Ryan covered T-swizzle and it's AMAZING.

The history of rock and/or roll is dotted with people reinterpreting other people's songs. Hell, The Beatles and The Stones built the genesis of their musical legacies on the backs of the bands they took all their original references from. In fact, most of the time they were building off their influences, those influences were contemporaries of theirs.

So the idea of Ryan Adams taking his cue for his latest album from another contemporary like Taylor Swift isn't that strange. Except for the fact that this contemporary muse built portions of her career on the back of his output. So the snake has officially eaten its tail.

 But a step back.

Let's do a simple math equation—Taylor Swift = Insurgent country + Pop + I don't give fuck all about what is supposed to sell or not. Which sounds a lot like Ryan Adams at certain points in his career. Add to that, Swift has admitted that Adams was a huge influence and once you're faced with his whole album cover at her vaunted grasp towards mainstream fame you'd be forgiven for thinking, nay screaming, "What the fuck?"

Is this a joke?

Nope.

One listen to Adams' 1989 proves two things: a) he's able to channel any source material and make it sound good, and b) with Taylor's material he's got something he can make sound great. All of Swift's melodies make it through, but Adams adds a melancholic tinge to all of it that, surprisingly, hearkens back to Swift's earlier days. All the sheen is stripped off in favor of the heart that lies beneath. And, while an album of covers, may stand as Ryan's masterpiece.