Taylor SwiftB次元官网网址檚 is here, the album that ushered in the first Peak Swift era B次元官网网址� revisited at the height of her massive pop culture dominance.
Released in 2014 and named for her birth year, the original B次元官网网址�1989B次元官网网址� signified a sonic rebirth. Swift had shed the Nashville country roots of her first four studio albums and announced herself a full-fledged pop superstar.
B次元官网网址�1989 (TaylorB次元官网网址檚 Version),B次元官网网址� out Friday, takes that version of Swift B次元官网网址� then in her mid-20s, living in New York, prepared to take on the world with an arsenal of B次元官网网址�80s synth sounds and a new producer named B次元官网网址� and includes five unreleased B次元官网网址渧aultB次元官网网址� tracks that deliver more clues about the artist she was then.
Previous have been more than conventional rerecordings, arriving with new music, Easter eggs and visuals that deepen understanding of her work. The project B次元官网网址� the fourth of six rereleases B次元官网网址� was instigated by music manager Scooter BraunB次元官网网址檚 purchase and sale of her early catalog and represents SwiftB次元官网网址檚 effort to control her own songs and how theyB次元官网网址檙e used.
Her return to B次元官网网址�1989B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� the album where she began to confront media portrayals of herself and in song B次元官网网址� comes at another Swift popularity crescendo but also during a 2010s nostalgia (Yes, itB次元官网网址檚 only 2023. Yes, the nostalgia is real).
Here are some key things to consider as B次元官网网址�1989B次元官网网址� propels the New Peak Swift era forward:
OPENING THE VAULT
Listeners will dive deep into the vault tracks for clues into SwiftB次元官网网址檚 mind around 2014. B次元官网网址淪lut!B次元官网网址� may recall her contentious relationship with the press, which fixated on her alleged romantic relationships and the songs sheB次元官网网址檇 write once they ended.
TheyB次元官网网址檒l find connections to B次元官网网址淥ut of the WoodsB次元官网网址� on B次元官网网址淚s It Over Now?B次元官网网址� in the lyrics B次元官网网址渨hen you lost control / red blood, white snow.B次元官网网址� TheyB次元官网网址檒l wonder who made her pretend to like acid rock and mega yachts on B次元官网网址淣ow That We DonB次元官网网址檛 Talk.B次元官网网址� But more insight will be found in thinking about where Swift was at the time, what came next, and how that mirrors the current moment.
Swift dominated headlines and award show crowd shots in 2014, reaching a point of oversaturation, and leading to her retreat from the public eye prior to the release of her undercelebrated revenge record, With on NFL broadcasts due to her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, could history repeat itself?
Brittany Spanos, senior writer at Rolling Stone, puts it simply: B次元官网网址淧eople just get easily sick of anyone whoB次元官网网址檚 super famous. And I think that we havenB次元官网网址檛 had a lot of monocultural kind of celeb moments like this in a minute,B次元官网网址� she says of Swift in 2023.
Rebecca Jennings, a senior correspondent at Vox covering social platforms and the creator economy, sees a connection between the 2014 eras as being B次元官网网址減ost-recessionB次元官网网址� and 2023 being B次元官网网址減ost-COVID,B次元官网网址� a time where Swift succeeds because thereB次元官网网址檚 a sort of cultural B次元官网网址渂ouncing back vibe,B次元官网网址� a time where people want celebratory music.
In 2014, that was Swift finding her pop sound with B次元官网网址�1989.B次元官网网址�
In 2023, itB次元官网网址檚 becoming the most successful version of herself, and rereleasing B次元官网网址�1989 B次元官网网址� while on the top of her game.
FROM COUNTRY TO POP: A TRANSITIONAL ALBUM
B次元官网网址淚t was a huge risk for her to move completely outside of country B次元官网网址� thereB次元官网网址檚 no country elements on this album whatsoever,B次元官网网址� says Spanos, who also teaches a course on Swift at New York UniversityB次元官网网址檚 Clive Davis Institute. She says SwiftB次元官网网址檚 penchant for pop songwriting is evidenced all the way back on her 2008 sophomore release B次元官网网址淔earlessB次元官网网址� in tracks like B次元官网网址淟ove Story,B次元官网网址� but B次元官网网址�1989B次元官网网址� is B次元官网网址渉er first official, full-length pop project.B次元官网网址�
However, more so than a declarative move into pop, Spanos views B次元官网网址�1989B次元官网网址� as B次元官网网址渕ore in the lineage of the kind of transitional albums teen stars tend to make when they move into adulthood,B次元官网网址� comparing it to Janet JacksonB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淐ontrolB次元官网网址� and Christina AguileraB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淪tripped.B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址�1989B次元官网网址� is the album where SwiftB次元官网网址檚 divorced herself from adolescence. SheB次元官网网址檚 moved to NYC; sheB次元官网网址檚 working with new people; sheB次元官网网址檚 making synth pop.
Rachel Brodsky, a music and culture writer who has been covering Swift for well over a decade, points out that SwiftB次元官网网址檚 sonic experimentations were earned B次元官网网址� and that she very well might be one of the final pop superstars who couldnB次元官网网址檛 come out of the gate playing with genre the way listeners are accustomed to now.
B次元官网网址淪he came up in the shadow of the Chicks, where she was told under certain circumstances by her team, like, B次元官网网址橸ou donB次元官网网址檛 want to be the Chicks,B次元官网网址� Brodsky says of the country music group who were of their audience.
The Chicks, acts like Shania Twain and LeAnn Rimes cracked open the door for Swift to burst open on B次元官网网址�1989,B次元官网网址� she says. And not just as a pop musician, but as someone bucking convention B次元官网网址� something Brodsky says artists like Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris and even Olivia Rodrigo have followed.
ENGAGING WITH HER OWN CELEBRITY
By the time B次元官网网址�1989B次元官网网址� rolled around, Swift was no longer writing high school romances and fairytale narratives.
SheB次元官网网址檇 begun engaging with her celebrity reality B次元官网网址� inviting Beyonc茅 and Jay-Z to her birthday party, hanging out with models and other very famous people in a group labeled B次元官网网址渢he SquadB次元官网网址� in the media.
She was also writing songs like B次元官网网址淏次元官网网址橞ad Blood,B次元官网网址� which is about her feud with Katy Perry,B次元官网网址� says Spanos, a decisive move away from the kind of humility and B次元官网网址渉ometown girlB次元官网网址� image associated with B次元官网网址渃ountry Taylor.B次元官网网址� That meant occupying more space in the pop landscape: reconciling with Kanye West after the infamous 2009 VMAs moment, starring alongside Drake in a commercial, getting Kendrick Lamar on a remix, so on and so forth.
In 2023, Swift is more famous now than she was then, and sheB次元官网网址檚 still engaging with her celebrity in a very public way.
B次元官网网址�1989 (TAYLORB次元官网网址橲 VERSION)B次元官网网址� PLAYS INTO FONDNESS FOR 2014
Jennings believes people are nostalgic for the year 2014 and always will be B次元官网网址� because it was one of the last online periods before the hyper-commodification of social media B次元官网网址� which makes 2023 the ideal time for revisiting B次元官网网址�1989.B次元官网网址�
There were blogs, and Tumblr, and our internet lives were less defined by algorithms. B次元官网网址淚t is looked at as this Edenic time of innocence and purity,B次元官网网址� she says. At the time, there was a kind of monoculture that leans itself to nostalgia in 2023, she says B次元官网网址� everyone receiving the same information on the same topics at the same time, Taylor SwiftB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址�1989B次元官网网址� era included B次元官网网址� as opposed to the current influencer-based model.
(ItB次元官网网址檚 worth noting that Swift herself was very active on Tumblr, using the social media platform to find fans to invite to private listening sessions held in her home.)
Additionally, in the last few months, Swift has been seen dining with very famous friends like Blake Lively, Sophie Turner and Selena Gomez, a return to the language of her B次元官网网址淪quad.B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淏y parading out many of the same friends she had during that era that she was also parading about, sheB次元官网网址檚 playing into this nostalgia element,B次元官网网址� argues Jennings.
At the time, theories swirled around SwiftB次元官网网址檚 assumed romantic relationships B次元官网网址� many believe the song B次元官网网址淪tyleB次元官网网址� is about her short relationship with Harry Styles B次元官网网址� and in 2023, her latest assumed romance has become a top story again.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 almost like sheB次元官网网址檚 method promoting,B次元官网网址� Spanos jokes. B次元官网网址淪heB次元官网网址檚 leaning into it again.B次元官网网址� But thereB次元官网网址檚 a huge difference in the kind of treatment sheB次元官网网址檚 receiving from the public this time around. The press appears to be rooting for her relationship, she says, instead of thinking about the breakup songs it might inspire, warning her male partners and turning Swift into the butt of the joke B次元官网网址� as the media was doing in 2014.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a little bit less of that level of misogyny,B次元官网网址� Spanos says.
So whatB次元官网网址檚 next for Swift?
The continuation of her Eras tour, which is set to resume on November 9th in Buenos Aires, Argentina. And, of course, two more B次元官网网址淭aylorB次元官网网址檚 VersionB次元官网网址� albums.
Maria Sherman, The Associated Press
