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Taylor Swift has done it again! Just one week after the re-release of Red (Taylor’s Version), a scorching 30-song collection of break up bangers that has taken the world by storm, the prolific pop country queen is back with more hits.
After running out of source material from her relationships with famous actors, musicians, and Kennedys, Taylor is going back to her song-writing roots, writing about ordinary people who have slighted her in ordinary ways.
“Just because you aren’t famous, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have to be responsible for your past actions,” Taylor told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show. “This is a compilation of some of the everyday, platonic heartbreaks I’ve had in my last 20 years.”
Though the album won’t be released until tomorrow, Taylor posted a tracklist in her Instagram stories and in a shocking twist, explained what each song is about. In an exclusive interview with The Prompt’s music critic Josh Bard, Taylor explained why she changed her methods. “I’m just so tired of everyone guessing who the songs are about. They can’t all be about Jake Gyllenhaal. You lose control of the message, once you release it, so I want to keep the misinformation out of this one. It’s just too important.”
The following are the 18 songs of Mistakes and Mixtapes (Taylor’s Version) and the subjects of each song:
The Doordash driver who only picked up half of her Vietnamese food order, realized it when he arrived, and left it at the doorstep and drove away, instead of letting her know.
An eighth grade classmate who asked to work on a group project with Taylor and then left her to do all the work. And the teacher gave them the same grade, explaining that part of the assignment was learning how to work in a group.
When Santa didn’t get her the Karaoke Boombox, the only item she had on her Christmas list for 4 years in a row.
The rude man who cut her at Shep’s Deli in East Nashville and pretended to be deep in a conversation on his AirPods.
The Comcast representative who no-showed during the three hour window to help set up cable and internet when Taylor moved to Hollywood.
The Los Angeles Times movie critic who gave away the ending to Shutter Island in the midst of the newspaper review.
Kevin Dyson’s outstretched arm was 1 yard short of the endzone on the last play of Super Bowl XXXIV, where Taylor’s hometown Tennessee Titans lost in devastating fashion.
A kindergarten classmate who pushed too hard during a game of tag at recess and ran off without checking to see what kind of damage he had caused.
Taylor’s babysitter who insisted that Taylor finish all her homework for the entire week before she was allowed to play outside or watch TV.
A Starbucks barista who wrote ‘Tyler’ on her Pumpkin Spice Latte, and when confronted said “It’s not a big of a deal, we get it wrong all the time.”
The middle school sex education teacher who laughed at a very serious question about the permanence of puberty changes.
Growing up, Taylor’s neighbor who used to steal the family’s newspaper, deflate her bike tires, and toss pebbles at her window to be a nuisance, and not in a “Love Story” kind of way.
This one is about a DJ, but it’s not Calvin Harris. At a classmate’s Bat Mitzvah, the DJ falsely eliminated Taylor from a game of Coke & Pepsi so the girl whose party it was could win.
One friend who always shows up late to dinners, so much so that Taylor started telling her a half hour ahead of the scheduled time, and when the friend got there early, had the gall to explain how rude the lie was.
Her older cousin who always finished all of the freshly baked cookies, before Taylor had a chance to even get one.
A former advisor who took a little too much glee in correcting, rather than collaborating.
The stranger who drove a Buick with Tennessee plates that read “IMTSWIF” and is beautiful on the outside but actually ugly on the inside.
The cold, unintelligible, painful, miserable first day of human existence.