Deep Dive: Taylor Swift Part Five (1989)

    Call me picky or whatever, the original 1989 cover was *chef's kiss.* Does that make me old fashioned? Not that these covers are bad. T.S. looks beautiful here and in the others. It just doesn't play into the overall concept like the original cover did. 1989 is a city vibe. Neon. Vintage sunglasses. Blank spacing out and destroying a car parked on a New York City curb. Not a beach vibe. And it's October. Give me back that chic city vibe! Like I get that this cover shows her face and trademark red-lip classic thing that we like whereas the original showed her from the lips down. 

    Okay, okay, okay. Anyways, normies. Today we are entertaining pop royalty. 1989 (Taylor's Version) was released this last Friday. Highly anticipated is an understatement. This was Swift's second career peak where she was bigger than ever (at the time). Welcome to New York, normies. Let's Deep Dive with the seagulls!

    I don't have to introduce this album to you. It's iconic. The history behind it is well known. But anyways, here's some fun tidbits. I read on the r/TaylorSwift subreddit not long ago that after Swift lost the Grammy for Album of the Year for Red she knew she had to make a pop record. The ambition paid off as 1989 and its singles became massive hits. It sold over a million copies in its debut week. "Shake It Off" was that song. This record turned even the biggest naysayer into a fan who was begging to see what she would do next. The 1989 World Tour made headlines every week wherever city it went. All eyes were on Swift.

    Swift teamed up with almost entirely new producers including new best friends Max Martin and Shellback. She also worked with future best friend and the one collaborator for all her future projects, Jack Antonoff of fun. and Bleachers fame. Oh my gosh! Remember fun.? Martin executive produced this project this time because that man is a superhero who won't rest until everyone is satisfied from catchy tunes. Swift changed everything during this time period. She cut her trademark long hair. She changed up her style (no pun intended). Most importantly, she changed up her artistry.

    1989 is a synthpop album inspired by the decade of her birth, the fabulous 1980s. Honestly, no one has been able to replicate this sound in this capacity, but they wish they could. Synthpop became popular, sure. But 1989 is fully its own thing much like Adele's 21 of fun.'s Some Nights. Swift made the album sonically cohesive but each song shines like a brilliant diamond in its own right. Lyrically, it's lighter than its predecessor, Red, and also more romantic and almost cinematic at times. Swift was everywhere promoting this project, and it paid off as she won another Album of the Year Grammy. Famously, she became overexposed which led to a near catastrophic cancellation and a comeback that struck like a snake. *cough* reputation. *cough* *cough*. I think I'm coming down "Bad Blood" fever.

    1989 is that pop album. It's on par with Katy Perry's Teenage Dream. And it was a phenomenon just like Teenage Dream. Though as a album, it reached higher heights, accolades, and popularity. I think Swift struck the perfect balance between popular with everyone yet a proud statement of artistic expression. There's nothing to be afraid of here or that it panders or that its mindless. It's crocheted like an elaborate leg warmer. Swift said she was going to do pop and she made her pop that nobody else was doing at the time.

    Let's go to New York. So, "Welcome to New York" is a great opener that sets the tone for the rest of the set. It's popular in its own right. After seeing the new Taylor's Version cover, I was wondering if this song would be retitled to "Welcome to Coney Island." Yes, I'm still upset about aesthetics. 

    Seagulls and grains of sand aside... You didn't even notice that I just snuck in a photo from the original 1989 photoshoot for the article, did you?! Mwahahaha! Look at it! Bask in its superiority! ... Please take me seriously. I told you these were going to be silly, right?? Okay. Okay.

    ANYWAY! We move onto "Blank Space." I take back what I said about "All Too Well." This is Swift's magnum opus. I know people throw the word "iconic" around a lot, but that's what this is. An icon of a song. Memorable doesn't even begin to describe. "New money, suit and tie/I can read you like a magazine." Just incredibly, Superman-strength lyrics and impeccable delivery for almost 4 minutes. A joy to listen to even now, 9 years later, and even better to sing along to. Sonically, that opening is just... I don't do drugs or drink, but I imagine this is what euphoria, the fake drug from 90210, is like.

    "Style" is quite possibly the most perfect pop song of all time. It never gets old. It never goes out of style. Why it didn't go to number one, I will never know. It's a hit but still. Pop songs like this one come only about 10 times in a lifetime. This song defines what 1989 is about. It's one of the most blatantly '80s inspired. The hook in the chorus is Taylor Swift at her most Taylor Swift. Name dropping Old Hollywood star, James Dean, which would continue a little theme of Old Hollywood throughout this era.

    "Out of the Woods" was the first collaboration between Swift and Antonoff. I think it's sonically the most interesting song on the album due to all the little nuances. The verses keep the lyrics from being too repetitive as they border on that. I love the song, but they should have pushed "New Romantics" as hard as this single instead. Which is probably a hot take.

    Swift made just about everyone a fan during this era. People that didn't like her before or hesitated or struggled became instant fans. Which I think is rare to do. She managed not to alienate her existing fanbase, too. I think it's simply due to how distinctive this album is. And she kept her signature songwriting and musicality intact. 

    I love "All You Had To Do Was Stay." It's an instant smash. That twangy opening with the backing beats once they kick in just throw such a right hook. The little "stay"s! shouted in and around it define another theme of this area in things that go on in the background. "Shake It Off" kinda divided fans upon release as the lead single, and it is misleading. As with many of Swift's other lead singles. Once it caught on though there was no stopping it. People young and old love the song. It's reminiscent to Rihanna's "Umbrella" due to the drums and stuff for me. Though I find "Shake It Off" more quirky with its quacks in the instrumental and the horns. I don't think this era would have worked as well without it leading the way.

    "I Wish You Would" is probably the other blatantly 1980s track along with "Style." Reminding us what unites this album in sound. Though I have never seen a single as dividing as "Bad Blood." It was huge in part thanks to its star-studded, visually pleasing music video. I personally think the song is bombastic though I can see how you could find it cheesy. Though everybody has to admit "Bandaids don't fix bullet holes" is that line. I prefer the version without Kendrick Lamar though. Though the changed instrumentals on the remix are cool.

    

    "Wildest Dreams" is the album's best ballad. Hands down. I'd rank it in the top 3 of Swift's best ballads overall. The "ahh ahh"s at the end of the chorus are great fun to sing along to in a overdramatic way. The heartbeat beats are also just such a great freaking idea. It's hauntingly beautiful and definitely cinematic.

    "How You Get The Girl" is really cute. The most adorable song on the album with endearing lyrics to match. "This Love" is just smooth. Serene and peaceful. Like you're drifting on an ocean in the early morning light after the hurricane has passed. 

    "I Know Places" is a cool song with lots of thrill and edge. The fox imagery in it is so clear you can almost see a music video playing out in your head. Standard album ender "Clean" quenches a thirst you just can't describe. Swift sings with probably her most emotion here. The comparisons in it are so damn relatable with the metaphor of being addicted to someone like they're a drug. 

    We move onto the original deluxe tracks. "Wonderland" is whimsical like a carousel. Its chorus has such a Alice in Wonderland crazy chorus. You feel like you're falling down the rabbit hole while listening. "You Are In Love" is a nice song told with a story-telling perspective. Continuing the theme of romantic love the rest of the album explored.

    "New Romantics" is such a missed opportunity single-wise. I would stream the heck out of this song to get it to number one. More people must know about it! 80s pop perfection with hooks that punch you in the face until you're K.O.'ed. A chorus that feels like the big dance number the whole cast dances to right before the credits roll in a movie. It's the BEST album ender of Swift's career. Hands down. It ends it on such a euphoric high. Tell all your friends about it if they don't know.

    Now we have the new Taylor's Version tracks to talk about. We can be at our most meme with ""SLUT!"" now. These new vault tracks all seem like they could be from Midnights even though they were all written around the time of Swift's 1989 sessions. Perhaps due to Antonoff's production. Fans were conflicted about this, but living songwriting legend, Diane Warren, herself, confirmed that they had written "Say Don't Go" 9 years ago. The two shortest songs "Now That We Don't Talk" and "Suburban Legends" could be fleshed out a little more with a little extra length. "Is It Over Now?" is an absolute standout and feels the most 1989. 

    Overall, the Taylor's Versions of the original songs are good. "Style" is a little shaky along with the chorus of "New Romantics." Otherwise, they sound very crisp! What do you all think about the new songs?

Rating: S Rank! We don't want to get out of the 1989 woods. 

Recommendation: Are you kidding? Everybody is probably listening to this, but if they're not they need to.

Standouts:

    Everything especially the singles. They'll change your life. 💖💣⭐⭐