Amira:
Freshman Amira Dossani’s fondest memory attached to the original 1989 album is recreating the “Shake It Off” music video with family on Thanksgiving. She also nostalgically recalls listening to the album with her two younger sisters and watching the videos, specifically “Blank Space” and “Shake It Off.” Her favorite songs from the original are “Out of the Woods,” “Wonderland,” and “This Love,” and she said this did not change after the re-release.
Dossani said most of the re-recorded songs sounded very similar to the originals, but “Out of the Woods” stood out as having a slightly different intro. She admitted that the album was a bit of a letdown for her. In her opinion, most of the Vault tracks, other than “Now That We Don’t Talk,” did not stand out or fit with the rest of the album.
Annelise:
Annelise Klenz, also a freshman, noted how connected she feels to the re-released album because of how powerful it was in 2014. She said the album is even more emotionally powerful among fans nine years later. She remembers listening to the original 1989 with her sister the night it was released at just nine years old.
She considers the Vault tracks to be somewhat different from the overall theme of the original album, saying that they seem to more accurately reflect Swift’s genuine feelings at the time of writing as opposed to sticking to the pop, upbeat, and dance-y vibe of the other songs. Her favorite songs are “I Wish You Would,” “I Know Places,” and “Wildest Dreams,” and her favorite of the Vault tracks is “Now That We Don’t Talk.”
Liam:
Freshman Liam Fay-LeBlanc said he associates the original 1989 with his very first memories of Taylor Swift, of whom he is now a big fan. His favorite tracks from the original are “Blank Space,” “All You Had To Do Was Stay,” and “Welcome To New York.”
When he heard the re-recording, he was initially disappointed by songs he thought were worse than the originals, like “Out Of The Woods” and “Blank Space,” but he found that there were also some songs he liked better than the originals, like “Wonderland” and “How You Get The Girl.” As for the Vault tracks, he said he likes “Is It Over Now?” and “Suburban Legends,” but was disappointed by the re-recording of the “Bad Blood” remix featuring Kendrick Lamar.
Abigail & Mary Amelia:
Freshmen roommates Abigail Reuter and Mary Amelia Weiss are both big fans of 1989 (Taylor’s Version). Abigail’s favorite songs on the album are “Out of the Woods” and “Style,” and Mary Amelia’s favorite is “New Romantics.” Mary Amelia shared her memories of listening to the 2014 version of the album with her dad while decorating for Christmas, as well as attending the 1989 World Tour. Both Swifties love the Vault song “Is It Over Now.” However, the pair also agrees that the vocal maturity of the re-release makes the listener feel less connected to the raw emotions of the album.
Regardless of the mixed reactions towards the album, you cannot deny that–with this re-release–Swift continues to solidify her legacy as one of the most decorated and well-known singer-songwriters of this generation. We are excited to see what she has in store next for the Swifties as kicks off her international leg of the Eras tour.