#like i was not a ts fan when reputation came out but i remember pre-reputation hearing about her like everywhere

[lightmeuppp]

reputation tour wembley

hi! I don’t really do that many long posts and usually they get ignored, but I don’t mind. I want to share my experience seeing Taylor for my first and second time, and how amazing it was being such a long time fan. First of all: I’m Italian and I’ve been living in London for the last four years. For one reason or the other I’ve always missed the other tours: when Speak Now came to Milan, I was into Taylor’s music but not into her enough to know her every move and I literally found out like a week before; Red never came to my city, and going abroad has never been an option for me financially (let alone none of my friends liked her); I had access to the 1989 pre-sale, like the tickets were literally in my basket when I realised I wouldn’t have been able to pay rent... I mean, it’s been a long time coming. I spent all of my savings on night one sitting floor tickets and then I got a better job... a couple of months ago... so I did it again for night two. Best money I’ve ever spent.

I’m going to have to do this in bulletpoints as my memories mix up in a whole big mess of love for taylor.

WEMBLEY NIGHT ONE

- it’s my first TS concert and I can’t wait and I buy a tshirt and I’m ready as fuck. I’m so excited I take a 4 seconds video of my feet and literally all my photos from tonight are upside down (HOW?????). When she comes on to the stage I cry.

- not long after she’s on, I’m taking the shakiest video ever when my boyfriend asks me “is that Taylor’s mum?” and I turn around and she’s standing in the VIP booth literally one row behind me. I wave “hi!!!!” and she waves back. A while later she’s standing further away and I see her LOOKING AT ME and inside my mind I’m torn because I want to enjoy the concert but also I want to meet Taylor and is she really looking at me? I look back and SHE IS and I’m about to go do something about it when this group of girls with South Africa flags go up to her and next thing I know nobody’s there anymore.

- girls are flirting with security guards and groups of people are going over their rep room plans and this girl hands a letter to a security guard with Taylor’s name on it and then one to Andrea and she already has another few in her hands and I’m vaguely sad because I didn’t think to do the same and it would have been so easy to communicate with Taylor with a letter.

- these two guys in front of me got there really late with this huge Spain flag and I mean good on you but they waved it once and I almost cried.

- she was SO CLOSE when she went to the B stage and she was like “you all are so pretty” or something and I took it so fucking personally

- I ran to the B stage and I was so close (to her back... whatever) and it was amazing and shake it off came on and I SHOOK IT OFF and let me tell you something I’m just not a dancing person? I hate dancing and stuff because I’m so bad at it and it’s so embarrassing but after that I can’t stop moving to every fucking beat I hear IT WAS LIKE A BIG DANCING AWAKENING

- Camila and Charli were so close on the B stage when they went around the back to leave and they were so cute

- I could have stayed to the B stage but my boyfriend was eating at our seats with the bags and I didn’t want to leave him alone as much as it was my day. Earlier that day I said something like “wouldn’t it be cool if the surprise song was something she’s never done live?” AND SHE FUCKING SINGS SO IT GOES...???? LIKE! I’m God but does God cry that much

- I don’t care about Niall SORRY

- Should’ve Said No. Like I knew this was on the setlist because I got it spoiled by an article or whatever, but still. Please note this is the first Taylor Swift song I ever heard / get attached to... THE TEARS WERE EVERYWHERE

- oh my god that piano bit? Oh my god Long Live? Oh my god New Years Day? I just couldn’t stop crying, I don’t even remember the rest of it.

- my boyfriend took a video of Taylor when she was over our heads and her butt is magical.

WEMBLEY DAY TWO

- let me just say, at this point I wasn’t worried I’d miss something so I enjoyed it possibly more?

- during Blank Space I went to the toilet without stopping the singing and when I came back I was exactly at the right place in the song. Also I dropped my phone on a scratchy toilet floor and now I can forever look at my screen cracks and think of Blank Space. I was so into the moment that I only realised the following day.

- during either Camila or Charli I saw Scott and I RAN and made it there with a group of other people so I couldn’t make it to him so I literally just held my hand out and RECEIVED my guitar pick aka my most loved possession.

- also I saw Paul and took a photo with him and he signed my rep tour book... I said “I just want to say thank you so much for yesterday, it’s been awesome, can’t wait for today” and he said “ok” so I’m not sure he heard me... was very awkward.

- cried as much as Day 1

- Robbie Williams was awesome but I didn’t know the lyrics and I was so upset as I had been singing every single lyric and I had to stop. Luckily my boyfriend made up for me and seeing him as excited as me for the rest of the day was incredibly nice

- I could have run over to the C stage but I really just wanted to be with my boyfriend this time around and it was great

- once again Taylor was over my head, this time on return to the main stage, and she waved directly at me (but also more likely to someone that was a few rows in front of me and had some annoying sign that was blocking my view a little...)

[junker-town]

Devin Booker was a textbook type of All-Star snub

Devin Booker should have been an All-Star in 2020.

When a player has a reputation, it often takes more than half a season to shed it. Luckily, an injury gave Booker the honor he deserved.

Devin Booker has a rep, and it’s the worst kind a prospective NBA star can have. He’s often seen as a no-defense, shot-jacking, empty-stat-hunting young player who cares more about his own numbers than actually trying to win.

The Suns’ abysmal record during Booker’s tenure is evidence enough for some, but his negative image is built on more than just the standings. His 70-point performance in a double-digit loss to Boston in 2017 was met with derision instead of appreciation by his opponents. More recently, he was widely mocked when an offseason training video showed him complaining about being double teamed during a pickup game.

I’m not here to adjudicate that past. But if the purpose of the All-Star Game is to reward the 12 best players in each conference this season irrespective of prior ones, it was wrong to initially leave Booker off the team. At least Damian Lillard’s last-minute injury allowed the NBA to rectify that wrong and name Booker as an injury replacement.

Phoenix’s Devin Booker has been selected to replace Damian Lillard in the 2020 NBA All-Star Game.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 13, 2020

The fact that he wasn’t initially named a reserve, though, shows me that new facts often race ahead of a player’s larger story. Booker was punished for transgressions that occurred outside the statute of limitations. He may be rewarded later in his career when he should’ve been rewarded now, but he shouldn’t need that make-up call.

This year’s Devin Booker does not resemble the rep he’s been given in the past

Let’s be clear: missing out on the NBA’s midseason classic would not have been a grave injustice. To put it in perspective, we’re talking about the difference between the 12th- and 13th-best player in a conference in any given season. Attaching the general manager’s name on an official statement of condemnation did little more than give Booker and a few select fans the briefest of dopamine hits. (The same point applies double to Bradley Beal, whose surrogates are working overtime after he was left off the East team). Injury replacements happen all the time, and history won’t remember the difference.

That said, this year’s Devin Booker does not resemble the rep he’s been given in the past. He’s dramatically upped his scoring efficiency while taking more shots near the basket and wedging his way to the free-throw line. Phoenix’s offense drops from a potent 113.6 points per 100 possessions to a ghastly 100.8 when he goes to the bench, one of the widest swings in the league. His moves are more purposeful, he’s dribbling aimlessly less often, and he’s appropriately wedging his prodigious scoring ability into a larger Phoenix structure despite not having much supplementary floor spacing around him.

He’s still not a great defender, but has put in much more effort on that end than in years past.

And while the Suns still aren’t a playoff team, they have displayed enough core competency to keep themselves in the mix despite numerous injuries and DeAndre Ayton’s 25-game drug suspension. They aren’t world-beaters, but Booker has elevated them to a meaningfully higher level than he did in past years.

That wasn’t enough to initially sway West coaches, who valued winning (Donovan Mitchell) and name recognition (Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul) for the final three pre-Lillard injury guard spots. Reasonable minds can split hairs between these four excellent players, but the fact that Booker was the one who fell short underscores one unfortunate reality of selecting the league’s best players halfway through a single season. A process designed to stay within a narrow context instead encompasses a much larger period of time that punishes some players for perceived past sins and overly rewards others for incumbency.

Because of that, Booker’s meaningful improvements this season were not given the respect they deserve. Consider one key indicator of empty-stat production: ball hoggery. The more one player has the ball, the less others have it, and thus the more they can put up numbers that benefit themselves while sidelining everyone else.

Booker’s ball-hoggery metrics have changed dramatically this season. Last year, more than 54 percent of his shots came after he took more than three dribbles, and nearly 24 percent came after he pounded the rock more than six times. This season, those numbers are down to 45 percent and 16 percent, respectively. His average touch time has dropped from 4.76 seconds — a top-10 mark among players 6’4 and taller — to 4.1 seconds. Less than 20 percent of his shot attempts come after holding the ball for at least six seconds, compared to nearly 29 percent last season.

Adding a real point guard in Ricky Rubio has taken ball-handling pressure off Booker, and new coach Monty Williams’ Flex offense also takes more advantage of Booker’s size on quick post duck-ins than previous systems. He gets many more hoops like this than he ever did in the past.

But Booker himself has also become more efficient in his movements. He is much stronger powering to the basket, requiring less dancing back and forth to get his man out of position. There’s a reason his shooting efficiency is rising to elite levels despite a drop in three-point attempts.

The great irony of Double-Team Gate is that Booker has also become a master at reading traps and making productive passes out of them.

Though his overall assist numbers are flat, the passes he does make are leading to many more assisted hoops than the ones he made last season. His secondary assists — passes that lead to the assist — are up, as are his assist chances and the total points per game his teammates get off his assists. We’ve also seen many more dishes like this that don’t show up in any form of a box score, but are invaluable in triggering the collective ball movement that makes everyone feel more involved in the play.

There’s still room for Booker to improve in these areas, as there is with his defensive effort. But the idea that Booker deserved to miss the All-Star Game because his prodigious numbers were emptier than his peers this season doesn’t pass the muster once you dig deeper. And by the way, those numbers are prodigious.

Devin Booker is the first player in NBA history to average at least 27 points and 6 assists on 60% TS and miss the All-Star game. But don't worry. He's coming for that All-NBA slot...

— Wam Wooper (@scooperhoops) January 30, 2020

Mitchell, Paul, and Westbrook all collected more wins, but only Paul approaches Booker’s singular importance to his team, and Paul isn’t producing at Booker’s individual level. The Jazz still marginally outscore opponents with Mitchell on the bench, while the Rockets outscore opponents by more points per 100 possessions with Westbrook on the bench. (That gap is shrinking, but it still exists). Booker also is putting up better and more meaningful numbers than Brandon Ingram, who is starring on a worse team that relies on him less than the Suns rely on Booker. (It’s unclear if positional designation mattered for All-Star reserve selections. If so, Ingram wasn’t directly competing for a spot with Booker).

Booker’s profile is comparable in rough strokes to a similar snub in Beal, but a deeper look shows that Beal is scoring less efficiently while playing worse defense and making (at least statistically) a less significant individual impact on a worse team. If you think Beal belonged over Kyle Lowry, I won’t argue with you, but Booker’s All-Star case is much more airtight if we’re just considering this season.

And therein lies the rub. All-Star selections are never just about this season in practice even though they’re designed that way in theory. They represent status and legacy, not to mention financial reward in some cases. One-time appearances by non-star players are routinely mocked in hindsight, even though the honor is supposed to only measure a player’s success in the first 60ish percent of that season. The nature of the game itself even becomes a factor: a more subtle artist like Rudy Gobert will look like a fish out of water even though he’s been one of the 12 most valuable players in the West for years now. The convoluted selection process has smoothed over some obvious biases, but it’s also created a voting body that measures value in too many different ways for the entire process to feel coherent.

When all that happens, conservatism tends to win the day. It takes more than half a season to convince most of us that a player has changed, for better or for worse. That’s a sensible approach if the goal of the All-Star Game is to reflect the best players in the NBA independent of time. If it’s any consolation to Booker, chances are he’ll make up the All-Star appearance he initially missed this year with a reputational selection later in his career.

But in literal terms, the goal of the All-Star Game is to recognize the 12 best seasons to date in each conference. Otherwise, why name new All-Stars each year? And by that measure, it was unfathomable not to initially include Devin Booker this year.

[norskies]

Every single thing I noticed and felt while watching Taylor’s LWYMMD music video

By now I think it’s a fair assumption to make that you have already seen @taylorswift ‘s new video for Look What You Made Me Do (it had over 39 million views in the first 24 hours). If you’re like me you may have rewatched it about 13 million times trying to decipher all the hidden meanings. If you’re not (cool) like me, you may have just watched it once and wondered: “what on earth did I just see??”.

Lucky for you I’ve decided to document my entire emotional journey through the 4:15 video. Disclaimer 1: many of these theories are my own opinions or theories I’ve read from other fans. I do not pretend to understand the entire genius of T-Swift. Disclaimer 2: I am a 100% biased Taylor Swift fan and therefore this analysis is 100% biased with my love for Tay. 

HERE WE GO

Ok, opening scene. Spooky. Fits the soft but slightly creepy lullaby intro. Honestly thought we might be stepping into Hogwarts.

Here is one of the first of many “TS” we will see throughout the video.

For anyone who has been following Taylor the past year, this is a pretty clear reference to the online hate Taylor received after being “exposed” by Kim Kardashian (note: she was in no way exposed). Trolls began to fill social media with “RIP Taylor’s career” and “Taylor Swift Is Over Party”. It is a fitting place to begin the video.

Does that dress look familiar to anyone? It appears to be the same dress Taylor wore in the Out Of The Woods music video (the last video from the 1989 era...symbolic right?).

What is that on the tombstone behind Taylor? Nils Sjoberg. This was the alias name Taylor used when she helped write Calvin Harris’ “This Is What You Came For” (he later appeared to be less than happy once Taylor started receiving credit for the song). 

We now see the old Taylor that Zombie Taylor is burying. This Taylor is dressed the same as when Taylor attended the Met Gala in 2014 (marking the beginning of the 1989 era). Here we literally see post-1989 Taylor burying pre-1989 Taylor. *tears*

Taylor transforms from the graveyard into this beautiful scene. Several things to point out here. Taylor is almost literally drowning in jewels. Perhaps alluding to the media’s perception of Taylor being money obsessed? If you look closely, we also see a single dollar bill lying in the bathtub with her. Most likely referencing the symbolic 1 dollar Taylor requested in her countersuit against a former radio DJ who sexually assaulted her (Taylor won this case). Finally, and this may be a stretch but notice on the floor to the left of the bathtub what looks like a heart shaped locket? It’s possible this is the same locket that Calvin Harris gave Taylor for their 1 year anniversary. Wow. Brilliant. 

ENTER SNAKES. We now get all the snake references we could ever need (also clearing up the snake video clues Taylor teased just a few days before releasing LWYMMD). The snakes themselves are a reference to the hate Taylor received after the Kim/Kanye blow up. Haters filled her Instagram and Twitter with snake emojis implying that Taylor herself was a snake. Looks like the joke is on them now. Also notice the subtle, “et tu brute” on the chair? We see this several times in this scene, of course referring to the betrayal Taylor has felt from people she thought were her friends. 

And Snakes! Check out Taylor sipping on her tea that she now gets to serve up. It’s her time to tell the story and she’s doing it with this BA Salazar Slytherin look. 

The golden car crash. This is an interesting scene because it has many interpretations. My gut reaction was Katy Perry. The feud is well known and Katy added fuel to the fire by releasing her song “Swish Swish” that was meant to be a dig at Tay. I think she looks very much like Katy here with the sunglasses and the short blonde hair. Notice she is even holding a single Grammy (something that Katy Perry does not have). However, it’s also been pointed out that this may also be a Kim Kardashian reference (which I will discuss later).

A further analysis of the car crash shows the paparazzi taking pictures after Taylor crashes. Perhaps symbolically saying that the media loves to see Taylor suffer and fail? 

Two things to note here. 1) Jaguar? Your guess is as good as mine. 2) The cute little guy is wearing a golden 13. 

Next, we find Taylor in what looks like a giant bird cage. Wearing orange to perhaps symbolize that she feels like a prisoner at times? We also see a snake tattoo on her right leg. 

At this point in the song, Taylor says “and threw a feast”. This could be a reference to KP’s song Bon Appetit. But it is unclear. Also, notice the rat on the table? Yeup just thought I’d point him out. 

Now, this is a fun scene. Tay is robbing a currently undisclosed location. The cat masks could be a cute play at Taylor’s love for cats. Or could be another hit at Katy. Either way, it’s a great scene. Her sweatshirt reads “blind for love” as we know Taylor frequently referred to herself as a hopeless romantic. 

We are now introduced to biker chick Taylor. It might seem a little out of place at first. But remember when Taylor got hate for her Bad Blood video apparently ripping off of Britney Spear’s Toxic? This very well may be alluding to that. 

Absolutely love this part. We now see what Taylor was robbing. A streaming company. Of course. After the backlash, she got from leaving Spotify and writing her letter to Apple this scene makes perfect sense. Side note: absolutely adored Taylor’s letter to Apple. You go girl. 

What is Taylor doing dictating what looks like an army of life size barbies? This is a reference to the “squad” and the comments Taylor received that her friendship circle was more like a cult of freakishly perfect looking women as opposed to a genuine group of friends. 

Which of course leads us to the falling out of the squad the media claimed happened but didn’t. 

Taylor enters the mansion. As soon as she enters the room the men immediately step up to do her bidding. As if Taylor is their commander and they must obey. 

This is our first glimpse of the mysterious airplane Taylor. We only see short glimpses of her but she seems to serve an important role. She perhaps represents the real Taylor that neither the media nor the fans truly get to see or understand fully. 

The boys are back. 8 of them all in line (apparently something only Beyonce is allowed to do if you ask Twitter). She could be representing her past relationships and the scorn she received for each one. Fun fact: it’s Taylor’s back up dancers from the 1989 world tour! 

The I <3 TS shirt. Tom Hiddleston wore an I <3 TS shirt while dating Taylor. He got mocked and Taylor got called manipulative for “forcing him to wear it”. Taking a wild guess here, but pretty sure Tom makes his own wardrobe choices.

This is our first real glimpse at the “Reputation” era Taylor. She’s dark. Her hair is slicked back. And she looks like she is 100% done apologizing. She is standing on top of a mound of the “old Taylors”. 

Shoutout to Fearless era Taylor with the iconic 13 on her hand. What a gem. 

This is one of the best shots in the video. A look at the past decade of Taylor. How many Taylor’s can you spot? 

More snakes. Side note: You can actually buy this snake ring on Taylor’s merch store. Taylor now reveals to us the most anticipated line of the song. “I’m sorry the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, cuz she’s dead.” This line brings the entire song together as well as the symbolism of Taylor wiping her social media a week prior to LWYMMD release. The old Taylor is dead. The haters have killed her. 

Taylor breaks it down with her backup dancers to some pretty great choreography. I like to think of this as shade to all the people who made fun of Taylor’s dancing abilities. Our girl can dance.

Annnnnnnnd boom! Our Jaguar friend is back. Still unsure what he represents but he’s pretty cute. 

SNAKES 

Let’s pause to appreciate the adorable wink Tay gives us here. Reputation may be a darker album than we are used to but Taylor is still the light-hearted girl we’ve always known. 

Wow, she’s like Super Woman. 

This is one of the best views we get of the mysterious airplane Taylor. Who are you??? 

We finally come to the last and most important scene. 15 Taylors. 14 lined out in front and one back on the airplane. There just so happens to be 15 songs on the new album reputation...coincidence?? Also, notice TS6 written on the end of the plane? Subtle genius. 

You Belong With Me Taylor is precious. She’s so happy and genuinely surprised that she has accomplished all that she has. But everyone hates her for that and will drag her down until she no longer will show that much genuine and pure happiness at an award show again. Also, recognize that shirt from the YBWM music video? Only now it’s slightly different. This time it has real names of Taylor’s real friends you might recognize. Like Selena, Ed, and Jack. 

As the scene continues we see Shake It Off Taylor mock YBWM Taylor for being surprised all the time. Mansion Taylor calls Zombie Taylor/SIO Taylor a b**ch and Zombie Talyor responds with “don’t call me that!” Alluding to Kanye calling Taylor this in his song “Famous”. In real life, Taylor responded by making a very strong statement against Kanye’s words during her Album of the Year acceptance speech at the Grammys later that year. 

A particularly heart-wrenching scene. Fearless Taylor tries to calm everyone down but gets shut down by We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (Tour) Taylor, calling her a fake. We see the young innocent Taylor begin to cry. The young sweet girl who got stomped on by the world for making music about love. It is sure to elicit a few tears. 

“There she goes playing the victim again”. Taylor is literally beating the haters to the punch. 

Met Gala Taylor Asks Katy/Kim Taylor what she’s doing and she responds with “getting receipts...gonna edit this later.” This could be interpreted in two ways. If this is meant to be Katy, it could be referencing the song “Swish Swish” where Katy claims that “karma keeps receipts”. Or if it is Kim, it would be naturally referencing the snapchat videos Kim perhaps “edited” of Kanye and Taylor’s phone conversation. Side note: it is illegal to record people without their consent in certain states, Kim. 

Finally, we see 2009 VMA Taylor who had been interrupted by Kanye West while she was accepting her award for Best Female Music Video of the Year. She quotes 2016 Taylor by saying “I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative”. Which all the other Taylor’s and symbolically the world respond with... 

“SHUT UP”. Here Taylor is telling us that no matter what she does or doesn’t do, she will be judged. It isn’t fair but it is something she has accepted. She will no longer be providing any explanation. There will just be reputation.

[taylorklaine]

A Comprehensive List of the Symbolism and Details in “Look What You Made Me Do”

I’m including everything, from the obvious to the minor details and symbols that at this point are only speculation, to big and small things that made the video amazing. Here we go.

The video, of course, opens with an aerial pan of a graveyard. The specific site that Taylor is buried at, supposedly, the graves spell out “TS”.

“Here Lies Taylor Swift’s Reputation”

Other names on the surrounding gravestones include “Nils Sjoberg”, the pseudonym she used when she wrote “This is What You Came For”, and Joseph Kahn, the director of LWYMMD as well as Blank Space and Bad Blood

Zombie Taylor is wearing the same dress Taylor wore in the “Out of the Woods” music video, which was the final true music video released from 1989 (the New Romantics video was all tour footage). People have taken this to mean either she never truly made it out of the woods or one of the many allusions to the death of her old self.

All the gravestones are tilted during the “tilted stage” line

The outfit that Taylor is wearing when she is being buried into the ground is from the 2014 Met Gala, which was the last public event Taylor attended before the 1989 era began.

While a lot of the public has speculated that Taylor bathing in a tub of diamonds is a jab at KKW’s robbery, a lot of fans see the comparisons to a performance of Blank Space at the Grammy Museum, and I can’t remember the exact quote, but it’s about what people see her as.

There’s also a single dollar bill in the tub, referencing the symbolic $1 she won in her recent assault case.

People think her makeup in this scene is also really similar to how her makeup looked in the Blank Space video, which was another song in which she portrayed a character that the media believed her to be, even though it wasn’t true.

The camera looks like it’s out of focus for a second, but if you look closely, Taylor is clapping along to the beat of the song in the mirror.

When Taylor fires her finger gun, a real spark shoots out of her fingers as if she’s shooting a real gun.

She wears a ton of snake jewelry, and tons of snakes slither up to her throne, a direct reference to post-KKW drama where everyone left snake emojis on all her Instagram posts.

On a couple of the columns as well as the gold skull she rests her hand on, there is an engraving of “Et tu, Brute?” which is a quote from a Shakespeare play. In the scene, Caesar is being stabbed to death, betrayed by his friend, Brutus.

One of the snakes serves Taylor tea (serving or spilling tea is now slang for spilling dirt on someone, or exposing something bad about them).

The entire crashing a car followed by a paparazzi swarm of her posing, to me, is just a general analogy of causing drama to get attention

BUT some fans have noticed that the car she drives is a Maserati, and have made comparisons to the “driving a new Maserati down a dead end street” line from Red. In addition, in the next scene, she’s holding a Grammy, alluding to when Random Access Memories beat Red for AOTY, but the announcer drew out the “rrr” sound making her and her team thinking for a split second she won. I’m sure there’s video online of her reaction.

One more thing about this scene: She’s sporting a haircut very similar to the one Katy Perry has. Katy has never won a Grammy.

(Also the leopard in the passenger seat has a 13 necklace)

People have made the obvious metaphoric comparisons to her in an orange outfit in a cage to being a prisoner. This is further emphasized by the armed guards that surround the cage. People also consider being caged a metaphor for being in a zoo and locked up and watched like an animal.

There’s a rat on her plate during the “feast”. People have made jokes about this being symbolic of Calvin Harris. I’m not sure why.

Taylor & co. infiltrate a safe wearing cat masks, giving some fans hope that she has not shed everything about her formal self.

Her sweater also reads “Blind for Love”, making comparisons to her long-standing reputation as a serial dater.

People believe Taylor and a crew of girls riding motor cycles is an allusion to the Bad Blood music video.

When Taylor burns the stack of money, and when she comes in with a baseball back, the banner in the background reads “stream.co”, a direct allusion to her letter to Apple Music and pulling her catalog from the Spotify music streaming surface, leading people to believe she did this to make more of a profit and that she’s money hungry. 

The next scene is the media portrayal of her squad. She is an evil dictator who recruits beautiful, plastic models for her cult. You can see the banner flashes “Squad U”, pictures, of cats, and Taylor’s lucky number 13.

Everyone also wears black leather, which people think is another allusion to Bad Blood.

And people think all of the bodies piled next to each other might be a reference to Kanye’s “Famous” video.

All of the men at Taylor’s beck and call is another reference to her being called a diva and “kidnapping men and holding them hostage in her house”, which is another paraphrased quote from the Grammy Museum performances.

The African-American back-up dancer who hold the pen during this scene is actually Todrick Hall, one of Taylor’s real life friends.

Taylor sawing the wings of the plane is believed to be a metaphor for her taking back the narrative.

All the male backup dancers are wearing “I <3 TS” crop tops, which her ex Tom Hiddleston was seen wearing while they were together.

There are also 8 backup dancers, and Taylor reportedly has 8 famous ex-boyfriends.

And now for everyone’s favorite part of the video: Taylor stands in front of a neon letter T in a jumpsuit that reads “rep”, short for reputation. This is the new Taylor, and she is standing on top of a mountain of people who are trying to save themselves from some kind of doom. But these people are actually older versions of Taylor from through the years. Some major ones include the ballerina outfit from Shake It Off, the ringleader outfit from WANEGBT on the Red tour, her nerdy Junior Jewels shirt from the YBWM video, and the sparkly dress, guitar, and 13 on her hand from the Fearless tour. Other ones that are not as visible are the iHeartRadio Awards, the 2015 VMAs, a polka dot shirt from WANEGBT, her 22/Everything Has Changed outfit from the Red tour, her Style outfit from the 1989 tour, WANEGBT pajamas, and several other looks from music videos and appearances she’s made over the years

Taylor’s Junior Jewels shirt has the names of her real life friends written on it, including Ed Sheeran, Selena Gomez, Gigi Hadid, Todrick Hall, Alana, Danielle, & Este Haim, Lena Dunham, etc.

When Reputation Taylor kicks YBWM Taylor in the face, the shoes she is wearing are very similar to the ones she wore in her most recent Vogue cover, which was one of her first interviews post-1989 era.

Then Taylor blasts her former selves off the mountain and they fall to their death. This is what I think is the general theme going into the Reputation era. In order to save herself, Taylor has to kill off her older selves and become someone new, someone the media already thinks she is, in order to keep any respect. Even before, when the song first came out, many people considered the message of the song very similar to Blank Space. Taylor is playing a character, someone who she most certainly is not but the media certainly believes her to be. She’s taking on this persona as a tongue-in-cheek clapback to how the media portrays her. And as she said with Blank Space, “If you don’t get the joke you don’t deserve to get the joke” (again I’m paraphrasing).

Towards the end of the song, the Maserati explodes and kills the paparazzi, but Taylor walks away unscathed.

She spray paints “reputation” onto the plane with no wings, more analogies to her taking back control of her own narrative.

When the songs ends, one of the backup dancers grabs her butt, which people think is another reference to her assault case.

And now the other fan favorite part: 15 different versions of Taylor stand in front of the plane and argue. iTunes lists 15 total tracks for reputation.

Shake It Off Taylor falls onto the floor in the same way she did at the end of the video. KKW Taylor is shaking her ass.

YBWM Taylor pulls a surprised face, and both Zombie and SIO Taylor call her annoying and that “she can’t be that surprised all the time”. People have been making fun of her since the very beginning for constantly being surprised whenever she wins awards.

Zombie Taylor gets very angry when Reputation Taylor calls her a bitch, which a lot of people think is another reference to “Famous”. After KKW leaked footage of Taylor approving some of the lyrics, Taylor defended herself by saying she never approved the “I made that bitch famous” line

Fearless Taylor simply says “y’all”, a reference to her country roots, and Red Taylor accuses her of being too nice and very fake. Another criticism she’s faced over the years,

Fearless Taylor starts to cry at this, and another Reputation Taylor rolls her eyes at her “playing the victim”. We all know this is something Taylor’s been called a lot over the years, but especially more recently after the Katy/KKW feuds.

Another new version of Taylor simply holds a snake and hisses at everyone, again referencing everyone calling her a snake after the KKW incident.

Met Gala Taylor observes another new Taylor in surprise. Since MG Taylor is pre-1989, some people think her attitude is more innocent and pure here, how she was before the 1989 era began and her reputation began to falter

This new Taylor is “getting receipts” of Fearless Taylor and is “going to edit this later”, direct references to Katy, Swish Swish, and KKW on Snapchat.

We round this out with one more Taylor--VMA Taylor, complete with silver dress, Moonman, and mic, exactly how she appears in the infamous photo of her and Kanye in 2009. She says she “would like to be excluded from this narrative”, a direct quote from Taylor’s statement after KKW’s snapchat leak.

Finally, one more detail that fans have picked up on is the last frame, in which all the Taylors are in the shot and yell at VMA Taylor to shut up. However, the 15th Taylor stands on the plane wing and doesn’t seem to be participating. People believe this is another symbol of how the reputation era is going to go, and Taylor’s mental state at this point. On the wing, she is alone, separated from everyone else, separated from all of her older selves. As she says in the song, “I don’t trust nobody and nobody trusts me.” After everything that’s happened, she can only rely on herself. She is the only one who is going to have any say from here on out. She destroyed the wings so no one else could fly it for her, but she’ll be damned if she flies that plane on anything but her own terms.

This bitch did not miss a single thing and I’m not exaggerating when I say this is the best video of her career so far. I love her so much, and I’ve never been more proud. Brava, @taylorswift. Brava.

(please feel free to add to this if you think i missed anything)