Taylor Swift released her 10th studio album, “Midnights,” on October 21 and announced “The Eras Tour” shortly after. What was supposed to be her acceptance speech for winning an AMA for “Red (Taylor’s Version),” turned into an announcement of the surprise album on August 28.
“Midnights,” a visual album, contains 13 songs, each representing 13 sleepless nights in Swift’s life, further having an extended version titled “Midnights (3am Edition)” with an additional seven “3 a.m. tracks.” Because. . . does Taylor Swift ever sleep? “Midnights” talks about being vulnerable and describes all those anxious feelings of throbbing fear and turmoil, along with self-made cages and demons we may face during the middle of night.
Starting off with “Lavender Haze,’’ a song that opens with ‘Meet me at midnight,’ the catchphrase she uses for Midnights. I was drawn in by how Swift called the song “Maroon,” a shade with a somewhat devilish side to its connotation, as opposed to any other shade of red.
The third track, “Anti-Hero,” which Swift announced in an episode of her “Midnights Mayhem with Me” TikTok series, shows her vulnerability as never before, really plunging deep into insecurities and isolation. The lyrics “I’ll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror” and “Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby and I’m a monster on the hill” really pierced straight into everyday insecurities while the song currently sees its fifth consecutive week as the number 1 track on the Billboard 200.
A whirlwind of the feeling of being in love, “Snow on the Beach” (ft. Lana Del Ray) is not only a collaboration fans of both artists have anticipated, but also a magical song which will transform into a world where there’s “snow on the beach.”
But then comes “You’re on your own, kid.” A beautiful song engraved with messages of “everything you lose” being “a step you take” and taking risks, it’s a perfect song to comfort yourself with. “Midnight Rain,” though, has a subtle hint of a relationship raveling, presented in a comforting way.
“Can I ask you a question” now? Have you ever drawn “the cat eye sharp enough to kill a man?” An absolute revenge era song, (Vigilante —-), taught you to dress for revenge! To follow is the metaphor-packed song, “Karma,” in which Swift really said Karma is her boyfriend! And her cat! And a relaxing thought! These songs really got me thinking, revenge or wait for Karma?
In the portion of the album between these two songs, Swift added “Bejeweled” and a music video! A twist on the classic Cinderella Story, she really said “Sparkle!” This song is a total dance hit with so many beats (and Easter eggs) syncing together to motivate you not to settle for the basement when you deserve “the penthouse of” their “heart” because a diamond’s gotta shine!
Was it just me or did anyone notice the three stages in “Labyrinth” and then “Anti-Hero?” With the realization of falling in love–“uh oh, I’m falling in love,” transitioning into fear but finally acceptance by changing the first two words of the lines in the chorus from “oh no” to “oh,” “Labyrinth” described anxiety about love. The parallel of the three stages between how Swift declares she is the problem , then how she starts to think she really is, leading to her saying everybody agrees, climaxes into how she thinks she is the problem in “Anti-Hero.”
Swift’s anticipated release of “Midnights” on the 21st of October certainly raised chaos. Crashing Spotify and Ticketmaster were just some of the implications of the release. “Midnights” is a lyrical masterpiece and she, herself, is a “Mastermind.”