“Meet me at midnight…”
That’s how Taylor Swift opened her 10th studio album Midnights, released worldwide on October 21. Every single Swiftie in the world did meet her at midnight, and today I’m here to talk about this masterpiece, in my opinion. Originally, we were supposed to get 13 (what a shock) new songs from Taylor on this album, but only a few hours after Midnights was launched, she released an extended version of it that included SEVEN!!! NEW!!! TRACKS!!!
This extended version was launched at 3 AM, proving to all of us that blondie never sleeps.
Midnights gets Taylor right back into the pop universe that had been left behind during the folklore/evermore era. Since evermore, she was focusing on re-recording her old albums so she could gain back the rights to them — but that’s an ancient topic and we won’t be focusing on that in this article. It was a shock to all of us when the singer announced Midnights, since we were dreaming about a brand new album, but not really thinking we’d be getting one anytime soon. The latest rumors about her career were centered on which album she was going to re-record next — by the way, now we all know it’s Speak Now, although I was personally living for 1989 Taylor’s Version…
The 20 new songs that we got from Midnights (3 am Edition) speak to many different eras Taylor has gotten us through. There are songs related to Reputation while others clearly belong in Red — I mean, track nº two “Maroon” was literally named after a tonality of red… Do I need to say anything else? The thing is Taylor Swift wrapped in this album different stories, aches, and thoughts she went through during the last fifteen years of her life. And if you pay attention to the lyrics and the soul of each track, you can totally tell to which era that song belongs!
That woman truly is a mastermind…
I would love to sit here and talk about this album for hours, but my dear readers probably have better things to do than to read my thoughts on this labyrinth of feelings that Midnights has proved to be. So I decided to select 10 songs — it was a very hard choice — to talk about and rate based on my personal opinion.
- Lavender haze
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I couldn’t leave the opening track out of this list! When Taylor talked about this song before the album came out, I already knew this was going to be one of my favorites… Here’s the thing: I know what it feels like to be in the lavender haze; the fear that something tiny might happen and ruin everything. When you’re falling in love and things are working out, you don’t want anything to ruin that precious little love seed you’re starting to grow.
Taylor has been under the spotlight for most of her life. She built a career based on her love life; her songs are about the ones that made her heart beat harder, but also about the ones who broke it. So I can only imagine what it must be like for her to see this steady and easy love taking shape in front of her eyes. She knew how bad things could get, how red love could be. How intense and devastating. Taylor also knew the media could ruin it, the pressure, the tabloids… But there she was: finding a new form of love, a golden one… standing in the lavender haze and scared to death something could ruin what she had with Joe.We all know this one’s about him. Her daylight, her golden love. This song belongs between Reputation and Lover.
And as someone who is still scared to leave the lavender haze, I can tell for sure: this song is for the ones who are terrified to ruin things but still choose to stay. We just have to trust the strength of our love. Taylor and Joe are living proof!
P.S.: Search “Lavender Haze X I Think He Knows MASHUP” on YouTube… you won’t regret it.
Rate: 4,5 / 5
- Maroon
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Okay… we need to talk about this one. As I previously said, maroon is a tonality of red, so I don’t really have to explain who this song is about, right? I think the title and the lyrics speak for themselves.
In Maroon, Taylor talks about a love that seems nice and exciting at first, but then the song turns darker as the minutes goes by, almost as if we were watching a relationship fade to something heavy with time. In the beginning, I was like “Oh! This is nice… They’re happy and in love“, and then she described a tough time, but I thought we would get a happy ending… and then, the line “And I lost you, the one I was dancing with“. I was pierced through the heart and killed.
It took me a second to process. To be honest, at first, I didn’t really notice the connection between Maroon and Red. My friend casually mentioned it to me one day and everything made sense. I find it amazing how blondie really sang about a love that went darker and then named the song after a darker tone of red. Also, the way she used every single synonym of red in the world but didn’t, in fact, say “red“… My favorite part of Maroon is near the end, when she sings the chorus an octave lower, as if she was whispering. CHILLS!!!
I honestly find it so funny to think about Jake Who-Must-Not-Be-Named listening to this song in his living room and being like “Oh no… Not again…“.
Rate: 5 / 5
- Anti-Hero
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If you ever related to The Archer, this is me trying and mirrorball: this one is for you! Taylor talked about this track a few days before the album came out, and everyone was terrified when she described it as one of her most personal lyrics ever. I mean, didn’t she murder us all enough times with other devastating and personal songs?
I thought this track was going to be slow and dark and heavy, but instead, she gave us a bop. I heard the beat and thought “Well, it won’t be this bad, right?“. God, was I wrong… I spent the next three whole minutes staring at the wall in front of me in complete shock. Yes, it’s a pop hit. Yes, it is, in fact, danceable. But it’s the kind of song that makes you dance in tears holding a bottle of wine.
I had to check my phone’s security to see if I was hacked or something because I’m pretty sure Taylor Swift broke into my notes app and hit copy and paste on some lines to write Anti-Hero.
Great song, with great lyrics, and a great beat. Very relatable. It’s not my favorite from the album, but I really love this one.
Rate: 4,5 / 5
- snow on the beach
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Although I loved this song, I still have to admit: it was a little bit disappointing. When Taylor announced a song featuring Lana Del Rey, the least we expected was a song… featuring… Lana… But the woman barely sings! I’m not putting this on Taylor; I’m sure Lana agreed with the division of the roles in the song, but the world was prepared for something huge coming from them, and they gave us a nice song — but not a great one.
I love the lyrics, the concept, the idea and the feeling this song brings me, but it’s way too basic to be a feature between two amazing female artists. I don’t know… I really like it, but it’s impossible to say I wasn’t disappointed at all. Nobody would ever notice Lana’s voice in this song if her name wasn’t on the title.
Anyways, I really hope we can get a proper feature between them soon! It has so much potential… And I wonder: if Lana Del Rey got to sing background in Snow On The Beach, Phoebe Bridgers must have seen Taylor hiding a corpse to get a decent feature in Nothing New!
Rate: 3,5 / 5
- You´re on your own, kid
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Anti-Hero was very personal, but this one is actually painful. It’s also a bop, I love it, the beat is really nice and all, but the lyrics… damn!
Taylor’s references to the search for a perfect body in this song speak directly to me. Getting on a more deep and personal level now: I have struggled a lot during my life with the idea that I could only be loved and wanted if I looked a certain way. So when the line “I searched the party of better bodies just to learn that you never cared” came, I felt a punch in my stomach. Trying your best to be noticed because you believe you can only be seen if your body looks a certain way, only to realize that the one you were chasing just didn’t want you — despite how you looked — is a known feeling for me.
But although she talked about delicate and personal topics, she also gave us these beautiful and hopeful lyrics. Yes, you’re on your own, but who said that’s a bad thing? You can still be around nice people, enjoy the little moments of pure happiness and joy and make every second count. You’re on your own, but you got this! I absolutely loved this track because of how real it feels.
Growing up is scary, and Taylor captured this feeling in this song. The fears, the vulnerability, the loneliness, and the excitement and the possibilities you have as you become more mature. It’s a beautiful song and definitely one of my favorites from Midnights.
Rate: 5 / 5
- midnight rain
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I feel like it’s safe for me to say that everyone’s reaction to the beginning of this song was “Sorry, what?“. I don’t think anyone was expecting that distorted voice in the intro, but I loved it!
If I’m being honest, I’m still a little confused about who this song is about. If I were to guess, I’d say Tom Hiddleston, but I can’t say for sure. I love how honest she was in this track, admitting she wasn’t ready to settle down. Whenever Taylor talks about her fear of being loved and allowing herself to have nice things, I feel like she becomes a little more real and close to the rest of us.
And the song is very catchy! I’ve been obsessed with it from day one. Also, Midnight Rain and Daylight are great together. There’s an amazing video online that mixes both songs and the result is amazing! Look it up on YouTube and see it for yourself ;)
Rate: 4,5 / 5
- vigilant shit
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This is the only song from Midnights that didn’t make its way into my playlist, but only because it’s not really my kind of music — the song itself is great!
This one gives off Reputation vibes and I love it. This is what I meant when I said blondie mixed up different eras in this album. But let’s talk about the lyrics for a second. The internet was blown by the things Taylor sings in Vigilante Shit. I mean… Was she actually the reason why Scooter Braun’s ex-wife left him? That’s what most of the speculations are about. She does talk about giving someone’s wife proof that she was being cheated on, so… We’ll never know for sure, but this song definitely spilled some tea.
I love the aesthetics of this track. The whole “I will, in fact, ruin your life if you mess with me” vibe speaks to me. The song has a particular/limited beat, but Taylor and her team still found a way to make the song grow as the minutes goes by. It’s a short track compared to others, but it’s a great one. As I said, I didn’t save this one on my playlist, but it doesn’t mean I don’t recognize the great work they did here!
Rate: 4 / 5
- sweet nothing
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Sweet Nothing is, by far, one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard in my entire life. This song is about love in the purest and most genuine way. It’s about the details. It’s about finding comfort in someone, finding peace and silence even when the rest of the world is in complete chaos. This track is Daylight‘s sister and it gets me every time.
The first time I heard it, I didn’t really like it. I thought the beat was pretty much the same during the whole song. But then I remembered that Taylor wrote this song with Joe — which makes everything even better — and decided to give it one more shot, paying attention to the lyrics this time. And suddenly my life was changed forever. I’m not even kidding.
Everyone deserves soft love. Someone you can rely on when everything is falling apart and the world demands too much from you. Sometimes we’re just too soft for it all, and being able to admit that to someone else makes it so much easier! Everyone deserves a golden love, an easy one, a stable one. Someone who wants nothing from you but still gets everything. And someone who you want nothing from, but still receives everything. All the love you thought you’d never get.
This kind of love is out there, it’s real! Don’t settle for Red when you can do Sweet Nothing. And until then, you’re on your own, kid. But that’s okay :)
Rate: 5 / 5
- Mastermind
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It’s me!!! Hi!!! I’m the *mastermind*, it’s me!!!
This track is pretty much three whole minutes of Taylor Swift admitting to being insane just like me. From the first time I heard this one, I knew I would love it forever. The beat is so nice and the way the music keeps growing… I have no choice but to be obsessed with it. Also THE BRIDGE??? It really made me think about my entire life and led me to believe that I trick people into loving me. I will non-ironically bring this topic to my next therapy session.
Every time blondie starts singing “What if I told you none of this was accidental?” something lits up inside of me and I feel the urge to dance and scream my lungs to this song. I also find it hilarious that she wrote songs like invisible string and that line in Paper Rings saying that her relationship with Joe started as an accident, only to show up a few years later and be like “Fate’s a lie! I saw you, I liked you, I wanted you, I got you!“. That’s literally me!!!
But nothing prepared me for the plot twist on that last chorus. He knew she was a mastermind, guys… He knew!!! This track is a masterpiece.
- would´ve could´ve should´ve
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I heard this song for the first time and immediately deleted the only John Mayer song I had on my playlist. It’s needless for me to say that this track belongs in the Speak Now era, right? And I don’t know how Taylor did it, but I feel like she sang just like she used to sing when she was nineteen. I mean, her voice is softer… I don’t know.
I find it fascinating how this woman was able to revive the pain she went through back then for this song. You can actually hear the cracks in her voice. The bridge is physically painful… Give this lady her girlhood back, I beg of you, it was hers first!!!
This song was a huge surprise to me. The intro reminds me of folklore, but then there’s a shift in the song’s aura and Taylor takes us back to 2010, when she took the matches before fire could catch her. Except it did catch her, otherwise she wouldn’t have been left with so many scars from that time. Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve is a beautiful and sad song with very strong lyrics. I’m sure John Mayer wrote her ten new angry emails after Midnights was released. I wouldn’t like to be him right now, but then again… If you don’t want your ex roasting you out online forever, maybe you should… treat her nicely? I don’t know, just brainstorming out here.
This track gives us pain, concept, anger and tears. I love it.
Rate: 5 / 5
Although we were expecting Midnights to be a little darker than it actually was musically speaking, I couldn’t love this album more! Taylor Swift has reinvented herself so many times in the last years to keep up with the industry, and still finds her way to the top of Billboard. This album is for the fans who know her and her stories, but it also has the potential to bring closer new people willing to know her work. She has proven a million times to be a reference in the music industry and I really hope you’re enjoying Midnights as much as I am.
I’ve been obsessed with this woman since 2010, and seeing how much she’s grown ever since makes me a little emotional. Midnights gives off a reinvention vibe that totally matches 2022. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us, swifties!
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This article was edited by Lorena Lindenberg.
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