Taylor Swift, the woman who has turned the music industry upside down with the re-release of the albums that built her career, is also the mastermind behind the album that cured the heartbreak caused by my first-semester situationship.
Red (Taylor’s Version) brought together not just the original Taylor Swift listeners, but the new die-hard fans who broke free from the 2016 rumor mill and are now spending thousands on Eras Tour tickets. The album was released in the Fall of 2022 and is still one of my most listened-to albums, especially in the fall months. It’ll make you cry, dance, laugh, and want to curl up with a blanket and cup of tea with a fall candle and Gilmore Girls playing in the background. Â
Now that we’re transitioning from the scorching summer months to the breeze-chilled fall months, it’s time to bring out the music that puts me in that perfect fall mood. With its refreshed sound and grown-up vocals, this album is full of songs ranging from the screaming with your girlfriends “f*ck men” pop songs like “22 (Taylor’s Version)” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (Taylor’s Version)” to the ones that will make you relive the most tragic of heartbreaks such as “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” and “The Last Time feat. Gary Lightbody (Taylor’s Version).” Whichever song you choose to play, you are bound to feel a mixture of emotions you may not know how to cope with!Â
My personal favorite from this album is “Treacherous (Taylor’s Version),” a song that dives into the precarious slope of a relationship that you know is ruinous, but you can’t help but fall into it over and over again. This is the song I play as I walk to class, the wind blowing through my hair and the smell of pumpkin wafting off my skin. Is listening to a song about a toxic relationship that I’ll never get back healthy for me? Nope! But I’m going to keep doing it anyway!Â
The song most people know from this album is “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version),” and with the creation of this album, Swift released a 10-minute version of the song titled “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version) (10 Minute Version).” This is the song I would consider the most cinematic on this album, with its constant motion and detailed narrative, as it allows you to play out that one relationship in your head that you will never, ever get over! But if you’re looking for a quick cry-sesh, consider playing the original version.
This album is nothing new, but this perspective might be the one you need to finally embrace the fall feeling I anticipate all year with an album as good as this one. As you wait for that one situationship to become a “Better Man,” you can cope with the heartbreak through songs that feel like a warm blanket and a hot cup of tea on even the coldest of fall days.Â