Featured Photo by Taylor Swift
Story by Hannah Ferreira
Taylor Swift, widely regarded as one of the most iconic and recognizable artists of this generation, has already been experiencing what many would consider the peak of her career. The release of “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” could not have come at a more opportune time.
She embarked on a record-breaking tour in early 2023 that will last almost two years. It’s a stunning three hour celebration of the vastly different eras in her musical journey, and already one of the highest-grossing tours ever – before it even goes international.
The documentary version of the Eras Tour premiered on Oct. 11 and grossed over $100 million in presales alone.
Well-known companies of all kinds are capitalizing on her icon status, including Starbucks, the NFL and funnily enough Heinz and Hidden Valley Ranch. This was after a fan account made a tweet about her enjoying chicken tenders with “ketchup and seemingly ranch.”
References to her are everywhere these days, and even those who don’t prefer her music often concede they admire her work ethic, business savvy and performance ability.
The re-release of “1989” is just another example of this.
The original album redefined herself and the pop genre and, almost a decade later, it is a testament to her enduring icon status and the power of nostalgia.
The original songs, this time with “(Taylor’s Version)” next to their names, demonstrate her immense growth and increased maturity as an artist since she recorded them the first time.
The vocals and instrumentation are more clean-cut and less emotionally charged than their 2014 counterparts. Some people have commented that the songs sound highly manufactured compared to the originals. Still, they demonstrate how she’s moved on from the emotional turmoil of the experiences documented by these ballads.
The experiences these songs are about have gone from vivid, painful flashbacks to distant, faded memories.
She still recognizes their power in bringing her to the summit she’s experiencing, but she’s 33 now, not 24. She’s more mature and confident than before she fully established herself in pop.
It’s hard to say that these changes contribute to the album being worse than the original, considering they reflect a more mature person and artist behind the microphone.
What made “1989” so impactful for its time is likely what caused “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” to not live up to some people’s standards. It’s hard to do almost the same thing twice and get two groundbreaking results.
The passage of time, nearly a decade in this case, naturally contributes to some distortion of expectations. Swifties have had nine years to love “1989,” which made the originals hard to let go of. It is well-crafted, timeless pop, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t grow and change to fit the Taylor we know and love even more than before.
She’s no longer an artist who attracts fans purely because of emotional breakups, revenge songs or elaborate productions that put most other concerts to shame. She doesn’t have to tell stories of famous ex-boyfriends and become emotional onstage to sell out.
She can also sit in a cabin and record folk and indie-pop-inspired albums that tell complex stories that aren’t from her own experiences. She can remain private and elusive while still writing songs that capture the essence of her feelings or craft clever tales that could only occur in the best novels.
Taylor’s career has dramatically changed since 2014, and this re-release reflects that.
The only part of the album not supported by the power of nostalgia is the five vault tracks, but they hardly need it. After listening to them, I have to agree with Swift when she said she “can’t believe they were ever left behind!” She explained in a voice memo on Tumblr that she had to make some difficult choices in leaving some songs behind.
Though these tracks haven’t had the time to rise to the status of Swiftie cult classic songs like “Out of the Woods” and “New Romantics” have, they’ll join the ranks of vault songs that are now fan favorites.
“Sl*t!” was the first new song on the tracklist and intrigued many fans since unlocking the vault track titles after collectively solving 33 million puzzles on Google.
To say the song’s contents were unexpected would be a huge understatement.
It’s “dreamy,” according to one of Swifts’s voice memos, and full of vivid imagery: “flamingo pink,” “aquamarine” and “moonlit swimming pool” are used as descriptors in just the first few lines.
The song, while mostly about being in love, also touches on the criticism Swift has endured for much of her career for dating publicly, the backlash often more excessive for her than the men she was dating or others in the industry. The line “I’ll pay the price, you won’t” is a nod to this.
The song is almost nausea-inducing, but in the same way as eating lots of sugar-coated candy: Delightfully saccharine in the lyrics and instrumentals, but with no regrets at the end.
“Say Don’t Go,” on the other hand, is heartbreaking to its core. It’s full of classic Taylor Swift metaphors like “Why’d you have to twist the knife? / Walk away and leave me bleeding,” and contains an equally classic Taylor bridge full of questions for the former lover she refers to. It’s full of yearning but ends with her acceptance of the relationship being over.
“Now That We Don’t Talk” contains a little more hope, complemented by the upbeat instrumentals. Though she’s clearly upset about an ended relationship, she’s grateful she doesn’t have to pretend to like “acid rock” or hang out on “mega-yachts” with him anymore. She accepts that it’s “how it has to be” and she clearly isn’t trying to rekindle anything by forming a friendship. It’s mature, self-aware and gives credit to her mom for helping her get over the relationship.
“Suburban Legends” has instrumentals incredibly similar to several songs from “Midnights” but has themes more reminiscent of “‘tis the damn season” from “evermore.” It tells the story of her high school sweetheart. She is or was in love with him yet knows her career would take her beyond that relationship. The lyrics and instrumentals build up to a climax that contains imagery of clocks and ocean waves as she laments breaking her “own heart” and the fact that he “doesn’t knock anymore.” The song is similar to “The Archer,” from “Lover,” as the instrumentals continually build up without release, demonstrating the ongoing pain the relationship caused her.
“Is It Over Now?” was perhaps the most shocking of all of the vault tracks because of its assumed subject. Harry Styles and Taylor Swift had a relationship between 2012 and 2013, and he’s considered a fan favorite among her ex-boyfriends.
There were unsubstantiated rumors that “Style (Taylor’s Version)” would feature him. However, according to this song, there was more than met the eye in their relationship. It has similar hazy and dreamy background instrumentals as the other vault tracks, yet touches on an intensity of relationship that stands out. Accusations fly as she calls him a “lying traitor” and accuses him of dating girls after their breakup who looked just like her.
Several references led listeners to believe the song is about Harry Styles, including a nod to a ski trip accident also mentioned in “Out of the Woods” and a photo of her wearing a “blue dress on a boat” after the two reportedly broke up. Regardless of who the song is about, it packs a punch.
It’s hard to believe Taylor Swift could experience more success than she already has. But if she’s taught the world anything, it’s that she always has something else up her sleeve. Making such an incredible pop album even better than it already was, with five new songs that defied expectations, is incredibly difficult, yet she’s done it.
The late Barbara Walters’ words about Taylor still ring true today. She truly is “the music industry.”
To contact Lifestyles Editor Destiny Mizell, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com. For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com, or follow us on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines or on X at @MTSUSidelines.
