Taylor Swift - Midnights
- Thread starter Slice of Life
- Start date
Oof, it's gorgeous and raw. It gives some context into the breakup, but you can tell she's just scratching the surface and I'm so perched for the rest.
It's hard for me to categorize this with the rest of the album since it was clearly written more recently, but I'd say it's definitely up there for me.
It's hard for me to categorize this with the rest of the album since it was clearly written more recently, but I'd say it's definitely up there for me.
You're Losing Me is stunning.
It's like....All Too Well 10 Minute Version meets Midnights (Dear Reader to be specific)? Not as biting or intense, and there isn't a big climax, but the general structure and some of the production elements are giving me those vibes.
I had a long drive today (I was coming back from a hike @Laura Vanderbooben) and decided to stick the new edition on in its entirety and kinda organised my thoughts on the album overall. I'm sure you're all on tenterhooks to find out what conclusions I came to.
First of all, the tracks I've decided that are Essential to her canon:
Lavender Haze - especially considering her current situation
Anti-Hero - purpose-built to crash into the charts like a meteor; very effective
Snow On The Beach - a collaboration with a hero, deftly produced, subtlely catchy
You're On Your Own Kid - lyrical highlight
Midnight Rain - the peak of what the album's raggedly ass concept was meant to be
Bejeweled - nails the assignment; tacky, glittering, addictive
Karma - see Anti-Hero
Would've, Should've, Could've - best song across the whole project
Dear Reader - one of the only plink-plonk ballads that works on the album
Hits Different - maybe the most dynamically written thing here from the perspective of an effective pop song? Insane.
I don't think the rest of the album is bad, but I don't think it's ever that interesting or particularly vital. I think overall the entire thing is a very comfortable playground for her and in many ways, was the perfect vehicle for what she's currently doing, which is looking across her career so far and celebrating it. It's like a greatest hits of everything that makes her the artist she is, for better or worse. Which also makes it the perfect album for the tour. Like, y'all can gasp and protest and splutter and scream but this was the perfect album to release when she was going out on a tour that wasn't actually in celebration of a particular album. She does like six songs and... no one's really wanting anymore ffff. So I don't resent it; sometimes albums serve a very specific purpose for artists at specific times, and I think it does that with aplomb. I just hope the next one is more interesting.
I don't have much to add to the overexposure thing but I will say that I would be watching things like a hawk if I was her management at the moment, because it seems like the attention she pulls and the popularity she has is somehow managing to repeak nearly twenty years in, and I do think it'll be a delicate balance. I also imagine that's why Midnights hasn't been plundered for singles. I feel like its success overall took everyone by surprise so I wouldn't be surprised if even she and everyone around her got blindsided too.
First of all, the tracks I've decided that are Essential to her canon:
Lavender Haze - especially considering her current situation
Anti-Hero - purpose-built to crash into the charts like a meteor; very effective
Snow On The Beach - a collaboration with a hero, deftly produced, subtlely catchy
You're On Your Own Kid - lyrical highlight
Midnight Rain - the peak of what the album's raggedly ass concept was meant to be
Bejeweled - nails the assignment; tacky, glittering, addictive
Karma - see Anti-Hero
Would've, Should've, Could've - best song across the whole project
Dear Reader - one of the only plink-plonk ballads that works on the album
Hits Different - maybe the most dynamically written thing here from the perspective of an effective pop song? Insane.
I don't think the rest of the album is bad, but I don't think it's ever that interesting or particularly vital. I think overall the entire thing is a very comfortable playground for her and in many ways, was the perfect vehicle for what she's currently doing, which is looking across her career so far and celebrating it. It's like a greatest hits of everything that makes her the artist she is, for better or worse. Which also makes it the perfect album for the tour. Like, y'all can gasp and protest and splutter and scream but this was the perfect album to release when she was going out on a tour that wasn't actually in celebration of a particular album. She does like six songs and... no one's really wanting anymore ffff. So I don't resent it; sometimes albums serve a very specific purpose for artists at specific times, and I think it does that with aplomb. I just hope the next one is more interesting.
I don't have much to add to the overexposure thing but I will say that I would be watching things like a hawk if I was her management at the moment, because it seems like the attention she pulls and the popularity she has is somehow managing to repeak nearly twenty years in, and I do think it'll be a delicate balance. I also imagine that's why Midnights hasn't been plundered for singles. I feel like its success overall took everyone by surprise so I wouldn't be surprised if even she and everyone around her got blindsided too.
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Also, I'm sorry, but I screamed when Ice Spice's verse started like someone had switched radio stations. It's just not a good fit. And in general, who on earth listens to Taylor's music and ever thinks a rap verse is required or even complimentary to proceedings? She... ain't about that life, let's be honest.
Loved "You're losing me". Waiting for a better quality rip because the one I found sounds a little bit rough (or maybe that's just how the song is?).
I had a dream last night that Ice Spice's verse was just a graphic Cupcakke-style description of cunnilingus. Kind of wishing it was!
I know I'm too soft but goodness, the new song had me crying on first listen.
I don't think You're Losing Me is all that interesting, it's very "basic breakup song" for me, but it does work to pique my interest for how creative she might get with the inevitable forthcoming breakup album... I'm sure she's saving the very best for that.
Hits Different on the other hand... It's like the perfect mix of Sheryl Crow and Wilson Phillips. Heaven.
Hits Different on the other hand... It's like the perfect mix of Sheryl Crow and Wilson Phillips. Heaven.
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Snow on the beach (Lana's version) is great. It really is better suited to her delivery.
