So, I posted my original review of the album a few threads back, and said that I didn't like it as much as I hoped I would. I've since had time to listen to the album again, and again, I'm saddened to say that my review is largely the same. Perhaps I just need a break from the constant Taylor spam literally everywhere I go and her dropping new albums on a seemingly monthly basis, but some of this album remains quite the slog to get through, and not just because of its length.
I still think the album should've begun with So Long, London, and the first four tracks be left on the cutting room floor as the Midnights rejects they are. Off the standard, Who's Afraid of Little Old Me? remains a career highlight, as does loml. But Daddy, I Love Him still jumps out at me as a highlight, and Guilty as Sin? has crept up there too. Florence's feature in Florida is absolutely godly. Off the anthology, the only ones I really care about are The Manuscript, The Black Dog and How Did It End?. I originally said that I preferred the anthology to the standard, but I've now changed my mind and it's the opposite. I still think the standard is what Midnights should've been originally, and the anthology what the standard TTPD should've been, by my own logic (as "Manuscript" is the perfect closer). Lyrically, most of the album sees her in fine form, although there are some "spelling is fun!"'s in there, rare though they are.
I remain firm in my belief that Jack Antonoff really does need to go. His production is stale, and he just strikes me as a yes man who blindly agrees to do whatever Taylor asks him to without any pushback whatsoever and worships any and everything she does. I feel he's become the equivalent of some (or most) Twitter Swifties. Why at this point in her career she's willing to be arguably stagnant creatively and not branch out and work with different producers/sounds when she is one of the very few artists in the entire history of the industry whose projects are guaranteed to be successful before they even exist is utterly beyond me. We know she's chart/success-driven, but is commercial success really that important to her now over the expanse of her artistry? Like, when is enough enough in that department?
I think I'll be revisiting maybe eight songs from this album in future listens. It remains a very mid album for me, somewhere in the middle of her discography, maybe top-lower-half of it if we're including the OG versions of her re-records too. Maybe I'll think differently in the future, but for now at least, these are my thoughts that not a single one of you asked for.
I think I did a pretty good job at selecting the colours if I do say so myself!
Broken Heart, Down Bad and My Boy are the most listenable tracks for me.
I am older but actually that makes sense as our teen movie references will be different. (Im 38 and completely fine about that even though keep thinking I’m 30 but again that’s totally fine honestly 
. After this album his real character shines through and I’ve never related to him more. Depressed povos.
