On Oct. 21, Taylor Swift asked that we meet her at midnight for her new album, “Midnights”. Her first new album since “evermore” in December 2020, this composition highlights thirteen sleepless nights throughout her life. It was an immediate hit, breaking global Spotify records of the app’s most-streamed album in one day. As of Oct. 31, she held all ten of the Top 10 spots for “Billboard Hot 100,” another record broken. But what’s the hype all about, anyway? 

As an avid Taylor Swift fan, I listened to the album all the way through the moment it came out and have hardly listened to anything else since. My expectations were high, and they were met and blown away.

The first song on “Midnights”, which held the number two “Billboard Hot 100” spot, is called “Lavender Haze.” As Swift described through an Instagram reel, ‘lavender haze’ is a phrase from the 1950s used to describe an “all-encompassing love glow.” 

When I first heard this song, it reminded me of her album “Lover.” After a few lines, I was a little confused as I had imagined from the title that it would be a slow, calm ballad. Instead, I was hit with an upbeat, carefree feminist banger. This turned out to be the best surprise I could have imagined. 

The song focuses on the pressures of the media and the public to fit a certain image, especially in terms of her relationship. For example, the lyric, “All they keep asking me/Is if I’m gonna be your bride/The only kinda girl they see/Is a one night or a wife” likely refers to the pressure from the public to either get married to or leave her current relationship with actor Joe Alwyn instead of moving at their own pace. This, along with the rest of the song, expresses her wish to just “stay in that lavender haze” and “ignor[e] that stuff to protect the real stuff.” 

In total, this song really brings me an immense amount of joy. I love the message that it sends of falling in love and ignoring what other people say about it. 

“Maroon” is the second song on “Midnights” and previously number three on “Billboard Hot 100”. The vibe of this one is very different from “Lavender Haze,” seeing as it’s a lot softer and slower. I love it with my whole heart. She describes seemingly meaningless moments in a relationship and makes it feel like those little moments were what really mattered. Of course, everything she describes is maroon, or as she says, “so scarlet it was maroon.” This use of color so repetitively while also in so many different ways makes the song feel very complex and full of deeper meaning. 

Some fan theories suggest that this song is meant to be a more mature version of her song and album both titled “Red,” as maroon is a more mature version of the color red. This may also be the case as it has been theorized that both “Red” and “Maroon” are about her past relationship with actor Jake Gyllenhaal. 

No matter the real-life implications behind the song, it’s one whose imagery paints a beautiful image for the listener in shades of maroon. 

The song that held the “Billboard Hot 100” number one spot is “Anti-Hero.” Upon first hearing it, I loved it completely. It reminded me, as did “Lavender Haze,” of Swift’s “Lover” album. It’s very self-aware, focusing on the things Swift doesn’t like about herself. She released a song with a similar message, “The Archer,” back in 2019. The parallels between these songs are strong, though the tempo and melody couldn’t be any more different. “Anti-Hero” is lively while still managing to be belittling. It takes a very heavy, depressing topic and makes it into something to dance to. 

The lyric “I’ll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror” hits me hard every time. I interpret that she’s saying she’d rather be in physical pain and discomfort than be truly self-aware, because that would only cause more pain and discomfort. This literally left my jaw hanging open the first time I heard it. It hits very close to home, and is paired with a catchy, interesting melody. Yes, please. 

“Snow on the Beach” was both the fourth song on “Midnights” and holds the fourth place spot on Billboard Hot 100. It’s not my favorite song in the world. In fact, I’d give it a four out of ten at best. Swift really hyped it up before the release of the album, noting especially that Lana Del Rey would be featured. When listening to it, I can hardly tell she is there at all and there’s no way I would be able to tell if she didn’t tell listeners that Del Rey was on the song. She has background echoes at best, which is highly disappointing. 

Along with the Del Rey disappointment, the lyrics in this song are just odd. My least favorite lyric is one from the chorus, “Are we falling like snow on the beach/Weird but f*cking beautiful.” This is just an odd choice of words. The swearing feels unnecessary and the word “weird” feels shallow. In comparison to her other word choice, it’s not as complex as it could be. 

In total, I really just don’t like this song. It’s not awful by any means, but it’s last place in my personal ranking of the album and one of her few songs that really didn’t live up to the hype. 

Next on the album is “You’re on Your Own, Kid,” which held number eight on the “Billboard Hot 100” list. The title was a little off-putting when I read it before listening as it seemed a little elementary. It is the exact opposite. This song explores childhood trauma, which is quite literally the opposite of an ‘elementary’ topic. It crushes my heart a little every time I listen, and I’m totally okay with it. The chorus is absolutely beautiful, including my favorite lyric, “I gave my blood, sweat and tears for this/I hosted parties and starved my body/Like I’d be saved by a perfect kiss.” The bridge is even more amazing than the already impeccable chorus, as all of Swift’s bridges are. This one feels reflective, regretful, and inspiring at the same time. This song is a masterpiece. 

Former number five on “Billboard Hot 100” and number six on the “Midnights” tracklist is “Midnight Rain.” There’s a bit of a techno or synth sound in this song, which I didn’t expect but can’t complain about. It really works with this song in particular. It starts out with a semi-masculine, pitched-down version of Swift’s voice singing the chorus. This is repeated again when the chorus comes up, though she sings it in her normal, unedited voice as well. It provides a good amount of dimension that makes what could have been a song lost in the mix of the album really stand out. 

The vocal variations aren’t the only interesting aspects of this song. The lyrics, per usual, hint at a past relationship that fans have attempted to decode and have come to a generally agreed-upon conclusion. The chorus says, “Jumping off things in the ocean,” which might allude to the famous paparazzi photoshoot of Swift and her ex, Tom Hiddleston, on rocks near the ocean. It is also a callback to the first song on the album with the lyric, “He wanted a bride/I was making my own name” which relates back to the “Lavender Haze” lyric, “All they keep asking me/Is if I’m gonna be your bride/The only kind of girl they see/Is a one-night or a wife.” Although fan theories agree that these songs are likely about different relationships, they are her two most recent ones and emulate the demand she feels to settle down and marry at this point in her life and her attempts to dodge that pressure. It’s very soft and kind in terms of the way the relationship is spoken about while still being upbeat and exciting with the vocal contrasts and synth additions. 

Number seven on “Midnights” and the “Billboard Hot 100” list is “Question…?”. This song, while being really good, isn’t one of my favorites from this album simply because of the chorus. It’s not bad, it just could be better. It feels a little too confrontational for the message it’s trying to get across. Maybe that was Swift’s goal, but it really seems like it could be less direct and use more of the metaphors she pulled out for “folklore” and “evermore” to not only be a little softer in terms of confrontation but also to make the song lyrics more beautiful and deep. 

While the chorus is a bit shallow, the rest of the song’s lyrics are a lot better. One line from the bridge stands out in particular, “Does it feel like everything’s just like second-best after that meteor strike?” as something that kills me slowly every time I listen. 

Another lyric, “You painted all my nights/A color I’ve searched for since,” is a direct callback to her “illicit affairs” lyric, “You showed me colors/You know I can’t see with anyone else.” This offers up the “Question..?”, pun intended, of whether these are about the same relationship. I don’t think so, but the parallels are there and apparent nonetheless. 

The melody of “Question…?” is repetitive but in a way that works for the song. With the message being something along the lines of ‘are your other relationships as good as the one we had,’ the repetition helps with painting the picture of someone experiencing the same things in their relationship with someone else. It’s genius, really, but are we surprised? Nope. Not even a little. 

“Vigilante Shit” is my favorite song on “Midnights” and held tenth place on the “Billboard Hot 100” list. This could definitely have ended up on “reputation” and made perfect sense. The opening line, “Draw the cat eye sharp enough to kill a man,” is straight-up awesome. I love the revenge theme that runs throughout the song. The lyrics could be a callback to her “Speak Now” song “Better Than Revenge.” The “Better Than Revenge” lyric, “She should keep in mind/There is nothing I do better than revenge” might relate to the “Vigilate Shit” lyric, “Lately I’ve been dressing for revenge.” Along with their similarities, these songs show her growth as a person. “Better Than Revenge” is about Swift getting revenge on her ex by calling out his new girlfriend while “Vigilante Shit” is much more about ‘women supporting women’ when men wrong them. 

The message about ‘women supporting women’ as well as undertones about using anger and sadness instead of bottling it up all mixed up in a melody that screams ‘girl power’ make for a majorly dissenting song. It’s pretty awesome. 

“Bejeweled” held “Billboard Hot 100”s sixth spot. The melody speaks directly to the “Lover” album, but the message relates much more to her “folklore” song, “tolerate it.” “tolerate it” speaks about how Swift gives all of herself to someone who doesn’t appreciate or respect her. “Bejeweled” has the same message but shows how she’s grown and now knows how to stand up for herself and sees her own self-worth. 

Swift manages to make the song sound as if the melody itself is ‘bejeweled.’ The simple techno additions really make the song’s melody and lyrics feel deeply connected and harmonious. This melody does make the song sound surface level, but with the lyrics being very reflective and aware, such as, “Familiarity breeds contempt/Don’t put me in the basement/When I want the penthouse of your heart,” this is a complex and sophisticated song. 

“Labyrinth” didn’t make it to the “Billboard Hot 100” top ten list, but it did snag 14th place. This song would fit perfectly on the album “folklore” because of its breathy, ethereal feel. It has a few synth editions, which also helps it fit in on “Midnights.” It’s about being afraid to fall in love because of how it’s gone in the past with lines like, “Uh oh, I’m falling in love/Oh no, I’m falling in love again.” This song is about healing as well as being healing itself. It makes me feel both heartbreak and resolution with the pain in the verses and the comfort in the chorus. “Labryrinth” is such a beautiful song that gets overlooked because of its lack of a defined bass line that leaves it difficult to boogie to like “Bejeweled” or “Karma.” It’s not my favorite on “Midnights,” but it’s amazingly elegant nonetheless. 

My second favorite song on “Midnights” is “Karma,” which held the ninth place “Billboard Hot 100” spot. This is the perfect song to dance to with its upbeat, lively tempo and melody. The lyric, “Ask me what I learned from all those years/Ask me what I earned from all those tears/Ask me why so many fade, but I’m still here” is very inspiring as it reclaims the pain she’s felt in the past. The entire song channels previous difficulties towards her success as well as proving those who wronged her or said she couldn’t make it have ironically been less successful than Swift herself.

The bridge is the best part of the song by far. The mood shifts for a minute. All the background melody disappears and the simplicity of the moment is exaggerated. Swift drops her voice which, in the weirdest way, made me as a listener feel more connected to her. It’s very grounding. It also makes the song feel complete and well-rounded. 

“Sweet Nothing” held the 15th spot on “Billboard Hot 100.” It reminds me of the “evermore” album in its homey feel. It’s not the best song on the album by a long shot, but it’s heartwarming nonetheless. This one is likely about her current relationship with Alwyn with many hints dropped in the first verse as well as his co-writer status under the alias ‘William Bowery.’ This song felt like a hug upon my first listen. It brings up a healthy childhood nostalgia that feels safe. 

The lyrics mainly discuss the fears of the outside world and how Swift feels safe going home to someone who makes her feel like she’s enough. This is further shown through the song title, “Sweet Nothing,” which, clearly, comes from the phrase “sweet nothings.” Dictionary.com defines “sweet nothings” as “endearments, often whispered, between lovers.” With this knowledge, the lyric, “I found myself running home to your sweet nothings” ties in very well with the rest of the messages presented in the song. This message is very similar to the one presented by “Lavender Haze,” yet these two songs have distinctly different melodies and tempos that manage to make them still feel unique to one another. 

“Mastermind” is the last song on “Midnights” and held the 13th spot on “Billboard Hot 100.” The intro to this song reminded me of an upbeat “Stranger Things” theme but contrasted this with the insightful lyrics that followed. “Mastermind” originally discusses a relationship and how Swift claims to have planned and manipulated her way into it. The lyric, “What if I told you none of it was accidental/And the first night that you saw me, nothing was gonna stop me?/I laid the groundwork and then, just like clockwork/The dominoes cascaded in a line” is full of beautiful imagery and manages to add a story to the song without making it strictly narrative. 

The best part of the song is, per usual, the bridge. This one starts with, “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 this the first time I’ve felt the need to confess,” which really pulls the song together and puts everything into perspective. For the entire song thus far, Swift has described how she has manipulated her way into situations, which is likely to be taken as a negative thing. With the addition of this lyric about why she feels she’s been manipulative, there’s able to be justification behind her actions. While this doesn’t excuse anything, it does put the listener into her shoes and lets them really know why she is the way she is. 

Following this are the lyrics, “And I swear/I’m only cryptic and Machiavellian ’cause I care.” This hit me hard. Swift is known for leaving clues about her future works, connections between otherwise unconnected things or even about past relationships. This line really pulls on my heartstrings as someone who likes Swift’s music and follows news about her. It’s somehow comforting to know that she does this for the fans because she cares and that it’s not just a publicity stunt or marketing scheme. 

It’s interesting to see such a shift from Swift’s two most recent indie albums back in a pop direction. While it hasn’t been very long since she released “evermore” and even less time since she released the “Taylor’s Version” of two of her previous albums, a new album was definitely in store and this one couldn’t have been a better comeback. This album can be found wherever you listen to your music as well as on CD and vinyl. For those who want to see Swift on tour in 2023, tickets are available for pre-order on Nov. 15 2022 and for general purchase on Nov. 18 2022.