Why Red (Taylor's Version) is So Much Better
Like so many Taylor Swift fans, I have a particular soft spot for the 2012 album Red. I remember when it came out. I was 13, and I was working on my eighth grade science fair project and had just heard "I Knew You Were Trouble" for the first time on Pandora during class. This is hardly the kind of context that would make a person fall in love with Red, an album that has become a sort of seminal heartbreak anthem. But nonetheless, I loved it. It was one of the only physical CD's I owned growing up, and I felt so cool for having a Taylor Swift album. As time went on, this became less cool. Liking Taylor Swift became something you were supposed to hide or preface with something like "I used to..." or "She's just ok." Her work was "juvenile" or nothing but catchy pop. I'm very happy to say that we, as a cultural group, have moved passed this vein of thinking. In fact, it was never true. How could someone who is only writing for money or