For many Taylor fans, now navigating the midst of our early twenties, the orginal ‘1989’ was a life-altering album which offered an all too necessary burst of euphoria in the depths of teenage years. Even in 2014, Taylor’s ‘1989’ shone a positive light in an era of albums such as Marina’s Electra Heart and Lana del Rey’s ‘Ultraviolence‘ which despite all their brilliance, talent, resonance, and special significance to me, are woven with an unmistakable aura of melancholy which I’m certain anyone who found themselves on Tumblr between the years of 2012-2017 will tell you is all too easy to spiral into.
However, 1989 both was and now in 2023 is different. Naturally, after living through both a global pandemic and for many Taylor fans a more general coming of age, it feels like almost everything has shifted since the album’s initial release however, so much seems to have circled back around.
Undoubtedly aided by the rise of Tik-Tok, youth society seems to be settling into a renewed Tumblr-like era of ‘yearning’ and romanticised ‘longing’ with both Fleetwood Mac’s Silver Springs (1997, Stevie’s version) and Linger by The Cranberries becoming the somewhat ironic yet somewhat sincere soundtrack to many young people’s (including my own) routine struggles with relationships, adulthood, love and loss. However, my admiration for 1989 (especially the new vault track-inclusive version) stems from its ability to communicate all the emotional complexities and bittersweet memories which flow from each impermanence we encounter throughout our early-twenties all while channelling one key emotion above all: joy!!
To honour this emotional magic, it seems best to break down and reassemble the album piece-by-piece to acknowledge the powerful and ingenious way in which Miss Swift creates an album-wide narrative of optimistic reality as opposed to trickling into toxic positivity. Essentially in doing so, Taylor allows 1989 to provide a beautiful tribute to the emotionally intense highs and lows that come with youth as we stumble through finding our feet in the world, building adult relationships, having fun, cementing a self-identity, falling in love and facing real romantic loss.
Firstly, despite its upbeat pop vibe, ‘1989’ does not shy away from discussions of pain, personal loss and the bittersweet retention of memories. Therefore, allowing the album to perfectly capture the thrill and turmoil tied to temporary relationships. For example, this reminiscent longing and recognition of loss is especially felt within the album’s masterful new vault tracks ‘Now That We Don’t Talk’, ‘Say Don’t Go’ and ‘Is it Over Now’ alongside (in classic track 5 fashion) within the original track ‘All You Had to Do Was Stay’ and the hugely underrated tribute to bittersweet nostalgia that is ‘I Wish You Would’. However, these discussions of the eternal ‘what-if’ and poignant reflections on loss firmly co-exist with rather than consume the joy, glamour and pure pop-magic which erupts from other tracks on the album such as ‘Welcome to New York’, ‘New Romantics’, ‘Shake It Off’ and ‘How You Get The Girl’. Collectively, these songs not only have the miraculous ability to get everyone dancing but also the benevolent power to get almost anyone to wish they were dancing. Thus, opening the doors for opportunities to engage in fleeting moments of joy that feel increasingly all too rare.
Therefore, this duality allows the album to perfectly capture the optimistic message that young life is complex, figuring out who you are and what you want is mind-blowingly hard and the inevitable loss that comes with this learning is of course, unquestionably sad. However, 1989 beautifully acknowledges that although moving on from things that mattered is difficult and holding parts of past relationships with you (perhaps forever) is okay; these memories should never consume you. If 1989 teaches us anything it’s to go out dancing, laugh with our friends till our stomachs hurt, wear the brightest outfits we own, stay out way too late, run home in the rain, jump into life headfirst and truly invest ourselves in the romance of everything. Essentially, by committing to happiness as freely as sadness (especially within tracks like ‘Blank Space’, ‘Wildest Dreams’, ‘Suburban Legends’ and ‘Slut!’) Swift pays tribute to reflective escapism and indicates that perhaps our losses can melt into a bigger memory of a freer, naiver time. Therefore, allowing the joy of what once was to flow through our futures forever.
Additionally, while I could never claim to be a musical expert, credit must be paid to the overall feminine, up-beat, classic pop style Taylor commits to throughout this emotionally-charged album. It’s important to appropriately recognise and acknowledge the fearless way in which Taylor never shies away from discussing the significance and emotional depth of typically trivialised subject matter through the medium of typically trivialised genres. Essentially, Taylor routinely succeeds in creating fun, hope-drenched art which pays near-perfect tribute to the positive and negative emotions, thrills and passion we feel within the relationships we build which at the end of the day… are everything.
Therefore, this concludes a somewhat love letter to a deeply wonderful album which truly feels like everything to me. Although, aside from the feminist-related topics highlighted in ‘Slut!’ I recognise this album may not delve deeply into ground-breaking sociopolitical statements which are, of course, crucial and important across all elements of art and life. Therefore, inevitably leading me to wonder if the album’s messages have any real resonance or validity outside of my own already well-represented demographic. Yet on a purely subjective level, I feel ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ touches perfectly on the brilliance, beauty and bittersweet theatrics that make living through your early twenties so everlastingly special and if truly nothing else, it’s an album that makes me want to enjoy what’s left of them.
