I finished Midnights earlier today. I’ve read some comments where people weren’t as much a fan of this album as others. It definitely has a different sound to it. Much more pop sounding than most of them I think. It’s also a very stark contrast to the two that preceded it. folklore and evermore were definitely twin albums with a mellow, folk sound to them. This was quite the opposite. But it was still good. I think that’s the beauty of Taylor Swift’s music. She’s good at whatever style she puts out. Country in her early albums, pop, folk, it’s all good.
Here are my thoughts and stand-out lyrics from Midnights (the Til Dawn Edition)…
1: Lavender Haze—Much different sound to this, very different from the previous two. “The 1950s shit”, people constantly criticizing her and her relationships. “Talk your talk and go viral”. I like the sound. It’s different but still good.
2: Maroon—All the shades of red mentioned, “Ain’t that the way shit always ends?” She’s almost nonchalant about it. “That’s a real fuckin’ legacy to leave”—she really emphasizes the “fuckin’”.
3: Anti-hero—Gotta read the story behind this one, I’ve heard it so many times. “When my depression works the graveyard shift”. Insecurities, complicated lyrics. “She’s laughing up at us from hell”—I do love that though. Revenge.
4: Snow on the Beach (feat. Lana Del Rey)—“Life is emotionally abusive”, yeah it is! I can picture this. I’ve been on a beach before when it was snowing. “I’ve never seen someone lit from within”. It flows, feels floating kind of, like you sway a lot if you were dancing to this.
5: You’re On Your Own, Kid—Childhood crush, growing up, “better bodies”—her insecurities again? Tried to be something she’s not (**Read the book and that’s finally where the friendship bracelets come in!)
6: Midnight Rain— What an intro! Who is that?! I see…she’s rising up and he’s not going with her, holding her back.
7: Question…?—Kind of an interrogation. All the things she wants to say, she knows most of these answers already.
8: Vigilante Shit—Oh my! What a title! “Lately I’ve been dressing for revenge”, “…thick as thieves with your ex-wife.” Damn! Turned his wife against him. Showed her evidence. Bad ass! This is a pretty cool song!
9: Bejeweled—“…I think I’ve been too good of a girl”, she doesn’t need him, “A diamond’s gotta shine”
**The lyrics on this album are a lot less literal, much more poetic I think.
10: Labyrinth—Scared of falling in love again. “You know how much I hate, that everybody just expects me to bounce back”.
11: Karma—She has good karma, who she’s singing to obviously doesn’t. “My pennies made your crown.” Interesting! Did she help someone and they burned her? “‘Cause karma is the thunder rattling your ground.” I’ve got some people I hope that’s true for.
**Quite a few songs on here feel like they could have been on Reputation.
12: Sweet Nothing—Playful music, simplicity of being home with the one you love. “All that you ever wanted from me was sweet nothing.”
13: Mastermind—I like it, she planned it all out. “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”.
14: The Great War—“Took the battle underground” Lots of symbolism in this! This could be one that those Taylor Swift college classes analyze.
15: Bigger Than the Whole Sky—Read the description first, to brace myself, already tears. “Did some force take you because I didn’t pray?” But I did pray, constantly. Just…all of it.
**I wrote a whole separate post about this song and the impact it had on me last night and today. Goodbye, Goodbye, Goodbye
16: Paris—Being so wrapped up in love, “…to somewhere the culture’s clever”, wanting to escape it all.
17: High Infidelity— Her? Freeloading?! “Your picket fence is sharp as knives”, she cheated (April 29th?) but he drove her to do it, didn’t love her enough.
18: Glitch—Didn’t want to fall for someone, but did, interesting sound.
19: Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve—Referring back to being 19, “Memories feel like weapons”, what would’ve happened, religious references, thinking it would’ve been better if it never happened, “Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first” (**Does she get little chills and stomach flips when she pens these amazing lyrics like we do when we hear them for the first time)? “And now that I’m grown, I’m scared of ghosts.” This is really good!
20: Dear Reader—“And if you don’t recognize yourself, that means you did it right”, “Snap when you have to”, Kind of dark, giving advice but also, don’t take it/follow it.
21: Hits Different—Easy for her to move on, but not easy to see him moving on? Not taking it well. “Cursed the space I needed”. Interesting end about the key in the door.
22: Snow on the Beach (feat. More Lana Del Rey)—They have very similar voices.
23: Karma (feat. Ice Spice)—I like the Ice Spice addition. It works really well.
So my book ends with the song by song stories at this point. For the Tortured Poets Department, there’s just a couple pages of paragraphs that describe it, but no song breakdown. I guess I’m on my own now to get insight into the songs. Or I’ll just have to do what most Swifties do, and just listen to the songs and interpret them the best I can with what I know and what my own experiences have been.
The day I bought this book, there was another book at Barnes & Noble that I saw. My husband and I already had quite a stack, so I didn’t buy it. I also thought I would see how this journey goes before buying more stuff. Perish the thought but I actually questioned if I would actually like her music! Gasp! Needless to say, I have to run to the store later today, and I am absolutely stopping at Barnes and Noble to see if they still have it. If they don’t, I’ll order it online. It looks really good!
I’ll be starting the Tortured Poets Department tonight. I’m going to get it done as quickly as I can so I have time to listen to the new album before going to the release party on Friday. My orange sequined jacket and orange sparkly earrings and headband arrived in time, and I have all the supplies for making bracelets. Just have to make them. I’m thinking of making some of them say “newbie Swiftie”. Because it’s true, I am new, but I am for sure a Swiftie now!
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