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 not really writing with intention have lyrics like, "Autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place?" Or, "you've got your demons, and darling, they all look like me?" This isn't lazy writing, and these aren't lyrics from her even more poetic sister albums Folklore and Evermore (don't get me started on the line "a dwindling mercurial high"). 

There are so many reasons why it took us so long to fully appreciate Swift's craftsmanship from her age to sexism to the villainous media portrayal post K*nye. But, I think the biggest reason has to do with vulnerability. Swift has built her entire career on embracing her emotions--the good, the bad, the overreactions, the teenage love, betrayal, friendship. Whatever it was that she felt, she put it in a song. Her emotions, no matter how intense or perhaps even embarrassing, were never hidden but poured into her songs. Instead of applauding her openness as a sign of strength, many took it as weakness, as a reason to ridicule. A young girl being hurt by a guy was something to shame.

Well, Red was just re-released, but this time, the world is really listening, embracing, congratulating. Why is this? Why aren't we hiding that we love Taylor Swift? I'm sure, to an extent, her latest Album of the Year win at the Grammy's contributes to this--realizing her artistry is in vogue; the music industry said so. But I think it runs even deeper than this. Emotionality is less vilified now. To begin with, Swift is older, wiser, and thus, not seen as the silly girl crying about petty things. However, many are now asserting that she never was to begin with. There seems to be a greater shift in allowing ourselves to be delicate and vulnerable. Swift's work has always embraced these qualities. Part of the beauty of being human, in addition to being young, is feeling things intensely. It feels good to be honest about that, too. Artists like Swift allow us to own being hurt and raw and wounded. Just think about how successful Olivia Rodrigo have been--vulnerability is a quality we value. And this is a quality so often associated with women. Perhaps, our shifting tastes (or rather, admitting them) reveals a greater shift in valuing women and femininity. 

Now, I always loved Red, but Red (Taylor's Version) is even better. Why? Yes, I was unbelievably excited for this release, which surely added to my enjoyment. But aside from that, every song sounds even better than the original. And that's saying a lot--remember, that original album I was so attached to? But why?

Swift's voice is richer, but beyond that, there is an emotion running through every song that is almost indiscernible, a feeling that makes the listener deeply connected. That undercurrent is the thing that makes Red different from Red (TV). The original Red was an album about one particular heartbreak that Swift was presenting to the world in all of its messy, muddled complexity. Red (TV), 9 years later, is no longer really about that one particular moment. This album is about how we all made it our own. It's about how Swift grew from a love that was red to one that is golden, how she healed and sang these songs with us instead of crying to them. To us, it's the song we listened to when we were hurt the first time, or the song we play on our 22nd birthdays, or the album we scream on autumn car rides. This is ours. Our own individual stories that have only grown over time. All Too Well (10 Minute Version) was released because of us, for us.

Swift now owns this album, and it only makes sense that just as she owns the work, she owns the story. Yeah, the songs are about one particular man. But I have a feeling she doesn't care much about him anymore. What she cares about is reclaiming the songs as her own. By re-recording them, she has also reclaimed them from that heartbreak narrative. Red (TV) isn't just a heartbreak album but a work of growth and maturation. Swift's narrative, as a whole, is no longer based on exes and a dating history, but based on her success and body of music. It makes sense that the general narrative of Red now fulfills this in such a powerful way. Who cares about that ex from 9 years ago? This is about Taylor Swift!

I am excited to see what the rest of the rerecording era has in store, but I will remain in awe of Red (TV). This album, even more so than Fearless (TV) marked a strong shift in attitude and narrative, erasing almost any reservations about fully embracing the joy of Taylor Swift.  This is a moment that I think I will remember "all too well."