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It was the year of Madonna's "Like a Prayer," Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative," Janet Jackson's "Miss You Much" and Paula Abdul's "Straight Up." It also was the year of Taylor Swift's birth.
It's "1989" -- the name Swift has given to her new album, released Monday. She says both that musical era and a kind of birth -- artistic rebirth -- were on her mind when she chose the title.
In a press release, she said that in the two years she spent making the album, "I was listening to a lot of late-'80s pop music and how bold those songs were and how that time period was a time of limitless possibilities. In thinking about that, this album is a rebirth for me. This is my very first documented, official pop album ... and my favorite album I have ever made."
I'm not sure who certifies that something is "a documented, official pop album" - the pop police? - but yes, this truly is a pop album, with none of the country influence that was apparent (albeit, to a lesser degree as time went on) on Swift's previous four releases. It's also good enough that you believe...