NaBloPoMo Day Seven: Deep Dives And Reactions: 1989 (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift.

 Welcome to... The post!

   So at long last, I'll be finally listening to 1989 (Taylor's Version)! So far I've heard the original album, Wildest Dreams (Taylor's Version), This Love (Taylor's Version), Blank Space (Taylor's Version), Is It Over Now? (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault), Clean (Taylor's Version) and the snippet of Bad Blood (Taylor's Version) that was featured in the movie, The DC League Of Superpets. My favorite song from the original is either Wonderland, You Are In Love, Style or Out Of The Woods!

   Also my ranking of the TVs is RED, Speak Now, Fearless so I'm interested to see how this changes that! Of the Vaults I haven't heard, I'm claiming Suburban Legends!

   Without further ado, let's listen!

   Welcome To New York (Taylor's Version):

Ah, Taylor teaching us once again how to start an album! This one is extremely similar to the original and an absolute bop! Welcome To New York is a song I'm guilty of sleeping on a lot, so maybe I'll stop now! 10/10.

   Blank Space (Taylor's Version):

So like I mentioned up there, I have heard this, but it was just barely, in freaking Wal-Mart... I really dig the percussion, it sounds sharper than the old one, which makes me excited for Shake It Off! The lyric videos for these are positively beautiful, they look like mini-movies! The vocals are great, stronger and more controlled than the old ones! Positively perfect! The seagulls having a fight is not what I expected out of this lyric video, but it's hilarious! 10/10.

   Style (Taylor's Version):

So I've heard this new version is different than the original, so I'm worried. And it is, the guitar sounds totally different and why is it layered under everything else? You can barely hear it! Then it just disappeared! The pre-chorus sounds different vocally, this whole song sounds different vocally. Chorus still hits but why did the iconic guitar riff have to bite the dust? Vocals are great if different. It's basically the whole Better Than Revenge (TV) situation... I think Taylor gets adventurous on one song per re-record and they suffer from it. Why mess with perfection? I don't remember what song from Fearless was this way because I frankly never listen to Fearless, but Girl At Home was tampered with and I was furious! 7.5/10.

   Out Of The Woods (Taylor's Version):

What are those synths in the intro? I do not remember anything like that in the original! The vocals are great, and I'm glad I already know the words because if I were depending on this video I'd be toast! When are people gonna realize that white on gray doesn't work? It's waking trauma from the Fearless (TV) back cover/tracklist. *Shudder*. Also, why did the "oh-woah-oh" come back in for a half a second then disappear? Whoever was running soundboard for this album must've forgot what they had on and where they were positioned... Also, now there's a teeny tiny fade out? That's new... 10/10.

   All You Had To Do Was Stay (Taylor's Version):

Another one of my lesser favorite songs. Maybe I'll like this better than the original... I've always felt weird for not loving this one because it seems like literally every other Swiftie adores it. It's definitely a bop, it just doesn't make it onto to my shuffle very often. I actually maybe like it more than I used to now! 10/10.

   Shake It Off (Taylor's Version):

The vocals sound very sharp, much cleaner than the original ones. I love and adore the Lyric Video, it looks so good and extremely 80s/90s! The whole instrumental track sounds great, which is the best part of this song, because it obviously isn't the lyrics (I'm sorry, but somebody had to say it)! As an overplayed, slightly annoying song, it's a very good version! Sounds like 2014 all over again! 9/10.

   I Wish You Would (Taylor's Version):

So this is my other favorite song from 1989 and I was very much looking forward to it! This is another beautiful lyric video! Fortunately, this one is pretty close to the original, except there's now an echo effect on the bridge, which sounds weird but not bad! Still can't believe this is the same woman who wrote folklore... 10/10.

   Bad Blood (Taylor's Version):

So I was very excited for this to come out after a snippet was released in The DC League Of Superpets movie (which was an enjoyable movie, but we're not talking about that today)! It's another one with great percussion that I've always loved the sound of! 10/10.

   Wildest Dreams (Taylor's Version):

Okay, so nostalgia! I still remember the morning after this dropped three years ago or whatever! I turned on my phone and opened YouTube and proceeded to fall over dead. I first thought it was a concept thingy that people edited but once I found out it was official, I was screaming! The lyric video is very nice, gives Lover fishbowl vibes! 9/10.

   How You Get The Girl (Taylor's Version):

Unpopular opinion, but I love this song, always have! I love the format and how it's actually about a girl wishing a guy would come back to her, but I kinda wish it was from the POV of the guy's girl best friend! This is another nice lyric video and me who's probably writing a fanfic around this, it's gorgeous! I'm glad the "oh-woah-oh-oh" vocal is still there in the bridge because those are ear candy! I wasn't like extremely worried of them getting taken out, but then their layered under so bad during the final chorus that we only really hear them the once. 10/10.

   This Love (Taylor's Version):

This one was less shocking when it dropped, but I still lost my mind! I still remember I was sitting in my room, scrolling my sub feed when I saw the announcement and then she dropped merch that was Speak Now and 1989 themed. We knew right then they'd be the next re-recordings, we just didn't realize how freaking long it'd take for them to come out! I remember myself and my Swiftie friend at that time went over this song with a fine toothed comb and found all the little differences! This is another song I'm probably basing a fanfic off and gosh, do I love it! One of the unsung heroes of the Taylor Swift discog to my notion! 10/10.

   I Know Places (Taylor's Version):

Okay, so I have always loved the sound of this song, it sounds like a Spy/Action movie of some sort! It's also the second most vocally challenging song in the discog (rivaled only by Cruel Summer). Especially the "we run" in the second chorus! I mean oh my goodness, how!? The control on that note! I can even sing the runs in a lower key but that one, yeesh! The lyric video is nightmare fuel though (my opinion, do not judge). 8/10.

   Clean (Taylor's Version):

I love Clean so much, it's one of the most poetic, beautiful things she's ever written! About three years ago now I fell into a toxic situationship that lasted until mid-2022 and to be healed from that now, finally clean from that person, is a beautiful thing. One of my favorite lyrics ever is "there was nothing left to do, when the butterflies turned to dust that covered my whole room. So I punched a whole in the roof." Ironically, the only time I've heard this before this was on the radio in a place that used to be frequented by me and he-who-shall-not-be-named, and you best believe I took it as a sign. The lyric video reminds me a lot of the Style video! 10/10.

   Wonderland (Taylor's Version):

We've arrived to the bonus tracks! I've always loved Wonderland and it used to be one I listened to all the time! I adore the piano, the bridge, the pre-chorus everything! I do think there should be some sort of warning on the lyric video because the movement made me sort of dizzy (but I had a headache anyway, so that could have something to do with it). Other than than the jerking and fast movement it was pretty. Also, the lyric is obviously "we both went mad" now, which makes sense in the context, but I sang it "bad" for the longest time (yes, I'm an idiot obviously, I wouldn't run a dead blog or any of the stupid stuff I do). The bridge doesn't feel as hype as it used to though, even though the lyric is more obvious. The original felt so crazy and fast and one of my favorite things to sing (current obsession: vocal flip in the chorus of Hozier's "Too Sweet"). 10/10.

   You Are In Love (Taylor's Version):

Okay, so I was so excited for this one, because it's a favorite! I also feel like this one is the most different vocally and whatever. Her phrasing is different, the harmonies on the verses, if they're even there, are almost unhearable. It feels even deeper and more emotional than the original version, maybe because she's experiencing it for real now instead of writing about an ill-fated union between two of her friends. 10/10.

   New Romantics (Taylor's Version):

Okay, so from the very beginning the "ahh-ah" in the beginning is almost nonexistent. Her vocals have a bite, which is cute. The chorus vocal track sounds like it's under the instrumental. I thought maybe it was because I had Dolby Atmos on my headphones, so I turned it off and it got worse. Whoever was controlling the volume and whatever for this album must've been crazy. The second "every day is like a battle" line is beautiful, new vocal we didn't hear in the original. I don't know, it just isn't as good. 9.5/10.

We are now entering the Vault Track segment of this post...

   "S(we're family friendly on here, come on, people)t" (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault):

Okay, so this is... Something. Wow, those synths are beautiful! I was screaming at "in a world of boys he's a gentleman"! Oh my gosh! It does make me wonder why the "Rose Garden Edition" of 1989 (Taylor's Version) isn't called the  Pink Flamingo edition. Oh man, I've listened to this three times in a row and good gosh, the more a listen the less it sounds like a song and the more it sounds like a journal entry from this hopeless romantic character I'm writing about. I also love how she's in love with guy but "you're not saying you're in love with me, but you're going to." Toes the line of psychotic and knowing the effect you have on people. 8/10.

   Say Don't Go (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault):

So YouTube decided to start playing Don't Blame Me before I could get back to the album so I had to have a moment. So this is also different, but definitely nice. Again, I'm screaming, but this time over "AND I'M YOURS BUT YOU'RE NOT MINE"! I have been there and it hurts like all heck. Unlike the last song, this one is very much one-sided. 10/10.

   Now That We Don't Talk (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault):

This feels like Taylor Swift is whispering in your ears. I love her freaking lower register. This was my freaking life a few years ago, WHERE WAS THIS SONG THEN!? Also, why the heck is it so short!? I was just getting really into it and it ended! Miss Ma'am, we kindly ask for the full version! 10/10.

   Suburban Legends (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault):

This feels like gold rush and Mastermind and it's beautiful! Again, reminds me of someone and again, I'm screaming "YOU KISS ME IN A WAY THAT'S GONNA SCREW ME UP FOREVER" and also "I BROKE MY OWN HEART CAUSE YOU WERE TOO POLITE TO DO IT"! Taylor please, I can't even handle this! No, you didn't come here to make friends. 10/10.

   Is it Over Now? (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault):

So the first and until today only Vault Track I'd heard. I thought that the others could not possibly be this good but man, was I ever wrong! Everything about this song is perfect; the instruments, *that part*, " if she's got blue eyes I will surmise that you'll probably date her", it's a drug! 10/10.

   And now, the moment we've all been waiting for, SWEETER THAN FICTION (TAYLOR'S VERSION)!!!!

So I managed to find a bootleg on YouTube because I thought I was gonna have to open and play my 1989 (Taylor's Version) (Tangerine Edition) LP (yes, I bought one and haven't listened to the album... Don't judge). I feel like I am one of the only Sweeter Than Fiction stans, so maybe this TV will make it more widely known. I remember sometime in like 2022 when I played this for literal hours trying to learn the words which means I sang every note right with Taylor! Who else can brag about that? (Okay, probably a lot of people but give me my moment). This is gorgeous and I really wish Taylor would've released it more widely. 10/10.

   The great sendoff...

Okay, so as soon as I finished listening to Sweeter Than Fiction, YouTube decided I wanted to listen to Fight Of Our Lives from Descendants: The Rise Of Red (which isn't a bad song, but wasn't what I would've chosen in the moment). So now, we have the total: 301. This one of the highest albums I've reviewed this year (which is of course, technically didn't come out this year, but we don't talk about that)...

   Before we get out of here, please stand and join me in screamsinging *that part* of Is It Over Now?!

   Did you think I didn't see you? There were flashing lights.

   At least I had the decency to keep my nights out of sight.

    Only rumors 'bout my hips and thighs and my whispered sighs,

   OH LORD

    I think about jumpin' off of very tall somethings, just to see you come runnin', (runnin'),

   And say the one thing, I've been wanting, but no...

   (That took freaking forever, but was so worth it)... Bye! 😎