Taylor Swift #4 Midnights EST, we'll be in our jammies. Why does she need validation from the grammys?

[JLXRD]

I have listened to all 20 tracks now and I am really loving the album, needs a second listen though of course.

On first listen the bonus tracks spoke to me a bit more - really loved bigger than the whole sky, high infidelity and would’ve could’ve should’ve

 

[penny1992]

Taylor is a capitalist through and through. She will never say anything that rocks the boat too much. Her networth is over $500 million, I wouldn't be surprised if she aims to be a billionaire. Her father was a stockbroker as was his father I think.

 

[disneys]

I think it’s very normal for artists to draw inspo from each other . I don’t agree taylor should have a writing credit on Deja Vu . I honestly don’t think it sounds like Cruel Summer at all

 

[folklorevermore]

just a disclaimer: i am a huge taylor fan, have been for 15 years and have grown up with her music and she is extremely special to me. i have tattoos of her lyrics, buy every album, go to every tour etc
but i really am not feeling this album as much as i have with her others! i'm so disappointed and sad about it

nothing about this album is new or refreshing to me. but then nothing about it is classic taylor either. the lyrics seem forced/cringey/rambly , the story telling is not as captivating as previous albums. in fact i found myself a bit confused at some times by some of the lyrics

i remember the first time i sat down to listen to lover and i bursted into tears when i heard cruel summer because i just felt like 'this IS taylor swift' and i havent had that with any of the songs on the new album. lavender haze is the only one thats come close to a 10/10 song (IMO). the anti-hero lyrics are good but the 'it's me, hi, i'm the problem it's me' was just written to go viral on tiktok and doesnt really fit in with the song.

the karma/justice themes in her writing is getting a bit old and school-girly now.

all the songs sound very samey to each other, or similar to other songs in her discography. i'm not too keen on jack antonoff's production in this.

surprisingly, i think my favourite taylor album is lover. which is the most similar to midnights out of all her discography. but wheres the cruel summer? where's the death by a thousand cuts, miss americana, cornelia street and daylight on this album, none of the songs really stick out! i dont know if i'm conveying my point properly but the album just seems to have missed the mark for me.

and i'm sad about it

Fellow Lover fan here. I completely agree with your thoughts - I feel like there’s a lack of variety and the songs do sound a bit one level. In fact I think the only depth comes through on the 3am tracks which doesn’t seem right. I would kill for another Cornelia Street and I’m disappointed it isn’t there.

Having said that, I wasn’t a fan of Rep on first listen and now it’s one of my favourites. I do think Midnights has some really beautiful songs and I’ll grow to love them. I just don’t think it has that first-listen gut-punch tune.

BUUUUT. I have to disagree with you on the Tik Tok comment. Taylor’s always had weird gimmicks in her songs which feel out of place and which, if released now, would make an obvious Tik Tok sound bite. Of the top of my head my examples are:
- The old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now
- My ex man brought his new girlfriend
- So he calls me up and he’s like “I still love you.”
- (Unfortunately) Hey Everybody, spelling is fun!

I think sometimes she likes to be a bit fun and gimmicky. I don’t think she’s thinking about marketing in the recording studio at all. Let’s face it, her fans are so loyal her albums basically market themselves.

 

[Chinese_whispers]

I’m so here for the “reclaiming my confidence after bullshit” vibes Bejeweled gives out.

You’re on your own, kid is absolutely beautiful though too. Agree this is most cohesive album she’s ever released alongside Folklore.

 

[gossipgirlxxo]

I am very much overweight, and I didn’t find it offensive in the slightest. It’s annoyed me they’ve removed it more than it did being there in the first place

 

[Tommyb]

God she was so good on the couch that time. Really held her own against the bigot that is John Cleese, him and the other cricket guy (Kevin something?) basically mocked her the whole time

I think it shows her intelligence beautifully. Those men assumed she either wouldn't have a comeback or wouldn't understand what's going on. If you watch interviews with Sofia Vergara it's the same. People treat her like a bimbo because she's gorgeous. She is incredibly smart and knows exactly what people are saying without saying it. I think Taylor responds well to being underestimated. Kanye didn't see her as a threat but she really was. She's smart.

 

[penny1992]

People’s obsession over her an Karlie is odd. Even if it did happen it ended six years ago

She said this album is about nights throughout her life. So if it did happen, it's not a reach to think she may have reflected on it.

Some fans think songs on the album are about Jake or Harry which happened a decade ago yet it is "okay" to speculate about.

I think some fans just don't like the idea that she maybe snogged a woman because it doesn't fit their ideal narrative .

She could be with Joe and still have hooked up with Karlie. Both can coexist. Bisexuality is a thing.

 

[getawaywithit]

I struggle a bit when it’s a current album to think that she would still be writing a love song like maroon about a relationship from years ago.
Like ‘I wakes with your memory over me, that’s a real fucking legacy to leave’ etc… I just don’t think Harry or Jake or anyone would still be having that impact on her? I don’t know who it’s about but just my 2 cents.

It makes sense when it’s vault tracks but new music I’m a bit like

Now should’ve would’ve could’ve is different because it’s her at her current age (the age the man was at the time) on what was really an abuse of power now that she can truly see how wrong it was.

I’ve seen some theories that Taylor and Joe had some sort of big fight or even brief separation at some point. In other songs you might’ve thought it was a normal argument she’s writing about… but there does indeed seem to be the possibility that it was a bigger deal, but they reconciled.

For example, in Afterglow she writes about how she caused a fight because she accused him of something. In The Great War, the same idea comes out… she accused him of something that he denied and he tried to reconcile. The fact that the two connect seems to suggest that either she writes about arguments in a similar style, or that she is writing about the same event. When you listen to Afterglow again through this lens, the lyric “I’m the one who burned us down”, now sounds like a bigger deal.

False God at first listen also seems to be about maybe normal tension in a long term relationship, but if you think of it another way, it’s like the thought that your relationship is breaking down and all the toxicity you have reveals itself and then making the active choice to stick with it because you have something unique.

In The Archer, she again ruminates on the idea of breaking up, (‘I’ve got a hundred thrown out speeches I almost said to you’), but it becomes about self-reflection… realizing she loves combat and winning, realizing she is always running off because it’s easy and liberating, and then thinking about how she’s going to end up alone. She ends by repeating “Help me hold on to you”, like she is going to try and end it and needs him to make sure she stays with it.

And then of course ‘The Great War’, which again doesn’t sound like an argument but moreso like a brief breakup or separation and reconciliation and again it’s like she credits him with reaching out to her when she was being irrational.

So it’s possible that there is a song like Maroon, where she spent some time thinking it was over with Joe. Because I agree, it’s a very heartbroken and emotional and reflective song to write about any of her previous relationships. I mean, she could of course, but idk.

 

[ls240898]

Omg Id be devastated if Id bought thinking I was getting Taylor as headliner and it turned out to be the unfunniest man to call themselves a comedian

It really has been a shite Sunday.

Made WORSE by the fact my boyfriend wants to go see him. Thought I was getting Taylor but I’ve got garlic bread instead

 

[penny1992]

I got tickets for Rep through the verified fan access and it was so easy.

A new anti hero remix. How appropriate.

She has to be taking the fucking piss. She's a greedy motherfucker.

 

[JLXRD]

Very telling that none of the midnights lyrics merch has sold out. Really need new fresh eyes on the merch team - No one wants Taylor’s face on everything. Then the only 2 items that are cute lyrics merch are cropped 🫠 why.

 

[JLXRD]

I feel like a hits tour was really the only way she could incorporate the four albums she needs to tour (as she never has) and also the re records without her having to tour for YEARS or asking fans to buy tickets to multiple shows - plus the costs of having dramatically different set lists would be insane.

I’m pleased because I never had the money to go to previous tours, so this is a nice way for me to feel like I haven’t missed out on eras past.

Lol at my optimism at getting tickets. Apparently there was a five hour queue To register for the US presale last night.

 

[grannypants]

Not even being dramatic I think this is the best album I've ever heard in my life

 

[polkamoon]

Is it just me or is the chaotic announcement of 7 more songs a bit…disappointing?

Especially when she’s already had so many different vinyls of the OG midnights? Idk maybe I’m tired but I expected more or at least 1989 TV

 

[watermelon sugar]

This person has a thread on here as she is a ridiculous human. But why do people think not liking taylor is a personality trait. Doesn't make you better than anyone. It's like when all the people say every year that they don't watch love island.
Dread to think what music she actually listens to

i hate people like this!!! I seen a tweet from someone saying ‘you wait until Rihannas album is released this week and you Swifties will see what real music is’ just accept not everyone likes the same things 🥱

 

[wordzalad]

So I love ten min ATW but I have had a theory for a very long time that the comment she made about all too well originally being ten mins long was an off the cuff joke, the fans ran away with it and she ended up writing the actual ten min far later.

also I don’t think this is just a fan thread, you’re more than welcome here with more complicated opinions!

I think the same with ATW…. I think some of the lyrics are maybe changed from the original as well.. “I’ll get older but your lover stays my age”. Jake G is currently dating a 25 year old… who I think he started dating in 2018… so I think it’s a reference to him, kinda being a Leo di Caprio. that might have been an updated version of some other lyric

 

[watermelon sugar]

i think it’s fucked up people speculating whether it’s miscarriage or abortion. no one could possibly know unless they are close to Taylor herself and she has confirmed.

i personally have gone through a miscarriage and the lyrics speak to me on a personal level, but i wouldn’t sit there and think ‘omg has Taylor been through a miscarriage?’

 

[getawaywithit]

Also, been dying to say this since it came out, but I can't stand the 10 minute version of All Too Well. There are some good lines but it feels forced and I think it cheapens the original.

Same! It actually makes me sad that the 10 minute All Too Well is basically the canon ATW now. I think it completely changes the original, and the original is great because of its climatic pace and tight storytelling and that kind of sweet/nostalgic melody. The 10 minute add-on basically takes away from all those things IMO.

I think the new additions could’ve been made into another song altogether though.

I also agree that she likely wrote most of it recently and not a decade ago. It sounds more like an adult reconsideration of a younger relationship, whereas the original was purely ‘21 year old girl in 2012’ vibes.

 

[Folkevermore]

why are we still dissecting this like trashy magazines from 2012? just let the music speak for itself.
ALSO what the fuck speculating about a miscarriage?? and you don't think THAT'S INVASIVE? but God forbid someone assumes she dated Karlie Kloss lmao. gonna apply your logic here: unless she comes out and says she had a miscarriage. DONT ASSUME SHE HAD ONE. it's fucking weird and creepy.

I agree with the speculation around miscarriages. I’ve never experienced one, thankfully, but if i had I think the idea of people gossiping about something so painful would completely break me.

I know this is a gossip website but I think that one definitely crosses a line.