Let me preface this article with an important announcement:
I am a Taylor Swift fan! Like many newcomers to the world of T. Swift fandom, I
did not care much for her music until the release of Red a few
years ago. When I first heard that siren's call in the form of Trouble's
uncannily catchy melody line, I recognized that this girl was a genius. What
her lyrics may lack in poetic elegance, she makes up for with flashiness
and relatability. The girl's got style.
Even though I really did love several of the tracks on Red,
I kept quiet about it out of fear. At the time, it wasn't cool to be a
college-aged male and a fan of Taylor Swift. All of that changed, of course,
with the release of 1989.
Swift's venture into a new genre may have started with Red,
but it culminated in her latest full-length studio release. Red was
her cocoon, if you will, but in 1989, she emerged a butterfly with
a new look, a new sound, and a new attitude to boot. I don't think it a stretch
to say that every song on the record is catchy. This album is like a Hostess
snack cake for my soul. When my ears want to binge on something that goes down
easy but won't do much to change the way I think about the world, I listen
to 1989.
Once she made the official switch, thousands of previously
non-fans or closeted fans (like myself) came out of the woodwork, unable to
live with the lie that we didn't love this pop princess.
The Swift Shift
As I was listening to her new album in my car several months
ago, the back of my mind started entertaining the general idea for this
article. At that time, I had been listening to Taylor Swift's new record almost
daily since its release. But in this particular instance, listening made me
curious. I asked myself this question: why has the world gone crazy
over this? Even though 1989 really is a great record,
it seemed to do more than what good records usually do. It started a media
revolution of sorts. People went nuts for this album. What was so attractive
about it that album sales skyrocketed so quickly?
While good songwriting and marketing genius definitely share
the blame for much of Taylor's success, I think there is something more.
Taylor, unlike many huge acts before her, successfully accomplished an artistic
metamorphosis. And with the change in her music came a change in her whole
presentation. She reinvented herself, and people are eating it up.
Swift's transformation sends a message that this generation
desperately wants to hear: reinventing oneself is possible and can be positive.
In a world of dead dreams, shattered families, and broken hearts, the psyche of
many young adults and adolescents is wired to be cynical, pessimistic, and
doubtful about change. When life puts people down hard enough times, they are
less inclined to believe it can do anything else.
I realized that the "Swift Shift," as I call it,
is indirectly preaching a Gospel message. "The old has passed away; behold
the new has come." (II Corinthians 5:17) People don't just want catchy
melodies and witty lyrics; people want resurrection! People want to
believe that life doesn't have to be an endless cycle of the same mistakes, but
that they can, indeed, watch an old life die and a new life take shape.
Through the Red
I also find it interesting that the symbolism in Swift's
album titles lines up so closely with the imagery of the Bible. Taylor Swift's
journey to complete musical transformation started with Red.
Through Red came a new musical life for this singer. Through
the red blood of Christ, new life can come for all those who seek a fresh
start. Ephesians 1:7 says, "In him we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace"
(emphasis added). We when we emerge, having been washed clean through the
sacrifice of Christ, new life is ours. Our habits can change; our minds can
change; our words can change; our relationships can change.
Taylor probably didn't know she was inadvertently preaching
the truth of the Gospel, but God's creation will testify to His glorious works,
whether it knows it or not. If you want life to change for you; if you want to
stop making the same mistakes and living through the same brokenness, Christ
offers you that opportunity. After Taylor's reinvention of herself through Red,
she entitled her follow-up record, 1989, after her birth year.
Christ offers you a new birth year as well. This birth is into the family of
God. So, take the journey to a new self, a new birth. You'll emerge as
something beautiful when you pass through the red.
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