“Midnights” by Taylor Swift is anything

but ‘mid’

By Keziah Rutschow, Social Media Editor

Taylor Swift takes her fans on a journey through her personal midnight stories in her newest album, “Midnights.” In my opinion, this album is the pop bop of the year, no matter what critics say. She brings her classic Swift pop sound back into this album, making songs similar to her albums Reputation and Lover. In one of her new songs and music video, “Bejeweled,” she expresses how she had missed her core pop era and how it made her shine. This shows she misses the exciting feeling of her pop era and, for that reason, was hesitant to put out an album even though she was confident in its success.

In my opinion, Taylor’s fear of what people would say about her album is entirely valid, and it’s unfortunate many people—including fans—are saying this is her worst album. I feel like people were just waiting for a moment in her career where she felt she was delighted with her music to finally dis on her. It’s funny to me, though, how many people are dissing “Midnights,” yet this album is the first time (she feels like) she truly opens up about her insecurities in an album.

In her “Bejeweled” music video, she shows herself shining in a big castle while a small cabin is off in the distance, which has been referenced in both her albums “Folklore” and “Evermore.” But because of her “Folklore-Evermore” era, people who loved that sound of Swift were disappointed with “Midnights.” “Midnights” is the first original pop album we hear from Swift since “Lover,” which came out in 2019. This gap between her last pop album and now may have led many people to assume “Midnights” would include more folk influences and resulted in disappointment.

Many agree that the concept behind “Midnights” is genius. It’s Swift’s happiest and saddest nights mixed, causing a mixed reaction. I loved the concept of the album being her best and worst nights in one album throughout her career. She lets her raw insecurities and deep emotions out in songs like “Anti-Hero.”

“[Anti-Hero] is a real guided tour of all the things I tend to hate about myself. We all hate things about ourselves,” Swift said on her Instagram.

I could go on about this song, but many have been conversing and confused over a few lyrics in her song: “Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby, and I’m a monster on a hill.” Many just were uncomfortable with these lyrics, and I believe that’s precisely what Swift wanted. I think these lyrics explain society’s fetishization and sexualization of women’s youth. She then expresses how she is losing this youth for which she is being disregarded for within the music industry and society.

We see how Swift lets go of the theatrics in this album and spews out these beautiful, raw lyrics. Swift is famous for her incredible songwriting and always has been. People have to remember that when listening to this album. Many loved the sound of “Folklore” and “Evermore,” but disregarded many of the lyrics when, in my opinion, those two albums are some of her most beautifully written pieces of music. But for Swift, “Midnights” is a great-sounding album and lyrically what Swift thinks is her best album written.

For example, in one of my favorite songs on the album, “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve,” she uses stunning lines, “If I’d only played it safe, I would have stayed on my knees and I d**n sure never would have danced with the devil, at nineteen. And God’s honest truth is that the pain was heaven. And now that I’m grown, I’m scared of ghosts. Memories feel like weapons… I miss who I used to be. The tomb won’t close stained glass windows in my mind. I regret you all the time.” Interpret this song as you will, but I love how she talks about how her past is haunting her now and how she can’t heal from this past but has learned from her mistakes. She is so real and relatable;, I love the way she puts hers feelings into words.

This album is almost entirely up for interpretation, but her beautifully lyrical writing speaks for itself most of the time. I feel like I have mixed feelings 50 percent of the time because there are many songs I absolutely adore while others I’m indifferent to, like “Paris” and “Bigger Than The Whole Sky.” But then others may say those are her best songs on the album, which I like. So many people have mixed feelings about the album and different opinions, which makes the album feel more personable. I have talked to many people about Midnights and no one shares the exact same taste in songs. There are no total hits and misses which keeps the album more open to interpretation and personal opinions. I hope to see her play around with more sounds in future albums and keep writing stunning relatable lyrics.

Rating: 8/10