This week Wesley catches Alex up with what he’s seen at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Alex catches Wesley up on how little he missed of Lifetime’s Brittany Murphy movie.

Click here for more 2014 awards season coverage.

They then compare Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” to Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda,” discussing how the latter seems to be a response to the pop conditions that produced the former. They also wonder why it’s so difficult for Minaj to reach her cruising altitude as a star rapper: It’s like she’s always on defense while Swift never seems to be, even though it often feels as if she should be.

Finally, they discuss the career of Joan Rivers, who died last week at the age of 81.

Also, good news: There’s finally a new book for next month’s book talk: Karl Ove Knausgaard’s My Struggle: Book One. It’s the first volume of six. Look out.

Listen to the podcast here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA2NbLdLTUc

Subscribe to the Grantland Network on iTunes and check out our podcasts page.

Here are links to topics discussed in this week’s show:

“Shake It Off” vs. “Anaconda”

“Shake It Off,” Taylor Swift, music video, 2014

“Anaconda,” Nicki Minaj, music video, 2014

“Nicki Minaj Reclaims the Twerk in the ‘Anaconda’ Music Video,” Grantland, August 20, 2014

Joan Rivers

“Remembering Joan Rivers (1933–2014),” Grantland, September 5, 2014

Louie, 2012

“Comedy As Coping Mechanism: Remembering Joan Rivers,” Grantland, September 5, 2014

Fashion Police, 2011

The Tonight Show, 1984

An Audience With Joan Rivers, 1983

The Carol Burnett Show, 1974