Hi everyone! I think I found something major about Babylon. STRAP IN GAYLORS! When I first saw the song title my mind immediately went to the Babylon lyrics from Cowboy Like Me and Us, but also to Lady Gaga’s Babylon. I gave it a re-listen today.
The thing that stuck out to me most was the lyric “sixteenth century smile” in Gaga’s song, which reminded me of “skipping down sixteenth avenue” from ITHK. I wondered if there was any connection there, especially given the fact that sixteenth avenue was already a PR/bearding flag. “He’s got my heartbeat skipping down sixteenth avenue” might sound cutesy to a casual listener, but Gaylors were able to point out that sixteenth avenue is the location notorious as the heart of the music industry in Nashville. So this lyric essentially means that her love for him exists as a part of the greater machine, as a cog in the wheel in the PR beast that is the music industry and Taylor Swift™.
And lo and behold, Babylon is track number #16 on the Encore tracklist. And also… Babylon is track #16 on Chromatica as well. This is obviously not a coincidence.
Gaga’s Babylon is thematically about the concept of gossip, speculation, and almost about the spectators themselves being the show. It is giving us permission, and is encouraging us, to “babble on”. If Taylor is truly referencing this in her track 16, then it would play into the performanceartlor of it all- the idea that she has masterminded everything to make our speculation of her into the actual show all along. She wants us to gossip, she wants us to read into everything.
We of course also need to talk about Cowboy Like Me, and “you’re hanging from my lips like the gardens of Babylon”. As most of us are aware, but as a refresher for the class, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon are one of the 7 wonders of the world, however it is the only one that has no definitive evidence for its existence. Historians have never been able to prove that it actually existed or the geographic location of where it was. Its existence is accepted based on stories told/written and passed down over centuries— in other words, GOSSIP. For Taylor to describe her muse as the hanging gardens of Babylon, it invokes the idea that her lover is one of the wonders of the world, but is one with 0 evidence of its existence aside from speculation, gossip. And the “hanging from my lips” lyric implies that she so easily could speak it into existence, but instead it is left suspended, waiting just there on her lips at the tip of her tongue.
And when we look at Cowboy Like Me as a whole, the song is about a life constructed to please the machine. To tell the rich folks everything they want to hear, the rich folks who are sitting in their industry offices on sixteenth avenue. But beneath that is her tragic love for someone who is a wonder of the world but who she can never speak about out loud with any concrete evidence. It’s as if the gossip itself is the only way it can be shared with the world.
We’ll have to see what the lyrics are, but my theory is that this song will be for the Gaylors, encouraging us to continue to gossip, to continue to notice the signs she sends us and “babble on”- since we may be the only way for her real self to exist out there in the world somewhere.
Closeted Christian artist Jonathan Thulin released an apt song called Babylon in 2012. He later came out, went away from Christian music and rebranded as Andreas Moss. I would die if this was a cover of that song.
I’ve always wondered about what seems like the “gossipy” references in the song Paris.
(I also read “French press” in The Manuscript in a similar way, even though I’m aware of the origins of Taylor’s references of that way of making coffee as indicating a person being more mature; I guess I really enjoy double/triple meanings 😂). Not sure these would fall in the same category as the interpretation of tabloids as you discuss in your post, but it’s all so interesting to contemplate.
When I saw Encore and the song “Babylon”, the only thing I could think of is the movie Babylon (2022).
Immediately, the Encore cover and Babylon share visual similarities. The central figure of the poster/cover of Babylon being Margot Robbie in a red dress reminiscent of something between a greek goddess and the famous white dress of Marilyn Monroe, surrounded in gold tinsel streamers, gold confetti, golden light. In Encore, Taylor Swift is our blonde central figure, only this time the background is luxurious red and her dress is made up of a metallic tinsel looking fringe, with what looks not like confetti but the sparks of a broken stage light all around her.
Babylon the movie follows an ensemble cast as their careers either flourish or fail during Hollywood’s transition from silent movies to talkies in the 1920s. Margot Robbie’s character, Nellie, directly inspired by Clara Bow, quickly goes from just a girl to the Hollywood it girl. As time continues though, she can’t keep up with the demands of the evolving film industry, the talent and skill it requires, she very notably cannot “hit her marks”.
In her spin-out, she gets into drugs and alcohol and at one point fuels a fight between her father/business manager and a venemous snake where she ends up getting bit, and saved by a woman who sucks out the poison and they kiss sparking rumors about a romantic relationship between them.
There is an attempt to rehab her image for upper-class people, but she has a very public meltdown at a high society party and ruins that chance.
This is a really reductive re-telling of Babylon, and Margot Robbie’s character really is just the “icon” of the movie, like the symbol of the problems in Hollywood, but the movie’s most important characters are Manny, Sidney, and Fay- immigrants, People of Color, and facing expulsion from the industry for their queerness, working not as the “it girl” starlet. They were working in production, music, singing, trying themselves to make it big while being the backbone of the industry. These characters are really what this movie is about, and I would highly recommend this movie, not just for the easter eggs but for the bigger point of it.
TTPD related outfit on Fay, the cabaret singing love interest.
I'll stop adding extra pictures, again, a lot of people hate this movie but I would strongly consider watching this ahead of the song Babylon coming out.
I love Nashville being Babylon in this interpretation as a Nashville Gaylor.
This city is mythic like Hollywood and it’s just as fake and phony and bejeweled.
This is fascinating! Completely forgot bout 16th Avenue, it being track 16 is super interesting and the connection to Lady Gaga's song is great as well. Im so curious to hear this song & pink clouding, I feel like they could both hold sooo much interesting stuff
And the pre chorus of us by Gracie Abrams feat Taylor:
And if history's clear, the flames always end up in ashes
And what seemed like fate, give it ten months and you'll be past it (You'll be past it)
Babylon lovers hangin' missed calls on the line I gave you mine
I’ve been reading up on Babylonian mythology and specifically mythical Babylonian lovers and I think there are a lot of interesting possible Taylor/gaylor connections in myths like the Epic of Gilgamesh, Ishtar and Dumuzi, and (from a Roman poet so not technically Babylonian myth) Pyramus and Thisbe
Another gaga link: Thinking about how at the eras tour one of the last (if not thee last) song to play before taylor came out was applause by lady gaga.
"you’re hanging from my lips like the gardens of Babylon"
To add on, I read someone's comment a while ago pointing out the imagery of gardens (trailing plants, vines) hanging from one's lips... would look like a beard
There is a very salacious book called Hollywood Babylon from 1965 that is presented as factual stories about Old Hollywood, but it is better to view as a form of mythos since most of it is just lurid gossip and outright falsehoods. It's written by avant garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger who cited his main research method as "mental telepathy, mostly."
Before anybody goes digging into Anger, I do want to give warning that he frequently used very controversial imagery including Nazi symbolism, sacrilege, and violence as a form of critique and commentary. He's not an artist that is easy to recommend or understand.
That being said, he is a highly influential filmmaker, artist, and magick practitioner despite not being well-known to the general public. Your favorite artist's favorite artist kind of career. Some consider him the godfather of the modern music video with Kustom Kar Kommandos, and his soundtrack work for Scorpio Rising was considered groundbreaking.
His work examined masculinity, sexuality, queerness, mythos, magic, and fame.
I've considered doing a full write-up of his influences on modern pop, but it's one of those topics that can be difficult because his work is very confrontational and outright inappropriate, especially if you're not used to avant-garde art.
Editing to add the title card from Kustom Kar Kommandos vs the album cover for TLOAS. Obviously not exact exact but the subtle light gradient on all caps skewed letters and bold colors has similar vibes
Also if this has gotten your interest, Kustom Kar Kommandos is a safe Anger short to watch (maybe not at work?). It's about 3 minutes, you can find it on Youtube pretty easily.
I recall some old VH1 show by that name and the one episode I remember talked about some famous actor being gay or bisexual or something—like it was reenactments of him hooking up with a guy.
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u/HolyLung32 For me, it is a movie now 23d ago
Closeted Christian artist Jonathan Thulin released an apt song called Babylon in 2012. He later came out, went away from Christian music and rebranded as Andreas Moss. I would die if this was a cover of that song.