First things first: Ryan Adams's 1989, his album of Taylor Swift covers, is really good.
The record, highly anticipated by Swift and her legions of Twitter fans, dropped last Sunday. That means we've had a full four days to listen and feel our feelings about it - feelings which have largely been positive. Swift herself has been retweeting praise and even appeared on Beats 1 Radio with Adams, gushing about the album.
Swift also stands to benefit financially from Adams' covers, procuring enough money for years of girl squad gatherings.
So why does this week's wave of gushy tweets, serious music criticism and side-by-side reviews feel a little icky?
"Yesterday The New Yorker wrote a review/ evaluation of the Ryan Adams cover album. Just to be crystal clear, they NOT review 1989," tweeted Kelsey McKinney.
As McKinney points out, the New Yorker reviewed Adams's version of 1989, but not Swift's. Write-ups from other publications have verged on the condescending (at Uproxx: "This project shows what a strong songwriter Swift is"), the hedging (the Atlantic headline: "Ryan Adams's 1989 is the Vindication of Taylor Swift") and yes, the man-splainy (The New Yorker wrote: "These songs, rearranged by Adams, might sound to some ears more authentic, raw, or genuine - suddenly more his than hers").
Source: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/taylor-swifts-1989-the-problem-with-ryan-adams-cover-versions-20150925-gjujge.html#ixzz3mkHOz5pK
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