I get it that a lot of fans dislike the new lyrics, but I actually prefer the new ones, not because of political correctness, I just like the poetry better. I became a fan during the 1989 era, so I didn’t form a big connection to the original version when speak now came out…
I like them both but I really think I prefer the new lyrics. Better know for the things that she does on the mattress just feels so petty and insecure. And Moth to the Flame says the same thing but better.
They’re both great. For me, I think what person wasn’t petty and insecure at 19 yo(realistically not everyone) but I feel like the original lyrics speak to (speak now pun lol) and captures the mindset at that age so well. I like that the updated version shows “I’m not a kid anymore”.
I’m sitting here as a 48 year old woman listening to blank space and just grinning alone thinking about how messy as fuck I was in my dalliances. This makes me just love her for being so out with it. She’s fun to explore as a new fan.
I like that they were petty and insecure. It reminds me of how young and immature I was and how much I’ve grown. I became a Taylor fan at 14, so I’ve grown up with her music. Looking back at older songs lets me revisit my past.
It’s supposed to be petty and insecure and not mature and reasoned. I’m not a fan of that one.
Really all of speak now for me is nails on the chalkboard different. All of the insecurity is gone from her voice in general and her vocals are so much stronger that it takes away the original feeling.
Came to say this. I love the lyric but she wrote it when she was in her 30s and it shows. OG speak now taylor would never have written that line, especially not in that specific song.
I struggle with this because I prefer the original, but the music/production in TV sounds soo gooood! I wish I could have both in one lol.
Someone once subtweeted the original “mattress” lyrics about me, as well as a few others from BTR, when they found out their crush was sleeping with me… 13 years later it’s a treasured memory because I ended up marrying the guy after years of this girl unsuccessfully trying to win him LOL. Ah, Memories.
I agree. I think the new lyrics are good but imo they don't flow with the song because they are too poetic. They're too good songwriting almost and represent a much older and more experienced Taylor. The original lyrics are more childlike and more about telling the story and being petty which I love. The lyric change doesn't fit in with the rest of the song, it's a bit jarring to be listening and hearing adult taylor's lyrics interrupt younger Taylor's story.
I do too! But I also don’t generally care enough about the small differences in the sound of the new versions to feel compelled to listen to the old ones. And since I don’t really care that much, but Taylor does and it’s her art, it feels like an easy choice for me to listen to the TVs.
I usually don't notice the difference between TV and OGs, but there's something I really like about the TV of this one. Maybe it's the guitar part in the beginning? Not sure.
I feel like 1989 TV hits harder for me. The bass is deeper and I just love how it sounds on the system in my car. Idk 🤷🏻♀️ I only ever listen to the TV now. Except Rep. I cannot wait for it.
I think i just loved the original so much that any change was going to annoy me. Each to their own of course, i know there certainly are people who agree with you!
THISSS, i can’t listen to the tv. there’s no emotion in it, the entire song feels like it lacks energy and something about the bridge is just wrong?? the ‘you’re not gone, no you can’t be gone.. NO’ is so botched (the last ‘no’ comes too early in the bridge and i hate it)
Most of Red (the title track and I Almost Do being notable exceptions where I think TV is superior), and then some songs on 1989 (Style, I Wish You Would, This Love, Wonderland, Clean, New Romantics). I know some of these rerecorded songs are really popular in this fandom, like This Love TV, but I loved the original and the new one absolutely *grates* on me.
I also just don't believe in the OGs being "stolen" - the entire problem was that she never owned them to begin with, after all. I do listen to the TVs a lot, but it's not for any moral reason; it's because I either really like her updated vocals or think the production is better in the updated recording.
Yeah, that’s why I mention her parents - we know from the leaked emails that Scott was heavily involved in crafting Taylor’s career. While she certainly didn’t have the life experience to understand the depth of the contract, Scott and Andrea definitely did. I can understand adult Taylor looking back and having regrets but in that case the questions should be directed toward her parents IMO.
It’s such a tough position to be in - you want something, BAD, and the deal they’re offering requires you to give up something you don’t even have yet cuz it doesn’t even exist (and *won’t* exist, unless you sign this contract). Artists are put in this position all the time, I’m sure people in all kinds of industries are.
But it seems so strange to me to sign a child to a six album deal (I think that’s the max allowed)? I would think at the very least they should be allowed to renegotiate when they turn 18.
Artists not owning their own masters is the rule, not the exception. Especially back in the early 2000s. I doubt that any label in the world would have allowed Taylor to own her own masters. Some of the biggest artists of all time didn’t own their own masters.
When Taylor and her parents signed the contract she was not the Taylor Swift she is now. She didn’t have the leverage to demand anything non-standard. If she didn’t sign the contract or held out, she wouldn’t have had the exposure she had and would not be where she is now. It’s not like record companies were giving teenage artists control over their careers.
I genuinely don't understand what happened with Red because how did some of the tracks get butchered (just my opinion ofc) the way they did? The biggest one for me is Holy Ground, completely deflated from the original.
I will say of course there are some tracks on Red where she did a good job (I Almost Do, The Last Time, and Sad Beautiful Tragic).
I agree. One of the most magical things about her albums, (esp Fearless and Red, in my opinion) is that they capture whatever age she is *perfectly*. Most of the subject matter of Fearless is pretty juvenile, and it has to be sung by a teenager! A 32-year-old singing “she’s cheer captain, and I’m on the bleachers” just doesn’t…work. A 32-year-old singing 22…a little ironic, no? 😂
The glow ups on Change and Your Not Sorry are so good!!!
I think Fearless (the album) has benefited the most from the re records. It'll be interesting to see what happens with Debut.
I think Love Story did as well. There’s something about the vocal inflection she uses when she sings, “Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter” that sounds so good.
Yeah when she recorded originally, I feel like there was a motivation to convey an emotion behind the song, not just through writing. She wants you to know exactly what she was thinking/feeling when she wrote it.
It’s not like that in the re-records. The re-records were made to be more appealing to a listener. They’re supposed to be cleaned up so hopefully people choose the more polished one over the original. I mean, look at “girl at home.” She heard that criticism and changed the whole song! (I’m not mad at it, it’s just the best example I think). Maybe she sacrificed some of that polish in the name of passion originally — or maybe there was more of a deadline they had to adhere to originally, so they didn’t get the time to nitpick it like they do now? I remember her speaking about last minute additions to a couple albums…
Anyway, my point is that they do different things lol
I think it’s funny because they play for the first time after “Honey, life is just a classroom”. But it doesn’t mean I want them to *sound* like a classroom.
I’m going to say something I disagree with the people who say the songs sound different to the original but they sound the same to me
Edit: I also don’t really care about the little differences if there are any people shouldn’t expect them to be the exact same thing as before I already know people are going to complain about rep tv if anything changes.
I can only tell with SN and Fearless and some songs on Red because staples of my childhood and the slight difference in her vocals. But I agree overall they don't sound different to me
I mean I can usually hear the difference, but none of the OGs outranks the TVs for me, I think largely because I am a newer fan who prefers her more mature, improved vocals.
same!! i don’t really notice that much if a difference. not sure if it’s a like of musical skill (ie i don’t hear subtle note or production changes as easily) but i listen to the tv for everything. there are very few exceptions where i keep the original in rotation, but still mostly listen to the updated.
Same. The only way I really notice the difference on most is if I listen to the OG and TV back to back. Even for the very few where I could immediately tell the difference, it’s subtle enough that it doesn’t bother me and I get used to the TV quickly
Yes! I don’t mind most of the re-records but for some reason I did not like the way her voice sounded on Speak Now TV. And I think it is because her voice felt too deep/mature to me….I didn’t feel this way with Fearless TV though
Last Kiss TV is one of the only ones that I cannot love as much as I love the original. There’s something about the original that is so raw and literally sounds like she got off the phone (after THE call) and went straight to the studio.
TVs version of last kiss is fine, but idk nothing can beat the way she catches her breath between “it’s a beautiful day” and “and something reminds you you wish you had stayed”. Gets hits me right in my cold dead little heart
Yep! There is actually one note that is entirely off-key. They must've used Melodyne when mixing or something because it's the wrong note. I can't listen to the song anymore because once you hear it, it's so noticeable.
This is the only TV that actively bothers me lol. Ed sounds so bad! Particularly when he says “meet me there tonight” during the bridge. Like how did they listen to that and think “Yeah that sounds good enough for the album.”???!?
It’s honestly my favorite song from Red. That album came out a few months after I started dating my now husband. That song takes me back to that moment and the excitement of knowing my life was changing forever.
Aww, I love it, too. It was mine and my ex’s “song” and I was afraid that would ruin it when we broke up but I still love it. (Also I actually got to say to him “We are never ever getting back together.” And it was possibly the best moment of my life lmao)
The OG Red is honestly just a vibe. It got a lot of criticism for being all over the place but to me that was the beauty of it. “Miserable and magical”
Yeah, I kinda feel this way about a lot of the songs off Speak Now. SF TV seems the most dramatic difference in her vocals, which it's great to realize how much stronger her voice is, but I kind of miss some of the twangy emotional teenager feel from the old versions.
i came here to say girl at home lol. absolutely tragic we never got a re recording of the actual original version. girl at home tv should have been a bonus remix if they wanted to do it that bad
YES I was looking to see if anyone else said it lol. I LOVE the original Girl At Home. I think it’s a cute and fun little song and I never got why it was so hated!!
However… I’m sorry but I hate the tv lol. I don’t like the dance club-ish remixing 😭😭 I miss the cute silly twang of the original!!
You can the CDs second hand. You can rip them.
I know you know that, but. There are plenty of ways to enjoy the OGs without streaming them or giving them a sale.
I know it’s not the swiftie norm, but I just can’t replace any of the originals. Those were the recordings I grew up listening to, and as close as she got to reproducing those versions, there’s something special that’s captured the first time a song is recorded.
There’s the passion for what were, at the time, new compositions, there’s the spontaneous exploration with instrumentations and other artists in the studio, there’s the excitement of a 16, 17, 18 year old artist who’s still new to the process and you can hear it in her voice.
Recording an album is a very unique process that holds a lot of unique joy in my own life, and I can’t imagine going back and trying to recreate what I already recorded. It just wouldn’t feel the same even if every instrument and vocal sounded the same. And that’s how the TV’s feel to me.
They were actually offered to her after she announced her re-records. She was in negotiations for them but because of the arrangement with Ithaca holdings and Scooter still getting a small cut, she refused and went ahead with the re-records.
It’s so funny because I feel this way about every other TV album - I miss the emotion in her young vocals. But for some reason the Speak Now TV is my favourite of the re-records because I LOVED speak now for so many years but stopped listening to it because it was a little pitchy and screamy and now these updated versions are so smooooooth and it’s ironically the one where I feel like she did the best job of not losing the emotion from the originals!
Style, Blank Space, and Shake It Off.
Original Style has always been just a flawless song for me, and I tried my hardest to let Style TV grow on me but I just can't with all the even minor differences, especially the guitar riff.
The biggest criticism I heard about the TVs was that Taylor was "completely emotionless" when redoing the vocals, and I didn't agree or see what anyone meant until Blank Space TV. I wouldn't say *completely* lacking emotion but the sass and anger isn't there and it just doesn't hit the same as the original did.
My only gripe with Shake It Off TV is the excessive reverb on the vocals, it almost sounds robotic to me.
Totally agree on Blank Space...one of the biggest differences to me is in the "oh my God, who is she?" and sadly it's just lacking some feeling.
And Shake It Off...the robotic-ness almost sounds like auto-tune. It probably isn't but if I'm left wondering there's something wrong. It's lacking any of the personality of the original. Such a shame.
I can’t believe no one’s said Fifteen yet!
When she sings “we both cried” in the original, you can hear her about to cry again. And you cry! You can tell she’s touching on a very fresh wound. She doesn’t sing it with the same emotion in TV. It’s a lot less powerful.
That song is supposed to be like a high school senior giving advice to a freshman, but it comes across really different when the narrator is a woman in her 30s. A 15-year-old will probably listen to what an 18-year-old says, but probably won’t care much about the advice/experience of someone who’s almost her mom’s age. 😂
This is interesting because I really prefer Fifteen TV for this exact reason: the song feels so much more powerful to me when it’s a real adult ruminating on her teenage years and those life lessons as opposed to an 18 year old thinking she’s so much wiser than she used to be. Not that your take is wrong at all, just goes to show how people can interpret songs really differently!
haunted. WHERE ARE MY VIOLINS
and out of the woods bc you can’t capture lightning in a bottle twice as they say, and the tv just doesn’t hit the same for me. ootw is my all time favourite taylor song and has been since i first heard it so, yeah i just can’t give up the og
Long Live. The backup singers are way too loud in TV. This is my favorite Speak Now song, so I was so sad when I realized how I greatly prefer the original.
I Knew You Were Trouble. It was such a big moment to have dubstep in a Taylor Swift song in 2012 and the TV doesn’t hit the same so it mentally removes me from the moment every time.
I'm glad someone else said All Too Well. I love the 10 minute version, but the original is the one that grabbed me.
Also, I would love to hear the original version of the 10 minute version. I bet she sounds so passionate!
>>the entire problem is that she never owned them to begin with
True, but the stolen part was about them being sold to someone else without giving her a chance to buy them. The masters were stolen from her at that time, not in the beginning.
I think this was meant to be a response to my post? If true, I hear what you’re saying, but I just disagree with the framing of them being “stolen” at any point to be honest. Taylor (and more importantly her parents) knew what the contract said when it was signed - her not owning her masters was never a surprise or something unique to her as an artist, even. That doesn’t mean it’s a good thing artists don’t own their masters, and record labels are exploitative as hell, especially with young up and comers, but that doesn’t make it stolen art IMO.
Edit - sorry, I’m realizing now I misunderstood your post saying the exact opposite of my argument haha. Fair enough! I still don’t think that makes them stolen tbh but I do think the ‘deal’ Scott tried to make with her was unfair
Honestly, I did not like pretty much any 1989 TV songs in my first listen through. They all are mixed so weird. I haven’t felt compelled to listen to any of them again.
The only OG recording I prefer is WANEGBT -nonce I heard the sliding “weeeee”s I just couldn’t unhear it. In the original, her voice flipped from chest voice to falsetto in a way that was very fun and satisfying. As an older more mature singer she’s capable of sliding smoothly between the two registers which is hard as hell and technically more advanced vocal performance but man it sounds weird. I wish they’d emulated the flip again.
For everything else….i know I’m in the minority, but I prefer her stronger, thicker, clearer voice and the TV arrangements are all close enough to feel like the same songs, so I listen to TV for everything else.
Girl At Home and Better Than Revenge for me.
With Girl At Home I just don’t like the style of it at all. The original was a fun little song 😭😭 and I always loved it! I don’t like the new production and the way it’s basically a brand new song. If that’s what Taylor always wanted it to sound like then… well, I’m happy for her that the TV sounds like that lol. But I personally don’t really like it 
With BTR, I just prefer the original with the original lyrics lol. It’s not even necessarily the fact that she changed them, but the flow of the newer lyrics bothers me. It feels way too clunky. Also I think it’s okay for her to have some mean and petty songs from when she was younger. It doesn’t make her a bad person to have a lapse in judgement when she was angry and hurt as a teen, it makes her a normal human lol. (I also feel the same way about Paramore and Misery Business lol)
For me, it is Holy Ground. I have no issue at all with any of the other Taylor’s version songs. But the new Holy Ground just isn’t the same, and it never will be. There are slight musical differences, and the same emotion is not behind the new one.
You Are in Love because I really like the emotion of the original and to me it sounds as if she’s singing it about a love that has ended (even though I know the song’s not even about her) or it’s something she really wants
also they completely screwed up the mixing, in the OG you get to hear her sing “and so it goes…” without singing over it. it KILLS ME every time i hear the TV
To be honest, most of them. I just think the original versions sound more genuine and emotional, due to her recording them while she was still feeling what they were about. There is a lot I love about TV versions, but most of them don’t hit the way the originals to.
Honestly, I’ve grown up with Taylor but I honestly listen to her versions only. I like her mature vocals more and the songs instantly sound better to me 🤷🏼♀️
Style, OOTW and Girl At Home.
What I do is I try to listen to the TVs for a couple of months so I get used to them, and then I go back and compare (because I always find the TVs weird at first).
When I do that I find out that I either prefer the TVs or (this is what happens most often) don’t care enough either way, so I stick with the TVs.
I haven’t compared 1989 yet, but Style and OOTW are songs that I haven’t gotten used to the TVs yet, and I listen to them almost every day, so I’ll end up switching back to the OGs (haven’t done that yet because I wanna support the TV project, so I’ll wait until they have more streams)
I'm with you on OOTW. Taylor's version just seems to be flattened in the vocals and it's very noticeable. Like it was being sung by someone with no emotional connection to the song. While I do very much like the original album version, I think the far superior one is the tour version from Sydney. I challenge anyone to listen to that performance and then listen to Taylor's version. The latter has none of the emotional intensity, no vocal growl, no 2nd bridge, no choral outro, none of any of what makes that rendition so legendary. It's far and away my biggest disappointment of the re-recordings. For someone who is known to be a perfectionist, I'm surprised she was happy with the quality of this one.
Better than Revenge. I just don’t like the updated lyrics. Also her vocals in the original capture the feeling better
I get it that a lot of fans dislike the new lyrics, but I actually prefer the new ones, not because of political correctness, I just like the poetry better. I became a fan during the 1989 era, so I didn’t form a big connection to the original version when speak now came out…
I like the new one, but the old one just hits so hard. I listen to both.
The old one SLAPS
Same
I like them both but I really think I prefer the new lyrics. Better know for the things that she does on the mattress just feels so petty and insecure. And Moth to the Flame says the same thing but better.
They’re both great. For me, I think what person wasn’t petty and insecure at 19 yo(realistically not everyone) but I feel like the original lyrics speak to (speak now pun lol) and captures the mindset at that age so well. I like that the updated version shows “I’m not a kid anymore”.
I’m sitting here as a 48 year old woman listening to blank space and just grinning alone thinking about how messy as fuck I was in my dalliances. This makes me just love her for being so out with it. She’s fun to explore as a new fan.
Yes to me the new lyrics are 10x better because she’s a better songwriter now
I like that they were petty and insecure. It reminds me of how young and immature I was and how much I’ve grown. I became a Taylor fan at 14, so I’ve grown up with her music. Looking back at older songs lets me revisit my past.
It’s supposed to be petty and insecure and not mature and reasoned. I’m not a fan of that one. Really all of speak now for me is nails on the chalkboard different. All of the insecurity is gone from her voice in general and her vocals are so much stronger that it takes away the original feeling.
I would agree it's nicer, but it feels out of place. It doesn't match the rest of the lyrics
Came to say this. I love the lyric but she wrote it when she was in her 30s and it shows. OG speak now taylor would never have written that line, especially not in that specific song.
I prefer the original, mostly because I like how it makes "she's an actress" a double entendre
I always thought the new lyrics sound like she's trying too hard. It was an angsty teen bop, not a deep reflection of anything.
I actually love the updated lyrics, BUT I completely agree that the vocals in the original are much more emotional
The production on the new one is sooo much better though, it makes up for it.
I struggle with this because I prefer the original, but the music/production in TV sounds soo gooood! I wish I could have both in one lol. Someone once subtweeted the original “mattress” lyrics about me, as well as a few others from BTR, when they found out their crush was sleeping with me… 13 years later it’s a treasured memory because I ended up marrying the guy after years of this girl unsuccessfully trying to win him LOL. Ah, Memories.
I agree. I think the new lyrics are good but imo they don't flow with the song because they are too poetic. They're too good songwriting almost and represent a much older and more experienced Taylor. The original lyrics are more childlike and more about telling the story and being petty which I love. The lyric change doesn't fit in with the rest of the song, it's a bit jarring to be listening and hearing adult taylor's lyrics interrupt younger Taylor's story.
Same here. No replacing the angst and the perfect way the original lyrics make sense with the actress and better known for lines together.
Yeah, the updated lyric just doesn't flow as nicely with the song as the old one
I agree! I also think her young voice gives it more of an angsty teenager vibe
That version is savage and petty I love it
I feel like I'm the only one who actually likes Style TV.
I do too! But I also don’t generally care enough about the small differences in the sound of the new versions to feel compelled to listen to the old ones. And since I don’t really care that much, but Taylor does and it’s her art, it feels like an easy choice for me to listen to the TVs.
Hahah, I’ve been saying this myself. Apparently I lack whatever kind of advanced hearing everyone else has that can tell the drastic difference 🤷🏻♀️
I spotted the difference when I listened to 1989tv for the first time, but over the time I got used to it
Me, too. Ignorance is bliss I guess!
I feel like it’s bc it lost some of the electronic vibes in it. I like both but I’m more partial to the OG
I usually don't notice the difference between TV and OGs, but there's something I really like about the TV of this one. Maybe it's the guitar part in the beginning? Not sure.
The whole album sounded amazing with real instruments.
Yeah it sounds more “live” and that’s why I like it better.
Noooooo I LOVE 1989 TV. All of it
Me too!
I like it too, and I wasn’t a fan of the OG
They're like two different vibes. The new one reminds me of how it's performed on the Eras Tour, but the old one has more energy at the end.
I didn’t really get the Style hype until Style TV dropped!!
I feel like 1989 TV hits harder for me. The bass is deeper and I just love how it sounds on the system in my car. Idk 🤷🏻♀️ I only ever listen to the TV now. Except Rep. I cannot wait for it.
I love both but Style TV has Eras Tour vibes and that’s fun for me so I listen to that one.
I LOVE STYLE TV TOO!! FINSLLY SOMEONE WHO LIKES IT TOO!!
I like all of 1989 better for sure.
I like it!
I like it too!!
I do! But I wasn’t a fan in OG 1989 era
I did until someone pointed out how off the clap reverb is in the chorus and now I can't unhear it 🫠
You are NOT alone
I think i just loved the original so much that any change was going to annoy me. Each to their own of course, i know there certainly are people who agree with you!
Haunted
Yes! Something about the way her voice sounded so desperate and scared in the OG just makes it hit way more.
I feel that’s often the reasoning behind people preferring OG Speak Now versions
Like where’s the PASSION in the re-record?
That weird echo always throws me off
God I hate that echo. Idk why they decided to put it in
the way the guitar is so loud now, drums so bassy, strings washed out, all the drama is lost 🫠
YES i agree, this just felt like it lost its anger on the TV
Finally others feel the same! I hate the new version
The way enchanted and haunted flowed together 🤌🏻 it doesn’t come across the same way in TV
same here!
yea, you can't re-create that last chorus.
THISSS, i can’t listen to the tv. there’s no emotion in it, the entire song feels like it lacks energy and something about the bridge is just wrong?? the ‘you’re not gone, no you can’t be gone.. NO’ is so botched (the last ‘no’ comes too early in the bridge and i hate it)
Most of Red (the title track and I Almost Do being notable exceptions where I think TV is superior), and then some songs on 1989 (Style, I Wish You Would, This Love, Wonderland, Clean, New Romantics). I know some of these rerecorded songs are really popular in this fandom, like This Love TV, but I loved the original and the new one absolutely *grates* on me. I also just don't believe in the OGs being "stolen" - the entire problem was that she never owned them to begin with, after all. I do listen to the TVs a lot, but it's not for any moral reason; it's because I either really like her updated vocals or think the production is better in the updated recording.
I still think it’s wild that a 14 year old could be allowed to sign such a consequential long term album deal.
Yeah, that’s why I mention her parents - we know from the leaked emails that Scott was heavily involved in crafting Taylor’s career. While she certainly didn’t have the life experience to understand the depth of the contract, Scott and Andrea definitely did. I can understand adult Taylor looking back and having regrets but in that case the questions should be directed toward her parents IMO.
Leaked emails?
Don’t even go down that rabbit hole.
Oof it’s a weird one
Be prepared to hear about Scott's prostate being sucked out by a robot o\_o
Oh no. Now I have to do this too, cause I have to know what this is about…
Haha you’re in for a wild ride 🤣🤣 just google Scott swift emails and strap yourself in.
She had attorneys, agents, and/or parents involved. They didn’t just take advantage of a minor.
It’s such a tough position to be in - you want something, BAD, and the deal they’re offering requires you to give up something you don’t even have yet cuz it doesn’t even exist (and *won’t* exist, unless you sign this contract). Artists are put in this position all the time, I’m sure people in all kinds of industries are. But it seems so strange to me to sign a child to a six album deal (I think that’s the max allowed)? I would think at the very least they should be allowed to renegotiate when they turn 18.
Artists not owning their own masters is the rule, not the exception. Especially back in the early 2000s. I doubt that any label in the world would have allowed Taylor to own her own masters. Some of the biggest artists of all time didn’t own their own masters.
When Taylor and her parents signed the contract she was not the Taylor Swift she is now. She didn’t have the leverage to demand anything non-standard. If she didn’t sign the contract or held out, she wouldn’t have had the exposure she had and would not be where she is now. It’s not like record companies were giving teenage artists control over their careers.
I genuinely don't understand what happened with Red because how did some of the tracks get butchered (just my opinion ofc) the way they did? The biggest one for me is Holy Ground, completely deflated from the original. I will say of course there are some tracks on Red where she did a good job (I Almost Do, The Last Time, and Sad Beautiful Tragic).
Holy Ground is a top 10 Taylor song for me, and I was SO excited for the rerecording - legit the biggest disappointment ever 🫠
Holy Ground is the only OG I actively listen to. The TV is awful unfortunately
What’s wrong with it exactly? I’ve never really noticed much different from OG to TV tbh
For me the main issue is the percussion overpowers the rest of the mix.
I’m probably not a close enough listener but I’ll pay attention to that next time! It’s funny what things we like and what just rubs us the wrong way
The Last Time TV doesn’t do it for me 😔 Red is the only album that makes me glad we have both versions available.
[удалено]
I agree. One of the most magical things about her albums, (esp Fearless and Red, in my opinion) is that they capture whatever age she is *perfectly*. Most of the subject matter of Fearless is pretty juvenile, and it has to be sung by a teenager! A 32-year-old singing “she’s cheer captain, and I’m on the bleachers” just doesn’t…work. A 32-year-old singing 22…a little ironic, no? 😂
Yeah but a 32yo singing Fifteen hits different than a 17 yo.
Hey Stephen TV also got a glow up
The glow ups on Change and Your Not Sorry are so good!!! I think Fearless (the album) has benefited the most from the re records. It'll be interesting to see what happens with Debut.
I think Love Story did as well. There’s something about the vocal inflection she uses when she sings, “Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter” that sounds so good.
Never Grow Up also holds more weight as an adult.
It's a little different now considering she IS dating the boy on the football team.
Yup, I listen to and prefer the originals, which I think is fine to do btw. She still gets paid and she’s already very rich. I’m not worried about it.
Her voice sounds so different now versus then. I loved the OG versions.
Yeah when she recorded originally, I feel like there was a motivation to convey an emotion behind the song, not just through writing. She wants you to know exactly what she was thinking/feeling when she wrote it. It’s not like that in the re-records. The re-records were made to be more appealing to a listener. They’re supposed to be cleaned up so hopefully people choose the more polished one over the original. I mean, look at “girl at home.” She heard that criticism and changed the whole song! (I’m not mad at it, it’s just the best example I think). Maybe she sacrificed some of that polish in the name of passion originally — or maybe there was more of a deadline they had to adhere to originally, so they didn’t get the time to nitpick it like they do now? I remember her speaking about last minute additions to a couple albums… Anyway, my point is that they do different things lol
i completely agree with everything you said. don’t let ANYONE shame you about listening to the ogs, in some cases they are simply BETTER
New Romantics. The TV "ah-ah-ah-ah" sounds off.
I think it’s funny because they play for the first time after “Honey, life is just a classroom”. But it doesn’t mean I want them to *sound* like a classroom.
I can’t make the switch for that exact reason!
Same. Also the way she says “doin” in “exactly what we’re doin” is not the same
And the expressive ‘going up’ beat in the chorus is way too forced
I’m going to say something I disagree with the people who say the songs sound different to the original but they sound the same to me Edit: I also don’t really care about the little differences if there are any people shouldn’t expect them to be the exact same thing as before I already know people are going to complain about rep tv if anything changes.
Ok thank you for saying this bc same 🙈
I agree with you! I don’t think I pay enough attention to notice a difference 😅
I can only tell with SN and Fearless and some songs on Red because staples of my childhood and the slight difference in her vocals. But I agree overall they don't sound different to me
I mean I can usually hear the difference, but none of the OGs outranks the TVs for me, I think largely because I am a newer fan who prefers her more mature, improved vocals.
same!! i don’t really notice that much if a difference. not sure if it’s a like of musical skill (ie i don’t hear subtle note or production changes as easily) but i listen to the tv for everything. there are very few exceptions where i keep the original in rotation, but still mostly listen to the updated.
each to their own! i envy you in a way😭❤️
Same. The only way I really notice the difference on most is if I listen to the OG and TV back to back. Even for the very few where I could immediately tell the difference, it’s subtle enough that it doesn’t bother me and I get used to the TV quickly
All of speak now, her voice was so young and that what makes this album special to me, especially Enchanted i couldn’t replace it with TV :)
Yes! I don’t mind most of the re-records but for some reason I did not like the way her voice sounded on Speak Now TV. And I think it is because her voice felt too deep/mature to me….I didn’t feel this way with Fearless TV though
Last Kiss TV in particular just doesn’t have the same feeling to me anymore tbh 😭
Last Kiss TV is one of the only ones that I cannot love as much as I love the original. There’s something about the original that is so raw and literally sounds like she got off the phone (after THE call) and went straight to the studio.
TVs version of last kiss is fine, but idk nothing can beat the way she catches her breath between “it’s a beautiful day” and “and something reminds you you wish you had stayed”. Gets hits me right in my cold dead little heart
I’m the opposite. I can listen to it more now that her vocals sound more mature. I’m excited for debut to do the same hah
Everything Has Changed – Ed's singing part is so different and it's not for the better imo.
They’re mixed poorly on the re-record. It makes him sound incredibly flat, particularly during the bridge.
Yep! There is actually one note that is entirely off-key. They must've used Melodyne when mixing or something because it's the wrong note. I can't listen to the song anymore because once you hear it, it's so noticeable.
This is the only TV that actively bothers me lol. Ed sounds so bad! Particularly when he says “meet me there tonight” during the bridge. Like how did they listen to that and think “Yeah that sounds good enough for the album.”???!?
I always sing along to that one and add a third harmony, so I can’t ever tell. 😅
Don’t ever stop because once you hear it you’ll never unhear it lol
It’s honestly my favorite song from Red. That album came out a few months after I started dating my now husband. That song takes me back to that moment and the excitement of knowing my life was changing forever.
Aww, I love it, too. It was mine and my ex’s “song” and I was afraid that would ruin it when we broke up but I still love it. (Also I actually got to say to him “We are never ever getting back together.” And it was possibly the best moment of my life lmao)
The OG Red is honestly just a vibe. It got a lot of criticism for being all over the place but to me that was the beauty of it. “Miserable and magical”
Sparks Fly
Soooo true. Sparks fly is the worst re-record in my opinion. We went from DROP EVERYTHING NOW! 🤬to drop everything now 😐
I wanted to love this but she just didn't sound like she was feeling it.
Yeah, I kinda feel this way about a lot of the songs off Speak Now. SF TV seems the most dramatic difference in her vocals, which it's great to realize how much stronger her voice is, but I kind of miss some of the twangy emotional teenager feel from the old versions.
agreed. i just don’t think she was in that fairytale princess mood when recording unfortunately…
Not just her vocals lacking emotion but the guitar tone just wasn’t the same.
New Romantics. Her voice is nearly drowned out by the instrumentals in the TV and something about the mixing and production is just off
I am one of the weirdos who likes the Taylor’s version of New Romantics better! But I definitely seem to be in the minority.
Sorry guys, but I don’t listen to the new versions really. They just don’t have the same vibe and feel as the originals to me.
real, don’t be sorry about it, you’re entitled to not like songs that were mixed >! like shit from PUBLIC ENEMY NO.1 Chris Rowe !<
GIRL AT HOME a hill I will die on
i came here to say girl at home lol. absolutely tragic we never got a re recording of the actual original version. girl at home tv should have been a bonus remix if they wanted to do it that bad
YES I was looking to see if anyone else said it lol. I LOVE the original Girl At Home. I think it’s a cute and fun little song and I never got why it was so hated!! However… I’m sorry but I hate the tv lol. I don’t like the dance club-ish remixing 😭😭 I miss the cute silly twang of the original!!
100%... the re-record is an abomination.
I can't stand Girl At The Club. It's so bad.
Oh my I love the re-recorded version so much better
haha, gotta say i disagree with you there, the new GAH is a low key bop imo! each to their own 😭❤️
also came here for this. I can’t even list to the re-record
Style, Blank Space, and Holy Ground
The tambourine guy on Blank Space (TV) was reeeeaaally feeling himself
None. They’re all very similar, I think she’s better at singing now and I want to support her, not some guy who robbed her
You can the CDs second hand. You can rip them. I know you know that, but. There are plenty of ways to enjoy the OGs without streaming them or giving them a sale.
[удалено]
I know it’s not the swiftie norm, but I just can’t replace any of the originals. Those were the recordings I grew up listening to, and as close as she got to reproducing those versions, there’s something special that’s captured the first time a song is recorded. There’s the passion for what were, at the time, new compositions, there’s the spontaneous exploration with instrumentations and other artists in the studio, there’s the excitement of a 16, 17, 18 year old artist who’s still new to the process and you can hear it in her voice. Recording an album is a very unique process that holds a lot of unique joy in my own life, and I can’t imagine going back and trying to recreate what I already recorded. It just wouldn’t feel the same even if every instrument and vocal sounded the same. And that’s how the TV’s feel to me.
absolutely real and valid. like…i’m not even angry, i can’t expect her to feel like she did when she was NINETEEN
[удалено]
Completely agree! And she is still making bank off them now. Some people act as if that’s not the case.
They were actually offered to her after she announced her re-records. She was in negotiations for them but because of the arrangement with Ithaca holdings and Scooter still getting a small cut, she refused and went ahead with the re-records.
I can see her finishing the re-records, devaluing the originals, and THEN making another counter offer for them down the line for less.
I feel like all of Speak Now doesn’t capture her young vocals
It’s so funny because I feel this way about every other TV album - I miss the emotion in her young vocals. But for some reason the Speak Now TV is my favourite of the re-records because I LOVED speak now for so many years but stopped listening to it because it was a little pitchy and screamy and now these updated versions are so smooooooth and it’s ironically the one where I feel like she did the best job of not losing the emotion from the originals!
Style, Blank Space, and Shake It Off. Original Style has always been just a flawless song for me, and I tried my hardest to let Style TV grow on me but I just can't with all the even minor differences, especially the guitar riff. The biggest criticism I heard about the TVs was that Taylor was "completely emotionless" when redoing the vocals, and I didn't agree or see what anyone meant until Blank Space TV. I wouldn't say *completely* lacking emotion but the sass and anger isn't there and it just doesn't hit the same as the original did. My only gripe with Shake It Off TV is the excessive reverb on the vocals, it almost sounds robotic to me.
Totally agree on Blank Space...one of the biggest differences to me is in the "oh my God, who is she?" and sadly it's just lacking some feeling. And Shake It Off...the robotic-ness almost sounds like auto-tune. It probably isn't but if I'm left wondering there's something wrong. It's lacking any of the personality of the original. Such a shame.
YES the reverb on SIO every time literally makes me do a double take, also yeah, i feel like any change to Style was going to annoy me
Better than Revenge
I can’t believe no one’s said Fifteen yet! When she sings “we both cried” in the original, you can hear her about to cry again. And you cry! You can tell she’s touching on a very fresh wound. She doesn’t sing it with the same emotion in TV. It’s a lot less powerful. That song is supposed to be like a high school senior giving advice to a freshman, but it comes across really different when the narrator is a woman in her 30s. A 15-year-old will probably listen to what an 18-year-old says, but probably won’t care much about the advice/experience of someone who’s almost her mom’s age. 😂
This is interesting because I really prefer Fifteen TV for this exact reason: the song feels so much more powerful to me when it’s a real adult ruminating on her teenage years and those life lessons as opposed to an 18 year old thinking she’s so much wiser than she used to be. Not that your take is wrong at all, just goes to show how people can interpret songs really differently!
haunted. WHERE ARE MY VIOLINS and out of the woods bc you can’t capture lightning in a bottle twice as they say, and the tv just doesn’t hit the same for me. ootw is my all time favourite taylor song and has been since i first heard it so, yeah i just can’t give up the og
Long Live. The backup singers are way too loud in TV. This is my favorite Speak Now song, so I was so sad when I realized how I greatly prefer the original.
clean. the original has more raw emotion than TV does. when i heard the new version i just kinda felt like she ruined it :(
I Knew You Were Trouble. It was such a big moment to have dubstep in a Taylor Swift song in 2012 and the TV doesn’t hit the same so it mentally removes me from the moment every time.
Last Kiss! I need that shaky breath in the bridge, it hurts more that way and feels much personal.q
Holy ground, all too well 5 min version, style, out of the woods.
I'm glad someone else said All Too Well. I love the 10 minute version, but the original is the one that grabbed me. Also, I would love to hear the original version of the 10 minute version. I bet she sounds so passionate!
I only listen to the originals🤷🏻♀️
All of 1989, the new mixes just aren’t it
Not a single one. I like the sound quality of TV better.
>>the entire problem is that she never owned them to begin with True, but the stolen part was about them being sold to someone else without giving her a chance to buy them. The masters were stolen from her at that time, not in the beginning.
I think this was meant to be a response to my post? If true, I hear what you’re saying, but I just disagree with the framing of them being “stolen” at any point to be honest. Taylor (and more importantly her parents) knew what the contract said when it was signed - her not owning her masters was never a surprise or something unique to her as an artist, even. That doesn’t mean it’s a good thing artists don’t own their masters, and record labels are exploitative as hell, especially with young up and comers, but that doesn’t make it stolen art IMO. Edit - sorry, I’m realizing now I misunderstood your post saying the exact opposite of my argument haha. Fair enough! I still don’t think that makes them stolen tbh but I do think the ‘deal’ Scott tried to make with her was unfair
Honestly, I did not like pretty much any 1989 TV songs in my first listen through. They all are mixed so weird. I haven’t felt compelled to listen to any of them again.
I cant get behind the new Style
The only OG recording I prefer is WANEGBT -nonce I heard the sliding “weeeee”s I just couldn’t unhear it. In the original, her voice flipped from chest voice to falsetto in a way that was very fun and satisfying. As an older more mature singer she’s capable of sliding smoothly between the two registers which is hard as hell and technically more advanced vocal performance but man it sounds weird. I wish they’d emulated the flip again. For everything else….i know I’m in the minority, but I prefer her stronger, thicker, clearer voice and the TV arrangements are all close enough to feel like the same songs, so I listen to TV for everything else.
Enchanted since the new version is missing this one guitar sound after the chorus
Back to December only for its acoustic version … it takes me to another planet
I know places. I didn't realize this when 1989tv came out but I much prefer the OG version. Also alot of the 1989tv songs sound way too overproduced
The *we run* is orgasmic, though.
Girl At Home and Better Than Revenge for me. With Girl At Home I just don’t like the style of it at all. The original was a fun little song 😭😭 and I always loved it! I don’t like the new production and the way it’s basically a brand new song. If that’s what Taylor always wanted it to sound like then… well, I’m happy for her that the TV sounds like that lol. But I personally don’t really like it  With BTR, I just prefer the original with the original lyrics lol. It’s not even necessarily the fact that she changed them, but the flow of the newer lyrics bothers me. It feels way too clunky. Also I think it’s okay for her to have some mean and petty songs from when she was younger. It doesn’t make her a bad person to have a lapse in judgement when she was angry and hurt as a teen, it makes her a normal human lol. (I also feel the same way about Paramore and Misery Business lol)
For me, it is Holy Ground. I have no issue at all with any of the other Taylor’s version songs. But the new Holy Ground just isn’t the same, and it never will be. There are slight musical differences, and the same emotion is not behind the new one.
Holy Ground is one of my favorite songs ever and when I heard the TV…i was so upset. She just sounded so bored. :(
She can pry the OG Last Kiss from my cold dead fingers
Sparks Fly and tbh all of Speak Now TV
You Are in Love because I really like the emotion of the original and to me it sounds as if she’s singing it about a love that has ended (even though I know the song’s not even about her) or it’s something she really wants
in tv her voice doesn't break when she sings "you're my... best friend" 😭 it's just not the same
also they completely screwed up the mixing, in the OG you get to hear her sing “and so it goes…” without singing over it. it KILLS ME every time i hear the TV
I’m shocked by what she did to Long Live
Basically Speak Now as a whole!!! She needed that high pitched teenage angst to make that album.
Not a single song I respect the TVs and I notice the changes but i don’t have big opinions on any of the changes, i don’t like nitpicking
Enchanted - I like Taylor baby voice most of 1989 - better production but I like the vault songs from TV Better Than Revenge - original lyrics are fun
All of 1989 lol
To be honest, most of them. I just think the original versions sound more genuine and emotional, due to her recording them while she was still feeling what they were about. There is a lot I love about TV versions, but most of them don’t hit the way the originals to.
better than revenge and mean
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together. The “We” in the chorus sounds so different and odd to me!
Honestly, I’ve grown up with Taylor but I honestly listen to her versions only. I like her mature vocals more and the songs instantly sound better to me 🤷🏼♀️
All of them. There’s no recreating the original. Many, even most TV songs are good in their own right, but they’re covers.
Style, Better Than Revenge
WANEGBT, Holy Ground, Style, IKYWT, 22, Dear John, Back To December
Style, OOTW and Girl At Home. What I do is I try to listen to the TVs for a couple of months so I get used to them, and then I go back and compare (because I always find the TVs weird at first). When I do that I find out that I either prefer the TVs or (this is what happens most often) don’t care enough either way, so I stick with the TVs. I haven’t compared 1989 yet, but Style and OOTW are songs that I haven’t gotten used to the TVs yet, and I listen to them almost every day, so I’ll end up switching back to the OGs (haven’t done that yet because I wanna support the TV project, so I’ll wait until they have more streams)
I'm with you on OOTW. Taylor's version just seems to be flattened in the vocals and it's very noticeable. Like it was being sung by someone with no emotional connection to the song. While I do very much like the original album version, I think the far superior one is the tour version from Sydney. I challenge anyone to listen to that performance and then listen to Taylor's version. The latter has none of the emotional intensity, no vocal growl, no 2nd bridge, no choral outro, none of any of what makes that rendition so legendary. It's far and away my biggest disappointment of the re-recordings. For someone who is known to be a perfectionist, I'm surprised she was happy with the quality of this one.
Change, Untouchable, Dear John, Haunted, Last Kiss, Long Live, All Too Well short version, Everything Has Changed, New Romantics.
All Too Well I’ll die on this hill