red (jordan's version)
remembering how this album made me feel comes in flashbacks and echoes.....
âmusically and lyrically, red resembled a heartbroken person. it was all over the place. a fractured mosaic of feelings that all fit together in the end. happy, free, confused, lonely, devastated, euphoric, wild, and tortured by memories past.â
the year is 2012. autumn leaves have begun falling down like pieces into place. i am a freshman in college. ed sheeran (via one direction) has not yet told girls everywhere that he will love them regardless of their fat ass. mayans say the world is ending in a little over one month. things at home are not great and trying to find where i belong socially is hard. i went to a tiny pre-k through 12th grade christian school; my graduating class had maybe 30 kids in it. i am still nursing wounds of a breakup that makes me still feel that sharp ping of loss if i think about it (or the song breathe.) i feel lost. i somehow am convinced to become the secretary of the international business club although i am neither an international student nor a business major. but taking notes twice a week gives me a sense of purpose i have been longing for.
while being a taylor swift fan has been a complicated journey throughout the years, her pen has rarely been the problem for me. i loved her original demos and actually recorded i heart question mark from the radio onto a cassette1. her debut album came out when i was 13, so i was certainly Feeling it mr. krabs. she wove stories that felt so personal to her yet had enough traces of familiarity i could be the Main Character at disney world, crying in mouse ears listening to tied together with a smile on my iPod.
after speak now, i felt a sort of disconnect from the old chop up the beat taylor that would not be fully recognised/solidified until the reputation/white supremacy queen era. taylor is often overlooked as a child star so although her transition to Adult involved less risqué magazine covers or foam fingers, she still was offered very little room to grow into herself that we eventually were able to see traces of in folklore and evermore (and woodvale.)
there are many secrets she now keeps close to her chest now after being burned by the media and friends. RED was the last time she really Played The Game and let us âfullyâ into the world she creates with her music. when i heard her say she had modelled her latest album after joni mitchellâs blue, i knew i would love this album and i still think it is my favourite of hers. even though i think she was writing about something lgbt happening to her, jake gyllenhaal being the brunt of all the jokes and memes and taylorâs infamous secret liner notes is probably what he deserves!
regardless of who inspired the lyrics, the feeling of falling in love HARD and falling out even harder is universal. some days you can begin again and some days you remember it all too well. taylor was almost 23 when this album first dropped and now she is nearly 32. she has certainly lived more life since its original release so i think her time and ability to dig into some of these concepts in 2021 will really be a Moment and outlive even liza minelli.
red is joy. red in pain. red is hurt. red is hope. and much like shrek, red is life. in a few hours, we will have taylorâs version! but before we can even think about phoebe bridgers or chris stapleton entering the red cinematic universe, we must take a (paparazzi accompanied) stroll down memory laneâŠ..
state of grace (I LOVE YOU DOESNâT COUNT AFTER GOODBYE): taylor never imagined falling in love with dianna agron was on the table and yetâŠ.
we fall in love âtil it hurts or bleeds or fades in time
red (SAG): crushes are so important!!! falling in love is fun!!! but past the honeymoon phase, an actualised very real person is there and sometimes That is not fun :-( you know the stove will burn you if you touch it, but the RED glow is so compelling sometimesâŠ.also how funny that her/him have the same amount of syllables and sometimes in concert it sounds like she is singing them instead of him ;-)
loving him is like trying to change your mind while youâre already falling through the freefall
treacherous (WONâT STOP UNTIL ITâS OVER): all we are IS skin and bone trained to get along?!?!? yeah, something lgbt definitely happened to taylor swiftâŠ..
i canât decide if itâs a choice; getting swept away
i knew you were trouble (WHEN YOU SAW ME DANCING): who else remembers when this remix stopped the world
and the saddest fear comes creeping in that she never loved me or her or anyone or anything. YEAH!
all too well (MAPLE LATTES): the most glorious of holy track fives. sorry but this is a perfect song. if this song was my man, i would be sticking beside him. my only note on this song is that it should have come out when aim was still a thing because it is packed to the brim with perfect away messages. taylor and jake were *together* for three months & she wrote thisâŠ. her mind is truly so powerful. mining these storybook-esque memories trying to pinpoint their downfall but only finding crinkly leaves, a missing scarf, and tear stained cheeks.
and i might be okay but iâm not fine at all
you tell me about your past thinking your future was me
you call me up again just to break me like a promise, so casually cruel in the name of being honest
iâm a crumpled up piece of paper lying here because i remember it all too well
time wonât fly; itâs like iâm paralysed by it. iâd like to be my old self again but iâm still trying to find it
22 (ASHLEY DIANNA CLAIRE SELENA): ah, to be 22 again without a care in the world with nothing to do but make music and hang out with my closest supermodel and gorgeous hollywood superstar besties!
whoâs taylor swift anyway? ew.
i almost do (WROTE THIS INSTEAD OF CALLING): although i think all too well is taylorâs best song she has ever made, i almost do is probably my favourite. this is what rizzo would sing if grease was actually starring teens
i bet it never, ever occurred to you that i canât say hello to you and risk another goodbye
we are never getting back together (WHEN I STOPPED CARING WHAT YOU THOUGHT): a lot of people use the phrase in some iteration âwhy is nobody talking about thisâ when referring to something that absolutely everybody is talking about. but i genuinely think as a society nobody is talking enough about the fact that 1. mumford and sons did a train tour which is actually exactly what it sounds like 2. before he was penning the ted lasso theme song, marcus mumford was bullying jake gyllenhaal to join him on aforementioned tour 3. jake gyllenhaal could not be bothered to attend taylorâs birthday party but could live on trains for a couple of weeks? yeah, i could write a few scathing songs about That myself so i understand where taylor is coming fromâŠ..but i think i may actually hate this song?? i hear that first strum and i skip. that being said, this song paved the way for taylor to leave nashville and head to new york so there is that.
this is exhausting.
stay stay stay (DAYDREAMING ABOUT REAL LOVE): this song is dangerously cringe/corny but i respect it! this is one of the only songs on the album not tarnished by what has been and instead focuses on the possibility of what could be.
itâs been occurring to me that i would like to hang out with you for my whole life
the last time ft. gary lightbody (LA ON YOUR BREAK): i think people sleep on this song and hope taylorâs version will shake the girlies awake!!!!
you wear your best apology but i was there to watch you leave
holy ground (WHEN YOU CAME TO THE SHOW IN SD): yeah this is about the guy who starred in bubble boy! sure, jan!!!! taylor entering her horny era alert
we blocked the noise with the sound of âi need youâ and for the first time, i had something to lose.
sad beautiful tragic (WHILE YOU WERE ON A TRAIN): this song is perfect for staring out of a window, indulging your Main Character Syndrome
youâve got your demons and darling they all look like me
the lucky one (WOULDNâT YOU LIKE TO KNOW): if thereâs nothing missing in my life then why do these tears come at night??????
and they tell you that youâre lucky but you just feel confused because you donât feel pretty; you just feel used
everything has changed (HYIANNIS PORT): green eyes and freckles and your smileâŠ.
everything has changed. all i found is a newfound [state of] grace
starlight (FOR ETHEL): looking at a picture and writing a song about it is cool & all but for me, not even the last great american dynasty can touch vampire weekendâs diane young when it comes to songs about The Kennedys (unless it is big seanâs idfwy which i reject is about naya rivera and personally feel it to be about chris pratt)
donât you dream impossible things?
begin again (I WEAR HEELS NOW): i think it is probably because of the âhe didnât like it when i wore high heels but i doâ line but this song has always made me think of nicole kidman
i think stay stay stay is still the only truly positive song on the album because this one is so hinged on reflecting back on the bitterness. too busy focusing on remembering the rain to focus on the brilliance of the rainbow or whatever
iâve been spending the last eight months thinking all love ever does is break and burn and end
the moment i knew: aly and ajâs potential breakup songâs little sister!!! the way this song spoke to my pisces soul and i had my target deluxe cd on loop of this song. it is not incredible vocally or even lyrically but it is so brutal and raw. like my sister was EMBARRASSED!!! to let a man embarrazz you in front of your friends while wearing red lipstick AND your party dressâŠon your birthday, your fucking birthday!?!?! truly nothing worse than gassing someone up to your friends only to have them pull some dumb shit like this. this is why jake gyllenhaal deserves the smoke. her birthday!!!!
you called me later and said âiâm sorry i didnât make itâ and i said âiâm sorry, tooâ and that was the moment i knew
come backâŠ.be here: this song walked so needy by ariana grande could sprintâŠinto every playlist i have ever made since it came out
if iâd known then what i know now, i never would have played so nonchalant. taxi cabs and busy streets that never bring you back to me. i canât help but wish you took me with you
girl at home: donât look at ME because i do not think i have ever played this song in its entirety more than once
honey, iâm nobodyâs exception
taylorâs version of red will feature 11 new songs, some from the vault and others have been collected from that time period. ronan is one of the songs taylor has previously released but never made it to an album. originally only released as a charity single, the song is based on ronan thompson who died from neuroblastoma at 3 years old. his mom, maya, is credited as a co-writer on the song because taylor used the blog she runs as inspirations for the lyrics. this was the moment taylor became an Artist for me because this song captured their story so painfully well. it is still my number one song i put on if i am in need of a good cry!
âred was an album of heartbreak and healing, of rage and rawness, of tragedy and trauma, and of the loss of an imagined future alongside someone. i wrote ronan while I was making red and discovered your story as you so honestly and devastatingly told it. my genuine hope is that youâll agree with me that this song should be included on this album. as my co-writer and the rightful owner of this story in its entirety, your opinion and approval of this idea really matters to me, and iâll honor your wishes here.â -taylorâs email to ronanâs mom
although better man was little big townâs song, every aspect of it sounds like a Classic taylor song so i am glad it is rejoining its sisters on taylorâs red. not as glad as i am about the ten minute version of all too well that is now a short film starring my man dylan oâbrien!!!!
another old song making its taylor debut is babe which originally debuted on sugarlandâs discography. curious how it is only 3:35 yet its music video is 4:40, the same run time as sam smithâs iâm not the only one which stars dianna agron. both music videos have very similar plots and cinematography but only babeâs treatment was by taylor swift a year after the music video for sam smithâs best song came out. inch resting.
but i digress. tonight is taylorâs night and tomorrow there is a massive chance britney spears will be freed from her conservatorship. for once, herstory will be able to rewrite itself! i know people are gunning for 1989 to be the next re-record but i hope it is reputation because we need a taylorâs version soundtrack for britneyâs revenge era as her lawyer mathew rosengart holds everyone accountable for what they thought they got away with. between document requests from rosengart and lawsuits from the victims of astroworld, i know lou taylor will certainly not be the only one checking for the getaway carâŠ..
grab your iced vegan sugar cookie lattes (maple lattes are so 2011) and letâs see if this yeehaw2 blast from the past can bring!!!
let the record show (to taylorâs lawyers) i no longer have access to that cassette and have never reposted it anywhere!!!
michelle branch and taylor swiftâs country eras are very integral to who i am!!!!!