Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour starting up, my friend has been pushing all Taylor songs to the top of every car ride queue. As this feels like a “final destination” to the end of an era (haha get it?), I have decided to let impulse take over my better judgment. So, as a passive listener to Taylor Swift, I have decided to put myself through some form of punishment, and listen to every song Taylor Swift has sang … ever.
I have officially ruined my Spotify wrapped for this year.
“But Klaudia, it’s only April! How could you have done that?!?”
Well, if you listen to a playlist of every song Taylor Swift has ever sung, I think it would take over your Spotify wrapped too.
Taylor Swift has 18 hours and 13 minutes of officially released music that is currently on Spotify. To be more specific, I found a Spotify playlist created by a user named Frankie, with the music added in an orderly fashion that I didn’t have to create myself. This playlist includes:
- each album
- any remixes/versions of songs from said album
- Christmas specials (yes, I know it’s April, thank you very much)
- studio recordings
- movie/show tunes that she was a part of
- only some live concert recordings
- any song she has been featured in
I do want to specify that albums she has re-released under (Taylor’s Version) replaced the originals. This was due to the fact that she does not own the masters of these albums. Her old record label, Big Machine Records, kept all of the masters of the albums she recorded with them before she switched labels in 2018, which includes Debut, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation. The problem occurred when these albums were sold by Big Machine to a private equity-group called Ithaca Holdings, which is owned by music manager Scooter Braun. Braun later sold these masters off for an alleged $300 million to another company, Shamrock Holdings, in 2019. Conclusively, Taylor does not own her own music, and any money made off of those masters go to Braun.
We do not support this kind of music-publishing slander, and we will not be listening to the stolen originals for this reason. Instead, Taylor made a powerful move, and decided to re-record these songs, slightly altering the way they sound, and adding (Taylor’s Version) to the end of the titles. She now officially owns Fearless (Taylor’s Version), and Red (Taylor’s Version), and all fans are encouraged to listen to these instead, as they are rightfully owned by Taylor Swift.
Now that we have cleared that up, let’s continue!
Here’s another question you might ask me: “Why would you do this to yourself for a silly little article?”
Well, with Taylor’s Eras Tour starting up, my Swift-obsessed friend has been talking about it non-stop. She has been taking over every car ride playlist with her favorite Taylor songs, and to be honest, they were kind of rubbing off on me.
So, because I am an avid music listener, and a current music minor, I believe it is my civic duty to share my opinions on Taylor’s music. Let’s get into my very honest, and slightly comedic review of every album, and all of the extra stuff sprinkled in-between:
Debut
So fucking good, probably in my top favorites as an album. You can just hear how young she sounds in this, it’s actually crazy. I like how she really had that country/pop sound to her, and somehow always comes back to those roots in some of her songs in later albums.
I honestly cannot WAIT until she releases a (Taylor’s Version) of this album. Our Song is just *chef’s kiss* ya know?
TS Holiday Collection
Will be listening to these during the Christmas season, they’re actually pretty good.
Fearless (Taylor’s Version)
Iconic. Literally show-stopping. Love Story is such a great song to the point where it chemically engraved itself in my brain. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is what raised the standards of romance within the teen population of 2008.
And of course we can’t forget You Belong With Me, and the title track, Fearless … these are all head bopping, dancing around the room kind of songs that everyone needs.
Sprinkle
I loved Hannah Montana, and Crazier was just such a good song.
Also, there was a Should’ve Said No version with the Jonas Brothers … and I was a bit shocked to hear them all from the Camp Rock Era of their days. Gave me war flashbacks back to that dramatic time of 2008 … I was only 5, but when I watched it a few years later, you KNOW I was crushing on Nick Jonas, with his adorable curly hair and guitar rizz skills.
Speak Now
I didn’t really know this album existed, but it is actually really good.
I learned Enchanted is on this album, which seems to be a top favorite from my TS obsessed friend. I mean … I don’t go Cuckoo for CoCoa Puffs for this song like she does, but the part that I always hear on Tiktok is nice.
Storytime: when Taylor played Enchanted as one of her surprise songs at one of the first concerts of the tour … lets say my friend went through hell and back that night. (you can hear more about this in the podcast where I will be interviewing said friend, Michala!!)
Also, the deluxe edition of this album had one song called Superman, and I really enjoyed it.
More Sprinkles
Both of Us ft. Taylor Swift … First off, why is the main artist called B.o.B? I’m genuinely very curious, but I refuse to look it up. Anyways, the beginning of the song was actually really good … but 39 seconds in, there was a rap breakdown, and I wanted the song to be over … a version without the rap would be much appreciated.
Highway Don’t Care caught my attention because I saw the name Tim McGraw in the credits. I wonder how big of a dream it must have been to sing a song with Tim McGraw after Taylor named her first song of her first album after him … just … wow.
Red (Taylor’s Version)
I think this tops all other albums she has. There are just so many phenomenal songs in this album that racked up a lot of space in my mind. While listening to the album, I couldn’t sing the original version of All Too Well because the 10 minute version has me at a choke hold.
… and he was tossing me the car keys FUCK THE PATRIARCHYYYYYYY keychain on the ground, we were always skipping town …
I think this song made all of us hate Jake Gyllenhaal with every ounce of our hearts. I am not a hardcore fan, but I know the whole 10 minute version by heart, just so I can scream it in my car with the windows down, hair blowing and everything.
Safe And Sound has been and will be my #1 favorite song that Taylor has ever made. I used to watch the music video with my mom on repeat when it first came out. We were both just entranced by the music, and the cinematography of the music video.
Even More Sprinkles
I think it is so silly that there was a sad girl autumn version of All Too Well made … I love how she made a version of this song with the soul purpose to deliver the vibes of a sad girl in autumn (i don’t even like this version, the normal one just slaps).
1989
She’s not bad, but there are some good bops in here.
I am a major Harry Styles fan, so the fact that Style could be (definitely is) about him just bumps this song up to the top.
My cousin had an obsession over Shake It Off and used to make little concerts where she would sing it for us over and over and over … and over … non-stop. At one point, she did one of these little concerts at this house we rented out in Wildwood with her headphones on and made sure to huddle everyone into the same room … when I say I made a complete fit and tried to run away because I hated the song so much … I was able to knock her off her pedestal for just a little bit.
So yeah, I have a bit of a vendetta against that song …
(the rest were forgettable … not that they were bad, but I literally forgot what they sounded like)
A Tiny Sprinkle
I Don’t Wanna Live Forever with ZAYN is literally so good … Zayn’s voice is scrumdiliumptious, and no one can tell me otherwise.
Reputation
Again, I said I would be completely honest, and this is probably at the bottom of my list.
I don’t really like the tecno vibe.
The songs are good, I just personally think her voice doesn’t fit them like they should.
A Bigger Sprinkle
There were two Spotify Sessions recorded … Delicate and September.
I was actually startled when September came on. I was just expecting the songs to stay in the more pop genre of music when ALL OF A SUDDEN I hear a banjo out of nowhere (like I said, her country roots always creep back). It also never crossed my mind that Taylor would do a cover of Earth, Wind, and Fire’s hit song September, but here we are.
There were two different remixes for Delicate, and they were just too flashy (the original version is better).
Lover
I hate Lover so much. There are a couple of good ones in there, but I can’t stand it. I almost quit this whole thing because I didn’t think I could get through this album. It just doesn’t satisfy my ears enough … I had a very long break once I struggled to hit the halfway point of this album.
I honestly can’t even remember how any of the songs sounded, I think I just mentally blocked them out from existence.
Giant Ass Sprinkle
There is quite a bit to unpack here.
Why is it that Taylor Swift was in Cats: The Musical??? And why in my right mind do I actually like both of the songs she sings for it?
I also think it was unnecessary to add the Live from Paris versions of Lover in here. I was already suffering through the whole album, and you want to repeat it AGAIN?!?!?!?!
Folklore
Ok, now we’re getting somewhere; this sounds like a Taylor album. I really liked the whole vibe. The wispiness of it is very mellow, and it hits this deep feeling in my heart. The darker tones the songs have just seem like they would perfectly scratch the depths of my hollow heart during the winter.
Folklore Long Pond Studio Sessions
Yes, I basically listened to the album twice. Some of the long pond recordings actually created this unexplainable melancholy, yet comforting feeling. Cardigan and Seven are definitely my favorites from this album.
Evermore
I love love LOVE willow with my whole heart. This song just pulls at my heart in a way I didn’t know was possible. This song makes me want to run around in a forest, sit in a tree and read to my heart’s content, and just feel completely at peace with myself.
I love this song so much, I was actually looking forward to the different versions at the end because they were all willow. What made it even better was that each version was better than the last. The names made me love them even more: dancing witch version, lonely witch version, and moonlit witch version (the 90’s remix doesn’t count, it sucked booty hole)
Sprinkle On The Go
Renegade … When I first saw the name of this song, I thought I was going to be listening to the Renegade song we ALL knew. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised with a song that wasn’t horrible!
There were two more songs within this sprinkle, The Joker And The Queen and Carolina that were also pretty enjoyable (Carolina is definitely growing on me; it has the same vibe as Folklore, and I reeeeaalllyyyy liked that album).
Midnights
*Sigh* … it’s okayyyyy. A few of these are good, but I still love her older songs more.
However, I do have to say that Snow on the Beach featuring Lana Del Ray was otherworldly.
A Very Unnecessary Sprinkle
There is an UNGODLY amount of remixes/versions of Anti-Hero and Lavender Haze, I can’t even explain to you how fast I got sick of hearing it over and over again. When I thought it was done, I heard it start up again, but only with a very slight or super dramatic difference in some form.
We are now nearing the end.
Oh, you’re still here? I’m so glad you made it!
When I tell you I almost cried of joy when I finished this playlist, I basically did. Or at least my ears did. My phone is overheated, and my ears yearn to hear my specially crafted playlist that took me years to fabricate.
Let me just preface this by saying, listening to Taylor Swift was not a “punishment.” I only put that in the article’s header to see how many Taylor fans socks I could knock off.
I really do like Taylor Swift, she seems like an amazing person. She makes her fans tons of content, and gives them little easter eggs all throughout the process to keep them engaged. I have always heard her songs either on the radio, or have even played them myself. Some honorable mentions to this are Love Story, Our Song, All Too Well, and some others here and there.
I just have a different taste in music, and just because my opinion is different from others, it does not discern the fact that Taylor is a phenomenal songwriter, singer, and performer.
HOWEVER
If you would like to hear more about this, I will be interviewing my friend, Michala, on her love for Taylor Swift on our For Loco podcast!
Before I sign off, I also wanted to add a playlist I made on Spotify of the Taylor songs I liked. After listening to EIGHTEEN HOURS AND THIRTEEN MINUTES of her music, there is no way I would remember my favorites by heart if I didn’t put them in one cohesive spot … they would all probably meld together into the same thing in my head.
I hope you like Mine … it’s Nothing New, but Don’t Blame Me if this isn’t the 1 you enjoy 😉
SOURCES
https://time.com/5949979/why-taylor-swift-is-rerecording-old-albums/
https://www.goodto.com/entertainment/why-is-taylor-swift-rerecording-her-albums-which-album-next
