Her 2006 self-titled debut and 2008鈥檚 鈥淔earless鈥� had inspired both acclaim and criticism for her bold bridges and keen lyricism 鈥� these are masterful country-pop songs, critics argued, but surely a teen idol wasn鈥檛 responsible for them. Swift proved her detractors wrong on 鈥淪peak Now,鈥� an album that arrived just before her pivot from country鈥檚 youngest hope to pop鈥檚 freshest voice.
The album served as a close document of her nascent fame and future career ambitions, and now, 13 years on, it鈥檚 back. released Friday, is the third release of the six albums The Taylor鈥檚 Version albums, instigated by music manager Scooter Braun鈥檚 sale of her early catalog, represent Swift鈥檚 effort to control her own songs and how they鈥檙e used 鈥� a fitting ethos for 鈥淪peak Now,鈥� a record built exclusively of her own voice.
In preparation for 鈥淪peak Now (Taylor鈥檚 Version),鈥� The Associated Press reached out to Taylor Swift scholars to discuss all the ways listeners can and should think about the release.
ADOLESCENCE TO ADULTHOOD
Before 鈥淪peak Now鈥� became 鈥淪peak Now,鈥� the working title was 鈥淓nchanted,鈥� named after the power ballad of the same name. The mythology ( ) behind the shift is that Swift鈥檚 label president at the time, Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta, to move on from whimsy and fairytale iconography 鈥� she was entering her 20s and this LP warranted a more mature title.
Transition creates an interesting framework for thinking about this album: Written largely between the ages of 18 and 20, released when she turned 21, 鈥淪peak Now鈥� is a collection of songs on a precipice 鈥� of adulthood, of fame, of declaring ownership but still concerned with the subject matters that concern a young adult. There are crushes (鈥淪uperman,鈥� 鈥淪parks Fly鈥�) and bittersweet breakups (鈥淏ack to December,鈥� 鈥淚f This Was a Movie鈥�), alike.
鈥淵ou hear a youngness when you listen to these songs,鈥� says musicologist Lily Hirsch, author of 鈥淐an鈥檛 Stop the Grrrls: Confronting Sexist Labels in Music from Ariana Grande to Yoko Ono.鈥� 鈥淚t鈥檚 all about these romantic relationships. The world hinges on all of that, which is so typical of that age. So, it is interesting hear the re-recordings bring a more mature voice to those earlier preoccupations.鈥�
Elizabeth Scala teaches a course on Taylor Swift鈥檚 songbook at the University of Texas at Austin as an introduction to literary studies and research methods.
鈥淚 think 鈥楽peak Now鈥� is still in the vein of 鈥業 don鈥檛 have enough life experience at my ripe age of 18 to give you a fully autobiographical anything, but I鈥檓 going to use what I read and what I know from other people,鈥欌�� she says of the songs鈥� lyrical content, which still manage to 鈥渕ake really beautiful, coherent things out of the messiness and inaccuracy of our memories.鈥�
IN CONVERSATION WITH HER CRITICS AND CELEBRITY
Coming a year after Kanye West interrupted at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, 鈥淪peak Now鈥� is the moment in Swift鈥檚 career where she began to use her celebrity as a mirror to her interior life.
鈥淢ean,鈥� a takedown of a rock critic, becomes a banjo-led treatise on antagonism of any kind; the blues-y 鈥淒ear John鈥� centers on a young woman鈥檚 tumultuous relationship with an older man.
鈥淚nsults are everywhere in music, and men don鈥檛 get the same flak for it,鈥� Hirsch says, in reference to 鈥淒ear John鈥� and 鈥淢ean.鈥� 鈥淭here鈥檚 this idea that women especially are supposed to take the high road, turn the other cheek and all of that, and men can get away with the low road, and they certainly do in music. It鈥檚 a kind of double standard. Women are labeled 鈥榗atty鈥� when confronting bad behavior, like in 鈥楧ear John.鈥欌��
A common pastime among Swift fans is to unearth the identities of her songs鈥� subjects. But, to Scala, 鈥渢he most boring way to think about Taylor Swift is in terms of her biography.鈥�
At a recent stop of her Eras Tour in Minneapolis, Swift seemed to agree, playing 鈥淒ear John鈥� live for the after delivering this introduction:
鈥淚鈥檓 33 years old. I don鈥檛 care about anything that happened to me when I was 19 except the songs I wrote and the memories we made together. So what I鈥檓 trying to tell you is, I鈥檓 not putting this album out so you should feel the need to defend me on the internet against someone you think I might have written a song about 14 billion years ago.鈥�
Scala sees a throughline between this album and its successors, with 鈥淒ear John鈥� as a precursor to and 鈥淢ean鈥� as prescient to a song that parodies how she鈥檚 been portrayed in the media.
REVISIONIST HISTORY
Much surrounding the re-recording of 鈥淪peak Now鈥� has centered on 鈥淏etter Than Revenge,鈥� a pop-punk song that takes aim at another woman instead of the man that wronged them both. It takes both sonic and thematic cues from Paramore鈥檚 2007 pop-rock hit 鈥淢isery Business,鈥� a similar song . (In fact, on 鈥淪peak Now (Taylor鈥檚 Version),鈥� Paramore singer Hayley Williams lends vocals to a 鈥渧ault鈥� song, 鈥淐astles Crumbling.鈥�)
In the original chorus of 鈥淏etter Than Revenge,鈥� Swift sings, 鈥淪he鈥檚 an actress / She鈥檚 better known for the things she does on the mattress,鈥� a rare lyrical misstep in a career underscored by poetic turns of phrases (in the opener 鈥淢ine,鈥� she sings 鈥淵ou made a rebel of a careless man鈥檚 careful daughter鈥�). In her 2023 鈥淏etter Than Revenge鈥� version, the lyric becomes 鈥淗e was a moth to the flame / She was holding the matches.鈥�
鈥淚f we think about 2010, slut-shaming rhetoric certainly existed in movies and shows. She鈥檚 certainly not the only one who has done this at that time,鈥� Hirsch argues, quick to point out that Swift has also been the target of sexist vitriol.
Swift鈥檚 alteration of the song in her re-recording follows a lineage of other pop stars doing the same. and to songs deemed offensive. Weird Al no longer performs his Michael Jackson parodies. And because Swift hasn鈥檛 performed 鈥淏etter Than Revenge鈥� live for well over a decade, she hasn鈥檛 needed to confront this particular song, in this particular way.
鈥淲e are willing to replace the old version with Taylor鈥檚 Versions because they are exact replicas, as much as they can be,鈥� Scala argues. 鈥淚f she does something different, it becomes a different song.鈥� A different song, this time, owned by Swift.
ART EVOLVES WITH TIME
鈥淔rom a literary historian鈥檚 point of view, when you first hear 鈥楽peak Now,鈥� you could only look at her career up to that point: It meant something in her creative timeline,鈥� says Scala. 鈥淎nd now we have the rest of her career to compare it to, so it鈥檚 hard to listen to the record the same way. You can compare it to the older recording, but its deeper and richer.鈥�
Technology has changed from 2010. So has Swift: Her voice has matured, no longer possessing the sweet self-restraint that colored her earliest releases.
Each release comes with a few 鈥淔rom the Vault鈥� tracks, unreleased songs from each album鈥檚 period reimagined for the current moment. They, too, give a fuller picture.
AN EXERCISE IN ARTISTIC AUTONOMY
Beyond all of the music and cultural considerations, the fact is: Taylor Swift is re-recording this album to own her work, like she is doing with so many of her records 鈥� but this is the only album in her discography that is entirely self-penned, the one celebrated for its dismissals of exploitative male characters and poetic embrace of girlhood.
In fact, it鈥檚 hard not to think of 鈥淐ould鈥檝e, Would鈥檝e, Should鈥檝e鈥� from her where Swift sings 鈥淕ive me back my girlhood, it was mine first,鈥� as a self-reflection of her 鈥淪peak Now鈥� self. That track is a creative reclamation of the teen who wrote 鈥淒ear John鈥� as an adult; 鈥淪peak Now (Taylor鈥檚 Version)鈥� is the literal reclamation.
鈥淥wning these masters, she decided to take back that control,鈥� Hirsch says. 鈥淚 love what it communicates: that we all have power, we don鈥檛 have to just sit back and take these situations, especially when it concerns our own voice.鈥�
Maria Sherman, The Associated Press
Like us on and follow us on .
