Album Hall of Fame: 1989 by Taylor Swift
The pop bible. On October 27, 2014, former country sweetheart Taylor Swift released her first full-fledged pop album. The album that would go on to establish Swift as a worldwide phenomenon and true pop star. Anthemic, infectious, and sparkling. 1989 is laced with catchy choruses, scream-your-heart-out bridges, and synth-driven productions. To this day, 1989 is still Taylor Swift's top-selling album of her career. So to the fella over there with the hella good hair, come on over because it's time to talk about one of the greatest pop albums of all time.
TRACK LIST:
Welcome To New York
Blank Space
Style
Out Of The Woods
All You Had To Do Was Stay
Shake It Off
I Wish You Would
Bad Blood
Wildest Dreams
How You Get The Girl
This Love
I Know Places
Clean
Wonderland (Deluxe Track)
You Are In Love (Deluxe Track)
New Romantics (Deluxe Track)
"Slut!" (Taylor's Version Vault Track)
Say Don't Go (Taylor's Version Vault Track)
Now That We Don't Talk (Taylor's Version Vault Track)
Suburban Legends (Taylor's Version Vault Track)
Is It Over Now? (Taylor's Version Vault Track)
Pop has always influenced Taylor's sound. You can find it all the way back on her very first album with the alternative pop version release of her hit song "Teardrops On My Guitar." It carried through to her second album Fearless, by transcending country radio with global hits like "You Belong With Me" and "Love Story." Her next dabble into non-country territory came during her third album, Speak Now, which explored rock and pop-rock influences. When it came time to write her fourth album, Red, Taylor was feeling the pop itch more than ever. However, her label wasn't as convinced. Scott Borchetta, founder of Big Machine Label, told Taylor she needed to still appeal to her country audience. But Taylor found a way to get a little bit of pop snuck in. Red marked the first time Taylor worked with legendary producers Max Martin and Shellback. With their help, Taylor released some of the biggest pop hits in her catalog with "22," "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," and "I Knew You Were Trouble." While touring for Red, Taylor became more sure the universe was pushing her to go pop. So she began writing what would become 1989.
For a new direction on her fifth studio album, she marked the era by chopping off her famous, long, curly blonde locks into a blunt bob and moving to New York City. During an interview with Paul Zollo, Swift describes waking up at four o'clock in the morning with the notion that the album would be called 1989, it'd be '80s synth pop, and it'd be a true pop record. Continuing to work with Max and Shellback, Taylor also brought on Jack Antonoff. Taylor and Jack were brought together to work on the song "Sweeter Than Fiction" (one of my personal favorites of Taylor's) for the film One Chance in 2013. Jack was making his way up as a sought-after producer after having success in the bands Fun. and Bleachers. Taylor and Jack bonded over the '80s, specifically in regard to the decade's notable synth-heavy song productions, as that was also an area of Jack's expertise. For 1989, Jack collaborated with Taylor on "Out Of The Woods," "I Wish You Would," and "You Are In Love" (a song Taylor wrote about his relationship with ex Lena Dunham). On the song "Clean," Taylor brought on British artist Imogen Heap. They recorded "Clean" at Imogen's studio in London in one day, just the two of them. Taylor had Max oversee the entire project in order to ensure the album was cohesive. Notably on Red, critics took issue with the album's jagged sound. Claiming that the back and forth between country ballads and poppy anthems was jarring and lacked cohesion. This time, Taylor was going to make an album that flowed and didn't question the sound or genre.
As any Swiftie knows, Taylor has a knack for placing what she feels is the most vulnerable and honest song on the album as track five. On the list are heavy hitters like "All Too Well" (Red, 2013), "Dear John" (Speak Now, 2010), "My Tears Ricochet" (folklore, 2020), and "The Archer" (Lover, 2019). For 1989, Taylor chose the song "All You Had To Do Was Stay" to fill the coveted spot. But AYHTDWS is an outlier compared to the rest of the Track Fives in her discography. This is because it is not a ballad, nor is it sad in its production. The track fives that come closest are "Delicate" from reputation in 2017 and "You're On Your Own, Kid" from Midnights in 2022, but both still have a more mellow pop sound, whereas AYHTDWS is upbeat and vibrant. If you were to take a listen to the album, you might put a song like "Clean" as track five. But although "Clean" fits the bill for what a track five is: emotional, heart wrenching, ballad-adjacent, where it falls on the standard edition of the album as the closer makes perfect sense. When you look at it, there really aren't any songs on 1989 that fit the traditional track five mold. But perhaps the brilliance of 1989, the theme, if you will, is that there can't be pleasure without pain. She may have been "happy, free, confused, and lonely" on Red, but Taylor was still a girl in her early twenties navigating adulthood for the first time. This meant that you could simultaneously be grooving on the dance floor while also cathartically scream-singing about someone messing with your heart. If you ask me, "All You Had To Do Was Stay" is one of the most underrated songs in Taylor's catalog.
As with everything in Taylor's public life and career, 1989 was the catalyst for many pop culture moments. One of the massive singles from the album, "Black Space" details the media's infatuation with Taylor's love life. In the song, Taylor takes on the persona the media had painted her to have, the boy-crazy pop star who will write about you in her songs. The accompanying music video showcases an unhinged Taylor who stabs bloody heart cakes and smashes fancy cars with golf clubs (both of which became iconic motifs for the era) when the man she's seeing is no longer good enough. The lyrics are catchy and playful, though it became a cultural event when some people misheard the lyrics "got a long list of ex-lovers" as "got a long list of Starbucks lovers." I, for one, was not one of those people, but Starbucks sure loved the free promotion. "Style" acted as the most direct link to her relationship with Harry. And on "Bad Blood" Taylor hints at the feud that went on between her and Katy Perry at the time. The story goes that the friendship breakup between the pop stars happened when Katy apparently tried to sabotage Taylor's tour by hiring several of her dancers out from under her. This was seemingly confirmed when those dancers were then seen working with Katy. The music video for "Bad Blood" features notable cameos from high-profile celebrities who were linked to Taylor at the time. During the 1989 era, Taylor was highly criticized for her friend group. With people saying she was fake and inauthentic for only being seen with models and A-list celebs.
Taylor has been objectified and criticized for her dating history since she first arrived on the scene. Her first celebrity relationship with Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers was so publicized and dissected that when they broke up, fans couldn't help but pick up on the diss Taylor seemed to be sending him with songs like "Forever and Always" (Fearless, 2008) and "Better Than Revenge" (Speak Now, 2010). Throughout her career, the press and fans alike have always put emphasis on Taylor's relationships. Taylor writes about her life and all of the things that come with that, including romantic trials and tribulations. She's candid, open, and sometimes scathing with her pen, but it's never for lack of putting herself out there and letting the world in on her story. A new Taylor Swift album means new information to back up the rumors and paparazzi pictures that swirl throughout the era she's in. For 1989, she not-so-subtly opened up about her relationship with One Direction heartthrob Harry Styles. The songs "Style," "Out Of The Woods," "All You Had To Do Was Stay," "I Wish You Would," "I Know Places," "Wonderland," and essentially the entirety of the vault tracks are all rumored to be about Harry. And yes, that comprises a majority of the album. For someone like me who is a diehard Taylor, Harry, and One Direction fan, their entire relationship is deeply iconic to me. The two briefly dated from the end of 2012 to early 2013. "Haylor," though brief, left quite an impression. Besides an entire album being the subject of their time together, we also got songs like "Perfect" by One Direction and "Two Ghosts" by Harry, both rumored to be about Taylor, as well as wacky conspiracies and fandom jokes. "Out Of The Woods" somehow took a snowmobile accident and turned Taylor into an accomplice for vehicular manslaughter with Harry at the wheel. It also gave us the iconic paper airplane symbol recognized with the 1989 era, as Harry famously wore a necklace that included a charm of a paper airplane, which was then also spotted on Taylor. A picture of a somber-looking Taylor wearing a blue dress, sitting alone on a boat in the British Virgin Islands, opened the rumor floodgates that the couple had just broken up while on vacation. Pictures of Swift and Styles in Times Square on New Year's Eve brazenly kissing as the ball dropped at midnight swarmed the internet. And a date to the Central Park Zoo marked the beginning of a whirlwind romance. In the present day, Harry sits as one of the only exes to be on what appears to be good or at least pleasant terms with Taylor. The two were seen together again for the first time at the 2021 Grammys, where they were both nominated, and again at the 2023 ceremony; during both occasions, they happily greeted each other and briefly conversed. But their history wasn't done being explored yet when the Taylor's Version of 1989 was released.
On October 27, 2023, nine years after the original 1989 debuted, Taylor Swift released the Taylor's Version of 1989. This marked the fourth album to get re-released as part of the "Taylor's Version" re-recording project Taylor did in an effort to reclaim her previous work and masters. Five new songs "from the vault" were released as part of the Taylor's Version album of 1989. The original album cover and aesthetic featured Taylor as seen in Polaroid pictures, often wearing mini skirts and RayBans, against the backdrop of New York City. But with the Taylor's Version, the imagery showed Taylor at the beach. The OG album cover involved seagulls on her sweatshirt that were then carried into the new album cover with the iconic seagulls flying overhead. In my opinion, having these two versions really encapsulates the two central themes of the album. On one hand, it's about running around in the midst of New York City's bustling streets, but on the other, it's inherently summery and makes you want to drive around with the windows down. The 1989 vault tracks, to me, are the most solid vault track collection of any of the Taylor's Versions. Each song fits right in on the album and adds more depth to the stories already prevalent on the standard album. Am I biased because 1989 is my favorite album? Perhaps. But not only are the songs genuinely good, but, as I said, they also gave us more information to add to the narratives we already knew. In this era's case, that primarily has to do with Harry Styles. While Taylor and Harry were dating, and frankly, something that has been present during all of her relationships, the media made the relationship into such a frenzy and put such a microscope on them at all times. In "Slut!" and "Suburban Legends," Taylor sings about a relationship that is surrounded by rumors and gossip, but there's something about it that's magical and feels worth it, even though there's uncertainty. "Slut!" also calls back to "Blank Space" and the narrative surrounding Taylor being a boy-crazy psychopath by essentially saying that the world calling her a slut is worth it because of how good this relationship feels while also still commenting on how the media can label her as such, but she knows she isn't doing anything wrong. Whereas the other three vault tracks are a more direct link to their relationship. In the song "Say Don't Go," the lyrics evoke a sense of begging and questioning as to why this person left her when she was holding onto their relationship for dear life. The song was originally slated for the album but was shelved. Taylor had written the track with the legendary Diane Warren after Taylor had reached out to Diane in 2013. The song is similar to "All You Had To Do Was Stay" and is most likely why it was left off of the original album. Then you have "Now That We Don't Talk" which did hold the title for shortest Taylor Swift song, clocking in at two minutes twenty-six seconds, but was dethroned by "I Look In People's Windows," which is two minutes eleven seconds from The Tortured Poets Department in 2024. The song is direct, describing the strange feeling you get when you're no longer a part of someone's life. The lines "You grew your hair long and got new icons" are perceived to be about Harry, as he did grow out his hair, and the "new icons" refer to his plethora of tattoos. Finally, "Is It Over Now?" closes out the album by reopening the wounds sung about on the standard album. The infamous boat breakup and the snowmobile accident are lyrically addressed. Taylor also digs her knife in a little bit, calling out his tendency to date models, stay in the paparazzi's lenses, and be seen with girls who look like her. The remix feature of "Bad Blood" with Kendrick Lamar was also re-done for the album, as well as Taylor tacking on the re-recording of "Sweeter Than Fiction" with the vinyl release of the album.
For me, 1989 is pure gold. Since it came out, it's always been my favorite album, not only by Taylor but by anyone ever. I can't describe the all-encompassing feeling I have when listening to it. These songs seem to have been formulated just for me: the electric guitars, the catchy choruses, the passionate bridges, the delicious melodies, and the lyrics that allude to a deeply iconic pop culture relationship! When I hear the, excuse my French, slutty electric guitar when "Style" comes on, I genuinely feel like I'm having an out-of-body experience every single time. Though the relationship ended poorly, I think "You Are In Love" is the greatest love song ever and has always been what I imagine the first dance at my wedding would be to. And I don't know if Taylor knew it would happen, but "Welcome To New York" will now forever be a piece of the NYC experience alongside "Theme From New York, New York" and "Empire State of Mind." All of this is what makes up 1989 and is why it's had the unwavering success that it has. 1989 won three Grammys at the 58th ceremony in 2016: Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Music Video for "Bad Blood," and the biggest award of the night, Album of the Year. This made Taylor the first female solo artist to win the prestigious category twice after having won for Fearless in 2010. Among its accolades, 1989 remains a fixture of pop music and is why it's so often referred to as "the pop bible." Taylor's transition to pop music was brilliant, and kicking it off with this album was the perfect way to do so.
1989 encompasses the feeling of being young and living out on your own for the first time. Taking Polaroid pictures and chopping off all your hair. Galavanting through New York City and day-tripping to the beach. It all happens underneath the backdrop of the baby blue skies of summer. "New Romantics" is my favorite song of all time, and I think it acts as the mission statement of the album. So I leave you with these lyrics in hope of summarising the shimmering landscape that is 1989:
"Heartbreak is the national anthem; we sing it proudly.
We are too busy dancing to get knocked off our feet.
Baby, we're the New Romantics.
The best people in life are free."
Sources:
Zollo, Paul. “The Oral History of Taylor Swift’s ‘1989’ | Grammy.Com.” The Oral History of Taylor Swift’s “1989,”Grammy, 18 Feb. 2016, www.grammy.com/news/taylor-swift-1989-oral-history.
Barnes, Kelsey. “7 Ways Taylor Swift’s ‘1989’ Primed Her for World Domination | Grammy.” Grammys, 27 Oct. 2023, www.grammy.com/news/taylor-swift-1989-taylors-version-pop-stardom/.
