Taylor Swift's Midnights is a work of lyrical and musical mastery, giving Swifties surplus fodder to fuel their fan-girl fires (myself very much included!)
Midnight has struck. The world gathered for the stroke of twelve when Taylor Swift officially released her album Midnights. The album is an unquestionable lyrical wonder. Each sound and nuance inspires the intellectual fervor her fans are known for. Swift never sings down to her fans. She sets a high bar for her Swifties, prompting them to comb over her lyrics, pour over her sounds, and seek a deeper meaning in it all. Taylor Swift is a pop-culture English teacher's dream.
This is by far the most honest that Swift has ever been in her music.
While she has never been one to shy away from using her personal life clearly and openly in her songs, this album goes deeper. For what might be the first time, Swift allows us a glimpse into her insecurities. In the song Mastermind she sings:
No one wanted to play with me as a little kid/ So I've been scheming like a criminal ever since/ To make them love me and make it seem effortless/ This is the first time I've felt the need to confess.
If you think this lyric didn't have us (me) crying on the train, you would be wrong.
Swift has always had a talent for filling her songs with rich stories. The artist has certainly grown from her Love Story days. Some songs, such as Vigilante Sh*t and Bejeweled blend into each other seamlessly whereas Bejeweled takes a moment before transitioning into Labyrinth. In this way, the star beautifully separates the different energies of her various midnights.
The album itself is a true testament to the star's life and career. The different Taylor Swift eras are distinct and powerful. Through these masterful, musical separations, she gives herself the artistic freedom to fully excavate every Reputation (pun intended) that she has had while still giving the album a cohesive narrative- something the sensation has expertly done since she was Fifteen (pun, again, intended.)
This is an album you need to listen to with headphones.
Midnights is not club music. Despite the number of Midnights listen parties that were taking place around the world (which, respect!), this is not an album you are meant to listen to with others. The first time I listened through, I thought the songs were nice. It was not until I put headphones in that I found the full emotional depth of the song.
Swift has artfully designed her music so that different sounds are coming into different headphones, thus using her music to create an entire headspace. Her songs speak pointedly to anyone who has felt anxious or insecure. It is for every driven person who has ever felt they had to hide their insecurities. It is for anyone who has ever felt alone. These songs are for the individual.
Taylor Swift has cut herself open and welcomed everyone into her Midnights, once again using her art to make everyone feel a little less alone.
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