1989 vs 1989?
When Ryan Adams’ track-by-track, acoustic cover album of Taylor Swift’s 1989 debuted last month, it landed at No. 7 on the US Billboard 200 chart, offered listeners a hope-eroding, alternative interpretation of Swift’s lyrics, and created a question that lingered into the back of everyone’s minds-which version was better? Both sides made strong cases. Clearly Swift’s generic pop songs were transformed into beautiful odes by Adams’ acoustic version, and obviously Adams' musical “stunt” could never surpass the original, as sung by Swift. The problem with this line of thinking is that it defeats the purpose of what both of these albums achieve together.
In Defense of Taylor Swift
I was once a proud and vocal protester of Swift and her hopeless-in-love, cheerleaders suck, guys are jerks shtick. Then she released 1989. The maturity she displayed in her latest album was finally able to convince me that she was no longer the clueless, immature girl who once sang about wanting a relationship similar to Romeo and Juliet, while calling herself a scarlet letter. With 1989, Swift takes a more adult stance and perspective when discussing romantic relationships- the heavy weight that ex-relationships can still have when reentering the dating scene, the relief and recovery of a clean slate, and the futility and frustration of trying to maintain a romance destined to fail.
The Ryan Adams’ Spin
Throughout the harsh and hellish circumstances that bad breakups bring, Swift somehow manages to make it through the end with an empowering mantra of inextinguishable hope. The same cannot be said for Adams. Where Swift claims more strength after each failed relationship, slowly regaining her confidence, Adams’ encounters with failed romances leaves him frailer and weaker. Both artists, with the same lyrics, take a different approach when confronted by the ever-shifting uncertainty that love brings. Swift holds onto an optimistic, yet cautious, outlook. She refuses to allow the ghosts of past relationships to label her as a victim. She dares people to try. With Adams, no amount of surgery can save his heart. Life and love leave his veins as relationship fall and fail around him. Adams still expresses hope in rare instances, as exemplified by his cover of “Welcome to New York.” However, there’s a heavy desperation as he sing these lyrics. It’s a plea for his scars to disappear from his body and disintegrate into the ether. It’s like he hastily stitched his heart back together with Elmer’s glue and staples, and he’s praying for heavenly intervention to hold the fragmented pieces together.
Why We Need Both
Both of these albums are essential for us to survive the breakups and heartaches that we’ll surely, but unfortunately, experience in and out of college. As much as we would all like to walk away from failed relationships without a scratch; we won’t, and lying to ourselves will only prolong our suffering. With Adams’ album, we can take the appropriate amount of time to wallow in misery and gain the emotional catharsis and solace that only crying in our car at night can give us. With Swift’s original, we can find the strength and self-confidence to push forward and persevere through future hurdles, with the assurance that no one will ever hurt us again. Combined, these albums show us the undeniable, unavoidable truth of love-We'll be hurt, but we'll also heal.
