A rank ordering of the Taylor Swift songbook.

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File under: End of the semester stress blogging about a person who brings me joy. Taylor Swift (see: sampling error with Taylor).

Here is a new, VERY accessible example of ordinal data. Rob Sheffield, writing for Rolling Stone, rank-ordered ALL of Dr. Swift's songs. 

Headline from the Rolling Stone Piece, featuring photos of Taylor Swift from over the last ten years.
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/taylor-swift-songs-ranked-rob-sheffield-201800/bad-blood-2014-196114/

Also, introduce your students to Methods Section 😁. This rank order is based on the variable "Taylor genius".

Quote from article: Every fan would compile a different list—that’s the beauty of it. She’s got at least 5 or 6 dozen songs that seem to belong in her Top Ten. But they’re not ranked by popularity, sales or supposed celebrity quotient — just the level of Taylor genius on display, from the perspective of a fan who generally does not give a rat’s nads who the songs are “really” about. All that matters is whether they’re about you and me. (I guarantee you are a more fascinating human than the Twilight guy, though I’m probably not.)


You could even use this as an example of anti-interrater reliability. This ranking comes from exactly one person. AND YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN KID DESERVED BETTER.

Each ranking includes the best lyric from the song as well as a brief description of the Taylor Genius on display. Is this also an example of qualitative data?


Description of #20, The Great War: One of the stellar Aaron Dessner collaborations tucked away on the Midnights 3 A.M. Edition. “The Great War” comes clean about the side of Taylor who only wants love if it’s torture, going into the question of how emotional battles happen and how to end them, especially when you realize you’re the one firing the cannons. It’s a dilemma she’s written about honestly her whole career, from her teen ballad “Cold As You” (“I start a fight because I need to feel something”) to “Afterglow.” The World War One imagery and martial drums are fitting for a song about how easy it is for two hearts to dig themselves into trenches. But “The Great War” also doubles as a tribute to the type of lover who can help rescue you from your own destructive instincts, the kind you want on your side. Best line: “My knuckles were bruised like violets/Sucker-punching walls/Cursed you as I sleep-talked.”

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/taylor-swift-songs-ranked-rob-sheffield-201800/the-great-war-2022-1234617639/


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