On Aug. 29, while accepting the MTV Video of the Year award for her work on “All Too Well (10 Minute Version),” 11-time Grammy winning artist Taylor Swift announced that she would be releasing her 10th studio album titled “Midnights.”
Following the announcement at the award show, she took to her Instagram to spread the news to social media, writing, “Midnights, the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life, will be out Oct. 21. Meet me at midnight.”
Fifty-three long days of anticipation later, the album is out. Taylor Swift has proven once again her complete and utter dominance in the music industry. With the album having only been out for 18 hours, “Midnights” broke the record for the most-streamed album in a single day in Spotify history.
In her eighth and ninth addition to her discography with “folklore” and “evermore,” Swift expanded her range to the indie/folk genre while also throwing it back with a dash of a country undertone. However, in “Midnights,” Taylor reclaims her seat atop the pop throne.
So how do you write a review on an album that leaves you speechless?
I might not be pursuing a degree in music, but if UT offered a Swift-ology degree I would easily get an honorary doctorate. So, fellow Swifites of Rocky Top, let’s freak out about this breathtaking album together and take a look at some of the highlights from our first 24-hours with “Midnights.”
The first track, “Lavender Haze,” is reminiscent of Swift’s sixth studio album, “Reputation.” Taylor discusses her relationship in juxtaposition to her … well, reputation. The way that the public sees her pales in comparison to the love that encompasses her.
The complicated feelings she has towards love is a message present throughout many of the other tracks. In “Labyrinth” she speaks again on the anxiety that vulnerability brings about and in “Maroon” she writes of the complication and heartbreak in her past. What it all seems to come down to is the way she exhibits a deep and truly profound understanding of the human experience. She writes ingenious lyrics to depict an indescribable feeling, like “the rust that grew between telephones.”
On track four, “Snow On The Beach,” Taylor continues to speak on the discomfort but bliss that love brings. Being in the spotlight since she was just a teenager, she explains throughout her discography that her heart seemed to grow cold from betrayal, heartbreak and hurt. Realizing love has been a process she has explained to be almost disarming and unbelievable.
In “Midnight Rain,” Taylor shows what the other side of “Snow On The Beach” can be. She writes of a failed relationship through memories and does so in a beautifully written stream of consciousness replicating the way our brains keep us awake late at night, retracing the steps in a montage of all that has ever gone wrong.
However, as all Swifites know, Taylor Swift doesn’t just write songs to cry to. She proves her dominance over the pop genre and her seemingly effortless ability to write hit after hit. You could say that Swift is … fearless (wink wink). Let me set the scene for you. You’re in your dingy college apartment surrounded by compulsory cream colored walls, sitting on the floor of your living room at midnight and you hear the opening line of “Anti-Hero.” There is no reaction strong enough nor words adequate enough to articulate how perfectly tortured and relatable Taylor Swift is. In “Anti-Hero,” one of Taylor’s more self-loathing tracks, she writes some of the darkest lyrics in her whole discography. However, she does so behind a beat that is so insanely groovy that you have no choice but to dance to the lyrics: “I wake up screaming from dreaming one day I’ll watch as you’re leaving and life will lose all its meaning.”
Then again, in a song so introspective it hurts me, listening to “You’re On Your Own, Kid” felt so special to hear for the first time while in college. Should I paint the picture of the apartment living room again? In a back and forth story about feeling lost, alone, overwhelmed and on the wrong path, Swift ends the song with a bridge that rivals the structure and beauty of only the Golden Gate in San Francisco.
“Vigilante Shit” is the reason why my neighbors were awake at 12:30 a.m. I was not responsible for screaming at the top of my lungs, Taylor Swift was. Please forward the noise complaint to Cornelia Street. In all seriousness, track eight is utterly insane. Utterly insane. For this song, we will be stepping back into the TSCU (Taylor Swift Cinematic Universe).
One of the best aspects of being a die-hard long-time Swiftie is the theories, and the feeling that we might just know exactly what she’s talking about.
Last November, Swift re-released her hit album Red (Taylor’s Version). It was another step in the journey of owning her discography after it was unethically sold to Scooter Braun, a well-known entertainment executive. Swift has been outspoken about her discontent and borderline hatred for Braun and the way he wronged her. In her eighth album, “folklore” she writes, “I didn’t have it in myself to go with grace.” In “Midnights” Swift is willing to take more direct shots. “Vigilante Shit” is theorized to be aimed at Braun and make reference to his recent divorce and legal troubles.
With a near cinematic beat, Taylor sings the draw-dropping line, “Picture me thick as thieves with your ex-wife.”
She taunts the target of this song, “someone sold your white-collar crimes to the FBI,” a possible reference to Brauns $200 million lawsuit owed to Goldman Sachs executive Peter Comisar. Is it too much of a reach to wonder if Taylor Swift sold out Scooter Braun to the FBI? Probably.
Moral of the story, do not take warnings from “Reputation” with a grain of salt. Not even a speck of salt. Swift certainly has a list and in “Vigilante Shit,” she has made it clear that Braun’s name is on it. It would be fair to assume that it is “in red, underlined.”
Her song “Bejeweled” was the reason why the people that live below me were awake at 12:33 a.m. Once again, follow the instruction above and forward the noise complaint to Taylor Swift. I cannot be blamed for the fact that “Bejeweled” is a head-bobbing, foot-stomping, jump-around-your-room-at-midnight kind of song. I basically had no choice in the matter. “Bejeweled” is dazzling.
Once again pop-y and cryptic, in “Karma,” Taylor sings with glee about the role she has taken on as a villain in the eyes of some. “Karma” is a song that begs to be played in a car with the windows down and scream along with Taylor as she sings.
Closing the album with “Mastermind,” Taylor states the obvious. She sings “What if I told you I was a mastermind?” Taylor, trust, you don’t have to tell me. We know. We all do.
In all seriousness, “Mastermind” seems to accompany the story of “mirrorball” as Swift articulated her personal conflict with her ceaseless effort and perfectionism that leads to a feeling of almost inhuman-ness.
And that’s it. That’s the album.
Sike.
At 3:00 a.m. Taylor surprised the world by releasing seven new songs named, you guessed it, “the 3am tracks.” In her reveal, Swift wrote “I think of Midnights as a complete concept album, with those 13 songs forming a full picture of the intensities of that mystifying, mad hour. However! There were other songs we wrote on our journey to find that magic 13. I’m calling them 3am tracks. Lately I’ve been loving the feeling of sharing more of our creative process with you … So it’s 3am and I’m giving them to you now.”
The sequence is reminiscent of a well thought out and heartfelt conversation that of course must be followed up with an “And you know what!…” text a while later. The “3am tracks” certainly have that bite. After the wild ride of “Midnights,” Swift simply still had more to say, and I was all ears.
Starting off strong with “The Great War” and then transitioning into “Bigger Than The Whole Sky,” Swift continues her barrage of tearjerkers writing about themes of lost love and complications it would seem only she has the talent to articulate.
Then, she shifts the mood once again with a scream-along kind of tune. “Paris” is nothing but a happy song with Swift’s signature pop flare and lyrics that demand to be memorized. It will no doubt be a dark horse contender as a favorite among the loyal Swifties.
The clear shining star amongst the “3am tracks” is “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve.” This is the “And you know what..!” text you send after an argument. This is the P.S. in Taylor’s “Dear John” letter from her 2010 record “Speak Now.” It is lyrical talent accompanied by genuine emotions and wrath.
The 19th track is suspected to be about John Mayor who dated Swift when she was a teenager. “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” is filled with retrospective fury and a perspective that is so interesting and compelling for those who have been a fan of Taylor since her “Speak Now” era.
The true final track (no more surprises) in “Midnights” is “Dear Reader.” In one of Taylor Swift’s most sonically cohesive albums, she ties it all together here. She does so essentially with a letter to her audience. It is a list of advice or perhaps lack thereof.
The opening verse keeps with the theme of identity crisis and self-destruction as she sings of the desire to run away and hide.
Returning to the theme of loneliness earlier in the record, another what-did-she-just-say-! moment came with the line, “No one sees when you lose when you’re playing solitaire.” However, she still does not let go of her spite, “Dear reader, when you aim at the devil Make sure you don’t miss.”
Swift is able to demonstrate the journey of this album through a more serious and all-encompassing track that puts all her points to rest. In the “3am tracks,” Swift leaves her heart in the music in an almost literal sense. There is the beeping of what sounds like a life support machine that she sings over. After listening to “Dear Reader,” there simply is no more to say.
It is undeniable that what makes Taylor Swift’s tunes so appealing and so replayable is her seemingly effortless ability to put a compelling story to the catchiest beat you’ve ever heard. “Midnights” is no exception.
Taylor Swift’s tenth studio album gets an easy 13/13 from me.
