Pop icon Taylor Swift recently dropped a re-recording of her album “1989,” and while some superfans are worshiping her all over social media, others have criticized this re-recording.
Before I move on, I must preface this review by saying that I am not a Swiftie. In fact, this is the first time I have ever actually made myself listen to any of Taylor Swift’s music on my own. This isn’t to say that I have anything against her or her music, I just don’t listen to much pop music in English. However, I will not continue to make concessions to appeal to Swifties when this album reminds me why I don’t listen to this kind of music.
I can’t say I had high hopes before listening to this album. Even then, my low level of hope was shattered as soon as “Welcome to New York,” the opening song, played. A supposedly happy song was ruined by the near complete lack of percussion and bass, widely considered the backbone of music. I don’t see how a song can be enjoyable when it is missing such essential components. This trend continued throughout the rest of the album, leaving me extremely disappointed and in need of music with substance.
“Shake It Off” was a song I looked forward to listening to the most, and I had some hope that it would be a break from the disappointment that came before it. However, it crushed my spirits to hear that all elements of value were omitted. It sounded as though all life was sucked out of it, and I found myself having to crank the volume in order to even be able to hear the music, as it was so easily dominated by any surrounding sound. I believe that an upbeat song should be able to be heard over background noise, but none of the songs in this album seemed to meet this criteria.
In addition to the actual content of the album, it is also worth discussing Swift’s re-recording and re-releasing an album that she made only nine years ago. To preface, I am aware of why Taylor Swift re-recorded and released this album — to make more money. Honestly, I don’t blame her; if I were an artist with such a loyal fanbase as she has and I had a previously recorded album to which I didn’t have the rights, I would take the opportunity to make more money and release another version of that album knowing that my fans would go haywire. However, I don’t understand why everyone is losing their mind over this album. Other than the “From the Vault” (previously written but not released) songs, which I found just as mediocre as the rest of the album, there really wasn’t much added to this edition. Therefore, I don’t see what is so special about this album that yields the type of response that’s seen on social media and in real life.
Although I respect Taylor Swift as a successful artist, I found this re-recording of “1989” to be incredibly disappointing and underwhelming. If I wanted to listen to this kind of music, I could get it from several other artists and be just as, if not more, satisfied with the listening experience.
