Taylor Swift has a pattern, that is, of breaking them. She keeps reinventing herself and the way her music is presented. Midnights breaks out of her mystical narrative-based twin albums Folklore and Evermore and brings us to a new Taylor era and yes, as the name suggests it’s pretty dark.
Midnights is an album, which paints the picture of 13 sleepless nights in Taylor’s life and the emotions that pervade through them.
In a promotional interview for the album, Taylor spoke of the autobiographical nature of Midnights. The deeply personal nature of the lyrics makes this wholly evident to any serious listener. There is a certain delicate intimacy to anything that transpires late into the night, when one is alone with one’s thoughts, away from all sets of judging eyes except the worst of them, our own. There is a strong undercurrent of self-loathing almost throughout the album, peaking in the song, Anti-Hero. I wouldn’t say she pays a lot of attention to subtlety when she sings: “It’s me. Hi. I’m the problem, it’s me.”
It is also one of the catchiest hooks in the entire album and I can hear myself humming this far too often for my own good. The video for Anti-Hero, was also the first to be released and the song has become the most streamed song of this album. Self-loathing is apparently a wildly popular emotion.
On a serious note, this song resonates to the core with so many people because it is liberating and comforting to hear another person sing about something as personal as crippling self-loathing and how quietly destructive it can be. It’s a fairly upbeat song for a theme this dark.
The very first song of this concept record, Lavender Haze, begins with an invitation: “Meet me at midnight.” The title refers to that point of being in love where everything seems to be stained with it and is admittedly a reference to the fictional term given to it in the popular television series, Mad Men.
The album starts on a rather high note, emotionally, where it speaks of not caring about what the world thinks of or expects from her relationship. We feel invincible when we’re newly in love, like we can take on the world and succeed, this song embodies that beautiful feeling.
Another heartwarmingly beautiful love ballad is Labyrinth. It takes us along the journey of how a new lover gently puts us back together after we’ve been hurt enough that the idea of falling in love itself scares us. This song is brought to us wrapped in a musical arrangement that feels almost ethereal punctuated with keen falsetto notes that highlight the vulnerability that is written into it.
We’re in a cut-throat world. A world where there seems to be no place for someone who is soft, who is easily shoved aside, where we’re torn apart mentally in the fight to further our ambitions. Being in the entertainment industry I can vouch for the fact that it is amplified here and for someone like Taylor Swift it has been and continues to be a million-fold more intense.
In such a world, something that grounds us is a support system. Someone on whose shoulder we can truly lean on guiltlessly and trust them to take the weight. Someone to whisper sweet nothings in our ears before we close our eyes every night. Someone whose arms are the bubble we can retreat to after a long, hard day of “push and shovin’” in order to stand our ground. It’s a dream come true to be able to have that and it makes me almost envious listening to Taylor sing about it almost reverently in Sweet Nothing.
I think it is a widely established fact in popular culture that love and sleepless nights go hand in hand and therefore, it is only imperative that this album have multiple songs dedicated to it. Taylor Swift collaborated with none other than Lana Del Rey, another artiste I intensely favour to come up with what I think is one of the best love songs if not the best one from this album; Snow On The Beach.
A love that is just so unexpected, so beautiful, that it knocks the breath you had been holding right out of you. A love that shows up like snow on the beach. Lana’s harmonies elevate the song to an otherworldly experience. The song builds with little inflections breaking up every line, as if one cannot bear to hold in their elation. The very beginning of the song, lyrically and musically are absolutely riveting. “One night a few moons ago I saw flecks of what could’ve been lights/ But it might just have been you passing by unbeknownst to me.”
Love and revenge
Okay, enough about love, time to move on to revenge. Ever since her album Reputation came out, she truly has a reputation to maintain when it comes to writing songs about revenge. But I must say, she has done it again. The sass in the sound, the lyrics and the way this song is sung is already iconic. Actually, just the name Vigilante Shit exudes power.
It is a song that helps us transform our pent-up rage into revenge and what can be better than reclaiming one’s own power as vindication? I love the way the entire song has a taunting tonality but the bridge has an almost haunting one and it is definitely a threat. But seriously: “Don’t get sad, get even”.
Bejeweled is about when a lover snaps after being taken for granted for far too long. Sometimes when one is blindly in love, it is hard to realise or acknowledge when your partner seems to just take and take until you feel completely dried up inside. Your self-esteem seems to hit rock bottom and all you seek is validation from your partner. It is a terrible place to be in but this song is the moment you realise you’re more, you’re a diamond and you must not allow anyone to mute your radiance. A really catchy song and I’m an absolute fan of the video.
Karma is a very upbeat, happy song which restores our faith in the fact that if we do right by our conscience, karma will do the rest. Karma is basically a collaborator in our tale of revenge.
It’s not really a Taylor album if there isn’t a song or a few, about her early years. Our formative years are what makes up so much of us. She sings to herself, You’re On Your Own Kid and it’s a little heartbreaking to be honest but also something to learn. If there’s no one to whisper sweet nothings in your ears, this song might be it.
The memory of a great love that we somehow lost, is something that has kept me up many times at night. The song that feels like a personal attack to me seems to be Maroon, well other than Anti-Hero of course. Lyrically fantastic and extremely visual. This song was an instant favourite but it is also the song I’ve heard the least number of times because it’s just too much for my heart.
I’m currently obsessing over Midnight Rain. There’s something about this song that grew on me and took roots. I don’t know if it’s quite the lyrics, well it definitely is the chorus, if nothing else. But it is also the distorted vocals and the little falsetto notes or perhaps just the idea of a could’ve been.
Question…?, is an interrogation of a song, but one that is carried out ironically, knowing there will only be radio silence on the other side.
The last three songs are all an ode to the times gone by, but there is no present without the past... is there?
I purposely kept the last song of the album for the end. It’s a love song, of course, but interestingly enough it is also an ironical reference to her so-called reputation of being a “schemer”. On the positive side, we as Swifties do actually believe her to be a Mastermind, in the absolute best way. She meticulously plans her albums years ahead and involves her fans by leaving little crumbs of delightful anticipation.
Taylor Swift is the gift that keeps on giving. Even with this album. We have six bonus tracks that dropped the day after the main album all of which are fantastic in my opinion. Please go check them out on Midnights (3am). I’m someone who has seen far too many 3ams in my life so take my word for it. Top recommendations would be Paris, and Dear Reader.
Anusha Viswanathan
Anusha Viswanathan is an actress who lets Taylor Swift be her patron goddess as well as her therapist.