Taylor Swift's '1989' Bonus Tracks Need Justice

To quote the infamous Jerri Blank from Strangers With Candy: "I've got something to say!" On Monday night, Taylor Swift announced she's releasing 1989 's three bonus tracks to iTunes, and it reminded me of my one major gripe with the album: "Wonderland," "You Are in Love," and "New Romantics" are all so incredibly good... why the h@#% are they just "bonus tracks"!? I realize what I'm about to say might not be popular, but I can't remain silent any longer: 1989 is without a doubt one of my favorite albums released by a major pop star in recent memory (it's been on heavy rotation on my iPod for almost four months now), but if you ask me, there are three songs on the standard edition that should've been replaced by the bonus tracks.

There, I said it. Yes, 1989 is fantastic — but it's not perfect.

While the majority of 1989's 13 songs are wonderful, there are weak links — songs I skip almost every single time. Why not swap out these clunkers for tunes that are fresh and exciting? The bonus tracks deserve—no, NEED justice! Here are the three songs on 1989's standard edition that should've been replaced by the bonus tracks:

"Bad Blood"

Sorry, this much-buzzed-about diss track falls flat after a few listens. Is it about Katy Perry? Do Swift and Perry actually hate each other? IS SWIFT REALLY A "REGINA GEORGE IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING"?? Eh, I don't care.

"I Know Places"

The chorus is pretty, I'll give you that, but otherwise, this sounds like it was written for a low-budget film adaptation of a Young Adult dystopian novel (you know the kind I'm talking about). I can't roll with that.

"Shake It Off"

Yes, I know it was the lead single, and yes, I know it's, like, really, really, really super duper catchy, but in the context of the album, "Shake It Off" doesn't make any sense to me. It sounds out of place. I still like it, of course — I just think it should've been relegated to the Deluxe edition.

Ah, it felt good to get that off my chest. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go put "Wonderland" on repeat for several hours...

Images: Giphy (3)