Maggie Collins

Arts and Entertainment Editor

Taylor Swift is currently living in what you might call her “Wildest Dreams.” After nearly eight months of touring worldwide, producing The Eras Tour concert film, and releasing the “Taylor’s Version” of many of her older albums, she has a lot going on. She has reclaimed her music by rerecording her albums Fearless, Red, Speak Now, and the just-released 1989.

Swift had a deal with Big Machine Records for most of her career,  but in 2018, that arrangement ended. During her time with the record label, Scooter Braun purchased the company, gaining ownership over the master recordings of Swift’s first six albums. For Swift, it was not only a matter of losing her money or future but also a sense of losing herself. 

She has been in the process of rerecording her old albums to gain back control of her music. Most rerecordings don’t change the original song’s content but feature stylistic differences. She also added “From The Vault” songs that didn’t make the cut on the first release of their respective albums. With only two albums left, I anticipate an announcement that she will soon be rerecording the two remaining albums: Reputation and Taylor Swift. 

My personal favorites have always been Speak Now, Lover, and 1989, so when the clock hit midnight on Oct. 28, I was waiting to listen to the new version of 1989, initially released in 2014. I was in no way disappointed. While it was the same album I’ve listened to for nearly a decade, the maturity of her voice and the confidence she has gained throughout her career carries through these newly recorded tracks. They just hit different. Swift and I are both older, and while I grew up listening to her music, my connection with it has changed. 

Swift posted on her Instagram, “The 1989 album changed my life in countless ways…To be perfectly honest, this is my most FAVORITE re-record I’ve ever done because the 5 From The Vault tracks are so insane. I can’t believe they were left behind. But not for long!”

Along with the original 16 songs from 1989, Swift added “Slut!,” “Say Don’t Go,” “Now That We Don’t Talk,” “Suburban Legends,” and “Is It Over Now?” The deluxe version includes a second version of “Bad Blood” featuring rerecorded vocals by Kendrick Lamar, and the Tangerine Edition adds another bonus track, “Sweeter than Fiction.” The original album marks the transition from her country style of music to pop. She began expressing herself in a new way; it was her symbolic artistic rebirth.

There is often a lot to unpack in Swift’s songs, which go much deeper than a catchy tune. However, not everyone digs into them to find the meanings behind her artistic and figurative language. Music is often a way for people to express themselves and their feelings uniquely. This creativity not only allows them to express themselves but also helps those listening when they are going through similar seasons of life. 

“Slut!” speaks to a part of Swift’s life when she began dating, as a teenager often does, but since her whole life was on television and in magazines, some viewed her as a boy-crazy psychopath. One of my favorites is “Say Don’t Go,” which captures the thoughts inside her head as she has to leave someone who once drew her in but no longer loves her back. Three songs — “Now That We Don’t Talk,” “Suburban Legends,” and “Is It Over Now?” — speak to a lost past love and all the lingering characteristics, including tension, regret, and the process of introspection. 

As always, Swift has blessed us with another album full of memorable melodies for jamming on long drives or lonely nights, singing sessions with friends, or humming throughout the day. After hearing her previous rerecorded albums, I was more than ready to see how she remade this album into her own. I’ve loved seeing the journey that Swift has taken to reclaim her music and reestablish her identity without the dominance of big record labels.