why he didn't want people to know in the first place. The dollar bill to the left of her in the tub references the incident with David Mueller, the radio DJ who put his hand up her skirt and groped her ass while she stood beside him getting a picture taken. The picture captured the whole thing. It was undeniable. When she reported him to his boss, the radio station fired him. He sued her for a million dollars. She counter-sued him for ONE dollar and won the case. The bathtub full of diamonds (apparently real and on loan under armed guard) refers to Kim Kardashian claiming she was robbed at a Paris hotel while taking a bath. There's a lot of speculation that this was all a setup - a staged robbery so Kim and Kanye could cash in on the insurance money AND keep the jewels. The hotel suspected they had been swindled by KimYe but didn't want to risk bad publicity by accusing them outright. They are both billionaires, and, as Kardashian loves to say "we have enough money to bury them". That's why Taylor says "I don't like your perfect crime" while sitting in the tub. "I don't like your perfect crime" also refers to the perfect crime Kim and Kanye got away with when they lied about Taylor giving Kanye permission to use a lyric she did not approve in the song Famous which goes: "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex. Why? I made that bitch famous." Taylor's fans never believed Kanye and Kim. Neither did anyone with two brain cells. Why would the enormously successful Taylor Swift, whom Kanye had already burned once before, ever approve of him calling her a bitch and taking credit for her success? Not in a million years would that ever happen. She said as much in her acceptance speech at the 2016 Grammy awards, February 15, 2016 when her album 1989 won Grammy for Album of the Year. I think it's important for people to know what Kanye West and Kim Kardashian did to Taylor. At the time, there was little interest being shown for West's up-coming new album, Life of Pablo, after a series of lack-lustre albums. It was embarrassing how low his profile had sunken. Taylor, on the other hand, was riding high with the release of her album 1989 which was getting rave reviews. Jealous and desperate, West and Kardashian hatched a diabolical plan to generate publicity for him by once again linking his name with Taylor's, thus recreating the kind of hoopla and world-wide attention he got the last time their names were in headlines together - the infamous incident in 2009 when he went on stage and grabbed the mic out of Taylor's hand after she'd won the VMA for Best Video. He was universally derided for it. Even President Obama called him a jackass. This time, they plotted that it would be different. They schemed to set up Taylor for a fall from grace, making it look like she was a liar while painting Kanye as the innocent pawn. The phone call was only the beginning but an important part in their evil machinations. They needed to manipulate her and record her agreeing to one set of lyrics, so they could later edit it to make it look like she'd agreed to another. While Kanye spoke to Taylor on his phone, Kim illegally recorded the conversation. Scooter Braun, West's manager at the time, was in on the whole thing, even taking out billboards later hinting at what was to come, going on social media to say something big was about to happen and that everyone should stay tuned. West released the song Famous February 14, 2016, right before the Grammy Awards February 15. Maximum exposure. When Taylor heard the actual lyrics for the first time, along with everyone else, she knew she'd been played and betrayed. She was understandably outraged, publicly denouncing West for the lyrics, stating in the media that she hadn't approved them. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to her, she once again, played right into West's hands - it was all part of his nefarious masterplan all along. The whole thing hinged entirely on Taylor making her righteous anger public. West had to make his betrayal unmistakably underhanded and insulting enough to ensure without doubt that she'd react exactly as she did, thereby unwittingly, setting into motion the scandal, controversy and media attention he needed for his album's release. What ensued was a media frenzy of news stories, gossip, worldwide headlines, interviews and articles that went on and on for months. It also brought back the public's sympathy for West, allowing a re-branding of himself as the poor innocent victim this time and casting Taylor as the evil liar and manipulator - a win win for him. His situation had gone from no one caring that he was releasing an album to everybody buying his album and tuning in to hear the song with the infamous lyrics. Every time the scandal died down, West or Kardashian would resurrect it, milking it for all it was worth. Kardashian gave an interview in Vogue in June 16, 2016, reiterating the false narrative that Taylor was lying, saying "She totally approved that." The next day, June 17 Kardashian took to social media, adding insult to injury, calling Taylor a snake. Twitter had a meltdown. All of Kim's and Kanye's millions of sycophants tweeted snake emojis at Taylor. The hashtag "Taylor is over party" was the #1 trending thing on Twitter for a while. A month later July 18, 2016 Kardashian leaked the edited recording of the infamous phone conversation setting off another media frenzy, calling it "proof" that Taylor had approved the lyrics and was lying. Taylor posted on social media asking, "where in that recording do I approve him calling me a bitch? It doesn't exist because it never happened." Adding further insult to injury, Kanye also released the music video for Famous in July, with a life-size mannequin of Taylor, putting her naked likeness in bed with him, implying they'd had sex, proving once again that he is a morally bankrupt douchebag. Ditto his bimbo ex wife "Honey." Taylor went into hiding, disappearing from public view for a year. No one saw her or was able to take a single photo of her. She gave no interviews. Even after Reputation's release, a year later, she gave zero press. She said only one thing "There will be no explanation, only Reputation." Five years later, when the entire unedited recording was leaked, proving Taylor had been telling the truth all along and that Kim and Kanye had lied - Kardashian dismissed it by tweeting it was old news and that Taylor was just looking for attention again. Neither West, Kardashian or Braun were ever called out by the media for this truly evil thing they did to Taylor even though the stunt revealed their unrepentant manipulation of the media and of Taylor. Nevertheless, anyone with a brain took note that they were not to be trusted because the stunt proved beyond a doubt what despicable sleaze bags they really are. According to the Chinese Zodiac, 1989, (the year Taylor was born), is the Year of the Snake. After considering her new designation as a snake and considering the qualities and symbolism of snakes, Taylor embraced the title and found it was all very fitting. Snakes are beautiful, dangerous, stealthy, sleek, formidable, awesome, often deadly creatures that can strike suddenly when least expected. They also shed their skin as they outgrow their old one. Taylor applied these qualities and characteristics to herself, using them as symbols and metaphors to reinvent herself. She embraced the snake as her personal motif and put it everywhere, on everything, saying to herself "You know, this girl they're writing about is actually amazing. I have to write some songs from this girl's perspective!" The giant snake behind her on tour was named Karyn, a reference to the fact that the Kardashians names all start with K. Taylor decided she would become the Queen of Snakes. This is why she is sitting on a throne with her subjects all around her. When asked about the snake theme in Reputation she said, "Snakes eat rats." The armrests have the words "Et tu Brute?" which means "And you too Brutus?" This refers to Shakespeare's play about the murder of Julius Caesar - they are Caesar's dying words to his friend Brutus who stabbed him in the back.This music video is all about her pouring "All the Tea"
Swifties will show up if you give TS an honest chance. We all have our favorite songs, so if ppl don’t agree, that’s their preference,and true swifties understand this ❤
Love your reaction! For being your second song/video and you catch all these things is 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼. LWYMMD is suuuuuuch a rabbit hole of Easter eggs (she has said they still haven't all been found) & a fun one to jump feet first into your TS journey. Haha. Welcome, we're all mad here.
The tilted stage lyric is a direct lyric to his stage literally tilting. The opening scene you couldn’t make out is TS in lights from above. I love the birdcage. She’s like a songbird in there. She LOVES her cats and you’ll see references to them in a lot of videos. The snake scene while she’s on the throne is referring to Kim and Kayne and the world calling her a snake. Just trying to pick up something’s I didn’t see anyone else say. Keep going!❤ PS the tshirt and glasses video you’re talking about is You Belong With Me
I have watched so many reaction videos now and I just have to say how amazing you are at this! Not only are you inutive enough to get the message, but you listened and then listened again to react! Awesome content. New subscriber!
I loved your reaction, as you continue to explore TS you can't help to fall in love with her. As the other comments i absolutely recommended to watch miss Americana for a bit of extra context of her career and decisions ❤. Hope you continue reacting love the content
@@ZEDZDead2yup I just subscribed and your channel will grow and grow. Another Swiftie here and it’s very refreshing to watch someone go back and analyze the MV thanks and I’ll be looking for u
A lot of people are realizing that Taylor Swift reactions will grow their channels. Good luck! 👍🏻 Lots and lots of Easter Eggs in this one. Taylor loves games and puzzles and providing fun for her fans.
Hey there! I just found your channel and am really enjoying your reaction and thoughts. A lot of reactors play the song once and try to keep everything short, but I really enjoy how you go back through and analyze and try to figure things out. I don’t know anything about production so listening to your comments helps me enjoy the video more since you notice things that go right over my head. You’re doing a great job! ❤🎉
I love you so much. Thank you for this reaction ❤❤❤. Taylor Swift is the music industry. Taylor Swift is the hall of genres. I like to see your reaction for more stuff of Tay Tay
Kanye West called Taylor and told her he wanted her okay on some lyrics for his new song "Famous" that had her name in it, he recorded the conversation. When the song Famous came out, the lyrics "I made that b!tch famous". Taylor objected, meanwhile, Kanye and Kim edited the tape, and Kim posted the edited version on social media and started calling her a snake and a liar. The hate became too much and she disappeared for a year (not years). Taylor was born on December 13, 1989. Those numbers are important. All those Taylor's were from past music videos, performances, and awards shows. The jet. cutting off the wing signifying what Kanye and Kim did to her, a bird with a broken wing can't fly. They tried to bury her, the zombie Taylor is wearing the dress for "Out of the Woods" MV (about Harry Styles). The squad was what people called all Taylor's friends, mostly models and actresses. There is way more, but I think you did a fairly good job of figuring some of it out. If you watch any live performances and see a huge mechanical snake, her name is Karyn, Taylor embraced the snake. I subscribed, welcome to the rabbit hole, it is a nice place to be, I am 65 and have been a fan since her first album. Here is the order of her discography, Debut album "Taylor Swift", Fearless, Speak Now (totally self-written when people said she didn't write her songs), Red, 1989 (considered the pop bible), Reputation, Lover, folklore, evermore, Midnights/3AM/Til Dawn and now The Tortured Poet Department. Taylor is re-recording her first 6 albums because they were sold out from under her, she has yet to re-record Reputation and her first one Taylor Swift. This is to reclaim her music, the re-records are called Taylor's Versions (TV) she also had the vault tracks that didn't make it onto the albums during that time period.
Swiftie here and I just subscribed so I can watch you learn how great Taylor is 🎉 also in the beginning as it is panning in it is TS in lights not a number💖
I love watching people find out her music is fun! In this video, she's already planning her 12th studio album, which just shows how insanely smart she is.
13 is her lucky #. She was born on the 12/13. She has won awards when she sat in row 13, the list goes deeper... the snake is referencing when Kim K called her a snake, when all that drama went down.
Subscribed for more Taylor's reactions!!!!! Are You ready for it?? Your Journey through Her Golden Heart will gonna let You discover hidden places in Yours❤
For not knowing much really about TS you did an excellent job dissecting this video that is chock full of Easter eggs, lore, symbolism and references to a number or negative incidents and/or relationships in her life/career and her rebirth out of the worst of them. Bravo
Idk if anyone has told you but she does these things called EASTER EGGS and they are hidden references or future tells and this video HAS A TON LIKE A TON OF Her creating Easter eggs for her fans is why we love her
I love Taylor Swift. Watching people discover her discography is very fun for us swifties . Another band that I highly suggest reacting to is twenty one pilots. They have an awesome album out right now and they have a really fun long list of songs and videos to react to. They weave a really cool story into their albums, and their fans are die hard.
It's important to know how iconic it was when this video dropped. She deleted everything off of all of her social medias, then started posting snippets of snakes poised to attack. She's described this era as being a "wounded animal lashing out." And there are sooo many easter eggs. There's some stuff in this video that dedicated fans are only finding out about now, so her symbolism is very layered
Zedd, I really enjoy ur reactions. I would never presume to explainin art to another. That said, try to check out Taylor’s history. Watch the documentary “Miss Americana and The Heartbreak Prince”. This way, having some Taylor background, YOU can decide how to decipher. Also, I have found that Taylor’s creations have a way of touching others, in a unique and personal manner. Listening to astute reactors, who are not sycophants but who give honest appraisals of the work, are also highly informative. I personally recommend Zack, who is The Swiftologist. You will really have epiphanies! Anyway, Zedd, keep on diving! 🫶🫶🫶
You will find Swifties love Taylor reactions....You did a real good job breaking down this video...especially since you are new to Taylor and her story.
If you love more movie like videos… this video has lots of Easter egg.. in the grave yard on the tombstone was her ghost writing name when she was dating Calvin Harris and she wrote the song this is what you came for with Rihanna. In the bathroom scene they is a dollar in the tub that she counter sued the guy who S.A. her, the diamonds that she bit on was when Kim got robbed in Paris .. the bike Sven is the video of Kim on the bike in Kanye video, the kingdom keys is her masters being locked in a cage and she fought back and did her re re-recording. It also alludes to her 6th album that she was going to release until she got canceled by the media because of Kim (editing a leak video and calling her a liar) and Kanye (vma stunt and they called her to tell he was making a song about but did not tell her he was calling her a bitch and it the music video there is a naked swift sleeping next to him) ruining her reputation so she end up making this album instead and she has to shelf her other album. The snake is what Kim called her.. the cat suit in the vault is for the steaming companies as see fought for artist to get paid more.. all the vixens are the media claim she has her group of hot friends like mean girls.. it reference bad blood music video with all her famous girl-gang. The girl in the car crash is Katy Perry as they had a beef about backup dancers..the dancing with the dancers are to the haters that says she can’t dance.. The Gwen Stefani song you where thing about was the B-A-N-A-N-A-S song but it’s really from the song I’m too sexy by right said Fred.. blank space and bad blood with Kendrick Lamar.. love the commenting… the rabbit hole journey will be a fun one. She has all different kind of genres of her albums.. you will find something if her era that you will love.
Oh so much Taylor lore to catch up on, it's a LOT but you'll catch on quickly I think. This song is about a lot of different people/situations. The beginning is all about her coming back from being 'canceled' when Kim K and Kanye leaked an edited phone call that made it look like she gave permission for the lines about her in his song 'Famous' when she really didn't. Kim made her out to be 'playing the victim' and being a snake, etc. The dollar bill in the bathtub of diamonds is a reference to the s.assault lawsuit she was in a few years ago where a DJ that grabbed her inappropriately during a photo op and was subsequently fired because of it then sued her for millions of dollars and she countersued for $1 and won. The part in the gold car is widely seen to be a dig at Katy Perry (they have since become friendly). The bank vault with the sign that says Stream Co is a reference to when she removed all her music from streaming services until they made the payment terms more equitable for the artist. The gold cage I think is a reference to her record label, she knew Reputation was likely her last album with that record label and she had been trying to buy her masters from them and they wouldn't sell them to her so she didn't have control over her own music. They wanted her to 'earn' the rights to her masters, 1 master for each new album she recorded which would have just keep her beholden to them forever. Taylor's music is the main money maker for Big Machine Records and without her it's questionable how much the company would actually be worth. She has since left that label for a label that let her keep the rights to her masters immediately, and she is in the process of rerecording her first 6 albums to have the rights to the masters and to devalue the original masters that her old label still owns. The 'fembot army' is a reference to the media all saying her friends are only models and skinny famous chicks and calling them her squad. All of the other Taylors at the end are different versions of her from her various music videos or award show appearances, and the things they say are all things the media has said about her at one point or another. The cutting off the plane wing thing and spray painting reputation on it, it believed by some to mean that she had a different 6th album she was working on but that the Kimye bullshit forced to her scrap it and create reputation instead. The fans that believe that refer to that 'lost TS6 album' as Karma FYI. 13 is Taylor's favorite/lucky number is another helpful factoid to know.
Had nobody recommended T-Pain and T swizzle thug story?? I thought I did when she was about 18 years old . rapping with T-Pain. It was more making fun of her song herself.😂
Cool side note because you mentioned her “rising like a phoenix” after her reputation was destroyed…in the song “You’re losing me”, she says: “I'm getting tired even for a phoenix, Always risin' from the ashes, Mendin' all her gashes.”
Just know that Taylors fans "Swifties" know everything about her. Lol. They will come for you. She has been around for us to listen to since around 2006. She writes ALL OF HER SONGS. Lyrics, music. She plays multiple instruments. Produces, Directs. Learn about the different Era's. Learn about the Kanye/Kim fighting... Scooter Braun. This video would have made a lot more sense. Those who know the backstory with Kanye understand this song
The "you laugh when you lie" and "gun was mine", also at the end when the one Taylor asks: "What's that b!tches problem?" And the zombie Taylor snaps: "DON'T CALL ME THAT!"... that's all Kanye and Kim, specifically the: "I don't like your tilted stage"(Kanye literally performs "Famous" on a stage thar tilts around in the air singing the lyrics: "Taylor Swift and I could still have sex, I made that b!tch famous" = the reaction of zombie Taylor getting mad at being called the "B" word. All the snake references also came from KIM(talk about projection, she's aweful) who doctored a 2+ hour conversation she illegally taped(also not sure how that worked, as Cali is a 2 party consent State and she did not give consent), so they cut up the tape and released it to make it sound like she was okay with do da's song "Famous"... one of her exact responses was: "I didn't know he was going to call me a b!tch!"... it was all twisted lies, Kanye killed his own career, he didn't really need much help- but when the truth came out about the tape and how long it really was, what Taylor thought vs what they were doing... it all backfired hard on both Kim and Kanye, and good, honestly. Karma. Also, at the end, with all the different Taylors, the middle one holding the MTV moon man award, is the Taylor from the VMA's when Kanye jumped on stage and acted like a jackarse taking the mic from Taylor. So, yes this has undertones about the media in general, the whole album does(as well as her falling for Joe Alwyn, who she was with for 6 years and just couldn't "handle" the pressure... took you 6 1/2 years bro? Sry not a fan. Anyway, so "Ready for It" refs him, "Delicate", "End Game", "Don't Blame Me" etc... ), but, "Look What You Made Me Do" was 95% aimed at Kim & Kanye.
Oh and I think the kingdom keys verse is 100 about scooter. She had her songs. They're her talent. Scooter said yeah I'll help then stole her masters and sold them to Scott. Scooter locked her out and threw a feast
Someone else in the comments has already said that this is one of the most expensive music videos, if not THE most expensive music video ever made. There are reasons for that. She had a lot to say... I've done a break down of this video if you're interested in the lore, but, fair warning - it's long. I've had to break it up into two sections because UA-cam doesn't allow for so much exposition. I've posted them into two separate comments, if you're interested - Book of Codes One and Two.
Yes, this was about Kanye (tilted stage), she was born on the 13th in 1989, so you will see those numbers a lot in her videos. Kim K called her a snake so you will see snakes too. When she was literally still a teen, Kanye came on stage when she was receiving an award for best video of the year & took the mic from her & screamed that Beyonce had the best video ever & left that poor kid standing lost as to what to do. Then after he got a lot of flak, he 'apologized' & naive Taylor accepted it. A few years later Kanye called her & asked to use her name in a song. Taylor said to send her the song & she would decide if it was cool. Kanye released his song singing something like 'I might sleep with Taylor Swift one day, cuz I made that bitch famous' (Award show fiasco). Taylor was upset because she did not give him permission to call her a bitch. Then Kim K released an edited version of the phone call, making Taylor out to be a liar & a snake just pretending to be sweet. The world turned on Taylor & she disappeared for a year & came back with a bad ass attitude & the Reputation tour. Ironically, the entire recording came out recently, proving Taylor to be telling the truth. Now the Swifties have turned on Kim. Taylor even put a song out about Kim called 'thanK you aIMee' (notice which letters are capitalized). I love the song because Kim's daughter North loves Taylor, which makes the song extra juicie! ~ You need to see her video for 'Bad Blood' too. Tons of beautiful & famous cameos in the video too.
MY TAYLOR SWIFT RECOMMENDATIONS 💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓 - [ ] Reputation Stadium Tour Movie: Ready For It - ua-cam.com/video/2QJaf6qq8jQ/v-deo.htmlsi=LffqP424nI1aa2jk - [ ] Ready For It Music Video - ua-cam.com/video/wIft-t-MQuE/v-deo.htmlsi=SBGH2pwfOJTsbIrC - [ ] Taylor Swift: Intro & Look What You Make Me Do - ua-cam.com/video/1WhDBaBWlnc/v-deo.htmlsi=jkxXqfxrvXk7_Q9o - [ ] Look What You Made Me Do Music Video - ua-cam.com/video/3tmd-ClpJxA/v-deo.htmlsi=hMRtaAGqMYZgy42a - [ ] Reputation Tour: Don’t Blame Me - ua-cam.com/video/seOJleBbf-U/v-deo.htmlsi=MxjAbXPOT30ogKvW - [ ] Eras Tour: Don’t Blame Me & Look What You Made Me Do - ua-cam.com/video/s9iBKaKPwyk/v-deo.htmlsi=TTb4V0bTLmK8Fws4 - [ ] Reputation Tour: I Did Something Bad - ua-cam.com/video/FvwtMwwV25Q/v-deo.htmlsi=wndCJTFeiwNW1LKW - [ ] Cornelia Street: Live from Paris - ua-cam.com/video/Vgt1d3eAm7A/v-deo.htmlsi=iZ58u6EEqOVXHtu3 - [ ] You Are in Love: Live 1989 World Tour - ua-cam.com/video/0ivJaG5fgZ8/v-deo.htmlsi=xdlkW1oU4W37d1i0 - [ ] Out of the Woods: Live 1989 World Tour - ua-cam.com/video/uTs6GcImbMI/v-deo.htmlsi=FaCgXLOKyRVCMGR6
Kingdom keys. She offered to buy her masters as she writes her music. Instead Scott Borchetta sold them to Scooter Braun. The music industry caged her.
The line about smiling while you lie is 100% referring to the phone call when Kanye literally laughed as he told her no he never would call her a bitch in his song! I just watched the disgusting phone call yesterday. That boy is sick sick sick. Actually most of this is about kimye but there are references to media and scooter stealing her masters as well
welcome new swiftie. this song has many layers, but it's mostly about she's not the person who kayne took advantage of at the VMA's and the media. and did you see that gun off on the tub scene? also, in the bank vault scene, look in the back, it says "streaming". This is was when she was not on streaming because she didn't like the pay out to her. she didn't let her streaming until she got what she wanted out of it... and it help artists get more money from them.
It says TS/tilted stage is Kanye/ kingdom keys is Katy Perry stabbing her in the back/she was robbing Spotify/lifting the motorcycles=Big Machine Records and her kind of owning that situation. Lots to unpack
I know I’m a bit late to this video, but this video is exactly about payback. When she’s standing at the top of the T, and she’s surrounded by Taylor Swift’s at the base of the T, she is saying that any previous versions of herself at that moment, she had to redrum. It symbolizes she had to pull a 180° so that she would be able to make it through all of the drama, trauma, and just straight up negativity that was all around her during the whole incident. The TS and 13 is her initials and 13 is her favorite number. Her birthday is 12-13-1989. Kanye had the “tilted stage” at his concert which is the first part where she straightens the headstone up. The dollar in the bathtub, she is because she had been SA’d by a DJ and he lost his job. So he turned around and sued her for the wages, she counter sued for one dollar and won. The tub that had the jewels all in it, was not about Kim. In true trash diva, kim turned it around and said it was because she had been robbed while she was in the bathtub at the Olympics in Rio. Taylor uses multiple bathtub video scenes in other videos. She has throughout the years. Nothing to do with Kim or her drama. the snakes are about Kim when she sent out the tweet saying that Taylor was a snake 🐍 in the grass. So Taylor completely reversed that & made the snake to get her power back. The snake is symbolism to this day, she snakes in a lot of different songs and videos. The part where she’s in the room with look alikes, that is about the media and the way they portrayed her alongside Kanye and Kim. The plane at the end that was for her reputation, & that is the name of the album that this song is on. The cage and plane she is tearing off the wing of is her being severely wounded with a broken wing during that whole year that no one had seen her in public. She turned the other cheek and befriended kenye down the road and thought he and Kim were her friends. It was a major blow to her when she saw who they really were. This album was her coup de gras and took all of her power back. She put her foot down on anyone who lied about her, disrespected her, call her names, which is the part with the bitch. That’s the song that was involving all the drama kenye because he claimed he “made that bitch famous” 🙄🙄🙄 He also said he might have sex with her,. 🤢 He and Kim are something else, that’s for sure. A bunch of lying, cruel, rude self obsessed people.
Book of Codes: PART TWO The mannequins and army of plastic models refer to: 1. the criticism that she only has models for friends 2. that she's the queen of the "plastic" or fake girls 3. Kanye making a life-size mannequin of her which he put in bed with him in his music video for Famous to imply they'd had sex There are digs at others too: she's impersonating Katy Perry in the Bugatti (Perry's car crash video). Taylor shows off one of her many Grammy's while sitting in the car - a dig at the fact that Perry has never won one. Taylor wears a sweater that says "Blind For Love" when she's walking out of the bank vault referring to the fact that she didn't see Perry's or KimYe's betrayal coming because when she loves someone she loves blindly - love is blind etc. The thieving cats stealing out of the bank vault are probably referring to Perry, known for her love of cats. I think this scene refers to their famous beef when Taylor thought Perry had tried to steal Taylor's dancers out from under her for her own upcoming tour, even while these same dancers were still on tour with Taylor. Taylor was angry at Perry and at them for leaving her in the lurch mid-tour potentially compromising her show. This is what Bad Blood is about. Perry talks about the beef to James Cordon on Carpool Karaoke if you want to hear her side of what happened. Taylor was wrong about Perry and they actually made up years later but, at the time this video was being made, their reconciliation hadn't happened yet. Taylor had over-reacted to this imagined under-handed attack from Perry because, at that time Taylor was feeling like a wounded animal. She was being attacked from all sides - by the media, Twitter, Kanye and Kim and the DJ who sued her. She was lashing out blindly. Taylor wasn't right about Perry's intentions, something she later acknowledged in other songs "I wounded the good and trusted the wicked" (Daylight). They made up both privately and publicly with tweets and pictures and Katy even appeared in Taylor's MV "You Need To Calm Down" where they come together to form a happy meal. They are back to being good friends again. The "Stream Co." banner that scrolls across the top of the screen refers to Apple Music. Taylor took on APPLE, the biggest company in the world by calling them out publicly on their shady practice of not paying artists for the use of their music for the first three months on the Apple streaming platform. She posted a letter directly to them on social media, saying, since they weren't paying her, she would not allow any of her music to be streamed on Apple. She is such a huge star, that if she pulled out her music it would represent HUGE losses in revenue so, they actually backed down. They wrote her back and posted their letter on social media, publicly apologizing. Not only that, they retroactively paid her and all the other, smaller, music artists, the money that they owed them for the 3 months worth of free streaming they had gotten away with until then. Only someone as big as Taylor could take on Apple and win - a victory which benefitted her but especially all the other smaller music artists struggling. This major win didn't just affect the music artists either because, when they got paid, they were able in turn to pay the countless other people who had taken part in creating the music too : engineers, producers, tech people, publicity, managers etc. Taylor didn't need the money herself as she points out in the letter. It's the smaller, independent artists who were struggling to survive, who did. That is why we see her burning a stack of money in the bank vault... literally showing, she had money to burn. For her, it was the principle of the thing. The motorcycle scene has three current fan theories: 1. She's referencing the label Big Machine, holding up a big machine clearly showing she was the one carrying the Big Machine label since she was the first and biggest music artist Scott Borchetta ever signed. 2. Early in her career Taylor trademarked "lucky 13" apparently and, a motorcycle apparel company called Lucky 13 sued her for infringement. It appeared to be just another money grab. 3. Since most of the video is directed at Kanye it could also be her response to the cheesy and sleazy video of him and Kim having sex on a motorcycle. She's atop a mountain of old Taylors because "the old Taylor is dead". The nice, sweet, good girl is gone and replaced with a vengeful, angry Taylor. The symbolism of the giant letter T which looks like a cross atop the mountain of Taylors, refers to how she was crucified by the press and on social media. She leads a group of professional dancers in a choreographed piece and really kills it, clapping back at those who have mercilessly made fun of her "awkward" dancing over the years. The dancer who brings attention to her derriere by holding her perfectly toned and round butt at the end of the video, shuts down those people who have also tried to body-shame her for being too thin and so having a flat ass. Taylor swinging in a giant gilded cage is a classic metaphor...even if a cage is made of gold it's still a cage and she's the songbird trapped inside. She's having dinner with a rat (Kanye West). The plane represents the album that was grounded, the one she had planned to launch but didn't - that would be Lover. She had met and fallen in love with her boyfriend Joe and would likely have release this album of love songs if the debacle between her and KimYe hadn't happened. She spoke about it in an interview, saying she had finished Lover even before she went on tour with Reputation. She changed her mind about Lover being her next album and instead came out with Reputation instead. She symbolizes that by cutting off it's wings and spray-painting REPUTATION across it. The palm trees and tropical look she's wearing were hints of what her next album, Lover, would be like (which it was). The last thing she says, "I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative, one that I have never asked to be a part of, since 2009” refers to the letter she posted on social media in response to KimYe calling her a liar. But, no-one wanted to hear the truth or cared about what really happened. The just wanted her to "SHUT UP" There is a rat that runs along behind the line of Taylors at the 3.53 mark... There are most likely many other theories I missed...
I JUST NOTICED…🧡🧡 is the outfit she is wearing in the cage. That that mean the lost Karma album, which we suspected the color orange, is locked away in some sort of cage?
The algorithm is working HARD! I feel like I'm just in time for the birth of a new Swiftie! Yay! Welcome to the coven!
haha thank you for the warm welcome, i'm glad i finally gave her music a listen. better late then never lol
My favorite thing is to what Taylor reaction videos from people who weren’t fans…yet! 🫶
My man, so happy you're discovering Taylor. I'm a 35 year old "Guy's guy" who grew up listening to her with girlfriends and stuff. But the last two years found a few co-worker guys who are all Swifties. We're all ex-military and work with mostly mil or ex-mil people and finally just said fuck it, and two weeks ago did a Europe Trip with a Taylor Swift Concert in Stockholm, Sweden and it was the most amazing time. She is INCREDIBLE live, and I've been to a lot, lot of concerts. She is one of, if not the best I've ever seen. The entire city was a part of the experience, Stockholm had a population increase of 200 THOUSAND, yes 200K people for that weekend! The city was electric and every bar and restaurant was playing her music and had themed drinks and food tongue-in-cheek, and we met people from all over the world who had travelled to see her and make a Euro trip out if it. I'm a grown enough man to like any music I want to and honestly I keep becoming more and more of a fan. The community is great and the songs have meant different things to me at every stage of life. Love watching your reactions and honest growing appreciation. Keep it up!
She is amazing. Single father, my daughter was into TS about 15 years ago when she was 12. All she played was TS music. I got into her music, so we had something to bond over. I have taken my daughter to 5 TS concerts now, including Eras a few months ago. It has been a wonderful time with my daughter at concerts with her friends, watching them all having the time of their lives. I thank TS for assisting me navigate my daughter’s teenage years😅 She turned out awesome, now a specialist ER nurse for brain trauma. TS did her no harm.
Living vicariously through reactors to Taylor is one of my favorite hobbies
same... 😁✨
Same. My husband thinks I have an addiction 😅
This song is about more than Kanye. It’s about the media and how they portrayed her. You need to do the video for ready for it. It’s really good too.
ahhhh didn't know that. maybe that's why the guys wearing black follow her with a quill pen? I'm going to check out ready for it
@@ZEDZDead2 Taylor made a comment in an interview that this video has the most Easter eggs she's ever put in a video. She hinted at a lot different people in this video.
Fun fact: This still holds the MOST EXPENSIVE music video ever made.
and the most ICONIC comeback ever.
it definitely shows, and worth it for sure!
Random subscriber here, haha. Best wishes with your Taylor journey. I'm looking forward to watching more of your reactions. I'm a 56-yo very happily married white dude, retired from the Army, living in Utah; been a Swiftie for a good decade. So yeah, your UA-cam presence reaches total randos, lol. Thanks for allowing me to vicariously experience Taylor's hits for the first time, again! It's fun. Good luck, my friend!
haha awesome, i'm quickly finding out there isn't really a typical Swift fan, she really has a wide reach. Thank you for the kind words and most importantly, thank you for your service!
Pretty much the same here, just passed by and couldn’t resist! I just like looking for new people who put out new reactions. I love watching newbies truly see the story of how amazing Taylor is.
I’ve always thought the giant cage was a reference to her old label. How her albums and discography were sold out from under her. They thought they owned her and could control her. She took back control and re-recorded her own songs and rereleased those albums ( Taylor’s Version)
ohhhh, so the record label was involved as well. there's so much to this! lol
Also, a section about music streaming companies and her not allowing her music on it unless they paid all artists better. Not just her - lots of love shown to her from upcoming artists who need the money
But Rep (& this music video) came out before that happened, didn't it?? Lol, I think so.
@@ZEDZDead2oh, this one was big. She still has Reputation and Debut album for rerecord.
Long story short - she was sign for 13 years. Before her, that lebel wasn't existing. Not sure exactly what the problem was, but they wanted to sell the entire label. She wanted to buy her masters and was in negotiations with them for years. And the end of the day, without any notice they sold her rights to one really nasty person, that she knows and hate with passion - real dirty scumbag. Thay try to keep her, offering a deal - for every new album they receive from her, thay will gave her on of the old one, back to her. Imagine how much time she was supposed to sit under that monster.
So she decided to send them to hell and rerecord all of her previous music. 6 albums. Meanwhile she came up with 3 new albums and started the Eras tour - basically something like the greatest hits tour with all of her music - old and new. 17/18 years of music. And in April drop the newest new album - the tortured poems department - 31 songs album.
How she do it is a mystery to me. Did she ever eat or sleep. 4 hours long concert 3/4/6 nights in a roll.
I went down the Taylor Swift rabbit hole a couple of years ago and have loved every second lol. Her lyrics are deep and beautiful. Some are boppy and fun. There's a lot to explore and us swifties love first time reactions!!! 🫶
yeah i'm finding out Taylor Swift has so much range, so far the two i've listen to are completely different from each other
@@ZEDZDead2 If you are looking for haunting lyricism, try "right where you left me" (a fictional story about not being able to move on from someone) and "Would've Could've Should've" (Regretting the choice of dating a much older man in your youth and letting it leave you emotionally scarred. Its about her relationship with John Mayer when she was 19 and he was 32. She released the song when she turned 32 in 2022, and the track is Track 19. Shes long over John Mayer, the track is only there because her alhum is talking about things that keep her up at night.)
PLEASE KEEP REACTING TO TAYLOR YOURE AWESOME I LOVE YOUR VIBES AND GENUINENESS
Thanks for the kind words!
This video is so deep you have to research it.
At surface level, it's cool when you know all the Easter eggs and all the hidden things it's mind blowing
that's a great idea, i might have to run it back and do a easter egg hunt lol, thanks Rowdy!
@@ZEDZDead2 Just FYI: there's a video that explains all the easter eggs in this on YT! Was so helpful, even for me, who alrdy knew the history.👊
Glad you watched it twice. Her videos (and songs) are so layered it takes a few times to soak it in. And, when you check out all the easter eggs it's mind blowing. The level of her artistry is just out of this world. Genius.
I’m learning them now and I don’t know how she has the time they are so detailed!
Taylor's favorite number is 13. The tilted stage refers to Kanye West. Kim Kardashian edited a phone call, said she had receipts where TS agreed to Kanye calling her a B#TCH "I made that B famous", posted a bunch of snake emojis, hence Taylor owning up snakes. The kingdom keys refers to Scott Borschetta (spelling?); he signed her, then when he was selling his label, she wanted to buy her music, but he sold it to Scooter B. She had many conversations with Scott about not selling her music to Scooter B, but as she says "He had $300 million reasons to betray her." I got stronger, smarter and harder refers to deciding to re-record her first 6 albums in order to own her music rights. She literally hid out for a year and wrote Reputation album. The Vault refers to her fight for rights with Spotify to pay artists for streams
Scooter B has ties to Kanye, and the Swifts talking to each other refer to Kim K, the other remarks are referring to press remarks about her playing the victim etc
When the truth came out that Kim K edited the phone call and lied nobody cared (press wise it was a non story) she got back at an awards ceremony saying people would try to take credit for your hard work. Kanye also made a video of his song with an AI generated naked Taylor is his bed. Way too far.
wow, yeah they really must have scrub it. I don't recall ever hearing about this. so messed up!
För someone new to Taylor Swift you have correctly deduced one hell of a lot! Thank you for your reaction!
1989 world tour of We Are Never Getting Back Together (Rock version) is my FAVORITE to watch people react to!
One of my faves too!
The characters at the end are all Taylor from various music videos and tour outfits (except the zombie, which I believe is unique to this video). The number 13 is Taylor's favorite for various reasons. You'll see references to it in lots of places. The snake theme came with the Reputation era (her 6th album and most of the links I gave are related to it because I figured it was a good place for your to start). There was a bunch of drama between Taylor, Kanye, and Kim K. that lead to Taylor being "cancelled" for a few years and the Reputation album was her comeback. Long story; I won't explain much more here. Taylor ended up being vindicated. K&K were eventually seen as the true villains. You'll pick up the lore over time if you keep doing TS reactions.
For future reference: You can find all of Taylor's official music videos and lyric videos here: Taylor Swift videos
www.youtube.com/@TaylorSwift/videos
If someone suggests a song and they don't give a link, you can probably find it there unless it is a clip from a tour movie (like the "Don't Blame Me" link that I gave you. That is a clip from the Reputation Stadium Tour movie). Fans upload clips from various movies and from the on-going Eras Tour.
Speaking of movies, you might eventually want to see those. Here is a list of most of them:
The Eras Tour movie (Disney+) Don't overlook the acoustic set version attached at the end after the credits.
Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions (Disney+) Watch carefully for the first few minutes so that you understand the setup.
Miss Americana (official documentary on Netflix) This is the single best source of info about Taylor and is very entertaining.
The Reputation Stadium Tour (hard to find the movie itself at the moment but fans have uploaded clips)
The 1989 World Tour (free on UA-cam)
ua-cam.com/video/P5JLMp08GC0/v-deo.html
If you like a bunch of her videos and eventually want to see the movies, I suggest The Eras Tour and Miss Americana to start. I personally love folklore, but I'm not sure if it will be great for you.
Wow, as i said before, thanks so much for all the info and links! This is super helpful. I’m excited to dive into the Reputation era and get all the backstory on the drama. Can’t wait to check out the music videos and those movies you mentioned, especially The Eras Tour and Miss Americana. Your tips are awesome, and I really appreciate you taking the time to share them. Looking forward to discovering more about Taylor Swift with your help!
She was only gone for 1 year. Her birthdate is December 13 1989, which is why she considers 13 as her lucky number.
Welcome to Swiftie world. You will get to hear a lot of the lore and begin to understand more about what we all enjoy about her lyrics and music.
Haha thank you
swiftie here! lol. always love seeing people react to this video, and discovering who TS is as an artist. She is also very funny. Nice to meet you all.
Love your reaction and perspective ❤ you will most likely enjoy all of her videos, they are mini movies 🎬 different genres as well.
Thank you, yes she has so much range!
Totally!! She been involved in the production for several years now, and if you like the visuals you’ll like almost all her videos! I’m not the biggest fan of her country stuff, but ‘teardrops on my guitar’ has a great video
@@ZEDZDead2Since 2019 with her video for “The Man”, she has directed all of her music videos.
Wow I just found your channel and I’ve loved your insights! I think since you enjoyed the music video I think you would enjoy “The Man” music video or her “All Too Well” short film. She started directing her own videos for the last several albums and they are so good
wow didn't even know she directed her videos, how does she even have the time! so impressive, thank you for your recommendation and kind words. I'll be sure to add those to the list.
Snakes - that is for Kim K...her fans tried to cancel Taylor on socials years ago and so Taylor flipped it and started using the snakes herself. Now anytime there are snakes we know that is a throwback to Kim and to the Rep (Reputation era).
Not her fans.
*Kim, Kanye & their fans tried to cancel her.✌️
TS = Taylor Swift, but any signs of 13 in any video/performance is because it's her favorite number. She was born in 1989, so you will see those references from songs from that album when you get to any of those.
YES, this song is about Kanye and his diss at the 2009 VMA's. She basically re-invented herself after that happened. Intro+Ready For It performance from the Rep Tour better explains it. The line about getting receipts and editing them later is about Kim K. And all the Taylor's at the end are all characters/costumes from other videos of hers.
Not only are Taylor's budgets massive for her videos, they are always filled with Easter Eggs that reference past, present, or future songs or albums, or people. You'll start getting the lore from people as you go through each reaction. As long has you continue to be authentic and genuinely interested in learning more, the Swifties will come and guide you.
Thanks for breaking that down! It's awesome to learn about all the 13 and 1989 references. The Kanye diss at the VMAs and her whole reinvention makes so much more sense now. I’ll definitely check out the Intro+Ready For It performance from the Rep Tour for more context. And those Easter eggs sound like a fun challenge to spot as I go through her videos, i'll definitely have to run this back!
I appreciate you sharing all this. I’m really enjoying discovering more about Taylor Swift and her music, and I love hearing from you guys.
And Kanye's song Famous "I made that b!tch famous" and the edited recording led to her being called a snake, the only nod to the VMA's was at the very end with her holding the VMA award.
@@ZEDZDead2it was not until Kim lied about and edited 19:33 the phone call that TS went into hiding for a year and came back fighting!
Taylor is a savage, so many Easter Eggs in this video. This was the first single from the Reputation album, she refused to do any interviews/press for this album and released this video. You already did the Reputation Tour intro, well she invited all the media people that talked shit about her to the first night VIP tent and opened the show with Intro+Ready For It followed by I Did Something Bad 🤌.
Video Easter Eggs(timestamp music video, not your reaction video too difficult to go back and forth.
1. Tilted stage - Kanye 0:27
2. Grave stone Nils Sjoberg - Clavin Harris 0:30 background they were in a relationship, she wrote lyrics to his hit song with Rhianna, in an interview promoting that song he said he would never work with her, she got pissed they broke up and she killed the pen name.
3. Dollar bill - sexual assault lawsuit. 0:37 background an asshole DJ put his hand up her skirt and grabbed her (with witnesses) she spoke up, he was fired, HE sued her for getting him fired, she counter sued for $1 and won.
4. Snakes - Kim K 0:54
Kim started the whole Taylor is a snake on Instagram and tried to cancel Tay.
5. Crashing the car - Katy Perry 01:14
At the time they had a long standing beef. She's styled like Katy with same hair from Katy's diss track Swish Swish and she's holding one of her Grammy which Katy doesn't have.
6. Taylor's fight with streaming services - the industry 1:48
Taylor refused to let her music go to streaming services until artists received a better deal for their songs. Fun fact she finally released her music to streaming (once she got the deal she wanted) on the same day the Katy Perry released her album Witness 🤌
7. The phone call - Kanye & KimK 2:55
Kim K recorded and edited a phone call between Kanye and Taylor to make it look like Taylor approved of the lyrics in his song Famous...she did not. The unedited call was leaked years later and proved Taylor right.
8. Dance scene 3:09 - the haters that said she cant dance.
I'm sure I missed some.
Subscribed for more Taylor. Would love to see you react to her performance of I Did Something Bad live from the AMA here's the correct link ua-cam.com/video/uQS1GWJHJ-Y/v-deo.htmlsi=WskMT4t6HrtfJULq
Yooooo thank you, this is so good. Much appreciated!
If there's a cat, it usually just means Taylor loves cats... Everything else has meaning. 13 is Taylors number.
If you love high concept quality music videos, you are going to love getting caught up on Taylor.
She now writes and directs most of her videos.
The snake was what she was labelled when Kim released an edited version of her conversation with Kanye, making it sound like Taylor was lying.
Great reaction. People call her fans a cult.
She premiered this video at an MTV Awards show. I saw an homage to pop culture events & other pop artist music video visuals & tv shows- mostly female ones.
This was one of the highest music video budgets. The director (Kahn) has worked with Britney Spears.
I think the tub with jewels kinda references her 1989 Grammy talk on Blank Space- a parody of media & general public thought of her love life- where she cries in the tub with jewels.
The dollar in a shot refers to the DJ defamation/sexual assault lawsuit (by Jury) she was involved with (assault- 2013) (trial- 2017). She called Kanye wax image of her in his 2016 video- revenge porn. (She has tried to be proactive of her image- she even had to buy adult domain sites in her name in 2015 to prevent people from misusing it.)
I liked the editor's BTS video on the creation of this music video. ua-cam.com/video/YfvzK0QBhoY/v-deo.htmlsi=xSSTIJ0GaX6vn3MT
Just realizing 1989 is an album and not the year she was up for a Grammy lol. Thanks for all the insights!
Book of Codes: PART ONE
"I don't like your tilted stage" refers to Kanye and his tilted stage on his Saint Pablo / Life of Pablo tour.
The tombstone "Here Lies Taylor Swift's Reputation" refers to Kim and Kanye falsely accusing her of lying, destroying her reputation as a person of good character. The bad press sent her into hiding, almost killing her career, hence the scene of her crawling out of the grave a zombie, undead. She's coming for them and everyone else who's pissed her off.
A tombstone behind her reads Nils Sjoberg, the pen name she used for the song "This Is What You Came For" which she, and her boyfriend at the time, Calvin Harris, wrote together. He didn't want anyone to know she had written a song for him. He did the music; she wrote the melody and lyrics. It became a huge hit for him and Rihanna. On the day of the song's release, April 29 (see High Infidelity) Harris was doing press for the song and was asked by Ryan Seacrest if he'd ever work with his famous girlfriend. He lied and said no. Taylor, who was co-hosting the Met Gala 2016, was at a dinner party given by Anna Wintour where she met Joe Alwyn and didn't bother showing up for the song's release day party. After they broke up, he became petty and vindictive on social media so, she revealed she was Nils Sjoberg taking rightful credit for her part of the hit song. He was peeved that she got more kudos for writing the song than he did - probably why he didn't want people to know in the first place.
The dollar bill to the left of her in the tub references the incident with David Mueller, the radio DJ who put his hand up her skirt and groped her ass while she stood beside him getting a picture taken. The picture captured the whole thing. It was undeniable. When she reported him to his boss, the radio station fired him. He sued her for a million dollars. She counter-sued him for ONE dollar and won the case.
The bathtub full of diamonds (apparently real and on loan under armed guard) refers to Kim Kardashian claiming she was robbed at a Paris hotel while taking a bath. There's a lot of speculation that this was all a setup - a staged robbery so Kim and Kanye could cash in on the insurance money AND keep the jewels. The hotel suspected they had been swindled by KimYe but didn't want to risk bad publicity by accusing them outright. They are both billionaires, and, as Kardashian loves to say "we have enough money to bury them". That's why Taylor says "I don't like your perfect crime" while sitting in the tub.
"I don't like your perfect crime" also refers to the perfect crime Kim and Kanye got away with when they lied about Taylor giving Kanye permission to use a lyric she did not approve in the song Famous which goes: "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex. Why? I made that bitch famous." Taylor's fans never believed Kanye and Kim. Neither did anyone with two brain cells. Why would the enormously successful Taylor Swift, whom Kanye had already burned once before, ever approve of him calling her a bitch and taking credit for her success? Not in a million years would that ever happen. She said as much in her acceptance speech at the 2016 Grammy awards, February 15, 2016 when her album 1989 won Grammy for Album of the Year.
I think it's important for people to know what Kanye West and Kim Kardashian did to Taylor. At the time, there was little interest being shown for West's up-coming new album, Life of Pablo, after a series of lack-lustre albums. It was embarrassing how low his profile had sunken. Taylor, on the other hand, was riding high with the release of her album 1989 which was getting rave reviews. Jealous and desperate, West and Kardashian hatched a diabolical plan to generate publicity for him by once again linking his name with Taylor's, thus recreating the kind of hoopla and world-wide attention he got the last time their names were in headlines together - the infamous incident in 2009 when he went on stage and grabbed the mic out of Taylor's hand after she'd won the VMA for Best Video. He was universally derided for it. Even President Obama called him a jackass.
This time, they plotted that it would be different. They schemed to set up Taylor for a fall from grace, making it look like she was a liar while painting Kanye as the innocent pawn. The phone call was only the beginning but an important part in their evil machinations. They needed to manipulate her and record her agreeing to one set of lyrics, so they could later edit it to make it look like she'd agreed to another. While Kanye spoke to Taylor on his phone, Kim illegally recorded the conversation. Scooter Braun, West's manager at the time, was in on the whole thing, even taking out billboards later hinting at what was to come, going on social media to say something big was about to happen and that everyone should stay tuned.
West released the song Famous February 14, 2016, right before the Grammy Awards February 15. Maximum exposure. When Taylor heard the actual lyrics for the first time, along with everyone else, she knew she'd been played and betrayed. She was understandably outraged, publicly denouncing West for the lyrics, stating in the media that she hadn't approved them. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to her, she once again, played right into West's hands - it was all part of his nefarious masterplan all along. The whole thing hinged entirely on Taylor making her righteous anger public. West had to make his betrayal unmistakably underhanded and insulting enough to ensure without doubt that she'd react exactly as she did, thereby unwittingly, setting into motion the scandal, controversy and media attention he needed for his album's release. What ensued was a media frenzy of news stories, gossip, worldwide headlines, interviews and articles that went on and on for months. It also brought back the public's sympathy for West, allowing a re-branding of himself as the poor innocent victim this time and casting Taylor as the evil liar and manipulator - a win win for him. His situation had gone from no one caring that he was releasing an album to everybody buying his album and tuning in to hear the song with the infamous lyrics.
Every time the scandal died down, West or Kardashian would resurrect it, milking it for all it was worth. Kardashian gave an interview in Vogue in June 16, 2016, reiterating the false narrative that Taylor was lying, saying "She totally approved that." The next day, June 17 Kardashian took to social media, adding insult to injury, calling Taylor a snake. Twitter had a meltdown. All of Kim's and Kanye's millions of sycophants tweeted snake emojis at Taylor. The hashtag "Taylor is over party" was the #1 trending thing on Twitter for a while.
A month later July 18, 2016 Kardashian leaked the edited recording of the infamous phone conversation setting off another media frenzy, calling it "proof" that Taylor had approved the lyrics and was lying. Taylor posted on social media asking, "where in that recording do I approve him calling me a bitch? It doesn't exist because it never happened." Adding further insult to injury, Kanye also released the music video for Famous in July, with a life-size mannequin of Taylor, putting her naked likeness in bed with him, implying they'd had sex, proving once again that he is a morally bankrupt douchebag. Ditto his bimbo ex wife "Honey."
Taylor went into hiding, disappearing from public view for a year. No one saw her or was able to take a single photo of her. She gave no interviews. Even after Reputation's release, a year later, she gave zero press. She said only one thing "There will be no explanation, only Reputation." Five years later, when the entire unedited recording was leaked, proving Taylor had been telling the truth all along and that Kim and Kanye had lied - Kardashian dismissed it by tweeting it was old news and that Taylor was just looking for attention again. Neither West, Kardashian or Braun were ever called out by the media for this truly evil thing they did to Taylor even though the stunt revealed their unrepentant manipulation of the media and of Taylor. Nevertheless, anyone with a brain took note that they were not to be trusted because the stunt proved beyond a doubt what despicable sleaze bags they really are.
According to the Chinese Zodiac, 1989, (the year Taylor was born), is the Year of the Snake. After considering her new designation as a snake and considering the qualities and symbolism of snakes, Taylor embraced the title and found it was all very fitting. Snakes are beautiful, dangerous, stealthy, sleek, formidable, awesome, often deadly creatures that can strike suddenly when least expected. They also shed their skin as they outgrow their old one. Taylor applied these qualities and characteristics to herself, using them as symbols and metaphors to reinvent herself. She embraced the snake as her personal motif and put it everywhere, on everything, saying to herself "You know, this girl they're writing about is actually amazing. I have to write some songs from this girl's perspective!" The giant snake behind her on tour was named Karyn, a reference to the fact that the Kardashians names all start with K. Taylor decided she would become the Queen of Snakes. This is why she is sitting on a throne with her subjects all around her. When asked about the snake theme in Reputation she said, "Snakes eat rats."
The armrests have the words "Et tu Brute?" which means "And you too Brutus?" This refers to Shakespeare's play about the murder of Julius Caesar - they are Caesar's dying words to his friend Brutus who stabbed him in the back.This music video is all about her pouring "All the Tea"
Swifties will show up if you give TS an honest chance. We all have our favorite songs, so if ppl don’t agree, that’s their preference,and true swifties understand this ❤
Love your reaction! For being your second song/video and you catch all these things is 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼. LWYMMD is suuuuuuch a rabbit hole of Easter eggs (she has said they still haven't all been found) & a fun one to jump feet first into your TS journey. Haha. Welcome, we're all mad here.
lol thank you, yes, i'm beginning to notice that. I don't know what i got myself into, but i'm here for it
The tilted stage lyric is a direct lyric to his stage literally tilting. The opening scene you couldn’t make out is TS in lights from above.
I love the birdcage. She’s like a songbird in there.
She LOVES her cats and you’ll see references to them in a lot of videos.
The snake scene while she’s on the throne is referring to Kim and Kayne and the world calling her a snake.
Just trying to pick up something’s I didn’t see anyone else say. Keep going!❤
PS the tshirt and glasses video you’re talking about is You Belong With Me
Ahh that last were that’s from, haha thanks Dana
Love this video, this album, can't wait for Taylor's Version 🐍🐍🔥
The production on all of Taylor’s videos are movie quality! Great reaction! Look forward to more.
I have watched so many reaction videos now and I just have to say how amazing you are at this! Not only are you inutive enough to get the message, but you listened and then listened again to react! Awesome content. New subscriber!
I’ve subscribed… ty Taylor
13 is Taylor’s lucky number
Thanks for reviewing Taylor. We hope you end up loving the music and Taylor as much as we do!!!
Get ready to become a swiftie!!!!!🎉🎉❤❤❤❤🎉🎉 love watching people on the journey
Love how in depth you looked back at this and your analysis of the video :-)
Thank you so much 🙂
Great reaction. I appreciate you breaking it down. Nice. Thanks! 😎
thanks Budda, much appreciated!
I loved your reaction, as you continue to explore TS you can't help to fall in love with her.
As the other comments i absolutely recommended to watch miss Americana for a bit of extra context of her career and decisions ❤.
Hope you continue reacting love the content
Thank you Sabi, and I’ll be sure to add that to the list, lots of people really seem to recommend that too
Keep playing Taylor and your channel will grow
i knew people liked Taylor Swift, but this is way more than i expected lol
@@ZEDZDead2yup I just subscribed and your channel will grow and grow. Another Swiftie here and it’s very refreshing to watch someone go back and analyze the MV thanks and I’ll be looking for u
A lot of people are realizing that Taylor Swift reactions will grow their channels. Good luck! 👍🏻 Lots and lots of Easter Eggs in this one. Taylor loves games and puzzles and providing fun for her fans.
Loyal Swifty’s spread the love. She’s a legend and watching a non swifty discover her talents is priceless.
I want to be threatened by the dog after each episode. Please and thank you! Love your journey bro.
Haha, thank you
So glad to find another new Taylor Swift reactor! Great job!
Yay! Thank you!🙏
13 is her magical number. You’ll find it everywhere.
Hey there! I just found your channel and am really enjoying your reaction and thoughts. A lot of reactors play the song once and try to keep everything short, but I really enjoy how you go back through and analyze and try to figure things out. I don’t know anything about production so listening to your comments helps me enjoy the video more since you notice things that go right over my head. You’re doing a great job! ❤🎉
Thank you so much, that makes my day!
I love you so much. Thank you for this reaction ❤❤❤. Taylor Swift is the music industry. Taylor Swift is the hall of genres. I like to see your reaction for more stuff of Tay Tay
Her Bad Blood video is AMAZING.
You got my sub....great go through after listening to it
Awesome, thank you!
Kanye West called Taylor and told her he wanted her okay on some lyrics for his new song "Famous" that had her name in it, he recorded the conversation. When the song Famous came out, the lyrics "I made that b!tch famous". Taylor objected, meanwhile, Kanye and Kim edited the tape, and Kim posted the edited version on social media and started calling her a snake and a liar. The hate became too much and she disappeared for a year (not years). Taylor was born on December 13, 1989. Those numbers are important. All those Taylor's were from past music videos, performances, and awards shows. The jet. cutting off the wing signifying what Kanye and Kim did to her, a bird with a broken wing can't fly. They tried to bury her, the zombie Taylor is wearing the dress for "Out of the Woods" MV (about Harry Styles). The squad was what people called all Taylor's friends, mostly models and actresses. There is way more, but I think you did a fairly good job of figuring some of it out. If you watch any live performances and see a huge mechanical snake, her name is Karyn, Taylor embraced the snake. I subscribed, welcome to the rabbit hole, it is a nice place to be, I am 65 and have been a fan since her first album. Here is the order of her discography, Debut album "Taylor Swift", Fearless, Speak Now (totally self-written when people said she didn't write her songs), Red, 1989 (considered the pop bible), Reputation, Lover, folklore, evermore, Midnights/3AM/Til Dawn and now The Tortured Poet Department. Taylor is re-recording her first 6 albums because they were sold out from under her, she has yet to re-record Reputation and her first one Taylor Swift. This is to reclaim her music, the re-records are called Taylor's Versions (TV) she also had the vault tracks that didn't make it onto the albums during that time period.
Oh okay so 1989 year she born and also an album, thanks for all the cool info, lots to still learn haha
Swiftie here and I just subscribed so I can watch you learn how great Taylor is 🎉 also in the beginning as it is panning in it is TS in lights not a number💖
Thanks for subbing!
I like the way you watch the video once and then go back thru again to break it down What a great way to do it.
Live performances are best
I love watching people find out her music is fun! In this video, she's already planning her 12th studio album, which just shows how insanely smart she is.
13 is her lucky #. She was born on the 12/13. She has won awards when she sat in row 13, the list goes deeper... the snake is referencing when Kim K called her a snake, when all that drama went down.
I'm a new subscriber, and so happy I found your channel! Can't wait to watch you deep dive more into Taylor and her artistry :) Great reaction!
Hi from the UK. Definitely watch some of the live performances, Ready for it live hits differently than how the music video hits
been getting a lot of recommendation for this and will likely watch this next, thank you Sarah, and hello from Canada
Just subscribed… more Taylor please😁
Ready for it will blow your mind even more
Welcome to the rabbit hole!!! Can’t wait to follow along!!! Currently binging all your videos!!!
Yay! Thank you!
Love seeing the first time reaction to these awesome TS videos
Glad you enjoyed, thank you
Kim k called her a snake so she turned an entire albums theme (reputation) into snake themed. She turns into who people say she is.
Subscribed for more Taylor's reactions!!!!!
Are You ready for it??
Your Journey through Her Golden Heart will gonna let You discover hidden places in Yours❤
One thing about the Swifties, we will show love and support ❤
Thanks, I really appreciate that!
For not knowing much really about TS you did an excellent job dissecting this video that is chock full of Easter eggs, lore, symbolism and references to a number or negative incidents and/or relationships in her life/career and her rebirth out of the worst of them. Bravo
Idk if anyone has told you but she does these things called EASTER EGGS and they are hidden references or future tells and this video HAS A TON LIKE A TON OF
Her creating Easter eggs for her fans is why we love her
Yeah a few people mentioned it, I might have to do a video on all of them. Although I’ll need to read up on Taylor’s life or I won’t get it lol
I love Taylor Swift. Watching people discover her discography is very fun for us swifties . Another band that I highly suggest reacting to is twenty one pilots. They have an awesome album out right now and they have a really fun long list of songs and videos to react to. They weave a really cool story into their albums, and their fans are die hard.
Sounds fun, even the name, wonder what that means. Will do! And thank you
Just saw your latest reaction to Ready For It. Love this reaction too! Your reactions are raw and pure! Love it!😍
You should watch Miss Americana documentary. It explains so much about her.
I really do need to, hopefully this week
It's important to know how iconic it was when this video dropped. She deleted everything off of all of her social medias, then started posting snippets of snakes poised to attack. She's described this era as being a "wounded animal lashing out." And there are sooo many easter eggs. There's some stuff in this video that dedicated fans are only finding out about now, so her symbolism is very layered
Zedd, I really enjoy ur reactions. I would never presume to explainin art to another.
That said, try to check out Taylor’s history. Watch the documentary “Miss Americana and The Heartbreak Prince”.
This way, having some Taylor background, YOU can decide how to decipher. Also, I have found that Taylor’s creations have a way of touching others, in a unique and personal manner.
Listening to astute reactors, who are not sycophants but who give honest appraisals of the work, are also highly informative. I personally recommend Zack, who is The Swiftologist. You will really have epiphanies! Anyway, Zedd, keep on diving! 🫶🫶🫶
You will find Swifties love Taylor reactions....You did a real good job breaking down this video...especially since you are new to Taylor and her story.
I'm glad you're doing reactions... especially TS. I'm not into gaming, so I wouldn't have found you otherwise.
Gotta give the people what they want lol, thank you though i really appreciate the kind words
you should definitely react to all the easter eggs in the video.
a few people have been suggesting this i'll be sure to revisit this video and have a special easter egg hunt. thanks Sara!
13 is her fave number
If you love more movie like videos… this video has lots of Easter egg.. in the grave yard on the tombstone was her ghost writing name when she was dating Calvin Harris and she wrote the song this is what you came for with Rihanna. In the bathroom scene they is a dollar in the tub that she counter sued the guy who S.A. her, the diamonds that she bit on was when Kim got robbed in Paris .. the bike Sven is the video of Kim on the bike in Kanye video, the kingdom keys is her masters being locked in a cage and she fought back and did her re re-recording. It also alludes to her 6th album that she was going to release until she got canceled by the media because of Kim (editing a leak video and calling her a liar) and Kanye (vma stunt and they called her to tell he was making a song about but did not tell her he was calling her a bitch and it the music video there is a naked swift sleeping next to him) ruining her reputation so she end up making this album instead and she has to shelf her other album. The snake is what Kim called her.. the cat suit in the vault is for the steaming companies as see fought for artist to get paid more.. all the vixens are the media claim she has her group of hot friends like mean girls.. it reference bad blood music video with all her famous girl-gang. The girl in the car crash is Katy Perry as they had a beef about backup dancers..the dancing with the dancers are to the haters that says she can’t dance..
The Gwen Stefani song you where thing about was the B-A-N-A-N-A-S song but it’s really from the song I’m too sexy by right said Fred..
blank space and bad blood with Kendrick Lamar.. love the commenting… the rabbit hole journey will be a fun one. She has all different kind of genres of her albums.. you will find something if her era that you will love.
New subscriber! You’re awesome! Welcome to the circus!
thanks Judeless, that's very kind of you and thanks for subbing
Oh so much Taylor lore to catch up on, it's a LOT but you'll catch on quickly I think. This song is about a lot of different people/situations. The beginning is all about her coming back from being 'canceled' when Kim K and Kanye leaked an edited phone call that made it look like she gave permission for the lines about her in his song 'Famous' when she really didn't. Kim made her out to be 'playing the victim' and being a snake, etc. The dollar bill in the bathtub of diamonds is a reference to the s.assault lawsuit she was in a few years ago where a DJ that grabbed her inappropriately during a photo op and was subsequently fired because of it then sued her for millions of dollars and she countersued for $1 and won. The part in the gold car is widely seen to be a dig at Katy Perry (they have since become friendly). The bank vault with the sign that says Stream Co is a reference to when she removed all her music from streaming services until they made the payment terms more equitable for the artist. The gold cage I think is a reference to her record label, she knew Reputation was likely her last album with that record label and she had been trying to buy her masters from them and they wouldn't sell them to her so she didn't have control over her own music. They wanted her to 'earn' the rights to her masters, 1 master for each new album she recorded which would have just keep her beholden to them forever. Taylor's music is the main money maker for Big Machine Records and without her it's questionable how much the company would actually be worth. She has since left that label for a label that let her keep the rights to her masters immediately, and she is in the process of rerecording her first 6 albums to have the rights to the masters and to devalue the original masters that her old label still owns. The 'fembot army' is a reference to the media all saying her friends are only models and skinny famous chicks and calling them her squad. All of the other Taylors at the end are different versions of her from her various music videos or award show appearances, and the things they say are all things the media has said about her at one point or another. The cutting off the plane wing thing and spray painting reputation on it, it believed by some to mean that she had a different 6th album she was working on but that the Kimye bullshit forced to her scrap it and create reputation instead. The fans that believe that refer to that 'lost TS6 album' as Karma FYI. 13 is Taylor's favorite/lucky number is another helpful factoid to know.
Yoooo this is so helpful, wow so much to unpack, you really know your stuff thank you for this!
Had nobody recommended T-Pain and T swizzle thug story?? I thought I did when she was about 18 years old . rapping with T-Pain. It was more making fun of her song herself.😂
Didn’t even know this was a thing lol, will 100% check it out. T pain music is a core memory to me
@@ZEDZDead2 it is a fun one. I think you will laugh, after all the heaviness of the songs you have been reacting to. Might be a nice balance.
Cool side note because you
mentioned her “rising like a phoenix” after her reputation was destroyed…in the song “You’re losing me”, she says: “I'm getting tired even for a phoenix, Always risin' from the ashes, Mendin' all her gashes.”
I totally meant to say that lol 🙃
Just know that Taylors fans "Swifties" know everything about her. Lol. They will come for you. She has been around for us to listen to since around 2006. She writes ALL OF HER SONGS. Lyrics, music. She plays multiple instruments. Produces, Directs. Learn about the different Era's. Learn about the Kanye/Kim fighting... Scooter Braun. This video would have made a lot more sense. Those who know the backstory with Kanye understand this song
I just got into Taylor Swift this week. I know a bit of her music, but I never really did a deep dive.
welcome aboard, i'm right there with you, learning as i go
Just found you, love your reactions! Keep going!! ❤
Thank you so much!! 😊
The "you laugh when you lie" and "gun was mine", also at the end when the one Taylor asks: "What's that b!tches problem?" And the zombie Taylor snaps: "DON'T CALL ME THAT!"... that's all Kanye and Kim, specifically the: "I don't like your tilted stage"(Kanye literally performs "Famous" on a stage thar tilts around in the air singing the lyrics: "Taylor Swift and I could still have sex, I made that b!tch famous" = the reaction of zombie Taylor getting mad at being called the "B" word. All the snake references also came from KIM(talk about projection, she's aweful) who doctored a 2+ hour conversation she illegally taped(also not sure how that worked, as Cali is a 2 party consent State and she did not give consent), so they cut up the tape and released it to make it sound like she was okay with do da's song "Famous"... one of her exact responses was: "I didn't know he was going to call me a b!tch!"... it was all twisted lies, Kanye killed his own career, he didn't really need much help- but when the truth came out about the tape and how long it really was, what Taylor thought vs what they were doing... it all backfired hard on both Kim and Kanye, and good, honestly. Karma. Also, at the end, with all the different Taylors, the middle one holding the MTV moon man award, is the Taylor from the VMA's when Kanye jumped on stage and acted like a jackarse taking the mic from Taylor. So, yes this has undertones about the media in general, the whole album does(as well as her falling for Joe Alwyn, who she was with for 6 years and just couldn't "handle" the pressure... took you 6 1/2 years bro? Sry not a fan. Anyway, so "Ready for It" refs him, "Delicate", "End Game", "Don't Blame Me" etc... ), but, "Look What You Made Me Do" was 95% aimed at Kim & Kanye.
Oh and I think the kingdom keys verse is 100 about scooter. She had her songs. They're her talent. Scooter said yeah I'll help then stole her masters and sold them to Scott. Scooter locked her out and threw a feast
Someone else in the comments has already said that this is one of the most expensive music videos, if not THE most expensive music video ever made. There are reasons for that. She had a lot to say...
I've done a break down of this video if you're interested in the lore, but, fair warning - it's long. I've had to break it up into two sections because UA-cam doesn't allow for so much exposition.
I've posted them into two separate comments, if you're interested - Book of Codes One and Two.
Yes, this was about Kanye (tilted stage), she was born on the 13th in 1989, so you will see those numbers a lot in her videos. Kim K called her a snake so you will see snakes too. When she was literally still a teen, Kanye came on stage when she was receiving an award for best video of the year & took the mic from her & screamed that Beyonce had the best video ever & left that poor kid standing lost as to what to do. Then after he got a lot of flak, he 'apologized' & naive Taylor accepted it. A few years later Kanye called her & asked to use her name in a song. Taylor said to send her the song & she would decide if it was cool. Kanye released his song singing something like 'I might sleep with Taylor Swift one day, cuz I made that bitch famous' (Award show fiasco). Taylor was upset because she did not give him permission to call her a bitch. Then Kim K released an edited version of the phone call, making Taylor out to be a liar & a snake just pretending to be sweet. The world turned on Taylor & she disappeared for a year & came back with a bad ass attitude & the Reputation tour. Ironically, the entire recording came out recently, proving Taylor to be telling the truth. Now the Swifties have turned on Kim. Taylor even put a song out about Kim called 'thanK you aIMee' (notice which letters are capitalized). I love the song because Kim's daughter North loves Taylor, which makes the song extra juicie! ~ You need to see her video for 'Bad Blood' too. Tons of beautiful & famous cameos in the video too.
Kinda funny that north loves her music lol thanks for the backstory, makes a lot of sense
MY TAYLOR SWIFT RECOMMENDATIONS 💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓
- [ ] Reputation Stadium Tour Movie: Ready For It - ua-cam.com/video/2QJaf6qq8jQ/v-deo.htmlsi=LffqP424nI1aa2jk
- [ ] Ready For It Music Video - ua-cam.com/video/wIft-t-MQuE/v-deo.htmlsi=SBGH2pwfOJTsbIrC
- [ ] Taylor Swift: Intro & Look What You Make Me Do - ua-cam.com/video/1WhDBaBWlnc/v-deo.htmlsi=jkxXqfxrvXk7_Q9o
- [ ] Look What You Made Me Do Music Video - ua-cam.com/video/3tmd-ClpJxA/v-deo.htmlsi=hMRtaAGqMYZgy42a
- [ ] Reputation Tour: Don’t Blame Me - ua-cam.com/video/seOJleBbf-U/v-deo.htmlsi=MxjAbXPOT30ogKvW
- [ ] Eras Tour: Don’t Blame Me & Look What You Made Me Do - ua-cam.com/video/s9iBKaKPwyk/v-deo.htmlsi=TTb4V0bTLmK8Fws4
- [ ] Reputation Tour: I Did Something Bad - ua-cam.com/video/FvwtMwwV25Q/v-deo.htmlsi=wndCJTFeiwNW1LKW
- [ ] Cornelia Street: Live from Paris - ua-cam.com/video/Vgt1d3eAm7A/v-deo.htmlsi=iZ58u6EEqOVXHtu3
- [ ] You Are in Love: Live 1989 World Tour - ua-cam.com/video/0ivJaG5fgZ8/v-deo.htmlsi=xdlkW1oU4W37d1i0
- [ ] Out of the Woods: Live 1989 World Tour - ua-cam.com/video/uTs6GcImbMI/v-deo.htmlsi=FaCgXLOKyRVCMGR6
I'm a new swiftie and new subscriber.
Swiftie here subscribing to get more content ❤
Kingdom keys. She offered to buy her masters as she writes her music. Instead Scott Borchetta sold them to Scooter Braun. The music industry caged her.
🔥🔥🔥🔥Subbed for more tswift.
The line about smiling while you lie is 100% referring to the phone call when Kanye literally laughed as he told her no he never would call her a bitch in his song! I just watched the disgusting phone call yesterday. That boy is sick sick sick.
Actually most of this is about kimye but there are references to media and scooter stealing her masters as well
welcome new swiftie. this song has many layers, but it's mostly about she's not the person who kayne took advantage of at the VMA's and the media. and did you see that gun off on the tub scene? also, in the bank vault scene, look in the back, it says "streaming". This is was when she was not on streaming because she didn't like the pay out to her. she didn't let her streaming until she got what she wanted out of it... and it help artists get more money from them.
It says TS/tilted stage is Kanye/ kingdom keys is Katy Perry stabbing her in the back/she was robbing Spotify/lifting the motorcycles=Big Machine Records and her kind of owning that situation. Lots to unpack
I know I’m a bit late to this video, but this video is exactly about payback. When she’s standing at the top of the T, and she’s surrounded by Taylor Swift’s at the base of the T, she is saying that any previous versions of herself at that moment, she had to redrum.
It symbolizes she had to pull a 180° so that she would be able to make it through all of the drama, trauma, and just straight up negativity that was all around her during the whole incident.
The TS and 13 is her initials and 13 is her favorite number. Her birthday is 12-13-1989. Kanye had the “tilted stage” at his concert which is the first part where she straightens the headstone up.
The dollar in the bathtub, she is because she had been SA’d by a DJ and he lost his job. So he turned around and sued her for the wages, she counter sued for one dollar and won. The tub that had the jewels all in it, was not about Kim.
In true trash diva, kim turned it around and said it was because she had been robbed while she was in the bathtub at the Olympics in Rio. Taylor uses multiple bathtub video scenes in other videos. She has throughout the years.
Nothing to do with Kim or her drama. the snakes are about Kim when she sent out the tweet saying that Taylor was a snake 🐍 in the grass. So Taylor completely reversed that & made the snake to get her power back.
The snake is symbolism to this day, she snakes in a lot of different songs and videos. The part where she’s in the room with look alikes, that is about the media and the way they portrayed her alongside Kanye and Kim. The plane at the end that was for her reputation, & that is the name of the album that this song is on.
The cage and plane she is tearing off the wing of is her being severely wounded with a broken wing during that whole year that no one had seen her in public. She turned the other cheek and befriended kenye down the road and thought he and Kim were her friends.
It was a major blow to her when she saw who they really were. This album was her coup de gras and took all of her power back. She put her foot down on anyone who lied about her, disrespected her, call her names, which is the part with the bitch. That’s the song that was involving all the drama kenye because he claimed he “made that bitch famous” 🙄🙄🙄
He also said he might have sex with her,. 🤢 He and Kim are something else, that’s for sure. A bunch of lying, cruel, rude self obsessed people.
Taylor doesn't seem to do anything halfway and she's very detailed oriented.
Hey you can always add games too it is fun to mix things up
Sorry, I’m not sure I follow
new sub here, love your take on things.
Book of Codes: PART TWO
The mannequins and army of plastic models refer to: 1. the criticism that she only has models for friends 2. that she's the queen of the "plastic" or fake girls 3. Kanye making a life-size mannequin of her which he put in bed with him in his music video for Famous to imply they'd had sex
There are digs at others too: she's impersonating Katy Perry in the Bugatti (Perry's car crash video). Taylor shows off one of her many Grammy's while sitting in the car - a dig at the fact that Perry has never won one.
Taylor wears a sweater that says "Blind For Love" when she's walking out of the bank vault referring to the fact that she didn't see Perry's or KimYe's betrayal coming because when she loves someone she loves blindly - love is blind etc.
The thieving cats stealing out of the bank vault are probably referring to Perry, known for her love of cats. I think this scene refers to their famous beef when Taylor thought Perry had tried to steal Taylor's dancers out from under her for her own upcoming tour, even while these same dancers were still on tour with Taylor. Taylor was angry at Perry and at them for leaving her in the lurch mid-tour potentially compromising her show. This is what Bad Blood is about. Perry talks about the beef to James Cordon on Carpool Karaoke if you want to hear her side of what happened. Taylor was wrong about Perry and they actually made up years later but, at the time this video was being made, their reconciliation hadn't happened yet. Taylor had over-reacted to this imagined under-handed attack from Perry because, at that time Taylor was feeling like a wounded animal. She was being attacked from all sides - by the media, Twitter, Kanye and Kim and the DJ who sued her. She was lashing out blindly. Taylor wasn't right about Perry's intentions, something she later acknowledged in other songs "I wounded the good and trusted the wicked" (Daylight). They made up both privately and publicly with tweets and pictures and Katy even appeared in Taylor's MV "You Need To Calm Down" where they come together to form a happy meal. They are back to being good friends again.
The "Stream Co." banner that scrolls across the top of the screen refers to Apple Music. Taylor took on APPLE, the biggest company in the world by calling them out publicly on their shady practice of not paying artists for the use of their music for the first three months on the Apple streaming platform. She posted a letter directly to them on social media, saying, since they weren't paying her, she would not allow any of her music to be streamed on Apple. She is such a huge star, that if she pulled out her music it would represent HUGE losses in revenue so, they actually backed down. They wrote her back and posted their letter on social media, publicly apologizing. Not only that, they retroactively paid her and all the other, smaller, music artists, the money that they owed them for the 3 months worth of free streaming they had gotten away with until then. Only someone as big as Taylor could take on Apple and win - a victory which benefitted her but especially all the other smaller music artists struggling. This major win didn't just affect the music artists either because, when they got paid, they were able in turn to pay the countless other people who had taken part in creating the music too : engineers, producers, tech people, publicity, managers etc. Taylor didn't need the money herself as she points out in the letter. It's the smaller, independent artists who were struggling to survive, who did. That is why we see her burning a stack of money in the bank vault... literally showing, she had money to burn. For her, it was the principle of the thing.
The motorcycle scene has three current fan theories: 1. She's referencing the label Big Machine, holding up a big machine clearly showing she was the one carrying the Big Machine label since she was the first and biggest music artist Scott Borchetta ever signed. 2. Early in her career Taylor trademarked "lucky 13" apparently and, a motorcycle apparel company called Lucky 13 sued her for infringement. It appeared to be just another money grab. 3. Since most of the video is directed at Kanye it could also be her response to the cheesy and sleazy video of him and Kim having sex on a motorcycle.
She's atop a mountain of old Taylors because "the old Taylor is dead". The nice, sweet, good girl is gone and replaced with a vengeful, angry Taylor. The symbolism of the giant letter T which looks like a cross atop the mountain of Taylors, refers to how she was crucified by the press and on social media.
She leads a group of professional dancers in a choreographed piece and really kills it, clapping back at those who have mercilessly made fun of her "awkward" dancing over the years.
The dancer who brings attention to her derriere by holding her perfectly toned and round butt at the end of the video, shuts down those people who have also tried to body-shame her for being too thin and so having a flat ass.
Taylor swinging in a giant gilded cage is a classic metaphor...even if a cage is made of gold it's still a cage and she's the songbird trapped inside. She's having dinner with a rat (Kanye West).
The plane represents the album that was grounded, the one she had planned to launch but didn't - that would be Lover. She had met and fallen in love with her boyfriend Joe and would likely have release this album of love songs if the debacle between her and KimYe hadn't happened. She spoke about it in an interview, saying she had finished Lover even before she went on tour with Reputation. She changed her mind about Lover being her next album and instead came out with Reputation instead. She symbolizes that by cutting off it's wings and spray-painting REPUTATION across it. The palm trees and tropical look she's wearing were hints of what her next album, Lover, would be like (which it was).
The last thing she says, "I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative, one that I have never asked to be a part of, since 2009” refers to the letter she posted on social media in response to KimYe calling her a liar. But, no-one wanted to hear the truth or cared about what really happened. The just wanted her to "SHUT UP"
There is a rat that runs along behind the line of Taylors at the 3.53 mark...
There are most likely many other theories I missed...
I JUST NOTICED…🧡🧡 is the outfit she is wearing in the cage. That that mean the lost Karma album, which we suspected the color orange, is locked away in some sort of cage?
Aahhh nice catch