Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
From a new haircut, new sound, new city, Taylor Swift changed herself and changed the music industry.
Taylor Swift’s newest release is an updated version of her original album “1989,” an album titled based on the year she was born to signify her rebirth that she began to go through. The album, now called “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” includes updated vocals along with five new songs “from the vault.” that reveal more personal feelings than ever.
On this album, she describes herself as finally clean of a ‘drug’ she got rid of and can still live without it. Yet her old life and her new one were both similar. She still stayed true to herself more than ever. Even in the album do we see signs of a struggle, signs of trying to break from what was once there. She compares love to a drug, a drug that was harmful to her and one she must leave to become sober.
“1989 (Taylor’s Version)” has a break in between songs, a track called “Clean,” a slow song that you could savor before moving on and that’s exactly what the song was about; taking it in and then going back into what feelings were left behind in order to truly heal.
The track split the album and paused for once like a refresher to remind herself and the listener that she can make progress. The vault tracks bring begin, resuming the album some fun in sound and pace to the album.
The layers of vocals in “All You Had To Do Was Stay (Taylor’s Version)” added a background to the lyrics that makes you want to cry and dance at the same time because of the heartbreaking notes. She describes a love that has gone away all while singing it in a passionate upbeat way making the situation more of a cycle; she finds love and then it goes away yet again.
This same idea is seen in the track “Style.” The passion she finds with her previous love never went out of style, just like fashion, trends can come back and she thinks their dynamic is one of them that can come back.
I never was one to think love can come back or shock someone in waves of hurt. When it does, I find comfort in hearing about others’ past love and how they grieved, how they felt, and how they do now.
Taylor Swift expresses herself in a way I think is purely magical. I can imagine her sitting there re-thinking everything, rerecording her past music, doing things she could or couldn’t have done as well, and I feel whole knowing she can persevere through it and create art with her feelings.
Swift writes about difficult situations in all of her albums because it is a way to grieve, writing and creating art she can listen to and knows she has survived.
In the track “Slut!” she describes how the public views her as a woman who sleeps with men and leaves them heartbroken. In the song, she says that being in love with this person would be worth all the hate she would receive from fangirls or people who think she is promiscuous for going for another guy again and I believe that it is the most inspiring. She keeps being true to herself because she should, she’s shouldn’t be judged for doing what she loves and loving who she does or how often she does so.
“1989 (Taylor’s Version)” was a highly anticipated album and was well worth the wait, as the vault tracks reveal more spectacular lyrics that fans can sing along to when feeling insecure or heartbroken or even happy.
