Swifties Are Confused About The New Bonus Tracks Taylor Is Releasing
Um... they don't really belong here?
Taylor Swift is adding an afterword to The Anthology... but it’s not one that fans expected. On Oct. 15, Swift announced the vinyl release, which will consist of 35 tracks. The reveal immediately set off alarms for Swifties, who are well aware that the Tortured Poets Department and Anthology double album is 31 songs long. Unfortunately, though, the four added songs aren’t really new. And their unexpected inclusion on the album is causing fans to scratch their heads.
Shortly after Swift’s announcement, Billboard revealed the bonus tracks will be acoustic versions of Swift’s previously released songs. Specifically, the four songs will be: “I Can See You,” “You Are In Love,” “Death By a Thousand Cuts,” and “Maroon.” Presumably, the songs were chosen as a tie-in to Swift’s upcoming The Eras Tour book, which was announced at the same time and will also release on Nov. 29. Swift performed acoustic versions of each track live as surprise songs on her Eras Tour set list, and they were also all featured in Swift’s Eras Tour film.
While it’s a nice little treat, the four bonus songs are kind of confusing to Swift’s fans, mainly because they are all plucked from different albums. Obviously, cohesive eras have become a very important thing for fans of Swift even more so recently, so adding a mish-mash of other musical eras to the end of The Anthology feels a bit off-brand.
In particular, fans have already begun joking about what the transition between The Anthology’s last song — the somber and reflective “The Manuscript” — and the first reported bonus track — the flirty, upbeat bop “I Can See You” — is going to sound like.
On the bright side, fans will always get to have a little taste of the Eras Tour at the very end of the Anthology vinyl. The record will be released exclusively in Target locations on Nov. 29.