Her fifth album, 1989 came out today. Ever since I woke up this morning I just wanted to run out to Target and get my hands on it. And guess what my impulsive self did,
Sorry this is flipped. :p
I've been a devoted Swiftie for years now. I remember seeing a girl wearing a Taylor shirt at school and thinking it was Carrie Underwood. (Don't even ask.) It was a t-shirt from her very first album.
That girl on that t-shirt became one of my biggest inspirations. Seeing a tall, curly-haired girl be successful and live her dreams was just amazing. I remember sitting on the couch for hours watching her music videos and tour videos. I listened to her songs on repeat all the time. I remember the first time I bought one of her albums. It was Fearless, I bought it with my own money around Thanksgiving and was so excited. My mom let me listen to it on the way home from South Carolina. I always loved listening to the country-based music and the beautiful words Taylor wrote. I remember asking if anyone would let me have their copy of Taylor Swift because I didn't have any cash to buy it. (I finally bought it myself. Don't worry, I didn't steal anyone's CD.)
I now have all of her albums. I've seen her in concert twice. I know every word to every song. I have spent so many hours in my room and in my car singing along to her songs. I smelled like "Wonderstruck" my whole freshman year of high school. I remember when I first saw her in concert and just stared in awe of how amazing of a performer she is. I remember seeing her on the Red Tour with Bre and crying once the lights went down. I danced and sang at the top of my lungs. (I ruined all of my concert videos because all you can hear on them is me singing like a dragon.) Her songs have always helped me through situations in my life. I am so happy that there are now 16 new songs to add to that list.
This beauty. THIS BEAUTY. First things first, I am in love with the design of the album. The "1989" written in a marker just makes the album seem personal. It's like, "hey I made this for you." I love it. It's like a mixtape or something. I just like how it's not like, "hey I'm polished and perfect." It looks so personal like I just snapped that picture of Taylor while we were goofing around playing photoshoot. (We all did that and you know it.) I just love the personality.
The inside of the album is just beautiful. The font of the song titles in the booklet is so cool. It's like neon lights. How rad. There are still secret messages in the lyrics like always. But in this album there's a little yellow pocket of polaroids with lyrics on them. Let's have a look see.
How fun are these?! They feel like old family photos to me. I feel like we are on the adventure with her and it's absolutely wonderful. The lyrics are handwritten at the bottom of the polaroids and it's just so cool. I love it. One of the polaroids was taken a day after my birthday and I had a momentary freak out. (I'm okay now.)
Now let's get to them tunes!
First, I just wanted to say that "Shake It Off" makes me cry every time I hear it when driving home from school. That song has helped me through college and all of this crazy transition.
If you're looking for Taylor's country-esque sounds and slow banjo solos, this isn't your album. But don't let that scare you away. There is still the Taylor Swift stamp on it. It still sounds like her. This album is pop, and it's fantastic. I'm listening to it as I'm writing this and it's beautiful. Her song-writing skills are heaven-sent. God definitely blessed that girl with a way with words. It tugs at your heart strings and can make you dance at the same time. It's lovely. I love her vocabulary. I feel like when some people hear "pop music" they think of cheesy, teeny-bopper tunes, but this is definitely not that. The lyrics make you think and bob your head. I just love it so much. I just want to run door to door in my dorm building right now and slip them a copy of the album under their door. It's that good.
I know all of this is coming from a huge TSwizzle fan, but seriously, listen to this album if you are a fan or if you're not a fan. I'm sure you'll find one thing that you like. It's that good. Like, if this album played as the background music of my life for the rest of my life I'd be completely okay with that.
My current favorite on the album is "Style, and "You Are In Love," though I'm sure that'll change as I listen to the rest of the songs. They're that good.
My ultimate dream is to meet Taylor and tell her these things. Tell her all the stories. Tell her how many times I cried listening to her songs and how many times I danced by myself in my bedroom to them. How much she felt like the best friend I never really had. Thank her for understanding even though she doesn't know me. One day I know it'll happen. I have a good feeling someday it will.
But for now, I'll listen to 1989 on repeat until I am 89.
"I could build a castle out of all the bricks they threw at me." Favorite lyric on the album so far.
Rachel xx
(p.s. I recommend getting the deluxe version of the album if you can. There are bonus tracks and 3 voice memos of when she first thought of the songs. It's like she's talking to you and it's wonderful.)
No comments:
Post a Comment