After the bloodbath of the Ticketmaster presale in November, as well as the shocking cancellation of the general sale most fans of Ms. Swift, were disheartened. But due to the start of the best season: the Eras tour it’s time to heal from that wound, and how better to do that than by aestheticizing the songs off her latest album?
While Midnights isn’t the indie-AP Lit vocab feeding album of Folklore that some fans were expecting, it’s no throwaway, either. So, if you’re a little apprehensive about the album or close-minded and ready to write off Taylor’s return to Pop, then this might help put things into perspective.
Lavender Haze
Aesthetic: The opener of the album so you’ll statistically hear it the most if you currently have the album on repeat(it’s tradition).
Rating: 8/10
Reasoning: Illustrates how societal expectations encroach on love, covered by drum beats and Swift’s echoey, almost haunting voice
Maroon
Aesthetic: Gaslighting yourself into romanticizing your life
Rating: 8/10
Reasoning: Throughout Swift’s discography, an evolution of her view on love is highlighted. In her 2012 song ‘Red,’ she believes love should be primarily ‘red’, or passionate. In her 2019 song, ‘Daylight’, she has come to the conclusion that healthy love is ‘golden’ or comfortable. ‘Maroon’ seems to further that ideal, as the love depicted throughout the lyrics transitions from shades of fiery red like scarlet to the darker less vibrant shade of it (maroon) to illustrate a passionate relationship that falls apart. Basically the difference between a fresh cut and a bruise
Antihero
Aesthetic: Intrusive thoughts
Rating: 7.5/10
Reasoning: Just because it’s on the radio it doesn’t take away from Swift’s masterful use of a typical archetype and molding it to fit both her perspective and her fans-naming herself the antihero and any listener interested in some self-analysis
Snow On The Beach
Aesthetic: The sound isn’t for everyone, and sometimes the beat is reminiscent of waiting for a high drop on a roller coaster only for it to be a tranquilizing trip downwards when it finally falls
Rating: 7/10
Reasoning: Some may complain about the lack of Lana Del Rey’s familiar sound, but the haunting vocals and production imply her influence throughout. The song is a musical manifestation of their styles meshing together (Also, Dylan O’Brien is a credited drummer on the track and that may or may not be what half of these points are from)
You’re On Your Own Kid
Aesthetic: Oldest daughter syndrome
Rating: 8.5/10
Reasoning: The most anticipated and heartbreaking song on any Taylor Swift album is always the track 5’s as they usually are the most vulnerable with a personal revelation weaved in. This delivered the same type of story-like narration Swift has used in the past with her 8th studio album, Folklore. She explores the feeling of growing up and realizing the only person who’ll stick with you throughout every moment is yourself, but it doesn’t mean you have to be alone.
Midnight Rain
Aesthetic: Just because it sounds fun doesn’t mean that it isn’t sad (Right person wrong time beat)
Rating: 9/10
Reasoning: The production may make you want to snatch the synch beats away from Jack Antonoff (Swift’s long-term producer) but if you pay attention to the lyrics, you’ll realize that it’s a heartbreaking story of someone so preoccupied with making something of themselves that they put their relationship on the back burner and end up leaving their partner behind
Question…?
Aesthetic: The song-form of every response that you think of hours after the actual argument.
Rating: 15/10
Reasoning: Daringly fun, it genuinely makes you want to condescendingly ask carefully prepared questions to someone while saying in response ‘oh’, ‘that’s suitable’ and ‘it’s just a question’ (while dancing of course)
Vigilante Sh**
Aesthetic: Revenge and it feels bitter in the best way
Rating: 911/10
Bejeweled
Aesthetic: A jewel of a song that makes you want to strut somewhere
Rating: 5000/10
Reasoning: You can’t tell me that a song about a girl who feels unappreciated in her relationship with a guy who is so forgettable she doesn’t remember if she has a boyfriend or not, isn’t hilarious
Labyrinth
Aesthetic: I never knew that there could be so much difference between the words, ‘uh-oh’, ‘oh, no’, and ‘oh’. Also I would like to announce that I no longer trust elevators in an act of solidarity with Ms. Swift
Rating: 7/10
Reasoning: Another one of the Midnights bunch that drops subtle hints that Swift is a genius lyricist. While the beat comes off as slow for the first listen, it’s not. If you listen closely, it’s simply hesitant, which is how the narrator feels about her new journey into love.
Karma
Aesthetic: Camp
Rating: 13/10
Sweet Nothing
Aesthetic: Sounds like a whispered journal entry
Rating: 8/10
Reasoning: New goal unlocked: Writing a terrible poem in my notes app and have someone go ‘what a mind’ (Thank you Joe Alwyn/William Bowery for setting the standard)
Mastermind
Aesthetic: Getting to feel smart for understanding the Machiavelli name drop
Rating: 9999/10
Reasoning: Makes you want to sing along with the wrap-around lyrics and subtle story of someone appreciating you for who you are: a crazy psychopathic planner
The Great War
Aesthetic: The couple did in fact NOT survive the great war
Rating: 11/10
Reasoning: Just a regular song with a regular battle motif about World War 1-maybe you can convince your history teacher to incorporate it into a unit or two. It’s a fundamental part of our education
Bigger Than The Whole Sky
Aesthetic: We’re going to ignore the fact that I hated this song for the first 5 or so listens and consistently skipped it-because sincerely, I was wrong and I now am in a full circle moment of crying to it (out of respect, of course)
Rating: 12/10
Paris
Aesthetic: The beginning is a gossip sesh, the rest is a love letter
Rating: 15/10
Reasoning: This song teaches you that brainwashing people is completely acceptable and that you don’t actually have to be in Paris to feel the vibe-truly dedicated to the google images people
High Infidelity
Aesthetic: Getting annoyed that Calvin Harris wants to know the details of how you cheated on him (he’s so nosy)
Rating: 10/10
Glitch
Aesthetic: Unexpected in the way I would imagine being electrocuted would be-in a gentle way oddly enough
Rating: 8/10
Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve
Aesthetic: I’m sorry, Fairfield Warde, but your most famous alumnus is trash
Rating: 19/10
Reasoning: Dear John 2.0, but so much more brutal, which makes it better
Dear Reader
Aesthetic: Giving advice to someone but then ending it with a smooth ‘but I could be wrong though’ just in case you in fact have no idea what you’re talking about
Rating: 7/10
Reasoning: Overall it’s a song where Taylor communicates to her fans that she’s not perfect and therefore shouldn’t be used as an example for everything and that honesty in itself is slay.
Hits Different
Aesthetic: Being the committed fan you are and buying the Target CD or streaming it via ‘podcast’ on Spotify, either way it’s amazing
Rating: 18/10