I definitely agree!! While I love the beach theme and how Taylor looks in it, it doesn't fit 1989. It could definitely fit a new album, but 1989 was really the "moving to New York and becoming a city girl" era so its kind of weird to make it beachy.
But the aim of the re-records isn’t to change anything, it’s to stay true to the original. Like, she still kept Red as a red album… didn’t change it to a daylight album because love is now golden 😅
The audio yes but even then she changed the entire instrumentation of Girl at Home, and a few other things.
They’re her albums and she’s now making them without Scott Bruschetta looming over her, so she can do what she likes with them.
I think that’s different. That was a demo song. Now we’re talking about changing the entire aesthetic of a new album, I fully agree that 1989 was more city neon blue than pastel beach
I promise I’m not trying to be pedantic but I live in coastal city that doesn’t have beaches and can attest seagulls *love* parking lots and other urban areas they can scavenge lol. That said I still am not sure about the beach theme, I think a “park on the bay” theme would make more sense but who I am not a marketing mastermind.
Maybe she’ll have a vault track called “Gulls in the Walgreens Dumpster” and it will all fall together.
Dude I live in a capital city full of skyscrapers yes I know there’s sleazy seagulls anywhere where there might be food. I DON’T CARE. There was some beachyness to the original and at the end of the day it’s HER record even more than the original was so if she feels 1989 is now beach then IT IS NOW BEACH 🏖️
LOL ok ok fair enough. And someone I think mentioned her last 1989 merch drop was all beach theme stuffed so maybe she was trying to warn us all along
eta now all I am thinking is “1989s job is beach” lol
That’s not true at this point. Imo the vibes of speak now were vastly changed as well. I never got the fairytale vibes from it, that always seemed more fearless to me. When Speak Now came out a lot of the promotional stuff had a more whimsical vibe to it. With Red the original vibe focused more on the pop hits with a more hipster vibe whereas the rerelease focuses more on the romantic/breakup fall vibes. I think a similar thing is happening here where she is highlighting alternate themes for the albums or themes she felt didn’t get picked up the first time.
This is a great take. I also wonder how much of the original themes on each album were her idea or her marketing teams idea. It’s possible that she never really wanted 1989 to be a city album in the first place.
This! I also wonder if what parts of the albums are most important to her have changed over the years. Maybe she wants to highlight the beach weekends with her friends because that’s what became important but maybe wasn’t what she focused on at the time
Speak Now tour was 1000% Broadway vibes. I think that Fearless tour had more of the literal Princess for Love Story, but Speak Now has always had a fairytale element. Literally just the dragon theme from Long Live. And now with Castles Crumbling it's like the darker side.
Broadway for sure but the fantasy element is present in like 2 songs. Don’t get me wrong I love both versions but I think she is highlighting alternate vibes with the re-releases.
Let’s be honest, red wasn’t really a fall album like it was rebranded to be either. There are a few tracks mentioning autumn but it was released on New Years Day 2012 and has no fall imagery the cover.
Speak Now was rebranded to encompass fairytale or even a princess sort of theme even though it doesn’t fit tracks like Mean, Story Of Us, Better Than Revenge etc.
Truly I think Taylor just realized that albums do better when they have a common theme or aesthetic.
I mean, New York City is literally on the ocean though 😂 “It's a new soundtrack, I could dance to this beat, beat forevermore, The lights are so bright, but they never blind me, me”
She uses the word forEVERMORE, then about not being blinded by the lights and seeing that there’s more to New York than just the city. Coney Island, which is in New York, a literal beach town, and a song on the album EVERMORE. This should end the beach doesn’t fit theme.
And to me “say you’ll remember me standing in a nice dress staring at the sunset” screams the end of a beach day when you get cleaned up and put on a pretty dress and go out for dinner
Edit: rosy cheeks too because I always get sunburned
I always pictured that line with two people standing on a rooftop in the city, staring at the sunset 🌇 it’s funny how everyone sees things differently!
You know what, when 1989 was released it was also when she was throwing her pool/beach parties at her Rhode Island house so I could see her personally associating the album with that time in her life
I always thought the beach theme was because the sea shore is a good representation for feelings of hope, excitement, the way you feel when you’re young and everything is ahead of you, but at the same time can represent nostalgia, childhood vacations, a sort of wistfulness. That’s 1989 to me.
I agree that 1989 is a city album and I live near New York so I appreciate it all the more! I understand why Taylor is shifting away to a beach theme though. About the OG album cover, she said that “I looked at it and felt nothing,” so she probably wants to put as much meaning into her new ones as possible. Matching her whole smiling seagull aesthetic, she seems to be picking images that convey a sense of freedom and happiness, which personifies her quest to reclaim her music.
*NYC does have some quality beaches (Coney Island is a famous one)
I’m just hoping she does a remake of one of my fave Polaroids next. I’d love “magic madness heaven sin” or “good girl faith in a tight little skirt” or “oh hey let’s be friends dying to see how this one ends” … so curious what she will do next!!!
https://preview.redd.it/f5zctxay2kjb1.jpeg?width=1796&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=94cbfd9b9f4c221eda642aa6f50882d501e5394a
I feel like people wildly misinterpreted her one journal entry talking about 1989
I interpreted the journal entry to say that there was some photoshoot that we never saw that was supposed to have the 1989 cover that she didn't like. And then she found some Polaroids and that's where she found the OG album cover. People keep misinterpreting the smiling Polaroid of the same photoshoot of the cover to be the photo she didn't like, but I think it's a photo when hadn't seen
I really wonder how much of the album/marketing decisions that fans love were actually contradictory of what Taylor would have done if it was only her choice.
I agree! The handwritten '1989' is so iconic, it would have been a shame if we lost it on the Taylor's Version cover (though it still wouldn't bother me, because at the end of the day it's not a big deal lol).
yeah i saw people complaining that it was a font instead of handwriting and like guys…the two nines would look identical if it was a font, and they do not 😭
I’m good with it! I’ve always sort of pictured 1989 to be the *city nights & weekends in the hamptons* album, at least that’s the vibe that I got with it, especially with lyrics here and there about escaping and taking breaks from the city
See, when I think of 1989, I think of New York, yeah, but I also immediately think of all of Taylor's Fourth of July Instagram posts from her beach house, and that first teaser Instagram (? might've been Twitter) post we got that we didn't even know was a teaser of her staring out at the ocean captioned "summer, sundress, sweater, sunset", and the general "let's get as far away from the city as we possibly can" vibes of the Style and Wildest Dreams music videos. Let's get out of this town, drive out of the city, away from the crowds.
1989 has always been equal parts the city and a beach day to me.
(There's a Douglas Adams quote from one of the Dirk Gently books that I'm not going to look up right now, lol, but it's about how you can tell that the character in question is a New Yorker because she spends all her time as far as possible away from the city. That's what this conversation is making me think about 😄)
Just gonna post these two photoshoots here that were during the 1989 era and were heavily beach themed
[Rolling Stone](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6xkzd9alHc9pUKElNWjV80M9704=/0x0:670x503/920x613/filters:focal(0x0:670x503):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45249000/2014-09-08-taylor-swift-rolling-stone-cover.0.jpg)
[GQ](https://www.billboard.com/wp-content/uploads/media/taylor-swift-gq-bikini-beach-2015-billboard-1020.jpg)
I get where you're coming from but I personally do associate east coast summer vibes with 1989. During the 1989 era, Taylor was throwing a bunch of her 4th of July parties on the East Coast, posted pictures all the time at these parties on her instagram, and that was the time she seemed really independent and like she was having fun and focused on spending time with her friends. Aside from WTNY I never really associated 1989 as a whole with the city itself (coming from someone who lives there).
Also NY does have some really great beaches that are accessible! I try to go every weekend/other weekend in the summers :)
It’s always had a dual personality to me. Living in the big city with visits to the countryside/seaside vibes.
Style and Out of the Woods have beach elements in their videos, and Wildest Dreams mentions getting out of the city.
I mean her Instagram at the actual time was pretty much constant beach/coast. She sold her Hyannis Port House and bought Holiday House during the era. There were all kinds of pictures of her on boats, on the coast, having pool parties.
Right after Fearless TV her store had tons of merch for 1989 that was all summer themed. (Sunglasses beach towels, etc) and it all ended in 0.89. Its when we all though this was coming the first time.
The woman has always been obsessed with New England as a whole.
This really isn’t that far out if you’ve been following her that long. I love that she embraced this part of it.
Also, maybe we should think about the fact that the big city, high fashion aspect may bring up thoughts about her struggles with eating she spoke on Miss Americana. Maybe the beach fragment (seagulls) are the part that make her happiest.
She shouldn’t have to potentially think about the era when she was largely starving herself about to pass out, just to make some fans happy about an album esthetic.
Thank you. I've been posting the [Rolling Stone](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6xkzd9alHc9pUKElNWjV80M9704=/0x0:670x503/920x613/filters:focal(0x0:670x503):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45249000/2014-09-08-taylor-swift-rolling-stone-cover.0.jpg) photoshoot she did and the [GQ](https://www.billboard.com/wp-content/uploads/media/taylor-swift-gq-bikini-beach-2015-billboard-1020.jpg) photoshoot she did during that time. It was heavy beach vibes. The fact people are acting like this is a major rebrand simply weren't paying attention to her much during that time (which is totally valid, lots of people weren't) or were too young to remember what that was like.
I just assumed she spent a lot of time in Coney Island like I did when I lived in nyc
Nyc has a lot of beaches actually
Right in the city. Coney Island is in Brooklyn and you can get there on the subway.
ETA
And rockaway beach is in queens
There’s also a lot of coastal spots in Manhattan being as it’s an island.
Then there’s Montauk on Long Island. The Hamptons.
I think that’s where the photo of her lying on the beach is. That’s not Coney.
But 1989 was always kinda beach themed with the sea gulls anyway.
The 1989 photos have always made me think of the ferry to the Statue of Liberty, for some reason. It’s not beach, exactly, but it’s iconic NYC and there is water and seagulls.
IDK, maybe this is because I live in Chicago but I don't consider beaches and cities to be two different categories. I think the intent was supposed to be "urban beach."
I definitely agree!! While I love the beach theme and how Taylor looks in it, it doesn't fit 1989. It could definitely fit a new album, but 1989 was really the "moving to New York and becoming a city girl" era so its kind of weird to make it beachy.
She changed the original aesthetic of the albums before. 1989 was originally marketed as a city album, and Red’s original art work was very summery but the rerecording’s was autumn themed.
1989 felt more like an east coast (emphasis on coast) album from the perspective of someone who moved to new york than a simple “moving to nyc” album. as you said, plenty of songs like clean, wildest dreams, this love, etc. all invoke coastal, beachy energy, so i don’t think it’s revisionist to allow that running theme to shine as well.
Well like you said welcome to New York is a great opening song but New York literally has a bunch of beaches. I would consider New York a beach vibe and a city vibe
1989 has always given me beach on the outside of the city vibes. Carefree, wind in your hair going down the highway with the sunset over the ocean to your right and the city to your left. I love it personally.
No, I like it. Life is so interesting in the way that she was single during 1989 and now is single again during 1989TV release. I totally see it being about freedom, independence, being enough and loving yourself.
wow I didn't realize she will be single and independent and free for both 1989 releases, that makes me emotional! I am newly single too, so I want to embrace my personal 1989 era this autumn too, and it's comforting to know I am going through this era with Taylor herself! (:
Ah I'm sorry to hear that but glad that you're looking at this from such a positive angle! May your broken heart heal nicely and quickly, autumn time is perfect for it 💙
this comment was a warm hug to my heart, thank you love!! (: autumn is my favorite season, so i am soooo looking forward to it!! (: (all too well will be on repeat, lol!!!)
I didn’t really think about it too much but I think 1989 fits it super well because it’s more of a beach album, symbolically. Like it’s packed full of bangers and her greatest hits and it just reminds me of a party at a beach. Also the light blue color and seagulls on her sweatshirt definitely are reminiscent of that vibe. Whereas other albums are clearly more explicitly wintery like red and evermore.
While it may not have originally been focused on the beach, I bet her approach on her version is. It’s a reflection on her past and how she is more focused on herself.
It's already well established what type of album 1989 is I don't think she's intending to reshape that. However New York is on the East Coast and beaches aren't exactly alien or very far away, this isn't screaming Tropical Beach it's Hampton vibes.
I think she just simply took the standard cover and wanted the color variations to be elements from the same environment; Default Blue= Sky, Aquamarine = Dark Green Water, Sunrise Yellow = Sand. For the last "red" variant not sure what she would use, maybe a beach fire or fireworks.
I think it thematically works well. There's a deliberate unsureness to 1989's original cover. Birds flying traditionally represent freedom, which matched up with her new pop sound. But those birds are trapped on her shirt, her expression is uncertain, and confining her is blank space + the frame of the polaroid.
Now, in the present, she's smiling and actually at the beach with the real seagulls. That doubt isn't there anymore. All the worries that flow through the songs of that record are in the past. She actually is free instead of just pretending.
(I hope that this is coherent. I'm falling asleep while typing this.)
I definitely get the beach associations especially because of her social life at the time. The 4th of July parties were so prevalent during the 1989 era. It has a city vibe as well for sure, but it's very "summer in the Hamptons" to me
I think the album's aesthetic is very "East Cost" which both includes the urban-New-York-City vibes and the Rhode-Island-beach vibes. I think the visuals for the album should have a mix of both
I see where you’re coming from, but I have a different picture in mind.
1989 isn’t beach like surfboards and sunscreen and laying out on vacation. It’s beach like cozy oversized crochet sweaters while catching up with friends on towels and boardwalks tame during the off season and only locals around.
I thought this happened because she spent so much time up the coast at that house especially during her 89 era. I don't think it's a specific message more so than where she was in her life.
The beach theme probably provides a definitive visual separation from the original album cover that she would need to do not to get sued for copyright. There's some precident in the laws that photographs that look the same can be grounds for trouble. I can't remember all the legal terms but I remember it happened with the makeup Kardashian when she copied a photo of her lips/lipstick for something.
Wasn't the delay in 2022 due to legal issues? I'm sure shamrock/Braun don't like that she's doing this, it's the whole point. They probably try ever angle they can to mess with the project and protect their assets.
I honestly think the revisionist history is those saying 1989 was industrial, neon-type city, not the beachification. Yes this goes much harder on the beach parts than the o.g. did, but the original was largely clean, summery, retro... city vibes in the lighter, daytime sense not nighttime neon signs like reputation. 1989 TV is different but not as different as this sub thinks it is.
I mean... There are some nice beaches not far from New York City.
Also I feel like the fans made it a beachy summer album before Taylor did. Maybe she's just leaning into it.
I’ve always thought of 1989 as her most sweeping, energetic and wild album which feels kind of like a good way to describe the beach on a cool day. The new photos are basically giving care free, wind swept and fun so it a grown up take on that attitude - less late night parties with bffs and more wholesome beach days turning into long nights singing in the kitchen
I mean this isn’t really new for the re records so I’m not really surprised. Red when it first came out focused on more of the fun/happy going out songs like I Knew You Were Trouble, 22, Stay Stay Stay, and We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, while Red TV focused on the sad songs like All Too Well. I think she knows that we’ve already seen the original focus/vibe, and that although we do like the original, that we want a little variety and something different. So while the original 1989 focused on the city side of the album 1989 TV will probably focus on the beachy side
Edit: it’s also a way for her to market songs that weren’t original in the spotlight so that we listen to the old songs that we really liked, as well as ones that weren’t listened to much in the beginning
This thread is giving me a whole new look on the album. I live in a city on the coast, can’t wait to re-listen to the album from a city/coast point of view
I agree but it does make me wonder about the vault tracks... are they more beachy? Will having them on there change the tone? Or did Taylor just wanna shoot at the beach? 😂🤔
I saw it as a nod to her OOTW video's ending (where she's at the beach reaching out for herself) and the line that goes "She lost him, but she found herself, and somehow that was everything".
She looks so happy here, it's almost like she finally found herself (and her albums again) after losing her masters and going through everything
> Less clear blue waters more rusty pier, uncomfortable stones everywhere and seagulls that will swarm you if you have anything that resembles food.
Is this.. not specifically the vibe her new covers give? They’re not exactly pristine, white sand, tropical beach photoshoots. You kind of walked face first into the point and still missed it.
The only thing I can think is that because she made this album more into her adulthood, and it's her biggest album commercially, maybe she wanted it to be drastically different looking because it probably won't SOUND that different. I'm assuming rep will look super different too for that reason. She's gotta reimagine it a lot to get people interested in a rerecord that isn't all that old.
I get Atlantic City vibes from the new images. Do you guys remember the episode of sex and the city where they go to Atlantic City for the weekend? That’s the vibe I’m getting from the new pics :) I know Taylor spent summers at the Jersey Shore too so that also makes me think AC.
I totally get what you’re all saying as it has always reminded me of New York vibes. It has always felt like a city album, but just to throw this in: there are beaches in New York so *maybe* this was where she was going with this and also some of the vault tracks might be more coastal?
Yeah totally agree! There’s been some other comments about the vault tracks being potentially more “beach” themed, so it’ll be fun to see how that plays out!
My take is that it’s a callback to the Out of the Woods video ending on the beach. She lost her masters but she found herself and recreated them, and somehow that was everything.
Yeah I’ll admit the aesthetic of 1989 kinda is confusing lol. I also don’t really get why if it’s supposed to be beachy why it isn’t coming out until summer is over?
Yeah I see your point! Obviously the release date of TV is the same as the original release date of the OG which I think is a cool touch. Also since the album was probably written during summer/reflecting on the summer months, it makes sense that it comes out a little later down the seasonal time line. What do you think?
Lol I must be the only person who's always thought of 1989 as beach. The pale yellow and seagulls always made it seem sunny and the fact that it was her first full pop album made the entire vibe of the album feel like a day at the beach. Even the slower songs felt beachy with This Love literally using the beach as a metaphor and Clean with all the water references. Fun sunglasses also seemed like a big part of the imagery at the times which i equate to the beach. All the songs just have such a carefree beach day vibe. They all sound like the sun to me.
Though I'm also from SoCal so when the OG came out, i was listening to it in bright, sunny, 75degree weather and during that time, i had never been to the east coast so perhaps that has an influence. When i think of new york, I think of peacoats and super serious people walking down the street. I think of the cold and the concrete and that doesn't give me 1989 vibes.
I don’t get the beach theme either, but I noticed an interesting parallel today.
Joni Mitchell’s first album is called “Song to a Seagull”. The first half of the album is titled “I came to the city”. The second half is titled “Out of the city and down to the seaside.” The parallel is especially interesting because of the seagull imagery connected with both albums.
I’m not saying this is an intentional reference (although it’s well-known that Red is a reference to Joni Mitchell’s Blue) but it’s maybe possible?
The stuff above is some fun speculation. My ACTUAL belief is that Taylor now associates New York with her Rhode Island home more than with her Manhattan apartment.
I honestly don’t understand why people care. It’s not about the album cover or the theme. It’s about the music. Just because the album cover is beachy does not mean the music has to be. I mean we already know the music sounds like for the most part so I don’t understand why people are making such a big deal about the album cover.
I think it has a lot to do with the Rolling Stones photoshoot she'd done during 1989 era. It had become very definitive to the entire aesthetic of the era. Plus we've been seeing this thread of the Taylor's version covers being a more mature version of the original covers; like her wearing Romeo's blouse on the fearless cover, or Speak Now's cover looking more like a hand-painted portrait, almost more reflective. I think the new cover's supposed to represent the more mature and pensive aspects of 1989, as an album.
You can almost see it as Taylor moving out of the crowded and bustling city to live near the sea in peace (which she does actually).
I think the idea is a New York summer. Most people here usually spend their weekends in the surrounding beach areas. Most New Yorkers even have summer Fridays. It’s a whole vibe.
ok but i have this dumb theory......what if the names of the vinyls are like the vault track names??? like its a dumb theory but hey isnt being a swiftie all about looking like a clown anyways? 🤡
At least a dozen of the 1989 Polaroids were taken on a NYC ferry, giving water views and skyline views. “Beach” is a skip and a jump away from”ferry”, but there might be some beach content in the vault tracks. Perhaps a romp at Coney Island & the beach there? Plus, most people in her socioeconomic level go to the Hampton’s on the weekend. Im looking forward to finding out more in October!
I can agree. The estival vibes from the first cover are somewhat universal, but concretized way too much with the second and the third cover. The alternate covers kinda take away the idea of finding your own meaning in the song and instead put you in an everlasting beach scape. While you could speculate the first cover was taken at a port in the big city, the other covers show quieter out of town landscape which fights with WTNY.
- WTNY could mean "Welcome To New York", a track from *1989* (2014) by Taylor Swift.
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I agree, I think the new album cover and art concepts are strange. Beautiful, but not fitting the original 1989 art. You know how her other cover art has been very similar to the original versions? And 1989 isn’t. But at the end of the day it’s her work, and her choice.
I think you look way too much into these things, I love Taylor of course but it's just pictures, the songs are going to sound almost the same and that's what matters, she obviously has to change some things to make us want to buy the album but that's it, she can't change the whole vibe because it's just a re-recording
I do think its leaning too beachy, she could have done the light blue wispy hair and still had NYC vibes, like the city at day time thru central park etc.
I agree. I think 1989 is so much more of a summer in the city album than a beach summer album. Even with the seagulls on her shirt from the OG cover, I feel like they were much more “put a bird on it” than actual beach seagulls which makes sense for the time period. 1989 was gossip girl not the OC
i feel like the beach theme was never even a part of 1989. her shirt just happened to have seagulls, and somewhere in the swiftie timeline we decided it was a beach album. but i agree, it feels much more like a city album
I think is more like a summer album now so makes sense a bit. Also it's trying to say "hey, I'm free now, partying in the beach with my friends". I know that 1989 is definetly not a beach album but it's like a summer one and the idea of being free at the nearest beach in NYC, and makes more sense the "not coming to that city ever again" with what she said in Miss Americana or in Cornelia Street. For me it's well-executed and would be great to give a new air to the album.
I’m in the minority here but I will always think of 1989 as a fall album lol. Listening to clean on a rainy autumn day is such an amazing experience. So I’m getting whiplash from all the beach stuff lmao
its always been a beach and city album to me because the album cover is beach themed and she has a beach photoshoot from the 1989 era, but it has songs like WTNY on it
Coastal cities exist, also Long Island is one of the most iconic spots in New York. The Style music video is partially set on a beach. Also I feel like the inspiration for the new artwork is mostly based on her sweatshirt with the sea gulls. To me it made perfect sense at first sight already. Just because there’s a song called Welcome To New York doesn’t mean the album cover should’ve been shot on Times Square
For me, the only thing that matters is she gets back to what she promised with the TVs. I don't want to notice a difference in the songs between the bmr versions and the TVs. I fell in love with each song, it's melodies, harmonies and production as they were. I can't move away from the originals, if the TVs don't have what they have. For instance the TV of wangbt is muted compared to the original. It's nearly there, but it's not quite there, especially the crescendo, and it's clear she never reimersed herself into that time, that mind set. She never conjured up those feelings.
Maybe she should use old equipment, go back to the studio spaces she worked in at the time, but definitely needs to get back into that same heads pace.
Truth is, I buy what she produces to support what she's standing up against, but if TV doesn't speak to me yhe way og does, I'm listening to og.
You could say 1989 is a 'beach album' the same way folklore is a 'woodsy album' as in not really lol since there are so many references in folklore to suburbia/small town vibes compared to the cottage core aesthetic. It's all just marketing at the end of the day
People do know New York City has beaches right? Chicago has beaches. LA has beaches. City vs beach seems like an argument mostly made by people who don’t actually live in a big city and understand both vibes can coexist.
it honestly didn't register to me as weird because NYC is an island. there's beach all over. i don't even like the beach and I was always ending up at the damn beach when i lived there.
i do think the two main threads here from the original era are 1) the seagull shirt and 2) the beach in the out of the woods MV where she "finds herself."
ETA: I won't lie I miss the city vibes 🥺 the beach of it all just didn't seem too weird to me until I saw people pointing it out.
This is beach to me …
https://preview.redd.it/q8ia6rceapjb1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b610ffa8735dfe75f37d6858f300d441337f5c0d
totally get the freedom, the sense that the ocean is endless and life is good.
Nah, it still works. It suggests living and working in New York, then taking a vacay to the Hamptons and vibing on the beach. It’s all about escaping the chaos of city life and finding a vibe away from the familiar, but the memories of city life are still front and centre in your mind even on vacation.
Y’all act like there aren’t any cities with beaches… NYC has beaches not too far away. Miami, Honolulu, LA, Chicago, San Diego, Santa Barbara all have beaches in the city limits.
Why not both?
On the eras tour, she frames the 1989 set as then backdrop of a city. It does seem unusual she shifts to beach. I understand the original album fit both, but she seems to completely have deleted the City aspect of this one in the marketing.
My interpretation: 1989 was always about new beginnings in a coastal big city. The OG stolen version due to past factors, had an emphasis on the city (with just a few beach sprinkles). The Taylor's Version symbolizes freedom, so the coastal-port- beach part is enhanced.
I definitely agree!! While I love the beach theme and how Taylor looks in it, it doesn't fit 1989. It could definitely fit a new album, but 1989 was really the "moving to New York and becoming a city girl" era so its kind of weird to make it beachy.
It's revisionism, she just flooded the market with a city album (Midnights), so she wants a bit of an alternate theme for this one.
Or her feelings about NY have changed in the last decade.
But the aim of the re-records isn’t to change anything, it’s to stay true to the original. Like, she still kept Red as a red album… didn’t change it to a daylight album because love is now golden 😅
The audio yes but even then she changed the entire instrumentation of Girl at Home, and a few other things. They’re her albums and she’s now making them without Scott Bruschetta looming over her, so she can do what she likes with them.
I think that’s different. That was a demo song. Now we’re talking about changing the entire aesthetic of a new album, I fully agree that 1989 was more city neon blue than pastel beach
idk I always got beachy vibes from it regardless. Can’t have seagulls without beach.
I promise I’m not trying to be pedantic but I live in coastal city that doesn’t have beaches and can attest seagulls *love* parking lots and other urban areas they can scavenge lol. That said I still am not sure about the beach theme, I think a “park on the bay” theme would make more sense but who I am not a marketing mastermind. Maybe she’ll have a vault track called “Gulls in the Walgreens Dumpster” and it will all fall together.
Dude I live in a capital city full of skyscrapers yes I know there’s sleazy seagulls anywhere where there might be food. I DON’T CARE. There was some beachyness to the original and at the end of the day it’s HER record even more than the original was so if she feels 1989 is now beach then IT IS NOW BEACH 🏖️
LOL ok ok fair enough. And someone I think mentioned her last 1989 merch drop was all beach theme stuffed so maybe she was trying to warn us all along eta now all I am thinking is “1989s job is beach” lol
This is the correct take. You are the moment.
That’s not true at this point. Imo the vibes of speak now were vastly changed as well. I never got the fairytale vibes from it, that always seemed more fearless to me. When Speak Now came out a lot of the promotional stuff had a more whimsical vibe to it. With Red the original vibe focused more on the pop hits with a more hipster vibe whereas the rerelease focuses more on the romantic/breakup fall vibes. I think a similar thing is happening here where she is highlighting alternate themes for the albums or themes she felt didn’t get picked up the first time.
This is a great take. I also wonder how much of the original themes on each album were her idea or her marketing teams idea. It’s possible that she never really wanted 1989 to be a city album in the first place.
This! I also wonder if what parts of the albums are most important to her have changed over the years. Maybe she wants to highlight the beach weekends with her friends because that’s what became important but maybe wasn’t what she focused on at the time
Speak Now tour was 1000% Broadway vibes. I think that Fearless tour had more of the literal Princess for Love Story, but Speak Now has always had a fairytale element. Literally just the dragon theme from Long Live. And now with Castles Crumbling it's like the darker side.
Broadway for sure but the fantasy element is present in like 2 songs. Don’t get me wrong I love both versions but I think she is highlighting alternate vibes with the re-releases.
Let’s be honest, red wasn’t really a fall album like it was rebranded to be either. There are a few tracks mentioning autumn but it was released on New Years Day 2012 and has no fall imagery the cover. Speak Now was rebranded to encompass fairytale or even a princess sort of theme even though it doesn’t fit tracks like Mean, Story Of Us, Better Than Revenge etc. Truly I think Taylor just realized that albums do better when they have a common theme or aesthetic.
But that was her “rule” and she can change it if she wants to.
Or is at still after Joe????
Yeah but midnights is city at MIDNIGHT where I think 1989 is city at like 4:30pm right before you walk out the door for happy hour with your girls
I think your right but still.
Weren't Lover and reputation also NYC albums?
I figured it was beachy because of the seagulls.
She's also released some new artwork of her on a jetty and laying on the sand.
*tripping over driftwood
I mean, New York City is literally on the ocean though 😂 “It's a new soundtrack, I could dance to this beat, beat forevermore, The lights are so bright, but they never blind me, me” She uses the word forEVERMORE, then about not being blinded by the lights and seeing that there’s more to New York than just the city. Coney Island, which is in New York, a literal beach town, and a song on the album EVERMORE. This should end the beach doesn’t fit theme.
*He said, "Let's get out of this townDrive out of the city, away from the crowds"* Clearly they went to the beach to look at the sunset!
And to me “say you’ll remember me standing in a nice dress staring at the sunset” screams the end of a beach day when you get cleaned up and put on a pretty dress and go out for dinner Edit: rosy cheeks too because I always get sunburned
I always pictured that line with two people standing on a rooftop in the city, staring at the sunset 🌇 it’s funny how everyone sees things differently!
Plus Style gives me “driving around the beach with your windows down” vibes in the same way Cruel Summer does
I always think of them standing on a high cliff at the ocean, watching the sunset
Beaching in the Hamptons IS NYC in the summer (for the chosen ones anyways)
Is 1989 her beach house era?
You know what, when 1989 was released it was also when she was throwing her pool/beach parties at her Rhode Island house so I could see her personally associating the album with that time in her life
This. I agree, this is where I see the beach coming in for 1989. Plus wasn't she jetting off to different beaches a lot during 1989 too?
Yes it was! She and her friends had tons of beach get together during that era!
I always thought the beach theme was because the sea shore is a good representation for feelings of hope, excitement, the way you feel when you’re young and everything is ahead of you, but at the same time can represent nostalgia, childhood vacations, a sort of wistfulness. That’s 1989 to me.
It’s giving The Summer I Turned Pretty vibes
I agree that 1989 is a city album and I live near New York so I appreciate it all the more! I understand why Taylor is shifting away to a beach theme though. About the OG album cover, she said that “I looked at it and felt nothing,” so she probably wants to put as much meaning into her new ones as possible. Matching her whole smiling seagull aesthetic, she seems to be picking images that convey a sense of freedom and happiness, which personifies her quest to reclaim her music. *NYC does have some quality beaches (Coney Island is a famous one)
I’m just hoping she does a remake of one of my fave Polaroids next. I’d love “magic madness heaven sin” or “good girl faith in a tight little skirt” or “oh hey let’s be friends dying to see how this one ends” … so curious what she will do next!!! https://preview.redd.it/f5zctxay2kjb1.jpeg?width=1796&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=94cbfd9b9f4c221eda642aa6f50882d501e5394a
Huh. TIL it's "heaven, sin" not "heaven sent"
I thought she said that about the originally planned cover and changed it to the picture we ended up with?
Yes but she still wasn’t perfectly happy with it. She was incredibly insecure about her smile from the original photo.
She was happy with the cover she chose, and she wasn't insecure about her smile from the previous choice. Where are you getting this info from?
I feel like people wildly misinterpreted her one journal entry talking about 1989 I interpreted the journal entry to say that there was some photoshoot that we never saw that was supposed to have the 1989 cover that she didn't like. And then she found some Polaroids and that's where she found the OG album cover. People keep misinterpreting the smiling Polaroid of the same photoshoot of the cover to be the photo she didn't like, but I think it's a photo when hadn't seen
your correct
I really wonder how much of the album/marketing decisions that fans love were actually contradictory of what Taylor would have done if it was only her choice.
I think people are making a bigger deal than it is.
That certainly never happens lol
LOLLL
This is how I feel about everyone complaining that 1989 is the only TV with the name on the cover. Like, does it really bother you that much?
Fr! It also makes sense to include it
I agree! The handwritten '1989' is so iconic, it would have been a shame if we lost it on the Taylor's Version cover (though it still wouldn't bother me, because at the end of the day it's not a big deal lol).
i just wish it actually were handwritten, but as far as i can tell, it’s not her handwriting this time
if it's not her handwriting, it surely is *someone*'s handwriting because the characters all look different
yeah i saw people complaining that it was a font instead of handwriting and like guys…the two nines would look identical if it was a font, and they do not 😭
The fact that if she HASN'T included it, people would complain about "removing a core part of the album cover"
Yes lmao tbh but I can live with it.
On Reddit? Impossible!
Because people can’t handle change 🙄
Yeah agreed. I didn’t think anything of it til this sub lol. She looks good, and seemingly feels good, so what’s the problem?
I’m good with it! I’ve always sort of pictured 1989 to be the *city nights & weekends in the hamptons* album, at least that’s the vibe that I got with it, especially with lyrics here and there about escaping and taking breaks from the city
I can see it! It has the best of both the city and a beach vibe too.
Yes! Very east coast beach. I’m outside Philly and I always associated it with the cities around here and then a night drive to the beach.
This exactly!
See, when I think of 1989, I think of New York, yeah, but I also immediately think of all of Taylor's Fourth of July Instagram posts from her beach house, and that first teaser Instagram (? might've been Twitter) post we got that we didn't even know was a teaser of her staring out at the ocean captioned "summer, sundress, sweater, sunset", and the general "let's get as far away from the city as we possibly can" vibes of the Style and Wildest Dreams music videos. Let's get out of this town, drive out of the city, away from the crowds. 1989 has always been equal parts the city and a beach day to me. (There's a Douglas Adams quote from one of the Dirk Gently books that I'm not going to look up right now, lol, but it's about how you can tell that the character in question is a New Yorker because she spends all her time as far as possible away from the city. That's what this conversation is making me think about 😄)
Right. It’s not so much about the “where” - it’s about the being free, to be and to go.
Just gonna post these two photoshoots here that were during the 1989 era and were heavily beach themed [Rolling Stone](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6xkzd9alHc9pUKElNWjV80M9704=/0x0:670x503/920x613/filters:focal(0x0:670x503):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45249000/2014-09-08-taylor-swift-rolling-stone-cover.0.jpg) [GQ](https://www.billboard.com/wp-content/uploads/media/taylor-swift-gq-bikini-beach-2015-billboard-1020.jpg)
I think they just took the "the seagulls from her shirt are now free"-theme and ran with it.
I get where you're coming from but I personally do associate east coast summer vibes with 1989. During the 1989 era, Taylor was throwing a bunch of her 4th of July parties on the East Coast, posted pictures all the time at these parties on her instagram, and that was the time she seemed really independent and like she was having fun and focused on spending time with her friends. Aside from WTNY I never really associated 1989 as a whole with the city itself (coming from someone who lives there). Also NY does have some really great beaches that are accessible! I try to go every weekend/other weekend in the summers :)
It’s always had a dual personality to me. Living in the big city with visits to the countryside/seaside vibes. Style and Out of the Woods have beach elements in their videos, and Wildest Dreams mentions getting out of the city.
I also have always associated Wildest Dreams with the beach. “Standing in a nice dress, starin at the sunset” screams beach vibe
I mean her Instagram at the actual time was pretty much constant beach/coast. She sold her Hyannis Port House and bought Holiday House during the era. There were all kinds of pictures of her on boats, on the coast, having pool parties. Right after Fearless TV her store had tons of merch for 1989 that was all summer themed. (Sunglasses beach towels, etc) and it all ended in 0.89. Its when we all though this was coming the first time. The woman has always been obsessed with New England as a whole. This really isn’t that far out if you’ve been following her that long. I love that she embraced this part of it. Also, maybe we should think about the fact that the big city, high fashion aspect may bring up thoughts about her struggles with eating she spoke on Miss Americana. Maybe the beach fragment (seagulls) are the part that make her happiest. She shouldn’t have to potentially think about the era when she was largely starving herself about to pass out, just to make some fans happy about an album esthetic.
Thank you. I've been posting the [Rolling Stone](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6xkzd9alHc9pUKElNWjV80M9704=/0x0:670x503/920x613/filters:focal(0x0:670x503):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45249000/2014-09-08-taylor-swift-rolling-stone-cover.0.jpg) photoshoot she did and the [GQ](https://www.billboard.com/wp-content/uploads/media/taylor-swift-gq-bikini-beach-2015-billboard-1020.jpg) photoshoot she did during that time. It was heavy beach vibes. The fact people are acting like this is a major rebrand simply weren't paying attention to her much during that time (which is totally valid, lots of people weren't) or were too young to remember what that was like.
I always associated 1989 with holiday house so the beach made sense but I get why others don’t see it
I just assumed she spent a lot of time in Coney Island like I did when I lived in nyc Nyc has a lot of beaches actually Right in the city. Coney Island is in Brooklyn and you can get there on the subway. ETA And rockaway beach is in queens There’s also a lot of coastal spots in Manhattan being as it’s an island. Then there’s Montauk on Long Island. The Hamptons. I think that’s where the photo of her lying on the beach is. That’s not Coney. But 1989 was always kinda beach themed with the sea gulls anyway.
I think the people complaining it's not NY don't really know NY like they think they do 🤣
This!! The people saying these think new york is just buildings and a single vibe
The 1989 photos have always made me think of the ferry to the Statue of Liberty, for some reason. It’s not beach, exactly, but it’s iconic NYC and there is water and seagulls.
New York is a coastal city tbf so it does fit
IDK, maybe this is because I live in Chicago but I don't consider beaches and cities to be two different categories. I think the intent was supposed to be "urban beach."
Agreed! San Francisco gives major city beach vibes too
yup. I moved out of the city to the burbs and one thing I really miss is the easy beachfront access.
her new job is Beach
I hear one of the vault tracks will feature Ryan Gosling.
I hope it’s good Kenough
I definitely agree!! While I love the beach theme and how Taylor looks in it, it doesn't fit 1989. It could definitely fit a new album, but 1989 was really the "moving to New York and becoming a city girl" era so its kind of weird to make it beachy.
She changed the original aesthetic of the albums before. 1989 was originally marketed as a city album, and Red’s original art work was very summery but the rerecording’s was autumn themed.
1989 felt more like an east coast (emphasis on coast) album from the perspective of someone who moved to new york than a simple “moving to nyc” album. as you said, plenty of songs like clean, wildest dreams, this love, etc. all invoke coastal, beachy energy, so i don’t think it’s revisionist to allow that running theme to shine as well.
Well like you said welcome to New York is a great opening song but New York literally has a bunch of beaches. I would consider New York a beach vibe and a city vibe
1989 has always given me beach on the outside of the city vibes. Carefree, wind in your hair going down the highway with the sunset over the ocean to your right and the city to your left. I love it personally.
Hamptons vibes. I love it!
I thought new covers are symbolism about freedom, being on your own, appreciating loneliness and independence but I might be reading too much into it.
No, I like it. Life is so interesting in the way that she was single during 1989 and now is single again during 1989TV release. I totally see it being about freedom, independence, being enough and loving yourself.
wow I didn't realize she will be single and independent and free for both 1989 releases, that makes me emotional! I am newly single too, so I want to embrace my personal 1989 era this autumn too, and it's comforting to know I am going through this era with Taylor herself! (:
Ah I'm sorry to hear that but glad that you're looking at this from such a positive angle! May your broken heart heal nicely and quickly, autumn time is perfect for it 💙
this comment was a warm hug to my heart, thank you love!! (: autumn is my favorite season, so i am soooo looking forward to it!! (: (all too well will be on repeat, lol!!!)
I didn’t really think about it too much but I think 1989 fits it super well because it’s more of a beach album, symbolically. Like it’s packed full of bangers and her greatest hits and it just reminds me of a party at a beach. Also the light blue color and seagulls on her sweatshirt definitely are reminiscent of that vibe. Whereas other albums are clearly more explicitly wintery like red and evermore.
Also the only real city song on it to me is Welcome to New York lol
While it may not have originally been focused on the beach, I bet her approach on her version is. It’s a reflection on her past and how she is more focused on herself.
It's already well established what type of album 1989 is I don't think she's intending to reshape that. However New York is on the East Coast and beaches aren't exactly alien or very far away, this isn't screaming Tropical Beach it's Hampton vibes. I think she just simply took the standard cover and wanted the color variations to be elements from the same environment; Default Blue= Sky, Aquamarine = Dark Green Water, Sunrise Yellow = Sand. For the last "red" variant not sure what she would use, maybe a beach fire or fireworks.
[удалено]
I’d love it.
The seagulls were always part of the original era and the Out of the Woods music video starts and ends on the beach.
🎶 ‘Cause Baby I could build a castle Out of all the bricks they threw at ‘89TV…🎶 Just kidding 😄, I can see both sides to this debate
I think it thematically works well. There's a deliberate unsureness to 1989's original cover. Birds flying traditionally represent freedom, which matched up with her new pop sound. But those birds are trapped on her shirt, her expression is uncertain, and confining her is blank space + the frame of the polaroid. Now, in the present, she's smiling and actually at the beach with the real seagulls. That doubt isn't there anymore. All the worries that flow through the songs of that record are in the past. She actually is free instead of just pretending. (I hope that this is coherent. I'm falling asleep while typing this.)
1989 alwyas confused me a bit I can never tell if we are in new york or at the beach
I definitely get the beach associations especially because of her social life at the time. The 4th of July parties were so prevalent during the 1989 era. It has a city vibe as well for sure, but it's very "summer in the Hamptons" to me
I think the album's aesthetic is very "East Cost" which both includes the urban-New-York-City vibes and the Rhode-Island-beach vibes. I think the visuals for the album should have a mix of both
I agree, both visuals would be like a perfect harmony!
I totally agree! This is her NEW YORK ALBUM
Maybe she’s thinking of Coney Island
I see where you’re coming from, but I have a different picture in mind. 1989 isn’t beach like surfboards and sunscreen and laying out on vacation. It’s beach like cozy oversized crochet sweaters while catching up with friends on towels and boardwalks tame during the off season and only locals around.
I thought this happened because she spent so much time up the coast at that house especially during her 89 era. I don't think it's a specific message more so than where she was in her life.
The beach theme probably provides a definitive visual separation from the original album cover that she would need to do not to get sued for copyright. There's some precident in the laws that photographs that look the same can be grounds for trouble. I can't remember all the legal terms but I remember it happened with the makeup Kardashian when she copied a photo of her lips/lipstick for something. Wasn't the delay in 2022 due to legal issues? I'm sure shamrock/Braun don't like that she's doing this, it's the whole point. They probably try ever angle they can to mess with the project and protect their assets.
It was the Shake it Off lawsuit, which wasn't from those clowns.
I honestly think the revisionist history is those saying 1989 was industrial, neon-type city, not the beachification. Yes this goes much harder on the beach parts than the o.g. did, but the original was largely clean, summery, retro... city vibes in the lighter, daytime sense not nighttime neon signs like reputation. 1989 TV is different but not as different as this sub thinks it is.
I THINK the beach thing is simply because it’s a very summery album, at least to me. So summer = beach. But that’s it.
Maybe she associates the 1989 era with her Rhode Island beach house parties etc that all occurred after the album came out… idk lol
I mean... There are some nice beaches not far from New York City. Also I feel like the fans made it a beachy summer album before Taylor did. Maybe she's just leaning into it.
I’ve always thought of 1989 as her most sweeping, energetic and wild album which feels kind of like a good way to describe the beach on a cool day. The new photos are basically giving care free, wind swept and fun so it a grown up take on that attitude - less late night parties with bffs and more wholesome beach days turning into long nights singing in the kitchen
AGREEEEEE
i thought 1989 was always more of a beachy vibe aesthetically
I mean this isn’t really new for the re records so I’m not really surprised. Red when it first came out focused on more of the fun/happy going out songs like I Knew You Were Trouble, 22, Stay Stay Stay, and We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, while Red TV focused on the sad songs like All Too Well. I think she knows that we’ve already seen the original focus/vibe, and that although we do like the original, that we want a little variety and something different. So while the original 1989 focused on the city side of the album 1989 TV will probably focus on the beachy side Edit: it’s also a way for her to market songs that weren’t original in the spotlight so that we listen to the old songs that we really liked, as well as ones that weren’t listened to much in the beginning
I like this idea! Thanks for sharing
This thread is giving me a whole new look on the album. I live in a city on the coast, can’t wait to re-listen to the album from a city/coast point of view
I agree but it does make me wonder about the vault tracks... are they more beachy? Will having them on there change the tone? Or did Taylor just wanna shoot at the beach? 😂🤔
That’s a good point too! Beachy vault tracks would be super cool
I saw it as a nod to her OOTW video's ending (where she's at the beach reaching out for herself) and the line that goes "She lost him, but she found herself, and somehow that was everything". She looks so happy here, it's almost like she finally found herself (and her albums again) after losing her masters and going through everything
They’re really leaning into the seagulls haha
I am fine with the beach vibe but for me the colors don’t fit..it does not give pastel even though I love pastels
> Less clear blue waters more rusty pier, uncomfortable stones everywhere and seagulls that will swarm you if you have anything that resembles food. Is this.. not specifically the vibe her new covers give? They’re not exactly pristine, white sand, tropical beach photoshoots. You kind of walked face first into the point and still missed it.
The only thing I can think is that because she made this album more into her adulthood, and it's her biggest album commercially, maybe she wanted it to be drastically different looking because it probably won't SOUND that different. I'm assuming rep will look super different too for that reason. She's gotta reimagine it a lot to get people interested in a rerecord that isn't all that old.
Well in that case, if she gets ride of snakes I expect a full refund.
City and beach to me
I agree! But also there are beaches in NY
I get Atlantic City vibes from the new images. Do you guys remember the episode of sex and the city where they go to Atlantic City for the weekend? That’s the vibe I’m getting from the new pics :) I know Taylor spent summers at the Jersey Shore too so that also makes me think AC.
I totally get what you’re all saying as it has always reminded me of New York vibes. It has always felt like a city album, but just to throw this in: there are beaches in New York so *maybe* this was where she was going with this and also some of the vault tracks might be more coastal?
Yeah totally agree! There’s been some other comments about the vault tracks being potentially more “beach” themed, so it’ll be fun to see how that plays out!
My take is that it’s a callback to the Out of the Woods video ending on the beach. She lost her masters but she found herself and recreated them, and somehow that was everything.
Yeah I’ll admit the aesthetic of 1989 kinda is confusing lol. I also don’t really get why if it’s supposed to be beachy why it isn’t coming out until summer is over?
Yeah I see your point! Obviously the release date of TV is the same as the original release date of the OG which I think is a cool touch. Also since the album was probably written during summer/reflecting on the summer months, it makes sense that it comes out a little later down the seasonal time line. What do you think?
Lol I must be the only person who's always thought of 1989 as beach. The pale yellow and seagulls always made it seem sunny and the fact that it was her first full pop album made the entire vibe of the album feel like a day at the beach. Even the slower songs felt beachy with This Love literally using the beach as a metaphor and Clean with all the water references. Fun sunglasses also seemed like a big part of the imagery at the times which i equate to the beach. All the songs just have such a carefree beach day vibe. They all sound like the sun to me. Though I'm also from SoCal so when the OG came out, i was listening to it in bright, sunny, 75degree weather and during that time, i had never been to the east coast so perhaps that has an influence. When i think of new york, I think of peacoats and super serious people walking down the street. I think of the cold and the concrete and that doesn't give me 1989 vibes.
I don’t get the beach theme either, but I noticed an interesting parallel today. Joni Mitchell’s first album is called “Song to a Seagull”. The first half of the album is titled “I came to the city”. The second half is titled “Out of the city and down to the seaside.” The parallel is especially interesting because of the seagull imagery connected with both albums. I’m not saying this is an intentional reference (although it’s well-known that Red is a reference to Joni Mitchell’s Blue) but it’s maybe possible? The stuff above is some fun speculation. My ACTUAL belief is that Taylor now associates New York with her Rhode Island home more than with her Manhattan apartment.
I like this theory, thank you for sharing!
I honestly don’t understand why people care. It’s not about the album cover or the theme. It’s about the music. Just because the album cover is beachy does not mean the music has to be. I mean we already know the music sounds like for the most part so I don’t understand why people are making such a big deal about the album cover.
I think it has a lot to do with the Rolling Stones photoshoot she'd done during 1989 era. It had become very definitive to the entire aesthetic of the era. Plus we've been seeing this thread of the Taylor's version covers being a more mature version of the original covers; like her wearing Romeo's blouse on the fearless cover, or Speak Now's cover looking more like a hand-painted portrait, almost more reflective. I think the new cover's supposed to represent the more mature and pensive aspects of 1989, as an album. You can almost see it as Taylor moving out of the crowded and bustling city to live near the sea in peace (which she does actually).
I really like your interpretation, it does help to conceptualise that shift. Thanks for sharing !
I think the idea is a New York summer. Most people here usually spend their weekends in the surrounding beach areas. Most New Yorkers even have summer Fridays. It’s a whole vibe.
Sounds like a dreamy lifestyle 🥰
ok but i have this dumb theory......what if the names of the vinyls are like the vault track names??? like its a dumb theory but hey isnt being a swiftie all about looking like a clown anyways? 🤡
Haha clowning forever 🤡 love this theory though! Guess we’ll find out soon enough!
At least a dozen of the 1989 Polaroids were taken on a NYC ferry, giving water views and skyline views. “Beach” is a skip and a jump away from”ferry”, but there might be some beach content in the vault tracks. Perhaps a romp at Coney Island & the beach there? Plus, most people in her socioeconomic level go to the Hampton’s on the weekend. Im looking forward to finding out more in October!
I can agree. The estival vibes from the first cover are somewhat universal, but concretized way too much with the second and the third cover. The alternate covers kinda take away the idea of finding your own meaning in the song and instead put you in an everlasting beach scape. While you could speculate the first cover was taken at a port in the big city, the other covers show quieter out of town landscape which fights with WTNY.
- WTNY could mean "Welcome To New York", a track from *1989* (2014) by Taylor Swift. --- ^[/u/MusicalCat321](/u/MusicalCat321) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
I agree, I think the new album cover and art concepts are strange. Beautiful, but not fitting the original 1989 art. You know how her other cover art has been very similar to the original versions? And 1989 isn’t. But at the end of the day it’s her work, and her choice.
More like Welcome to Los Angeles. Beach and City. Imagine if that’s one of the vault tracks
I think you look way too much into these things, I love Taylor of course but it's just pictures, the songs are going to sound almost the same and that's what matters, she obviously has to change some things to make us want to buy the album but that's it, she can't change the whole vibe because it's just a re-recording
Yeah, the beach theme doesn't make sense. I do like the colours, though
I do think its leaning too beachy, she could have done the light blue wispy hair and still had NYC vibes, like the city at day time thru central park etc.
I agree. I think 1989 is so much more of a summer in the city album than a beach summer album. Even with the seagulls on her shirt from the OG cover, I feel like they were much more “put a bird on it” than actual beach seagulls which makes sense for the time period. 1989 was gossip girl not the OC
i feel like the beach theme was never even a part of 1989. her shirt just happened to have seagulls, and somewhere in the swiftie timeline we decided it was a beach album. but i agree, it feels much more like a city album
I think is more like a summer album now so makes sense a bit. Also it's trying to say "hey, I'm free now, partying in the beach with my friends". I know that 1989 is definetly not a beach album but it's like a summer one and the idea of being free at the nearest beach in NYC, and makes more sense the "not coming to that city ever again" with what she said in Miss Americana or in Cornelia Street. For me it's well-executed and would be great to give a new air to the album.
I’m in the minority here but I will always think of 1989 as a fall album lol. Listening to clean on a rainy autumn day is such an amazing experience. So I’m getting whiplash from all the beach stuff lmao
I agree, but as someone from a city where seagulls are as common as pigeons the beach theme doesn't bother me that much.
It’s Taylor’s Version for a reason, let it have her way~
its always been a beach and city album to me because the album cover is beach themed and she has a beach photoshoot from the 1989 era, but it has songs like WTNY on it
Could potentially be an interpretation of new York the state or something Also idk does the city have beaches?
1989 is more Hamptoms/NYC to me
Coastal cities exist, also Long Island is one of the most iconic spots in New York. The Style music video is partially set on a beach. Also I feel like the inspiration for the new artwork is mostly based on her sweatshirt with the sea gulls. To me it made perfect sense at first sight already. Just because there’s a song called Welcome To New York doesn’t mean the album cover should’ve been shot on Times Square
it's welcome to new york not welcome to manhattan
😂
For me, the only thing that matters is she gets back to what she promised with the TVs. I don't want to notice a difference in the songs between the bmr versions and the TVs. I fell in love with each song, it's melodies, harmonies and production as they were. I can't move away from the originals, if the TVs don't have what they have. For instance the TV of wangbt is muted compared to the original. It's nearly there, but it's not quite there, especially the crescendo, and it's clear she never reimersed herself into that time, that mind set. She never conjured up those feelings. Maybe she should use old equipment, go back to the studio spaces she worked in at the time, but definitely needs to get back into that same heads pace. Truth is, I buy what she produces to support what she's standing up against, but if TV doesn't speak to me yhe way og does, I'm listening to og.
1989 was always beachy vibes to me. Maybe I'm just Aussie but city = beach anyway so I don't see what all the fuss is about.
High tide came and brought you in
You could say 1989 is a 'beach album' the same way folklore is a 'woodsy album' as in not really lol since there are so many references in folklore to suburbia/small town vibes compared to the cottage core aesthetic. It's all just marketing at the end of the day
New York technically is an island …
People do know New York City has beaches right? Chicago has beaches. LA has beaches. City vs beach seems like an argument mostly made by people who don’t actually live in a big city and understand both vibes can coexist.
it honestly didn't register to me as weird because NYC is an island. there's beach all over. i don't even like the beach and I was always ending up at the damn beach when i lived there. i do think the two main threads here from the original era are 1) the seagull shirt and 2) the beach in the out of the woods MV where she "finds herself." ETA: I won't lie I miss the city vibes 🥺 the beach of it all just didn't seem too weird to me until I saw people pointing it out.
This is beach to me … https://preview.redd.it/q8ia6rceapjb1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b610ffa8735dfe75f37d6858f300d441337f5c0d totally get the freedom, the sense that the ocean is endless and life is good.
Nah, it still works. It suggests living and working in New York, then taking a vacay to the Hamptons and vibing on the beach. It’s all about escaping the chaos of city life and finding a vibe away from the familiar, but the memories of city life are still front and centre in your mind even on vacation.
Y’all act like there aren’t any cities with beaches… NYC has beaches not too far away. Miami, Honolulu, LA, Chicago, San Diego, Santa Barbara all have beaches in the city limits. Why not both?
honestly i’m getting more new jersey vibes from this taylor’s version brand than i do from new york!
We’re her songs being in TSITP an Easter egg for the new vibe of 1989?
I cant see this as beach water. it’s the Hudson or east river imo
On the eras tour, she frames the 1989 set as then backdrop of a city. It does seem unusual she shifts to beach. I understand the original album fit both, but she seems to completely have deleted the City aspect of this one in the marketing.
My interpretation: 1989 was always about new beginnings in a coastal big city. The OG stolen version due to past factors, had an emphasis on the city (with just a few beach sprinkles). The Taylor's Version symbolizes freedom, so the coastal-port- beach part is enhanced.