A Scatter of Thoughts: It's a Love Story: Taylor Swift & Me

Now, unless you avoid television chat shows and all newspapers and magazines, you probably know that Taylor Swift has released a new album 1989 this week. I feel like now is as good a time as any to dedicate some (nonsensical) words to my relationship with Taylor.

I came to Swift's music relatively late, when you consider what the 'standard' Swift fan looks like. Whilst I of course knew of 'Love Story' and 'You Belong with Me', and I'm pretty sure 'Sparks Fly' was my MySpace profile song for a short time; I was a pretty unbearable teenager who preferred not to listen to 'popular' music (we all went through that phase...riight?).

Then when I was at university 'We are Never Ever Getting Back Together' and 'I Knew You Were Trouble' were big deals when it came to going to any student event. A great deal of bonding with my flatmates came from screaming 'YOU GO TALK TO YOUR FRIENDS TALK TO MY FRIENDS TALK TO ME' at the top of our lungs. My love of these two songs led me to download Red, and it sat on my phone providing some pop/country relief amongst Arcade Fire and Foals.

And then there was a boy. And this boy was pretty much still in that unbearable teenage phase that I mentioned earlier (despite being about ten years too older). Which meant that the mere presence of a Swift album just meant that my opinion about anything was largely invalid. It didn't work out.

In the aftermath, I decided that I was going to listen to Red on repeat in some kind of strange psyhic middle-finger attempt at my ex. And (aside from frequently sobbing over 'All Too Well'), I found that I really, really liked that album. So I downloaded Sparks Fly. And Fearless. And even Taylor Swift (which features lyrics about driving trucks). And I liked them all.

I was a little nervous when it was annocued that her brand new album would be entirely pop. My favourite songs by her have tended to be her more acoustic songs and performances (like this gorgeous cover of Riptide).

However, I. freaking. love. 1989. People hoping for some catty remarks they can write think pieces on will be disappointed, as the worst Harry Styles really gets is references to some pretty bad driving. Indeed, the people who come out badly from the album are the media for over-analysing her personal life.

The best thing about 1989 is the fact that the overall message is that Swift is just fine not being in a relationship. And that you are fine not being in a relationship too. This is the ultimate break-up album in the sense that the songs are bittersweet but songs like 'Welcome to New York', 'New Romantics' and especially 'Clean' all have the moral that you will be okay, and that there is so much more (and better) to come.