Taylor Swift's 1989 not the evolution I had anticipated

Taylor Swift just keeps getting better.

Or at least that's what I was going to write in a lamentation about the fact that every time she puts out a new album I lose the ability to listen to anything she's released prior. It was a disease in which I likened Swift to Pokemon.

Yes, Pokemon.

Each record was a new evolution. When Fearless came out, Swift's self-titled debut couldn't compete anymore. It was the same thing with Speak Now - which would turn out to be the Squirtle of TSwift albums. But Red... Red was something else. Red was Wartortle. And when you have a Wartortle, who wants to go back to Squirtle? Swift was evolving constantly with every new record, and so it was no surprise that with all the hype surrounding 1989, I was expecting Blastoise.

I was anticipating a level of perfection that would make me toss Red into the pile with its predecessors. And knowing my history with Swift's albums, how unlistenable all others become when she gifts the world a new collection of music, I almost wanted to hold off on 1989. I wanted to hang on to Red a little longer.

But come on, this is Blastoise.

I bid farewell to Red and thanked it for All Too Well on repeat, Begin Again in the dark with my headphones on, I Almost Do pumping into my ears during walks around my neighborhood. Then I loaded 1989 on my iPod and waited to join the masses of those salivating over each electronically produced note.

And then I kept waiting. And I waited some more. And I got there eventually, but not until the three bonus songs on the deluxe version.

Let me be clear: I don't dislike this album. I'll probably listen to it regularly, and there are a few tracks that'll likely end up on repeat at some time. That is, if I can remember which ones they are.

When I finished my first complete listen of all the tracks, I was trying to pick out my favorites. Trying to decide which songs I wanted to go back and listen to. And that's when I realized the problem, they just weren't distinct enough for me to even remember what I liked and what I liked a little bit less. And that was disappointing to me given how much love surrounded this release.

And now, on my second or third listen I'm having those ah-ha moments, those "oh yeah, this was the song that I kind of liked, let me check the name of it so I don't forget again" thoughts. And the song in question was I Wish You Would, if you were interested. Which I know now, and will likely only immediately remember it because I'm writing about it. (Edit: While I was re-reading this before publishing, I kind of laughed at his paragraph when I realized that I in fact had forgotten the song.)

I just didn't experience this with Red. Red was distinguishable from one track to the next, whereas 1989 kind of all seems to flow into one really long song for the most part.

Or maybe I'm just bitter because I was expecting Bad Blood to be the Mew of Swift songs (if we're still on the whole Pokemon thing here), knowing that she's a self-proclaimed expert at revenge, and it lyrically and musically fell flat to me.

But because I really wanted to love 1989, let me shift my focus to the deluxe songs I mentioned earlier, the area where I think she shines. Wonderland, You Are in Love, and New Romantics are my three favorite songs on the album by far - both musically and lyrically. I can't deny my love for the whole subtle Alice in Wonderland theme in the first song, and the last one is just as fun, but it's You Are In Love that redeems the entire album for me.

Maybe it's because there aren't many of those soft songs on an album that sounds like it's entire purpose was to be radio-friendly (which I'm not saying is a terrible thing, by the way), maybe it's because it's just beautiful, I don't know, but I'm loving it. Everything about it.

These are just immediate reactions, and I can almost guarantee that more songs, if not the entire album, will grow on me in time. It's already started happening as I continue to listen. I'm a fan of Swift's music, but I'm not one of those people who can hear her mutter any sound and think it's automatically perfection. I guess the bottom line is that I like this album, I really do, but it didn't blow me away the way I expected it to.

1989 is a new-ish area for Swift, a completely non-country area. So in a way, maybe it's a little bit unfair to be expecting another evolution. Maybe I'm not going to be battling my enemies with Blastoise, but I'm content to grab a Charmander and start leveling up again. And I'll look on the bright side - we've got a new side of Swift and some good music to go along with it, and I've finally broken that routine I was in: so if you'll excuse me, Red is calling.