YMMV / Red (2012)

• Award Snub: Let's just say there are still many Swifties who are pissed this didn't get Album of the Year.
• Critical Dissonance: Despite being somewhat divisive, Red was probably Taylor's most positively reviewed album at the time. Not that she was ever "panned" by critics (she did, after all, earn an "Album Of The Year" Grammy in 2010 for Fearless, and would later earn two more in 2016 and 2021 for 1989 and Folklore, respectively), but the album seemed to have gained her respect even from critics who previously dismissed her music as immature and generic.
• Harsher in Hindsight: "22" specifically celebrates that age and what a great, carefree time it is in one's life. "The Moment I Knew" is about the narrator's birthday party being ruined because her boyfriend blew it off, and this made her realize their relationship was beyond saving. Fast-forward to Red (Taylor's Version) being released, and the 10-minute version of "All Too Well" clarifies that the party the boyfriend missed was her twenty-first. This heavily implies that the narrator celebrates being 22 specifically because 21 has such a harsh memory attached to it.
  It's supposed to be fun,
  turning twenty-one.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: The line "some indie record that's much cooler than mine" is a lot funnier now that, eight years later, she's actually released, not one, but two indie records. And they both received critical acclaims!
• Growing the Beard: Many listeners and critics note that the "(From The Vault)" songs are much stronger this time around compare to the Vault songs on Fearless (Taylor's Version) (with the only real stand out is "Mr. Perfectly Fine"), with notable stand outs include but not limit to "Better Man", "Nothing New", "Message in a Bottle", "Forever Winter", and of course "All Too Well (10 Minutes Version)".
• Memetic Mutation:
  • WE. ARE NEVER, EVER, EVER. GETTING BACK TOGETHER. (Like, ever.)
  • After Taylor remarked that this album isn't "sonically cohesive," the phrase caught on in the fandom. Usually tongue-in-cheek, as an album doesn't need to have a specific genre to be good.
  • Due to a specific lyric from “All Too Well”, it’s been commonly joked that Jake Gyllenhaal is refusing to let Taylor reclaim her scarf from when she dated Jake.
  And I, left my scarf there at your sister's house
  And you've still got it in your drawer even now
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap:
  • "Girl At Home" was widely considered one of the weakest songs in the Deluxe version of the original album. The new Poppier takes on the song in the Taylor's Version was considered by many to be, if not a good song, a significant improvement.
  • "22"'s placement after "All Too Well" in the original version was widely considering baffling by many fans, with such a strong Mood Whiplash. The "10 Minutes Version" explained that originally the song included a verse about the narrator's ex stood her up on her 21st birthday. This made a lot of listeners be more forgiving of the placement of "22".
• Signature Song: Among the general public, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," thanks to its sometimes-overwhelming presence on the radio, the memes, and the fact that it was the leading single. Among fans, however? "All Too Well" takes the crown, without a doubt. However, the 10 minutes version is quickly approaching to eclipse the original version status among her fans.
• Sweet Dreams Fuel: "Everything Has Changed" is just so happy. It has very gentle instrumentals, and is purely idealistic, about the early phase of a relationship when everything is awesome and while it's nothing serious yet, you feel like it could be. Compared to how melancholy much of the album is, it's a welcome splash of sweetness.
  All I know is we said "hello,"
  so dust off your highest hopes.
  All I know is pouring rain,
  and everything has changed.

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