It’s definitely great to have one of the defining pop albums of the 2010’s return in a new-yet-familiar format like this. Josh: It was a bit jarring to hear an artist release a cover album of her own music, but I quickly came to embrace this release as such. Nasim: I was nervous to listen because I love the original so much! I loved how Taylor held true to the original, and this rerecording helped me understand the album through Taylor’s (and my own) more mature lens. What are your immediate reactions to Red (Taylor’s Version)? So yes, I’m late to the Red party, but for what it’s worth, I think I’m more onboard with this album now than ever before. Red is also the beginning of a definitive sonic shift away from Country, and as someone who grew up on rock and alternative/indie music, I appreciate those moments where Swift goes full pop/rock and ditches the twang altogether. I really appreciate Swift’s willingness to share those deeper moments of introspection with us as a lyricist and songwriter, there’s no denying some of these songs’ balance of catchy and creative. Admittedly, I didn’t know Red all too well (excuse the pun) when it came out, and I probably didn’t play it all the way through until long after 1989‘s release – I just wasn’t a fan back then – but thanks to radio repeats and hearing songs at parties, I (albeit unwillingly) to this day know most, if not all the words to songs like “I Knew You Were Trouble,” “22,” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.”īut those are just the singles, and as I’ve gotten to know Red better over the past few years, I’ve grown a special fondness for the sheer unadulterated energy in “State of Grace” and the intimate, heart-on-sleeve emotion of “Sad Beautiful Tragic.” Red houses a lot of Swift’s coming-of-age self-reflections as a young 21 and 22-year-old, and in these songs you can hear her reckoning with those two inner identities – the child growing up, the young adult trying to navigate her place in the world. That album released right around my 22nd birthday – right after college – and became an instant personal favorite, still to this day – playing on repeat for me throughout the next year and beyond. Mitch: I always had respect for her ability to bridge genre divides and the disparate worlds of country and “mainstream” pop (whatever that means), but Taylor Swift finally made a true fan out of me with 1989. I danced to it the whole time, which is in retrospect, a very nice thing. ![]() I saw the vibe of the record more than the sad lyrics. Unlike many, I didn’t attach a heartbreak to red, probably because I was so young. Also “we are never getting back together” was the only song I had on my iPod and my favourite song back then. I remember walking into a CD shop (would be considered vintage these days in times of Spotify) and buying the record. Nina: I must have been 14 around that time. It stuck with me as the first proper record I can trace throughout my life. Red was pivotal for me as a young girl because it was a departure from Taylor’s sound, and it explored a different melancholy in her songwriting. The first time I started to properly listen to Taylor was Red, and it had a hold on me for two years. Nasim: I was seven when “You Belong With Me” came out, and it’s still one of my favorite songs today. presidential election, Red is one of the two main items that epitomize that autumn for me in retrospect. ![]() The accompanying album came out that same October, and along with the frenzy of the U.S. A few years later, in 2012, I remember being a rising junior at Tufts University in the summer that “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” made its way to the radio. Josh: I first discovered Taylor Swift’s music in high school in the late ‘00s, around the time the Fearless album was released. To start, what is your relationship with Taylor Swift’s music, and what is your relationship with the original 2012 Red album? ![]() Featured here are Atwood writers Josh Weiner, Nasim Elyasi, Nina Schaarschmidt, and Mitch Mosk. Atwood Magazine’s writers discuss the highlights, the nuances, and the sheer impact of ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’, Taylor Swift’s second re-recorded album – an ambitious project that hits home while going above and beyond all expectations.
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