S1: Hey, I'm Osman Farooqui and this is The Drop, a
S1: culture show from the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age,
S1: where we dive into the latest in the world of
S1: pop culture and entertainment. I'm here with Thomas Mitchell and
S1: Mel Kambouris. Guys, bit of news around today. We're recording
S1: this on Wednesday morning. Taylor Swift, The focus of today's
S1: episode of The Drop, has just announced that the Eras
S1: concert film will be released around the world, including here
S1: in Australia on October 13th. It's a big deal. We're
S1: going to talk about exactly why and how Taylor Swift
S1: became the winner of culture in 2023. I'm not sure
S1: we're expecting that the start of the year, but also
S1: literally minutes ago before we sat down to record the WGA,
S1: the Writers Guild of America and the big Hollywood studios
S1: have reached a deal to end the 146 day writers strike,
S1: the third longest in history. They announced they'd reached a
S1: kind of tentative agreement, but the boards of the Writers
S1: Guild have signed off on that. Details of that agreement
S1: have started to filter through what kind of experiencing this
S1: in real time right now.
S2: I've always wanted to be a part of breaking news.
S2: This is very exciting for me.
S1: Well, not to diminish that vibe. By the time people
S1: listen to this, Tom, it probably won't be breaking any more.
S1: But we are living in it.
S2: We're living. I'm just talking about how I currently feel.
S3: This is the occasion.
S2: Yes. Yeah.
S1: I broke the news to you just like you did
S1: two minutes ago, didn't I? That was.
S2: Exciting. Which is weird because I'm normally so on the pulse, but.
S1: Well, how do you guys feel about this deal, this
S1: strike coming to an end?
S3: I am extremely pleased. I think it was causing me
S3: like low level anxiety going on in the background. And
S3: then increasingly I was starting to miss the the content.
S3: You know, it did feel like there was an absence
S3: of great stuff coming out on TV and kind of
S3: high level films. So I'm really pleased that this is over.
S3: The Writers Guild has said the deal is exceptional, so
S3: it sounds like it's a great outcome for them and
S3: I'm excited to be able to stop interviewing kind of
S3: not the stars of shows.
S2: Yes. I mean, I'm probably not as excited as like
S2: Drew Barrymore is, but I mean, she.
S1: Just held out for like one more.
S2: Week. I know. Then she wouldn't have, like, ruined her
S2: entire reputation. I mean, obviously, it's worth mentioning that SAG
S2: hasn't cut a deal yet. So Hollywood is still, I guess,
S2: in a holding pattern like we will see the return
S2: of late night shows and stuff.
S3: And there is an expectation that SAG might not be
S3: far off given the deal that the Writers Guild has struck.
S2: Yes. Well, if we believe Matthew Fox from Lost, which
S2: I mean, why wouldn't you? Sure. I spoke to him
S2: yesterday and because he's in town to promote a show,
S2: a show that was filmed in Australia. And he seemed
S2: to think that, you know, he's obviously a SAG member
S2: and he seemed to think that SAG will skate right
S2: in behind the WGA and a deal will be done
S2: within the week. So according to Dr. Shepherd Distractingly over.
S3: There you go. Breaking news.
S1: I forgot that he was a doctor on that show. Yeah.
S2: I mean, he was like a doctor. Like Joey was
S2: a doctor. Like Drake more.
S1: Yeah. A lot of the issues that the two unions
S1: have been striking over, very similar to deal with residuals,
S1: to deal with increased rates of base pay to deal
S1: with protections around artificial intelligence. And the Writers Guild seem
S1: to be very stoked, as you said, Mel, with what
S1: they've won. They've sort of sent around this complicated annotated
S1: spreadsheet that's color coded that that says, you know what
S1: they were asking for, what the last draft offer from
S1: the big studios was and what they have just received.
S1: And judging by that, it seems to be a pretty
S1: comprehensive victory for the writers, which you would hope for
S1: after such a long and lengthy strike. And it does
S1: seem like now that a lot of that's been resolved,
S1: the big studios, I think what seemed to change in
S1: the last week or so was the heads of like
S1: Netflix and Disney really just started to roll up their
S1: sleeves and get down and resolve this. So you'd expect
S1: that same attitude to roll over to the Screen Actors Guild,
S1: the actors union, and we get that resolved too. But
S1: of course, like, you know, Thomas, you mentioned that late
S1: night TV will return, SNL will return those sorts of
S1: kind of scripted reactive shows will return. But we've not
S1: had production in Hollywood for like four months. So we
S1: are behind in terms of the pipeline. So I guess
S1: if you're listening to this and you're hoping that there'll
S1: be a whole bunch of great new TV shows and
S1: films dropping in the next couple of weeks, that's probably unrealistic,
S1: but it does mean we probably will get some of
S1: those big releases next year, things like June 2nd that
S1: were held back, sort of we're in a funny position
S1: because that was due to come out in November. If
S1: the actors strike gets resolved, then they could have still
S1: promoted that film with the actors and done it. But
S1: it seems unlikely that we're going to start to see
S1: these things drop back on. Do you think?
S3: Mel Yeah, it does. I think it will take a
S3: while for Hollywood and broadcast schedules to catch up with
S3: the delays. But for the films that have still stayed
S3: on the radar, which we did talk about in our
S3: in our preview for spring, I think hopefully if the
S3: actors strikes get gets resolved, at least we'll have kind
S3: of actors being able to come out and talk about
S3: their projects. We'll hope. You have red carpets back, writers
S3: will be able to talk as well now. So I
S3: think kind of it will be a boost for the
S3: whole industry because it has kind of cast a shadow
S3: over everything. Even the shows that have gone ahead and
S3: even the shows in Australia that, you know, they are
S3: able to speak about their their work. It's kind of
S3: it's always in the background, isn't it, what's going on
S3: in LA and the ripple effects that's having around the world.
S3: So I think it will be much needed boost.
S1: And like you said, even with some of these big
S1: releases like, you know, Paul Mescal is in a big
S1: movie called Foes coming out and we speak to the
S1: directors and director and that's exciting and it's great. But
S1: people want to hear from Paul Mescal. People want hear
S1: from the actors and stars. And it has impacted, again,
S1: not to say that we're the victims in this at all,
S1: but like it's impacted our jobs, who we can talk
S1: to and who our readers like can read about. So
S1: I think it's good news all around and certainly a
S1: really great result for the Writers Guild.
S3: And we know that Thomas has been hanging out to
S3: speak to Robert De Niro. So hopefully if if the
S3: actor's strike gets resolved, you'll be able to do that, too.
S2: Yeah, Just got a couple of bones to pick with him.
S1: Okay. Let's move on to the main topic of today's episode,
S1: Taylor Swift. In a year that gave us Barbie and Oppenheimer,
S1: we had the finale of Succession, a brand new Kylie album,
S1: a Beyonce tour. It feels like Taylor Swift was still
S1: like the cultural victor in terms of who has attracted
S1: the most attention, made the most money, generated the most headlines.
S1: The Eras tour was a huge, huge, huge, unprecedented success,
S1: selling out all over the US, dominating TikTok like you
S1: could not get away from this tour even if you
S1: were not at the shows when tickets went on sale
S1: in Australia. I think over 4.5 million people tried to
S1: buy them. There's never been demand for concerts like that
S1: in Australian history. We are going to go deep on
S1: exactly how we got to this moment in culture, but
S1: in the last couple of days there's been a whole
S1: new angle emerge to the Taylor Swift story. She's found
S1: a new world to conquer professional sports, particularly the NFL.
S4: 11th play of the drive Mahomes walked. It is a touchdown.
S4: And Kelsey.
S5: You don't know who jumped higher after a Travis Kelce touchdown.
S5: If it was Taylor or Greg Olsen when he heard
S5: she was going to be at the stadium today. And
S5: of course.
S4: As always. And then there's the biggest pop star in
S4: the world, Taylor Swift, with Travis's mom, Donna.
S6: Mm.
S7: I mean, I think the secret's out. Who is she
S7: here to see? I mean, I think I think the
S7: secret to photos.
S1: Of her attending an NFL game between the Kansas City
S1: Chiefs and the Chicago Bears in a box with the
S1: mother of a Chiefs player, Travis Kelce. They didn't just
S1: go viral when they like emerged. They totally changed, like
S1: the direction of American social history. It feels like, judging
S1: by what we've been seeing in the last couple of days,
S1: there's a lot going on from rumors of a new relationship, which,
S1: to be honest, I find to be the least kind
S1: of interesting part of all this. These other conversations about
S1: how big a deal Taylor Swift going to watch an
S1: NFL game is for both the music industry and for sport.
S1: Before we kind of get into all of this and
S1: explain what the hell is going on for people who
S1: may not have been following it as closely as us.
S1: What did you guys clock in the last couple of days?
S1: What made you sit up and be like, Holy shit,
S1: something very weird and special is going on right now.
S3: Okay. I think for me it was the moment when
S3: Taylor was at the game and the camera panned up
S3: to her after Kelsey scored a touchdown, he was having
S3: a remarkable game. The camera pans up to her and
S3: she mouths, Let's fucking go. Obviously a shout out to
S3: the drop. Yes, that was the moment where I was like, okay,
S3: here we are.
S2: The drop has really saturated. Yeah, I don't know. I
S2: think I personally just think it's weird that she's hanging
S2: out with his mom already. That's just seems too soon.
S3: Well, actually, my first thought when I saw this really,
S3: apart from the, the LFG moment, was you would be
S3: stoked because we know you always back the thick man.
S3: And she has had a big fella.
S1: He's a big fella.
S2: Obviously, because if you look at her like she just
S2: basically dates sad Brits, whereas this guy is like, you know,
S2: all American beefcake. So I'm there for that. But I
S2: do think I don't know. To me, it all just
S2: felt like, oh, this is all so Taylor Swift like
S2: she's of course, she's like at the football with his mom. Like,
S2: I don't know if I didn't get like whipped up
S2: into the excitement that everyone else did. And I was
S2: just like, you know, it all felt a bit like
S2: staged and stuff. And she's there knowing, like, everyone's watching
S2: her and she's in the player's box with his mom.
S2: It just felt a bit too like.
S3: So do you think this might be the moment the
S3: momentum turns against Taylor?
S2: I mean, probably not.
S3: Maybe the momentum turns against you. Yeah.
S1: I was a little bit similar to you, Thomas. I
S1: didn't really understand why Taylor Swift going to this game
S1: was such a big deal. I was not like, I'm
S1: not fully across the Travis Kelce thing. Mel, I'm going
S1: to get you to break that down for us in
S1: a second. But like, I think what started to like
S1: get me to think about this with a slightly different
S1: lens was, you know, the NFL changed all of its
S1: social media handles to to be like Taylor was here
S1: you have these iconic sports commentators like Stephen Smith deliver
S1: these monologues about Taylor Swift.
S8: Between songs, a nine minute standing ovation nonstop between songs
S8: they wouldn't let up perform. They couldn't stop little girls
S8: every knowing every syllable, every word, every song, crying, screaming.
S8: I've never seen anything like it. I've never seen anything
S8: like it. You want to. I was there. I was.
S1: All of these reporters were at the game start like
S1: referencing Taylor Swift's songs. Bill Belichick, the iconic coach, is
S1: making jokes about Taylor Swift, Travis Kelsey.
S9: He's had a lot of big catches in his career.
S9: This would be the biggest.
S1: And her appearance at NFL, I'm like, okay, I did
S1: not realize that the NFL and pop music hadn't quite
S1: collided like this before, but it seems like something new
S1: and exciting is happening. It seems worthy of trying to
S1: figure out what the fuck it is and why it's
S1: worthy of talking about. And I do think the starting
S1: point for this is trying to figure out why Travis
S1: Kelce is such a big deal, why he's connected to
S1: Taylor Swift. That seems to be like the jumping off
S1: point for this whole kind of thing. And Mel, I've
S1: just been told by Thomas like this morning that you've
S1: been like a deep Kelsey head for a long time,
S1: which feels super weird to me.
S2: It is weird. So, Mel, like for the listeners, Mel
S2: is like a bit of an undercover American sports fan.
S2: And when we started talking, she loves the NBA, she
S2: loves the NFL. And when we started talking about this,
S2: she basically was like just reeling off details about Travis Kelce.
S2: He's like stats every season, height, weight, girth, like everything.
S2: And yeah, so so here we have it. We're going
S2: to get the full Travis Kelce rundown from the number
S2: one fan.
S3: I feel like this always shocks people that I'm super
S3: into sports, but I reckon sports are like my only genuine.
S3: Hobby like books? Well, no, but like, I was thinking
S3: about books, film, music, obviously my great loves. And, you know,
S3: that's really all I do. But all related to work
S3: and sport is like the one thing I'm really into,
S3: the kind of doesn't. Yeah, that is not kind of
S3: self beneficial in any way.
S1: I feel like that applies to the three of us, right?
S1: We're all big sports nuts and we don't really like
S1: work in it.
S3: No, not not yet. But I was thinking because I
S3: like messed up my book podcast rehearsal so much that
S3: maybe this is my audition for the sports podcast. I
S3: probably could.
S2: Have played sport professionally, but it's just too political. What sport? Soccer?
S10: Yeah, maybe.
S3: Okay. Travis. Kelsey. Now, how deep do you want me
S3: to go on this?
S1: I think you should go as deep as you feel
S1: comfortable because this guy is like, one of the most
S1: popular people, almost like Googled people in the world right now.
S1: So whatever detail and color you can give us.
S3: Okay, great. Well, let's let's let's go back a bit
S3: to the to the to the biggest quarterback of all time,
S3: Tom Brady, face of the NFL for years recently retired
S3: now Tom Brady quarterback big role is to throw the
S3: ball for those who haven't seen Friday night.
S2: NFL explainer.
S3: Yeah yeah.
S1: Quarterbacks yeah they're the ones that get all the girls right.
S2: Like the American Nathan.
S3: Cleary's Yeah and they have an off sider which is
S3: called a tight end now Tom Brady's off sider has
S3: been gronkowski and the two of them have kind of
S3: had Super Bowl success over the years. They're a sports
S3: pair to kind to match, you know, maybe we'd say.
S2: Oseman and.
S3: Thomas Osmond. Absolutely. Now, Tom Brady is recently retired and
S3: so it's cleared the way. NFL needs a new face.
S3: You know, Aaron Rodgers, good quarterback, thought they could be
S3: it for a while. He's been a bit kind of
S3: off the rails. He's been in the cave in the
S3: off season. He's kind of got an injury. So he's out.
S1: He's done his Achilles in the first four minutes of
S1: this season. Yeah. After they paid like $50 million for it.
S3: Not great, not great. But I mean he's got fans.
S1: Are not having a good time, from what I understand.
S1: I am fully loving our pivot to just NFL podcast.
S2: I can't believe we're on Aaron Rodgers now. Yeah who
S2: is Travis Kelce?
S3: But really the real quarterback star is Patrick Mahomes. Now,
S3: do you know Patrick?
S2: I do, yeah.
S3: He's lovely. Seems like a great guy, all American. He
S3: plays for the Kansas City Chiefs. He's like the best
S3: quarterback now.
S1: And they win, right? They've won like a couple of
S1: Super Bowls recently.
S3: They have that one two. And he's compared to kind
S3: of Brady now Patrick Mahomes off sider is none other
S3: than Travis Kelce and their partnership is kind of like
S3: the Brady Gronk partnership of a new era. Okay.
S1: Can we just pause for a second there? Because you
S1: said the word tight end, right, which I've read a
S1: lot this week, and it just makes me laugh a lot.
S1: It's a hilarious name for a position in a sport.
S2: Wait, wait till we get to talking about his reality show.
S2: The first episode was called 50 Girls, one Tight End.
S1: That can't be real. Is that real?
S3: Legit.
S2: That's the first episode.
S3: I really feel there is so much potential for Taylor lyrics.
S3: Like on NFL jargon, it's going to be great.
S1: So is tight end like a dummy half like is
S1: this the person is that is there a comparable or
S1: what is the tight end? The person who the quarterback
S1: tries to throw the ball to? Is that what goes
S1: on here?
S3: Yeah. When you have a good working relationship between your
S3: quarterback and your tight end, like a reporter and editor,
S3: I guess you're kind of in sync. So Travis Kelsey
S3: is often kind of sealing the deal after Mahomes calls
S3: the calls the pass.
S1: Okay. So that is why Bill Belichick said he's made
S1: a lot of great catches in his career. But Taylor
S1: Swift is one of the best ones.
S3: Such a good line.
S2: But wait, so there are plenty of good tight ends
S2: out there. But why? Like, you know, he's obviously risen
S2: above like the level of fame of being good at NFL.
S2: And he's like in popular culture, even before Taylor Swift.
S2: So like, how did that come to be?
S3: It's the partnership, really. I think it's the dynamic between
S3: the two of them. It's like how we work on
S3: your column each week. You know, your success is my
S3: success and vice versa.
S1: That's really nice. That's sweet. Like a nice, cool partnership
S1: in sport. We love that.
S3: And he is huge. But really, Patrick Mahomes is like
S3: the star. But it was funny when Taylor was at
S3: the game, they were like for the first time, Travis
S3: Kelce is who everyone is here to see. Right, right, right.
S3: But yeah, as you mentioned, he has kind of he's
S3: obviously setting himself up for a career post the Super
S3: Bowl because he was on a reality show. He's hosted
S3: SNL this year. He's got a podcast out. He's got
S3: a bit of kind of front facing charisma. I think
S3: on a podcast we were listening to, they kind of
S3: compared him to becoming like The Rock or that's his ambition, right?
S1: So like a, like a kind of broad cultural figure
S1: across different mediums and sort of spheres of culture.
S3: Yeah, transcending kind of the field. But I will say,
S3: like when you see him in the games, he is
S3: pretty like bro, bro, bro, Like when you when they
S3: catch him on mic during the game, he's not he
S3: doesn't come across as kind of the sharpest tool in
S3: the shed. But so it is an interesting pairing as
S3: we were saying, compared to who she has been.
S1: Can I ask you another question, Mel, about the Kelsey
S1: family at large? So I understand his mom, like goes
S1: to watch his games. And Tom has mentioned that tells
S1: me his brother also plays NFL.
S3: Yeah. So his brother Jason plays for the Eagles. And
S3: they actually had to face each other in the last
S3: Super Bowl, which Travis Kelce won. Wow.
S1: So there's two brothers. The Kelsey brothers are going head
S1: to head in the Super Bowl.
S3: Yeah, it's kind of like we were saying. Well, it
S3: was like a Steph Curry Seth Curry situation where unfortunately my.
S2: Brother Sam Burgess. George Burgess. Thomas Burgess. What are the
S2: other boo? What's the other ones?
S1: I don't know, man. I try not to think about
S1: the Burgess brothers. They cause me a lot of grief.
S2: I'm just trying to keep localizing this content for our listeners.
S1: And Taylor Swift has historically been an Eagles fan. From
S1: what I understand. She was born in Philadelphia, and so again,
S1: her appearance at this Chiefs game caused a lot of
S1: consternation because people are like, Why are you going for
S1: like their rival in the last Super Bowl, the Kansas
S1: City Chiefs.
S3: Yeah, but we know Taylor believes in love. And love
S3: can make you as she as she often sings about
S3: do some pretty wild things and they're they're my parents
S3: my sports podcast. I think I did pretty well.
S1: That's a great explanation.
S2: That's a good explanation.
S3: You know what upsets me is I did much better
S3: at NFL than I did at books, which is quite upsetting.
S2: Yeah, but because it's clearly your real joy.
S1: So that's Travis Kelce. We all obviously know who Taylor
S1: Swift is. What's the starting point of this thing? Because
S1: clearly something had been going on in the background before
S1: she appeared at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
S2: Well, yeah, and this is why I think we'll get
S2: to this later. But I think Travis Kelce, I don't
S2: like the cut of this guy's jib. Anyway, many I
S2: don't I just think like I can I can see
S2: a fame fuck a million miles. I'm like, Olivia, Rodrigo, man,
S2: this is a fame sucker. Blood.
S3: Famously, she didn't see him a million miles away anyway.
S2: But then I did see so like, maybe 4 or
S2: 5 years ago on a game of kiss, marry, Kill,
S2: which probably hasn't aged that well as a game anyway,
S2: Travis Kelsey was was playing this and I think it
S2: was like Katy Perry.
S3: Your your mentor and.
S2: Yeah and some some other pop star and this is
S2: like 2006.
S1: Ariana Grande.
S2: I think Ariana Grande. Yeah. And he chose to kiss
S2: Taylor I think so. Obviously the Internet sleuths, having moved
S2: on from Russell Brand, have now gone on to this
S2: and and been like okay, so he's been crushing on
S2: her for a while And then I think was it
S2: like earlier this year he went to one of Taylor's concerts,
S2: not just any concert.
S1: He went to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City where she
S1: popped up. Right.
S2: So. So she was playing at his home ground. Yeah.
S2: And he made he kind of like went on to
S2: this podcast he has with his brother new heights, which
S2: sounds like something I'd rather remove my own foot, then
S2: listen to. And he, he basically retold this story about
S2: how he went to the concert. He made her a
S2: friendship bracelet, which is hilarious.
S1: And this is the thing that is happening at Taylor
S1: Swift concerts. If you're not aware, like fans are taking
S1: friendship bracelets and swapping them with other fans. So it
S1: is still hilarious because he's like a six foot ten
S1: NFL tight end, but it's like less creepy than it
S1: sounds on the surface.
S2: Yeah, right. That does make it less creepy. And I
S2: prefer the version in my head. Anyway, so he did this.
S2: His intention was to basically like try and get a
S2: meet and greet maybe before or after the show and
S2: give her his number. And then he kind of retells
S2: the story in the podcast. Like, unfortunately he didn't get
S2: the opportunity to because she doesn't speak to people because
S2: she got to save her voice. And but yeah, I
S2: guess that was the first time he like went on
S2: record and was like, I'm vibing Taylor Swift. Like, put
S2: it out, you know, that whole like put it out
S2: into the universe and see what happened.
S3: And then there was a bit of a challenge too.
S3: Wasn't that way. It was like I saw you pull
S3: a crowd at the stadium, come and watch me pull
S3: the crowd at the stadium.
S2: Yeah. And then kind of like a little bit of
S2: time passes and. I guess, like there's rumors that they're
S2: like quietly hanging out, I think, which, you know, like
S2: when it comes to press language, you really have to
S2: read between the lines. And this is why I think
S2: and again, we'll get to this later, I think this
S2: is all bullshit, manufactured, staged. I think when it comes
S2: to like press language, you have to really read between
S2: the lines. And I think quietly hanging out is like
S2: code for probably not.
S11: Kissing.
S2: Like, I don't. I don't reckon this is a vibe
S2: at all.
S3: Anyway, that's what you read quietly, hanging out. It's not kissing.
S3: I just don't.
S2: Reckon. Anyway, we'll get to it. He basically. Then I
S2: think fast forward a few, a few weeks later, he
S2: then he had a beard. You can probably. I mean,
S2: what are the posters on your wall. What's he got.
S3: Yeah. He had a beard which he reduced to a mustache.
S2: And on his podcast his brother, I think kind of
S2: was like, oh, Taylor will probably like that. And he
S2: was like, We'll have to wait and see. And then
S2: then came the rumors that they were quietly hanging out.
S2: And I guess, you know, over the past few days,
S2: we've seen the big, you know, confirmation Taylor in the
S2: players box. So I guess that's the abridged version of
S2: how they came to be.
S1: And then there was also this kind of like captured
S1: footage from a fan of them leaving the stadium or
S1: leaving the game together. So what you've kind of got
S1: from these two extremely, extremely good explanations from you guys
S1: is the story of like why people care at Travis Kelsey,
S1: the story of how him and Taylor seemed to be
S1: playing this kind of long game, or at least he
S1: seemed to have been playing this kind of long game,
S1: culminating in this, like, real world meetup that we all
S1: saw fueling rumors of a relationship. Now, I said at
S1: the start of this, I do find this a weird
S1: thing to talk about, right? Like we don't our job,
S1: even though we cover pop culture and celebrity and all
S1: these sorts of things, our job is not to like
S1: gossip about who people are dating or who people are
S1: hooking up with. That has been a big part of
S1: like this. Like a lot of the tabloids who've covered
S1: this have said things like, well, this confirms that Taylor
S1: is dating Travis Kelce. I don't think it does. And
S1: I think there's a lot of interesting stuff going on
S1: here without needing to get into the specifics of whether
S1: they are in a romantic relationship or not. I also,
S1: for the record, I'm with you, Thomas. Like this feels
S1: like a manufactured friendship or a manufactured kind of partnership
S1: between this very famous sports person who was building a
S1: media empire and this very famous music person who was
S1: building a media empire. And the NFL is not like
S1: the basketball in the sense that it doesn't cross over
S1: with like music and entertainment as much except for like
S1: outside the Super Bowl halftime show. So it is very
S1: mutually beneficial for these two worlds to be brought together
S1: in this way. And, you know, maybe it's not surprising
S1: that the most obvious takes are, Oh my God, has
S1: Taylor got a new boyfriend? Because that has been the
S1: way the media has written about Taylor Swift for like
S1: 20 years now. But it just doesn't seem like that's
S1: the case. And it seems like if they were willing
S1: to be photographed together and they're willing to like have
S1: this public relationship, they would just make it more clear
S1: that they were dating. That seems to be. That's my
S1: read on it at least.
S3: Yeah. And I also well, firstly, as you were saying,
S3: there is that audiences probably don't cross over much. Like
S3: obviously there would be Taylor Swift fans among NFL fans,
S3: me being one of them. But if you look at
S3: a Taylor Swift concert, it's not the same people that
S3: you see going to the NFL and vice versa predominantly.
S3: So there is kind of commercial aim there. But also
S3: I think Taylor is maybe having a lot of fun
S3: with the media at the moment. I think she's playing
S3: a lot of games. She seems very in control of
S3: her own narrative in a way that I think she
S3: has tried to be in the past, but she really
S3: is now. So it kind of feels like this is
S3: very tongue in cheek for Taylor. And it's also part
S3: of her public presentation as being I'm my own boss
S3: now because.
S2: I think the same I think it's all a bit
S2: like there is a mutual beneficial thing going on. And
S2: it's like even the fact that they drove off from
S2: the stadium in a fucking convertible like it was and.
S3: She had she was wearing the Chiefs jump around her waist.
S3: She had a weird watching.
S2: Are we watching like the. 2023 version of Love Story
S2: Film Clip. Update It's all very weird, but I guess
S2: the question playing devil's advocate, even though I agree, is
S2: that like what I see? What's in it for Travis Kelce? Like,
S2: you know, he's clearly been working in this background on
S2: his media career, and this is like the best thing
S2: that's ever happened to him. But what's in it for
S2: Taylor Swift? Like, she doesn't she doesn't really need more audience.
S1: Okay. I reckon my immediate answer to that is so yeah,
S1: she sold out her eras tour around the world on
S1: the 13th of October. As we mentioned, the start of
S1: the show, the film version of that is about to
S1: be released. A lot of people who go and see
S1: that will be Taylor Swift fans who either miss out
S1: on tickets or who saw the show but want to
S1: go see it in a cinema for that full, glorious
S1: cinematic experience. But also like, you know, every day. Cornfed
S1: Middle America is like an audience for that. And that
S1: comes out in two weeks time. NFL fans who may
S1: be like didn't really pay a lot of attention to
S1: Taylor are now perhaps doing so. And what better way
S1: to find out more in terms of what the fuss
S1: is about than spend 20 bucks on a ticket to
S1: go see, you know, the eras tour in the cinema.
S1: I understand that that sounds like extremely cynical that Taylor
S1: Swift is just doing this to sell tickets to the
S1: era kind of cinema thing. I don't know if it's
S1: just that I think like she's partway through a very
S1: long journey in terms of becoming the most dominant cultural
S1: force in the world, and an alliance with the NFL
S1: and NFL fans helps her get there. But I think
S1: the most immediate benefit I think, is manifested in that
S1: in that era of cinema show.
S2: Yeah. And I do think what you were saying, Mel,
S2: is kind of right. Like even the the whole Sophie
S2: Turner thing last week was very like Taylor is someone
S2: who spends a lot of time in the public eye,
S2: and if she didn't want to be seen, she would
S2: know where to go, to not be seen and how
S2: to facilitate that. And that was like such a public
S2: spectacle and like respect. I thought it was hilarious.
S1: Can you just walk us through that, Thomas, for people
S1: who might not understand the significance of that interaction?
S2: Yeah. So Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner broke up because
S2: Joe Jonas is dating both of his brothers now. And so.
S1: Second week in a row, you've made a Jonas Brothers.
S2: Incestuous. It's a fucking gift. It keeps on giving. But yeah.
S2: So Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner have broken up. The
S2: split has turned bad, and there's lots of kind of like,
S2: I guess, mum shaming going on around Sophie Turner in
S2: the narrative that Joe Jonas pushing out was that she
S2: was too busy, like living it up to parents, blah blah, blah.
S2: There's been like a public backlash to that. And obviously
S2: Joe Jonas and Taylor Swift once upon a time were
S2: an item. And then last week in New York, I
S2: think it was Taylor Swift and Sophie Turner were spotted
S2: at a restaurant like sitting basically in the window, having
S2: a very animated conversation over dinner and drinks. And then
S2: they left together, like hand in hand. It was the
S2: biggest like the girls are on Here vibe. And it
S2: was great and people kind of loved it. And it
S2: was a very yeah, it was a very big public
S2: moment for Taylor. And then Taylor is.
S3: Very about like her public image is very much about
S3: being for the, for the girls and after her and
S3: Joe Alwyn boy do.
S1: The girlies love.
S3: It. They did love it after her and her partner
S3: of six or so years split up and there was
S3: a lot of attention on her. I feel like it's
S3: a very deliberate statement to then take Sophie Turner out
S3: for a night on town about women supporting other women
S3: in this kind of world that is very quick to
S3: judge women and their relationships. Yeah, she's.
S2: Really out there at a time when should she not
S2: want to be that she could make that decision. So
S2: it feels like perhaps it's pointed.
S1: Yeah. And I think the other part of probably what's
S1: going on in terms of like why it feels like
S1: there's such a rush of Taylor Swift doing things stories
S1: right from Matty Healy stuff to Sophie Turner to to this.
S1: My kind of little theory on this is Taylor has
S1: spent a large part of her career. In fact, most
S1: of her career training her fans and her audience to
S1: have this, like, deeply parasocial relationship with her, like the
S1: Easter eggs and songs, the way she teases real things
S1: that have happened. You know the all too well ten
S1: minute version, the scarf, like all of this stuff, her
S1: fans live and die on every tiny little thing that
S1: she does. And it certainly helped her a lot. Right?
S1: It helped her develop a very close relationship with millions
S1: and millions and millions of people who bought her records,
S1: who defended her online, who her stand army, who went
S1: to her shows, traveled around the world, all that sort
S1: of stuff. I wonder whether now in her early to
S1: mid 30s, after having done that to get to this stage,
S1: she now wants to break away from that. Being a
S1: celebrity is very tough. It's very annoying, it's very stressful.
S1: Everyone monitors every tiny little thing that you do. It's
S1: very hard to just live a normal life. If she
S1: was setting out to break that nexus between her and
S1: her fans, not sort of like seeking to alienate them totally,
S1: but to have them maybe take a bit of a
S1: step back and let her live a life, what better
S1: way than by basically flooding the zone, to quote Steve
S1: Bannon and saying, you know, I will be seen with
S1: Matty Healy. Maybe we're dating, maybe we're not. I. Will
S1: step out with Sophie Turner. I will go to this
S1: Kansas City Chiefs games because why not? And you can't
S1: turn every little thing that I do if I do
S1: so many of them into a big narrative about what
S1: phase of life I'm in and what sort of woman
S1: I want to be, I kind of think she may
S1: be trying to signal to us the wider public as
S1: well as her fans, that she's just going to do
S1: whatever she wants to do now. And it's not healthy
S1: anymore to pass every tiny little thing she does through
S1: this layer of like, what does this mean in the
S1: grand cosmic scheme of Taylor Swift?
S3: I think that's completely true. And she speaks about this
S3: in her documentary as well, about the pressure she felt
S3: as a young woman. You know, she entered the industry
S3: very young and she entered in country music, which has
S3: quite kind.
S2: Of abilities that.
S3: Yeah, a lot of NFL fans, which has quite kind of,
S3: I guess, rigid requirements for its figureheads. And she speaks
S3: in the documentary about the pressure she felt to be
S3: a certain kind of pop star. And I think young
S3: people generally feel that pressure to behave in a certain way.
S3: But as she's gotten into her 30s, it feels like
S3: she's kind of really come into herself publicly in a
S3: way she wasn't before. And I think also doubling onto
S3: the NFL, there was heaps of clips around of her
S3: at the VMAs just having the best time, like singing
S3: to Shakira, looking.
S1: Like she was really good, like public. Klepper Yeah, she.
S3: Was like just having a blast. And I kind of
S3: feel like she would have known the cameras were on
S3: her the entire time, like both the the show's cameras,
S3: but also everyone around to and it was just like
S3: she didn't care. So I do I agree with you
S3: was I think she's an icon and now she's like,
S3: well I'm going to do iconic things.
S1: Do you think going back to the NFL kind of
S1: tie in with all this? And I think I think
S1: it's sort of hard in a way as an Australian
S1: to still wrap our heads around what this actually means. Like,
S1: I think even if we understand NFL and I kind
S1: of do and I've watched the Super Bowl and whatever,
S1: but like the NFL is a cultural institution, what that
S1: means is quite really, it doesn't seem to be like
S1: a one for one in Australia.
S2: Right? I'm sorry, but the biggest moment in sport is
S2: coming this Sunday on the Nine Network. Like I mean
S2: it's the NRL Grand Final Broncos Panthers 1V2, Reece Walsh
S2: versus Ivan Cleary Taylor will probably be there.
S1: I've got mixed feelings about that. Like I, I my
S1: sympathies to Penrith and certainly not to any Queensland team
S1: in the NRL. But Adam Reynolds, my guy, you know,
S1: and Penrith have won so much and it's like, is
S1: it great for a team to win that much?
S2: Yeah, I want the Dynasty dynasty to be over. But no,
S2: what you're saying is true. It's hard to make a
S2: like for like comparison. Like we have, you know, the
S2: state of.
S1: Origin back to the topic.
S2: Which is the state of origin, which is like the
S2: spectacle or even like, you know, a Collingwood Hawthorn grand
S2: final at the MCG with 100,000 people. Like it still
S2: doesn't compare to like the insane spectacle that is like
S2: the Super Bowl or the like the way Americans do
S2: and like ingest and live sports is like very unique
S2: to them.
S3: And Super Bowl is the biggest of them all in America.
S3: Like more than 100 million people tune in to watch the.
S2: Super like also just to keep in a full frame
S2: of reference, it compares nothing to like the FIFA World Cup.
S1: But for America, it's very big. And I guess this
S1: this is the question that was building to before we
S1: had to talk about the NRL grand final versus.
S2: 750 kickoff on nine Network.
S3: Are you like on the are you on the panel?
S2: I'm hoping to be.
S1: The question, if I can ask it is has there
S1: been a tie up between two figures from kind of
S1: different worlds? That has come close to this Taylor Swift,
S1: Travis Kelce NFL thing. There is one that I can
S1: think of, but I want to ask you guys first
S1: before I shout it out.
S12: Look, I'd.
S3: Maybe I would say Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. That
S3: was the.
S1: One that was going to.
S13: Say. I thought.
S2: Oh, yeah, right. Okay. I was just going to say, like,
S2: obviously Beck and Light and Hewitt.
S13: Okay. I mean. Yes. How are you saying in sport? Yeah.
S1: No. True. Okay. Okay. True in.
S13: Sport.
S1: And in Australia. Yes. I don't think anyone outside of
S1: Australia knows who becciu it is.
S2: Okay, well, that's not fair because I don't think.
S13: She had like it.
S2: No, I'll give you a legit one. So Sergio Busquets
S2: is captain of Barcelona and he was married to Shakira.
S2: They actually got divorced last year, but he's like this
S2: massive star in world football. She's like one of the
S2: biggest Latino like, stars of all time. That was like
S2: a proper crossover in the world of football and like, entertainment.
S2: And they were like the superstar couple.
S3: Posh and David Beckham while we're on. Yeah, I.
S1: Was going to say Posh and Becks is probably one
S1: of the all time like sporting music culture tie ups.
S1: But I think. Yeah, it's sort of interesting cause you're
S1: right that football is like, globally so much bigger than
S1: anything else. But given how dominant America is in terms
S1: of the production and reproduction of like, culture. I still
S1: feel like those things didn't have the ramifications downstream that
S1: like something like the Kim and Kanye thing did that
S1: felt so of different worlds and then became a unified thing.
S1: Of course, the big caveat and all of this is
S1: like the Taylor Travis thing, if it is what we think,
S1: which is like maybe their friends and it's a bit
S1: of fun, it's probably unlikely to lead to any new
S1: kind of cultural product that we're all obsessed with. Like
S1: Taylor Swift is probably not going to release a Travis
S1: Kelce or NFL inspired like, album. I don't know if
S1: the Kansas City Chiefs will rename themselves the Kansas City
S1: like Swifties.
S2: Well, I'm guessing like if if we're spitballing. Taylor hasn't
S2: done a half time show yet, has she?
S3: No, she's not.
S13: And I famously.
S2: Turned them down a few times.
S13: Hasn't she? Would have said this.
S3: Would have been the perfect launch announcement. But they have
S3: just launched that Usher shirt is.
S13: Going to be that launched.
S2: Usher, which is like.
S3: What's your favorite Usher song while we're on it?
S2: Probably Confessions part.
S13: Two. Yeah, but the.
S2: The like launching Usher is that's a that's a bad launch.
S2: That's not an exciting launch.
S1: Yeah. Like, no, it's not exciting.
S2: Like, you know, the last few years I've at least
S2: had some like Usher is not.
S13: I also feel.
S3: That they did that throwback halftime show where they had.
S13: A lot of that.
S2: Was like fucking like Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg. The
S2: game with Kendrick like that was, you know, that was
S2: mad like Usher. He's got like three good songs, like, anyway,
S2: so maybe the NFL this is like a really long
S2: game from them to get Taylor next year. But the
S2: thing is given that we discussed earlier that it appears
S2: Travis has been kind of like courting this or manifesting
S2: this for some time. This is my fear about the
S2: whole thing. He is legit because he's legit in trying
S2: to pursue her, but his intentions are impure, whereas I
S2: think maybe she's just having fun. But I reckon I.
S3: Think he was just being tongue in cheek on his
S3: podcast the same way You're like, Call me Katy Perry.
S3: Like if Katy Perry and you then met up, no
S3: one would be like he's been calling her for for weeks.
S3: I think Travis was just speaking off the cuff and
S3: it got picked up and blown up and then they're
S3: both having a bit of fun with it. You think
S3: he legitimately.
S13: Do we need to.
S2: Get to his weird dating show? You basically created a
S2: version of The Bachelor for himself to star in. It
S2: was called Catching Kelsey. It was in 2016. It was
S2: on E! And basically yeah the logline is American football
S2: player Travis Kelce is known for catching passes as a
S2: tight end. As a pro football star and eligible bachelor.
S2: Kelsey is quite the catch himself in the Dating competition
S2: series Catching Kelsey. 50 women from 50 states vital in
S2: the heart of a pro football player.
S1: Yeah, and it does. The more I think about this,
S1: the more I talk to you guys about this, the
S1: more it seems like he is the massive beneficiary. Like
S1: being associated with Taylor Swift is such a fucking massive
S1: boon for him. I really don't understand what she gets
S1: out of it other than what we're talking about for
S1: maybe like boosting sales to her show. And that's what
S1: it brings me back to. Just like maybe she wanted
S1: to go to a football game and have some fun
S1: and that's a valid thing for her to want to do.
S2: But again, I think being the master of the public narrative,
S2: going with someone's mom, especially in like, you know, the
S2: Midwest of America and like that's that says something that's true.
S3: But it is the family box and the mom is
S3: usually there as well. So maybe it wasn't like they
S3: planned it together.
S13: Yeah, but it's.
S2: She's aware of the.
S13: Optics. Yeah, for sure.
S1: So this NFL thing, like it's like Taylor capping off
S1: what has been one of her most commercially and critically
S1: and culturally successful years which really says a lot considering
S1: that basically since she first started recording music, she has
S1: been one of the biggest cultural icons in the world.
S1: She didn't need this as like a feather in a cap,
S1: but I think it's worked out quite well for her.
S1: I honestly like I've had mixed history with Taylor in
S1: the past.
S3: I Are you reading between the lines here?
S2: I am, yeah. They've been quite quietly mixed.
S1: I was I was sort of late ish to really. Well, ladies, like,
S1: I guess we'll start with the 2009 VMAs, right? Like,
S1: that was my first real cultural moment with Taylor. And
S1: at that stage, I was like, not on her side.
S1: I was on Beyonce's side because Kanye was objectively right.
S1: And I'm like, Well, why would I root for the
S1: white country girl over the black woman from the South
S1: who has just like, completely reinvented pop music and changed
S1: the world? Was there a bit of like latent misogyny
S1: in terms of me buying into that narrative? Probably. I
S1: was like 18, you know, like let a man live.
S3: And I think that's not really that's not really a defense.
S1: Okay. When you were 18, you had like perfect political
S1: views on.
S13: Like, I mean, she probably women in music.
S3: Let a man live that.
S13: I that.
S3: That I took.
S13: Exception to.
S1: I'm out here being honest with my.
S13: Thoughts sorry this.
S1: Is a I'm risking cancellation talking about this and I
S1: took me a couple years probably to get over that.
S1: The narrative of Taylor being so tied up with that
S1: VMAs award. And then eventually I did get over it. I'm. Okay.
S1: This music's actually really good. It's really interesting. It makes sense.
S1: She finds a really smart way to reinvent herself, album
S1: to album, and has just, you know, become Taylor Swift.
S1: Obviously the Eras tour. I'm like, What else could she do?
S1: I've just like, did not expect this to become such
S1: a big part of the cultural conversation this year. Did
S1: you guys see this coming?
S3: No, not to the extent that it has been. I mean,
S3: I almost feel like I've seen the whole Eras tour
S3: because the TikTok coverage and kind of the the TikTok
S3: culture around this tour is so insane and so creative
S3: and fun. Did you guys get tickets?
S2: No. I'm still hoping that perhaps we can pull some strings.
S2: But I was very like.
S13: I felt we were in the office, winds up in
S13: the ticket buying.
S2: Mania. Yeah, like someone always has to play this role,
S2: I guess. And it's Taylor for the last, like 5
S2: to 5 years she's been, she's been the the one
S2: and yeah, I really like her. I mean obviously I
S2: feel like my relationship to her is tainted by her
S2: relationship to John Mayer. And obviously, I mean, it's good
S2: to get my one John Mayer mention it. Every podcast
S2: ticked off. But you know, like, yeah, I've always been,
S2: I think, curious as to the way she does like
S2: play the game as well. You said before the Easter
S2: eggs and the way she cultivates this fandom and like
S2: there's this girl that went to my high school and
S2: like obviously I follow her on Instagram and she's like
S2: a mad swiftie and like, you know, like, like we're
S2: adults and stuff. But she's like really super into it.
S2: And I just like, so that's kind of my I
S2: get a glimpse into what it's actually.
S3: Like, what kind of content.
S2: She she like goes like. So she went to America
S2: and did like a Swift's tour of like you can
S2: go and pay into and she goes to like every
S2: concert and she followed her around the states and like
S2: and this is like a 30 something year old woman
S2: and like, which I respect, but it's crazy, you know,
S2: like that She inspires this level of fandom. And yeah,
S2: I found that I think the most curious thing about
S2: her and, and I guess now she's at this new
S2: level where, like, every single thing she does is picked
S2: apart and yeah, like, she's, she's kind of the person
S2: dominating the cultural conversation now.
S13: Yeah.
S3: I mean, I feel like the cultural context was ripe
S3: to create a Taylor Swift. As we've talked about before,
S3: we're having a reckoning at the moment about how we
S3: treated pop stars of the early 2000s in the late 1990s,
S3: particularly with figures like Britney Spears and just female celebrities
S3: in general from that period. So we're having a reckoning
S3: about that. As I was saying in the Olivia Rodrigo
S3: podcast as well, we've kind of long ignored female creative outputs,
S3: particularly pop stars. And so we're kind of revisiting that
S3: and trying to correct that. So I just feel like
S3: all these things have aligned for Taylor Swift to kind
S3: of have her moment, and she couldn't have existed apart
S3: from now.
S1: I also missed out on tickets to the show. I mean,
S1: I thought it was stressful enough reporting on it, let
S1: alone trying to buy them. I in the same boat
S1: as like Anthony Albanese, who I think said something like, No,
S1: I'm just going to wait for a phone call. Someone
S1: will sort me out. So fingers crossed that happen.
S13: I know, but.
S3: I feel like you guys will get sorted out. But
S3: I'm well.
S1: I was going to say, should we all go see
S1: the era's.
S13: Film? Yeah, I think.
S1: That that could be fun.
S13: That would be fun.
S1: I think that this movie is going to be very, very,
S1: very big. I think what is really interesting about it
S1: is she doesn't have a distributor. From what I understand,
S1: she's sort of like made it in-house and has done
S1: deals with cinema companies individually. So she will make an
S1: enormous cut of the money on this. I think that's
S1: another huge part to the Taylor Swift stories, the way
S1: that she is done. All of this now outside of
S1: the traditional ecosystems of how labels and musicians are supposed
S1: to operate. I think this probably won't end up being
S1: as big as Bobbie, but I think on opening day
S1: and maybe even opening week, there will be a lot
S1: of Chelsea fans in movie theaters dressed up with friendship bracelets.
S1: I'm not sure everyone has kind of realized that yet.
S1: I think this announcement has just happened. The Bobby hype
S1: took a few weeks to build up. I'm just calling
S1: it now. I think this is going to be one
S1: of the biggest movie events of the year. I think
S1: the interesting thing is Taylor Swift fans who've got tickets
S1: to see the show in Australia in February, will they
S1: want to see an on screen or will they want
S1: to wait and see? My guess is, like you said, Mel,
S1: you've seen the whole thing anyway on social media. Why
S1: not pay a bit of money, see the full cinematic
S1: experience and then go see the actual show?
S2: Because 90% of people going to the shows like Taylor
S2: will be a tiny ant like like, you know, unless
S2: you paid like $5,000 for the, you know, like whatever
S2: it is, like Swifty super swift, unless.
S1: You're the prime minister or something.
S13: Yeah. And.
S3: And apparently it doesn't cover the whole set either. Like
S3: it's part of the sense, but it's kind of like,
S3: I mean, I think of Beyonce at Coachella, another amazing
S3: concert film. Like there's watching it is one thing and
S3: then going to see it is another. I don't think
S3: they will cannibalize their audience by the people going to
S3: the live show. I think they'll definitely still go see
S3: the movie.
S2: I did think it was important to get your guy's
S2: opinion on the two, kind of like couple nicknames that
S2: are doing the rounds. So we've got trailer or we've
S2: got swell.
S3: See, Trailer is pretty fun.
S1: Trailer feels really like. Grim. Like. Like trailer trash? Yeah.
S2: Yeah. It feels like it's open for horses.
S1: Fun.
S2: It seems fun. Yeah.
S1: Very coastal, Very beachy. Salty. Yeah.
S14: Lift.
S2: Get out.
S3: I'm going to work on that. I'm going to brainstorm that.
S2: But yes, I guess we'll see what happens. The interesting
S2: thing will be like, I don't know, You can probably
S2: tell me whenever the next Kansas City Chiefs game is,
S2: but like, will she be there? Like I think she's
S2: got to go back on tour in November to back
S2: in Argentina or whatever. So like, I don't know if
S2: she's going to be like a regular at these games.
S13: Now, that's.
S3: A good question. Let us put our bets in. I
S3: don't think she will be there.
S2: No, because like, you know, you can't capture that moment again.
S1: Yeah. Yeah. I think this NFL thing is going to
S1: be a bit of a flash in the pan kind
S1: of a thing.
S3: How would you feel if they were in love? And
S3: it turned out that hanging out meant like.
S1: Oh yeah, my favorite segment on the show where we
S1: asked Thomas how he feels about celebrity pairings.
S2: I also loved before you specifically were like, We don't
S2: really tend to gossip. I'm like, Man, I gossiped exclusively
S2: on this podcast about Timothy and Kylie.
S1: But that was confirmed, right? That's the difference. I think
S1: talking about something going on versus like the rumor around
S1: who someone's hooking up.
S2: With, I think, I think I would feel fine about it.
S2: Like he is a big departure from her, if you
S2: look at because like I said before, she has this
S2: like long list of like kind of like again, sad
S2: British men who presumably just like mope around, like she's
S2: been with Harry Styles, Joe Alwyn, Matty Healy. Tom Hiddleston Like,
S2: you know, these are all kind of from the same,
S2: you know, polite British cloth, whereas this guy is like
S2: he is a beefcake. He's like got his big brother
S2: and his mom and he's got a moustache and he
S2: drives a convertible and he's like, Feel like.
S3: You're just saying this in a, like in a.
S13: Certain tone that then makes it. Well, there's a big.
S1: Guy with a convertible.
S13: Okay. I'm sorry. You put Travis Kelce.
S2: Next to fucking Matty Healy. And, like, you know, these
S2: are not the same men I find.
S1: I find this thing. So, like, I guess we are
S1: doing this now. Let's. Let's keep it brief, like the conjecture.
S1: But I think the other bit of this that I
S1: found so bewildering when everyone lost their minds is if
S1: she is hanging out with this guy or she's dating
S1: this guy, is it shocking that Taylor Swift is dating
S1: like another all American like bloke like to me? Not
S1: at all. More shocking to me if she ends up
S1: dating Travis Scott, right? Or like a black basketball player,
S1: like tales of dating a famous American man who is
S1: white and, like, kind of boring. Feels like not a
S1: big surprise, to be honest. Yes. No, I.
S2: Agree. I would love if she started dating Travis Scott. Look,
S2: just for that. Can you imagine the car? Imagine. Imagine
S2: the fucking the.
S13: Meltdown meeting at.
S2: Like, at HQ. Yeah. No, totally agree.
S1: Do you have any any final thoughts, Mel, on where
S1: this goes and what it says about Taylor Swift slash us.
S3: I mean, I think it says that this is Taylor
S3: Swift's era and we're all living in it. And I'm
S3: excited to see kind of this new era of Taylor
S3: Swift where she's out and about doing what she wants,
S3: feeding and playing with media narratives. And I kind of
S3: always love reading the cultural critiques that surround these things.
S3: So I'm a I'm all here for it.
S1: Okay. Was that statement legal by Taylor Swift's lawyers?
S13: Is it like when you sit.
S2: So much on the fence, does it hurt or does it.
S1: Well, I think leaving aside a slightly deranged end to
S1: that conversation, I think we did a pretty good job
S1: of walking through like what the hell was going on
S1: and why.
S13: Well done.
S1: Guys. Has gotten everyone so fired up. So good job, guys.
S1: Now it's time for our new ish segment, Impress Your Friends,
S1: where we each share something in the world of culture
S1: that we have been enjoying in the past week. And
S1: we want to share with each other and our listeners. Melanie,
S1: you can go first this time. How do you want
S1: to impress your friends?
S3: Thank you. Well, I'm going to lift the curtain here
S3: because this segment has been censored. I wanted to stick
S3: with the.
S1: Oh my.
S13: God, awful. Every week I wanted.
S3: To stick with the sports theme. And I have recently
S3: just finished reading Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch, which is his
S3: kind of autobiographical essay about him being a fan came
S3: out in 1992, but Us was like immediately shot it down, said,
S3: You can't pick something so old. This is magic.
S13: No, no.
S1: Actually, I thought you were talking about the 2005 film
S1: Fever Pitch starring.
S13: Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon.
S3: Robin Chicken. Come on.
S13: She's actually talking about.
S2: Something much older.
S1: It's based on the book. Like, that's what I thought was.
S1: And I'm like, this is impress your friends, not name
S1: a 20 year old, like mediocre film.
S3: Okay, well, you've misunderstood me, but you didn't see it.
S13: For the first or last time anyway.
S3: Because actually my new sport that I am into is
S3: the Premier League, which was why Thomas has been kind
S3: of talking me through that, which is why I actually
S3: picked up.
S1: This. Mel I've also gotten into the Premier League.
S3: Who do you go for?
S1: I'm a Manchester United fan. I have been for a while,
S1: but I've really only started to get invested this year
S1: because of like Ange and the Hot Spurs. And I'm like,
S1: let's actually pay attention. Turns out not a great year
S1: to be a Manchester United fan.
S3: No, but a great year to be a Spurs fan,
S3: which so far I am. Yeah.
S13: We're doing.
S1: So you've jumped on the Spurs bandwagon? Well, it was.
S3: Actually before and became the coach, but it was obviously
S3: the right decision. So anyway, that was it's a great book.
S3: It's about the Arsenal Football Club, all about fandom and
S3: really it's about class and it is about masculinity and
S3: I would recommend it. But when I was told I
S3: couldn't pick that, I also had No, no, no.
S1: Well, I didn't know that. You were talking about a
S1: cool book by Nick Hornby about soccer. Like, that's great.
S1: That's a great recommendation. I'm impressed. I'm your.
S13: Friend.
S3: But the other current book that I wanted to mention
S3: was Catherine Braden's body friend. She's a young, emerging writer.
S3: She won the Vogels Literary Award for The Memory Artist,
S3: which was set in Russia. And then she had the
S3: shut ins, which was set in Japan and got shortlisted
S3: for quite a lot of books. But Body Friend, it's
S3: about a woman recovering from surgery and she meets two
S3: friends that kind of are symbols of the different approaches
S3: she has to recovery, like the need to get back
S3: out there and the need to want to withdraw into
S3: her interiority, like some of the symbolism is a bit overworked.
S3: But I was pretty impressed by it's an interesting concept.
S3: It's a slow kind of steady book with a coolness
S3: to it and a deft hand. I liked it because
S3: it didn't have that kind of disaffected, wry tone that
S3: we're seeing in a lot of kind of books by
S3: young writers these days. Like it felt quite meaningful. So yeah,
S3: I would recommend that.
S2: That was quite a good book review. Damn it.
S1: It was a really good book review.
S13: I can either hear the reviews.
S2: Of the book review pouring in. Yeah.
S13: Gosh.
S1: Thomas, what have you got to impress our friends?
S2: So I've got a TV show again because, you know,
S2: that's my thing. And this is one that was actually
S2: hit Britbox in July. But not many people have britbox
S2: in Australia. So now it's on binge, which lots of
S2: people have. So this is the Sixth Commandment. It's a
S2: four part British series, so it's on Binge now. It's
S2: basically tells the true story of this young man.
S13: Who.
S2: Basically met, befriended and kind of like grew close to
S2: two elderly people. In England. And and essentially he begins
S2: to like, gaslight them and confuse them. And I won't
S2: spoil it, but it becomes this very kind of like
S2: unsettling story about, yeah, these two vulnerable old people that
S2: fall into the orbit of this quite an evil man.
S2: It is based on a true story and there are
S2: some trigger warnings and stuff. But yeah, it's not an
S2: easy watch. But I think like all of us love
S2: kind of like British drama and this is very much
S2: in that vein. It kind of reminded me almost of
S2: like not in terms of plot, but in terms of tone,
S2: like Broadchurch, which I think is one of the great
S2: British TV shows.
S1: Oh, yeah, one of the best British true crimes.
S2: Yeah, it is like a really hard watch. But yeah,
S2: like the story is crazy. It's really well-made. So it's
S2: written by Sarah Phelps. I don't know if any of
S2: you guys watch a very British scandal.
S13: I did a.
S2: Couple years ago, which is really good. So yes, that
S2: was her show. She's also written this. And, you know,
S2: the families of the two old people that are kind
S2: of at the center of the story, both fully cooperated
S2: with the story. So it's like very it is one
S2: of those ones. You watch an episode, then you go
S2: on Google, then you watch the next episode, then you
S2: go on Google. I highly recommend it. But yeah, intense
S2: but very, very watchable for episodes on Binge Now.
S1: Great recommendation. Mine is also a TV show also on Binge.
S1: Have you guys seen telemarketers?
S2: I have not, but I've heard a lot about it.
S3: I have seen one. Amazing.
S1: It is really good. It's really good. So this is
S1: a three part documentary. It is executive produced by the
S1: Safdie Brothers and it is produced by a company called
S1: Rough House Pictures, which is Danny McBride's production company. And
S1: if you are a fan of like Danny McBride, Eastbound
S1: and Down, anything the Safdies have done the kind of
S1: like chaotic, messy, grimy America, this is going to grip you.
S1: So this is the story of a telemarketing company called
S1: CDG and a guy called Sam who started working there
S1: when he dropped out of high school in the early
S1: 2000 and thought, This is crazy. I'm like working with
S1: all these ex-cons. I'm working with heroin addicts. People are
S1: like snorting drugs and making telemarketing. Phone calls were working
S1: crazy hours of the night. I'm just going to film
S1: this stuff, put it on YouTube, and it'll be like, funny.
S1: And it is. And it's like, That is the first episode. Basically.
S1: It is a very funny workplace docu comedy sort of thing.
S1: It shifts gears so intensely in the second and third
S1: episodes to become an investigative journalism sort of exposé into
S1: the potentially illegal world of charity telemarketing. The way that
S1: police unions are involved, these guys end up like wanting
S1: to go to Congress to try and change the laws
S1: around all of this, the characters in this and like
S1: it's real. But these guys are like crazy. Characters are extraordinary.
S1: The storytelling is amazing. It's like you just can't believe
S1: it starts in one place and ends where it ends.
S1: It's one of the best things I've watched in the
S1: last few months. Really, really.
S13: Good.
S2: Yeah, I'm definitely keen to check that out. And everyone
S2: obviously has experiences with telemarketers, so like to get that.
S2: It's very much one of those, like how the sausage
S2: is made type things like see what's going on in
S2: those companies.
S3: Safdie Brothers only produced kind of great stuff, don't they?
S1: Well, I think the segment is working out really well.
S1: People seem to be enjoying it, too. So Thomas and Mel,
S1: thank you for both your recommendations and thank you for
S1: your Taylor Swift takes on this episode.
S2: And who do we like for the grand final?
S1: I'm tipping the Panthers.
S3: Go to go Panthers.
S2: I'm Broncos by six.
S1: And because it is also AFL grand final weekend I
S1: don't know if you guys care at all about it
S1: but I'm backing a slim Brisbane Lions win.
S2: Yeah, I'm doubling down on Brisbane so Brisbane by seven.
S3: Mel Brisbane by 12.
S1: And who's going to win the next Kansas City Chiefs game?
S13: Yeah, sure.
S2: That will be obviously.
S1: Patrick Mahoney Great stuff, guys. Thank you. This episode of
S1: The Drop was produced by Cheong. If you enjoyed listening
S1: to today's episode of The Drop, make sure to follow
S1: us in your favorite podcast app. Leave us a review
S1: or better yet, share it with a friend. I'm Osmond Fergie.
S1: See you next week.