Taylor Swift's new concept album about 'that mystifying, mad hour' feels unsurprisingly expert and alert.
(If you missed the cheap thrill of reorganizing the paparazzi photos on your conspiracy whiteboard, “Midnights” has plenty of “is X song about Y guy?” games to play, too, you sicko.) Love is the result of that intentionality. “I picked the petals, he loves me not,” she sings on one of her new songs, “ [You’re On Your Own, Kid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cboN_o7CvU),” addressing an anonymous flame without a blink. Taylor Swift has this dream where “my daughter-in-law kills me for the money — she thinks I left them in the will. The family gathers around and reads it, and then someone screams out, ‘She’s laughing up at us from hell!’” Maybe that’s why Swift is the biggest pop star drawing breath in this waking world and the rest of us are not. You have this dream where you’re all alone, and you’re rolling a big doughnut, and there’s this snake wearing a vest.
Bowery/Alwyn also had credits on tracks from Swift's pandemic albums Folklore and Evermore. Other collaborators in the mix include producer Jahaan Sweet (Drake, ...
“Midnights is a collage of intensity, highs and lows and ebbs and flows. “Jack and I found ourselves back in New York, alone, recording every night, staying up late and exploring old memories and midnights past.” Midnights is the follow-up to Swift’s 2020 cozy folk double-dip Folklore and Evermore albums, marking a return to her poppier, more synth-oriented sound. Bowery/Alwyn also had credits on tracks from Swift’s pandemic albums Folklore and Evermore. The roster of songwriters also includes a few unexpected names, including actress Zoë Kravitz on two of the tracks, Del Rey, and yet another pseudonymous contribution from Swift’s boyfriend Joe Alwyn as his alter ego, William Bowery. [Taylor Swift](https://www.billboard.com/artist/taylor-swift/)‘s 10th studio album, Midnights, dropped on Friday (Oct.
Taylor Swift has released many music videos, but here's a look at all the ones she directed herself.
Forever grateful to my incredible DP @the_rinayang and our amazing crew.” “Watch my nightmare scenarios and intrusive thoughts play out in real time. “I needed 10 years of retrospect in order to know what I would even make to tell a version of that story visually.” He’s unbelievably talented and it was so amazing to have him in the Lover music video!” “It would be committing to making a film and I feel like I would absolutely love for the right opportunity to arise, because I absolutely adore telling stories this way.” Ever since she first took the plunge of overseeing the visual for her Lover single “The Man” in 2019, though, more of her music videos than not have been directed entirely by the country-turned-pop star herself.
Swifties are counting down the hours until Taylor Swift releases her 10th studio album “Midnights” at 12 a.m. ET on Friday, October 21.
[Midnights: Lavender Edition Vinyl](https://www.target.com/p/taylor-swift-midnights-lavender-edition-vinyl-target-exclusive/-/A-87503268)- $29.99 [Midnights: Lavender Edition CD](https://www.target.com/p/taylor-swift-midnights-lavender-edition-vinyl-target-exclusive/-/A-87503268)- $13.99 [Jade Green Edition Vinyl](https://store.taylorswift.com/collections/special-edition-vinyls/products/midnights-jade-green-edition-vinyl)- $29.99 [Blood Moon Edition Vinyl](https://store.taylorswift.com/collections/special-edition-vinyls/products/midnights-blood-moon-edition-vinyl)- $29.99 [Mahogany Edition Vinyl](https://store.taylorswift.com/collections/special-edition-vinyls/products/midnights-mahogany-edition-vinyl)- $29.99 - Family: $14.99/month after your trial period. [Spotify](https://www.spotify.com/): Once the album is live, Spotify will have a special lyric teaser video. - Student: Offer starts at $4.99/month after the offer period. [Walmart](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Taylor-Swift-Midnights-Moonstone-Blue-Jade-Green-Mahogany-and-Blood-Moon-Editions-Bundle-4-LPs/1561319022), you can still buy all four unique albums and CDs. - Family: Offer starts at $15.99/month after the offer period. Play on-demand music and listen to podcasts and songs offline with unlimited skips. - Duo: Offer starts at $12.99/month after the offer period. [Target](https://www.target.com/p/taylor-swift-midnights-lavender-edition-vinyl-target-exclusive/-/A-87503268) again to release a store-exclusive album. [taylorswift.com](https://store.taylorswift.com/). [Moonstone Blue Edition Vinyl](https://store.taylorswift.com/collections/taylor-swift-midnights-album/products/midnights-vinyl)- $29.99.
Here's everything you need to know to catch the "Midnights" teaser trailer on Oct. 20, including TV channels, how to stream and what time to watch.
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). [a video she posted on social media](https://www.instagram.com/p/CjzPLJhD-D-/) on Oct. According to Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic's media critic and former sports columnist, tuning in about an hour after the game starts (kickoff is at 5:15 p.m. [https://www.nfl.com/plus](https://www.nfl.com/plus) [https://www.amazon.com/amazonprime](https://www.amazon.com/amazonprime). I wouldn't do that to you. Follow her on Twitter [@kimirobin](https://twitter.com/kimirobin) and Instagram [@ReporterKiMi](https://www.instagram.com/reporterkimi/). You don't even have to know anything about how it's Week 7 or both teams are 2-4 this season. [Subscribe to azcentral.com today](https://offers.azcentral.com/specialoffer?gps-source=CPNEWS&itm_medium=onsite&itm_source=TAGLINE&itm_campaign=NEWSROOM&itm_content=KIMIROBINSON). Of course, that's only a few hours before her 10th studio album is set to release (not at midnight for all of us non-East Coast folks). [you can watch the game on Fox 10 in Phoenix](https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nfl/cardinals/2022/10/18/amazon-prime-stream-thursday-night-football-cardinals-vs-saints/10500622002/). [Arizona Cardinals-New Orleans Saints game](https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nfl/cardinals/2022/10/19/new-orleans-saints-arizona-cardinals-nfl-week-7-schedule-television/10534267002/).
Taylor Swift announced at the VMAs that she would be releasing her 10th studio album, 'Midnights,' in October. Here's what you need to know.
And if you’re wondering why all four vinyl albums have numbers printed on them, it’s because they can be arranged to make an analog clock (because the title is “Midnights.” Get it?). “I struggle a lot with the idea that my life has become unmanageably sized and ... “Don’t feel bad for me — you don’t need to — but ... I like ‘Anti-Hero’ a lot because I think it’s really honest.” The singer-songwriter added that she’s “such a massive fan of” Del Rey, whom she deemed “one of the best musical artists ever.” “And I guess theoretically when you’re in the ‘Lavender Haze,’ you’ll do anything to stay there and not let people bring you down off of that cloud. “My relationship for six years, we’ve had to dodge weird rumors, tabloid stuff, and we just ignore it. because we live in the era of social media and if the world finds out that you’re in love with somebody, they’re gonna weigh in on it. “This is a collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams. [helped write some of its songs](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2022-10-19/taylor-swift-zoe-kravitz-joe-alwyn-midnights). ‘Midnights’ will be Swift’s fourth new album in as many years (six including her remakes of older LPs). In August, the pop idol announced that she would soon be releasing her 10th studio album.
Anticipation is building as global pop sensation Taylor Swift is about to drop her tenth album, Midnights. Swift's first album of new songs in almost two ...
“The floors we pace and the demons we face. For all of us who have tossed and turned and decided to keep the lanterns lit and go searching – hoping that just maybe, when the clock strikes 12 … [fan page](https://www.facebook.com/AutumnAffairs/posts/pfbid02GFXWEBtLcFQN7rugA42z9LSTiQXG2sMVxRMAe7PMXaa6wkuc3nC3g3ZW4VW7p23tl) alerted its followers: “Apparently the entire album has leaked and it’s all over Twitter and TikTok. “I honestly didn’t expect her at all to continue with Folklore/Evermore,” one said. “This is a collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams,” she wrote. [announced the release](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/aug/29/taylor-swift-announces-new-album-coming-in-october) of Midnights onstage at the MTV Video Music Awards in late August.
Taylor Swift gave fans an early glimpse at the music videos for her 10th album, "Midnights," in a teaser trailer during "Thursday Night Football."
Over the past month Swift has been teasing the song titles of “Midnights,” which she’s billed as “the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life.” Earlier on Thursday, sleuthing fans discovered that Swift had even teased a lyric from the album five months ago, delivering a speech at NYU. If you tune into the ‘Thursday Night Football’ game on Amazon Prime, I’m going to be showing a first look at the secret projects that I’ve been working on very hard for a very long time, getting ready for the ‘Midnights’ album.” “Anti-Hero” is the third track on the album, and was written by Swift and Antonoff. In a tweet after the teaser dropped, Swift revealed that the first music video will be for “Anti-Hero” and premieres Oct. “I just wanted to first of all say thank you so much to Amazon for giving me an opportunity to show you guys a first look teaser trailer of the secret projects that I’ve been working on for a really long time,” Swift said in a message at the start of the teaser. “Those projects are the ‘Midnights’ music movies, the music videos that I’ve made for this album to sort of explore visually the world of this record.
As Hank Williams Jr. says at the top, “Are you ready for some Taylor Swift?” Well, Bocephus didn't really say that. But Taylor Swift gave football fans a ...
[video on Twitter](https://twitter.com/taylorswift13/status/1583083964931055616?s=20&t=G2Qx0Clj294DbcAUMH_M8w) and Instagram saying, “I’m going to be sharing a first look at the secret projects that I’ve been working very hard for a very long time, getting ready for the ‘Midnights’ album. And you would see it before the ‘Midnights’ album came out. “And I love storytelling and songwriting, I love writing videos, I love directing them, and I had a fun opportunity again to work with the cinematographer Rina Yang, who was my collaborator on the ‘All Too Well’ 10-minute short film.
Wondering how Taylor Swift, 32, feels about her boyfriend, the actor Joe Alwyn, 31? All you have to do is listen to one of her songs, many of which he ...
[And on "Evermore](https://www.today.com/popculture/how-listen-taylor-swift-s-new-surprise-album-evermore-t203625)," released later that year, Bowery was listed as one of the writers on “Coney Island,” “Champagne Problems,” and “Evermore.” And then Bowery is the area in New York that I spent a lot of time in when I first went over there. "I can’t control if there’s going to be a fake weird headline about us in the news tomorrow." “It wasn’t like, ‘It’s five o’clock, it’s time to try and write a song together,’” he said. While Alwyn isn't named, the [timelines of the diary entries aligns with her relationship](https://www.glamour.com/story/taylor-swift-diary-joe-alwyn). In March 2021, he won his first Grammy alongside his girlfriend, who won her third album of the year award. [2019 album "Lover](https://www.today.com/popculture/taylor-swift-responds-keith-urban-s-cover-lover-t161695)," Swift shared photocopies from her diary entries — including one from Jan. She said it can be "scary," as a public figure, to fall in love with someone who "has a very grounded, normal way of living." [dating history](https://www.today.com/popculture/music/taylor-swift-boyfriends-dating-history-rcna50748), but she does write about it. “For me, I just don’t feel it’s something I want to offer up to be picked apart by people who don’t know about it, and it’s just not theirs to have.” "If the world finds out that you’re in love with somebody, they’re going to weigh in on it. "Lavender haze," she said, 'means the 'all-encompassing love glow.'"
As all devoted Swifties know, Taylor has been dating Joe Alwyn for ages (real time: since 2016), and there have been a lot of rumblings about whether the two ...
[Taylor](https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a40757917/selena-gomez-taylor-swift-30th-birthday-party/) pointed out that people love to weigh in on the love lives of others. [Grammy's acceptance speech](https://www.grammy.com/news/taylor-swift-folklore-album-of-the-year-win-2021-grammys-acceptance-speech-video-joe-alwyn-collaborators-rewind) when she won Album of the Year for Folklore in 2021. "And it turns out that it's a common phrase used in the '50s, where they would just describe being in love. Taylor also wears a dress that very much looks like a bridal gown in her [“Willow” music video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsEZmictANA), which had Swifties freaking out. “Like my relationship for six years, we've had to dodge weird rumors, tabloid stuff, and we just ignore it,” she said. But in the newer version, the lyrics say: “It's a love story; baby just said yes.” As for helping to write a few songs with Taylor, he said he wrote the chorus for “Betty” while going about his day. Taylor has been [fiercely private about her love life](https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a40405728/taylor-swift-joe-alwyn-makeout-photos-bahamas-june-2022/) ever since the publicity firestorm that ensued during her relationship with Tom Hiddleston, so it's totally fair she wants to keep this one to herself. “Taylor and Joe are incredibly happy and very, very in love,” a source told the outlet. The source said the ring is “beautiful,” but that Taylor only wears it when she’s at home. After all, she churns out hits and even short films about her [relationships](https://www.womenshealthmag.com/relationships/g23511196/taylor-swift-boyfriend/), so it’s only natural to wonder what, exactly, is happening in Tay’s romantic life. [new album, Midnights,](https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a41018362/taylor-swift-midnights-new-album/) is about to drop, and people are wondering if it’ll [reveal any clues](https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a38237923/twitter-roasts-jake-gyllenhaal-taylor-swift-all-too-well/) about whether she might ~actually~ be engaged to Joe.
Taylor Swift's latest album Midnights drops on Friday, October 21 at midnight, and if you're a local Tay Lover who is Fearless in your fandom, ...
Head to the Church of Ascension and Saint Agnes on Tuesday, November 1 or Tuesday, February 7 for candle-laden concerts at 6:30 PM and 9 PM. Swift tunes like “Cardigan” and “All Too Well” get the classical treatment, courtesy of the Listeso String Quartet. (We’re looking at you, Jake Gyllenhaal.) Join fellow fans to revel in the your new favorite songs—and to discuss any Swiftian Easter eggs on the album. The artist’s Reputation is more than Folklore, sparking dance parties, listening sessions, and signature drinks. Order the Wildest Dreams with coconut-washed rye or the spirit-free, blood orange-accented Cause Baby, Now We Got Bad Blood.
The singer-songwriter's 10th studio album is a return to the pop pipeline, with production from her longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff.
Target, which has had a long relationship with Swift, has its own exclusive LP version (on “lavender” vinyl) as well as a CD with three exclusive tracks. The most ingenious or shameless part — take your pick — of Swift’s vinyl strategy is what she has done with the back covers. In a sense, “Midnights” is Swift’s return to the pop pipeline after her digressions of the past couple of years. Swift is releasing four standard versions of “Midnights” on vinyl, each with its own disc color and cover art; they also correspond to four variant CD versions. Swift’s friendship with Kravitz, as fans know, is close enough that she once acted as an [uncredited assistant](https://wwd.com/business-news/media/nyt-great-performers-2020-list-tv-tiktok-michaela-coel-sarah-cooper-1234672957/) on a pandemic-era remote photo shoot of Kravitz for The New York Times Magazine. [kitschy videos](https://www.tiktok.com/@taylorswift/video/7147533441326648618?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1) on TikTok that revealed song titles, one at time, taken from Ping-Pong balls in a basket, as if on a decades-old local TV spot. [making an album with Antonoff](https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a39035654/zoe-kravitz-interview-march-2022/), is listed as one of the six songwriters of the first track, “Lavender Haze,” alongside Swift, Antonoff, Mark Anthony Spears (a.k.a. But an important factor in the sales and chart prospects for “Midnights” may be Swift’s embrace of physical music formats like CDs and vinyl LPs, which, because of the way Billboard crunches data about how music is consumed, can have a major impact on chart positions. Swift’s marketing this time has involved a series of “I find myself running home to your sweet nothings.” “Folklore” won The marbled vinyl has been pressed and sorted into collectible variants.
On Swift's 10th and most challenging album, she and producer Jack Antonoff push her voice in new directions, rethinking the sonic rhetoric of first-person ...
She's still working to slacken the hold of the Old Taylor — of the many Old Taylors she's constructed through her music and celebrity. This is the kind of truth-telling that's earned Swift the devotion of her fans. For all of her kindness in the world and empathy and dedication to openness as a songwriter, Taylor Swift is, in her essence, sharp. "Labyrinth" — as good as any song inspired by one of her favorite subjects, the experience of still hanging on when you have to let go — melts her voice into myriad light streams, some as twisted as in a On "Midnight Rain" it's auto-tuned to vacillate between birdlike high notes and an almost masculine lower register, punctuating the story the verses tell of a young woman outgrowing a relationship with a sound that evokes that process of unfolding into a new self. is the kind of story song only Swift can write, dipping into gel-pen poetry to cultivate a swoony mood, then focusing on a scene of romantic persuasion and betrayal drawn so acutely that it stings. Usually she's explaining every move she makes, but here the music pulls her into the eternal now of her emotions, working against her persistent impulse to make sense of them. Sharpness is also key to Swift's perspective, surfacing in her love of the telling detail, of the rejoinder that cuts through whatever bulls*** the object of her love/hate has burdened her with. In the evening, with her lover nearby, does she vape a little Lavender Haze CBD Rosin and focus on the quietude creeping into her body beneath the relentless chatter of her thoughts? On Midnights she worked exclusively with her soulmate producer Jack Antonoff, bringing in only a handful of collaborators (the most notable is [Lana Del Rey](https://www.npr.org/artists/145913023/lana-del-rey), who gives great femme energy on "Snow On The Beach"), burrowing into a sound that might be called ahistorical chillout music. And then, in the studio, can she bring a lyric built on questions, turn to her trusted collaborator and say, "I don't care if this song is a hit, I want it to be weird"?
Taylor Swift's 'Midnights' album: read every song ranked, from 'Anti-Hero' to 'Snow on the Beach'!
“Anti-Hero” is ripe for stadium shout-alongs and TikTok lip syncs; it was designed for the moment, and built to last. Ornately constructed and brilliantly self-effacing, “Mastermind” demonstrates Swift’s songwriting wit at the end of the album, the words “I’m only cryptic and Machiavellian ‘cause I care!” echoing in the mind as Midnights comes to an end. Get ready for “Vigilante Shit” to become one of Swift’s all-time fan favorite tracks, and for good reason: the vengeance declaration, during which the superstar takes aim at an enemy and helps other women do the same, is stripped-down in its cutthroat approach, with deep-bubbling beats and synths that swirl around Swift’s proudly deployed venom. That pitched-down voice that opens “Midnight Rain,” then acts as a call-and-response partner to Swift throughout the song? From the whirring modular synth to the sumptuous backing vocals (courtesy of Zoë Kravitz, in part), “Lavender Haze” sizzles as a piece of expertly arranged rhythmic pop, with Swift knowing exactly how to slide above the beats. The prettiest song on Midnights also happens to be Swift’s most intimate moment on the album: “Labyrinth” is stately and ethereal, with electronic lines skittering around Swift’s voice as she fears that she’s falling in love again. Detailed memories steeped in vulnerability, missed-chance romance, feelings evolving along with the words of the refrain — so many of Swift’s songwriting hallmarks show up on “Maroon,” and their impact hasn’t dulled one bit. The hushed beauty that marked parts of Swift’s Folklore/Evermore era can be heard on “Sweet Nothing,” an understated ode to the calming presence of a relationship as the world seemingly spins out of control. A story of refusing to settle into early-thirties ennui, “Bejeweled” zips along with purpose, the plinking synths serving as connective tissue before bursting into sparklers above Swift’s hooks. Don’t let the muted beginning and subtle instrumentation fool you: “You’re On Your Own, Kid” snowballs as Swift’s frustrations compound, and eventually reaches one of the album’s most effective crescendos. Even if “Question…?” doesn’t fully congeal, the song boasts some fascinating tidbits to pore over. [wrote](https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch1Ed_Su6Qw/?hl=en) in August while announcing the project, “a journey through terrors and sweet dreams.
With its confident songwriting and understated synth-pop, Swift's sophisticated 10th album indicates that she no longer feels she has to compete with her ...
Last time she broke cover with new material, she released [Folklore](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jul/24/taylor-swift-folklore-review-bombastic-pop-makes-way-for-emotional-acuity) and [Evermore](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/dec/11/taylor-swift-evermore-rich-alt-rock-and-richer-character-studies), two pandemic-fuelled albums of tasteful folk-rock produced by the National’s Aaron Dessner. There’s an appealing confidence about this approach, a sense that Swift no longer feels she has to compete on the same terms as her peers. Everything has been [pored over for potential information](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/oct/14/taylor-swift-celebrate-album-release-midnights-pop-acclaim) about its contents, up to and including the kind of eye shadow she wears on the album cover. Meanwhile, Anti-Hero offers a litany of small-hours self-loathing set to music that feels not unlike the glossy 80s rock found on Swift’s Elsewhere, if the Swift you love is Swift in vengeful mode, settling scores with a side-order of You’re So Vain-esque who’s-this-about? [more of the same](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/dec/16/go-easy-on-me-why-pop-has-got-so-predictable): building an immediately recognisable brand in a world where tens of thousands of new tracks are added to streaming services every day. It’s an album that steadfastly declines to deal in the kind of neon-hued bangers that pop stars usually return with, music brash enough to cut through the hubbub. In fact, Midnights delivers her firmly from what she called the “folklorian woods” of her last two albums back to electronic pop. There are filtered synth tones, swoops of dubstep-influenced bass, trap and house-inspired beats and effects that warp her voice to a point of androgyny on Midnight Rain and Labyrinth, the latter a leading choice given the preponderance of lyrics that protest gender stereotyping, or “that 1950s shit they want from me”, as Lavender Haze puts it. [Taylor Swift](https://www.theguardian.com/music/taylor-swift)’s 10th studio album, Midnights. It’s an approach that Midnights’ one marquee-name guest, [Lana Del Rey](https://www.theguardian.com/music/lana-del-rey), knows a lot about, but not one to which Swift has adhered. Instead, breadcrumbs of mysterious hints and visual clues are very gradually dropped via the artist’s social media channels.
Taylor Swift has released her 10th album, Midnights, after weeks of hints. The 13-track album includes “Snow On the Beach,” which features Lana del Rey, ...
Swift appears in the [songwriting credits](https://www.vulture.com/2022/10/taylor-swift-midnights-song-writers-credits-zoe-kravitz.html) for every song on Midnights and teamed up with [minion](https://www.vulture.com/2022/05/diana-ross-tame-impala-minions-soundtrack.html)/collaborator Jack Antonoff for most of the album. Swift has sorted her discography into [three different vibes](https://www.vulture.com/2022/10/taylor-swift-fountain-quill-glitter-gel-pen-playlists-apple-music.html): fountain pen, quill pen, and glitter-gel pen. Over the past two months, she revealed her track-list titles through [surprisingly straightforward TikToks](https://www.vulture.com/2022/10/taylor-swift-introducing-midnights-track-names-on-tiktok.html). [Midnights](http://www.vulture.com/2022/10/taylor-swift-midnights-theories-clues-tiktok.html) o’clock. [Described](https://twitter.com/taylorswift13/status/1564100815069106176/photo/2) by the singer as “a collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams,” Midnights was first [announced](https://www.vulture.com/2022/08/taylor-swift-new-album-release-date.html) during Swift’s acceptance speech at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards in August. After a monthslong wait, [Taylor Swift](https://www.vulture.com/article/all-taylor-swift-songs-ranked-from-worst-to-best.html) has dropped her tenth studio album.
On Midnights song Labrinth, Taylor Swift discloses a shocking opinion: She really doesn't like elevators.
No word yet on whether this will affect [her approach to planes](https://www.vulture.com/2022/08/taylor-swift-private-jet-emissions-response.html). [Midnights](https://www.vulture.com/2022/10/taylor-swift-midnights-album-stream.html)), Taylor Swift discloses a number of intriguing takes: on “Karma,” she says that “karma” is like “a cat, purring on my lap”; on “Anti-Hero,” she says that she sometimes thinks “everybody is a sexy baby”; and, on the album’s tenth track, “Labyrinth,” Taylor slowly and softly tells us a story about falling in love by relating it to … Almost one minute in, she sings, “You know how scared I am of elevators / never trust it if it rises fast / it can’t last.” Taylor has been in an elevator at least twice prior to this song — once while dressed [as a “pegacorn” for Halloween](https://www.thecut.com/2014/10/taylor-swift-is-trick-or-treating-in-an-elevator.html) in 2014, and once [with Taylor Lautner in Valentine’s Day](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRbVrY5DDqk) — so, either something changed or she was secretly hiding how much she disliked them. On TS10 (a.k.a. Breaking: Claustrophobia just fell to its knees.
The album treads aggressively familiar territory—but with new wisdom and confidence. By Spencer Kornhaber. A portrait of Taylor Swift. Beth Garrabrant.
On the delightfully trollish “Anti-Hero”—“Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby, and I’m a monster on the hill”—she makes the highly specific insecurities of a celebrity land as a (The lovely “Snow on the Beach,” for example, is almost ruined by a pointless Janet Jackson reference.) But the concision of Swift’s songcraft and the nuances of her phrasing should keep the listener tuned in. (Please diagram this double negative: “Karma’s a relaxing thought / aren’t you envious that for you it’s not?”) For the opener, “Lavender Haze,” the cartoon-villain smolder of her voice has human creaks and squeaks. “Maroon” and “Question…?,” two songs about hot memories, churn with a near-tragic blend of energy and frustration. That knack for relatability is her superpower—one so potent that it almost makes Midnights’ insularity seem noble. [Reputation](https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/11/reputation-taylor-swift-first-review/545561/) in 2017 and [Lover](https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/08/taylor-swift-lover-review-faith-religion/596725/) in 2019—tinged with extremity and experimentation, brilliance and [cringe](https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/04/taylor-swift-me-song-review/588118/). The concept behind the album title—Swift documenting “13 sleepless nights” over her lifetime—is an excuse to tour through old obsessions: exes, haters, feuds, her beau’s talent for distracting her from all of the above. Yet compositionally, Midnights is sleek and sturdy in a way that no previous album of hers is. Last year, she expanded an old ballad, “All Too Well,” [into a 10-minute saga](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/11/snl-taylor-swift-all-too-well-red/620706/) that flickered with controlled fury. What’s distinct about her return to synth pop is just the flavors she stirs in: oozing bass, surmountable melancholia, and the same type of confession and awkwardness that appears 45 minutes into an office happy hour. The choice of moodily distorted vocals feels especially dated; putting humanoid whale moans in an album’s first moments, as Swift and Antonoff have done, is like opening an IPAs-and-bacon bar in 2022. Transcending expectations is its own expectation, and Midnights makes clear, with modest poignance, that Swift has burned out on her own hype.
Each Taylor Swift album seems to encompass a theme, and her new record “Midnights” brings dark and electric songs inspired by the quiet and thoughtfulness ...
But Swift presents “Midnights” as something different: a collection of songs that don’t necessarily have to go together, but fit together because she has declared them products of late night inspiration. Track one, “Lavender Haze,” pairs a muffled club beat and high-pitched backing vocals from Antonoff with stand-out, beckoning melody from Swift. “Midnight Rain” could be a thesis statement for the project she’s described as “songs written during 13 sleepless nights,” an appropriate approach to the concept album for someone who has long had a lyrical appreciation for late nights (think “Style”: “midnight, you come and pick me up, no headlights…”). On the 13 tracks of “Midnights,” a self-aware Swift shows off her ability to evolve again. It’s among the album’s most sonically interesting, an indie-pop beat that feels reminiscent of her producer Jack Antonoff’s work on Lorde’s “Melodrama,” but also fresh and captivating. The song’s chorus begins: “He was sunshine, I was midnight rain.” And continues: “He wanted it comfortable, I wanted that pain.
Taylor Swift revealed very little about her 10th studio album, “Midnights,” before it was released on Friday – she didn't sit for any interviews and just ...
In “Anti-Hero,” that honor went to the line, “Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby / And I’m a monster on the hill.” This was a new level of candor from an album that, as [multiple critics](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/taylor-swift-review-midnights-lyrics-b2207166.html) agreed in [early reviews](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/taylor-swift-midnights-1234611211/), was pretty dark music for Swift. “I’ll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror. “Not to sound too dark, but, like, I just struggle with the idea of not feeling like a person.” But you know, this song really is a real guided tour throughout all the things I tend to hate about myself. [usual cryptic hints](https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/10/20/taylor-swift-midnights-easter-eggs/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2) about what fans could expect.
We all know the songs about Kimye and Jake Gyllenhaal, but piecing together details from Taylor's entire body of work actually gives us a much deeper ...
In “ [The Archer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KpKc3C9V3w),” she expresses her fear of deliberately sabotaging the relationship. [This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z3QJ4L1Bg0),” Taylor points out that “friends don’t try to trick you” and accuses Kanye of getting her on the phone to “mind-twist” her. To go from feeling like you’re being looked at as a daughter to this grotesque feeling of ‘Oh, I was actually his prized calf that he was fattening up to sell to the slaughterhouse that would pay the most.’” According to her songs, about one month after Taylor and Joe officially started dating, they escaped to a cabin together so she could process the Kimye drama. She was also convinced that Kanye deliberately recorded their conversation intending to set her up — something she referenced in the album's title track, “ If this is the case, then it appears that Karlie wrote Taylor a letter to apologize while the singer was spending time in London with boyfriend Joe Alwyn. [RadarOnline](https://radaronline.com/exclusives/2014/02/taylor-swift-virginity-jake-gyllenhaal-jilted-lover/): “The day before — all was set — he was coming, no issues. The upbeat pop song follows “All Too Well” on the Red tracklist, and for years, fans had been confused by the emotional whiplash of that sequence. Many believed that the scarf was actually a metaphor for her virginity, and in September, Taylor became visibly flustered when she was asked about its meaning at the Toronto International Film Festival. [interview](https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/anne-hathaway-glamour-october-2015-cover-star): “She just seems to be following her heart. This also appeared in the All Too Well short film, where the woman protagonist tries and ultimately fails to fit in with her partner’s friends at a dinner party. Speaking on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2008, Taylor said of their failed relationship: “When I find that person that is right for me, he’ll be wonderful.
The singer-songwriter's 10th studio album returns to the pop sound she left in 2019, and explores a familiar subject: how she is perceived, and how she ...
[rerecordings of her old albums](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/22/arts/music/taylor-swift-rerecord-albums.html), an offshoot of the ownership battles spurred by the sale of her old masters. There are songs on “Midnights” — “Midnight Rain,” “Lavender Haze” — that suggest an awareness of the ways Drake and the Weeknd have deployed overcast mood in their vocal and musical production, though she rarely commits. Of the new songs, only “Glitch” and “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” aren’t subtractive.) Which all prompts the question of where Swift might go as a midcareer pop star, if she were to pivot once more. “Midnights” feels like a sonic place holder, with stadiums in mind. The fleet, breezy and lightly damp “Lavender Haze” includes some sweet singing, though it feels overly reminiscent of the thumping digital folk of Maggie Rogers’s [Jack Antonoff](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/24/arts/music/jack-antonoff-bleachers-lorde-interview.html), constrains her voice. Throughout the album, on songs like “You’re On Your Own, Kid” and “Maroon,” Swift’s vocals are stacked together to the point of suffocation. “Snow on the Beach,” a collaboration with fellow Great American Songwriter Lana Del Rey, begins with light Christmas music energy and never really ascends. But she also thrives when writing about “Taylor Swift” — the idea, the metanarrative, the character. “Did you hear my covert narcissism I disguise as altruism, like some kind of congressman?” Swift muses on “Anti-Hero,” an eerily shimmering Kate Bush-esque number that’s one of the album’s high points. [Taylor Swift](https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/taylor-swift) has always been at her best when writing about Taylor Swift — she is diaristically pinpoint, a ruthless excavator of her own internal tugs of war.
Vigilante Shit,” off Taylor Swift's new album 'Midnights,' is Swift once again wielding her pen to settle scores. This time, she targets Scooter Braun in a ...
[A half-hearted statement](https://www.vulture.com/2022/09/scooter-braun-taylor-swift-masters-regret.html) about his “regret” around the deal.) The fight over her masters had already been a winning issue: Swift came in exponentially more famous and beloved than Braun, [her rerecordings have only made her more so](https://www.vulture.com/2022/10/taylor-swift-rerecorded-albums-which-album-is-next.html), and the idea that an artist should own her music adds up logically and morally. [ she wrote alone](https://www.vulture.com/2022/10/taylor-swift-midnights-song-writers-credits-zoe-kravitz.html), Swift is at her venomous best. On “Vigilante Shit,” the only song on Midnights that She’s skeptical, almost mocking, when she sings, “Ladies always rise above,” in the bridge, but at the same time, that’s her attitude here. It’s a signature Swift earworm, but it’s also a motto for her celebrity. Elsewhere, she surveys the fallout from her claim on “mad woman” that [Braun, now divorced](https://www.vulture.com/2021/07/scooter-braun-divorcing-wife-yael-cohen.html), is a cheat. “Draw the cat eyes sharp enough to kill a man,” she sings, and then adds a few lines later, “They say looks can kill, and I might try.” She’s past the reflections of “mad woman” and onto throwing barbs. She’s not rising above the drama, but she is carrying herself as the winner. [Midnights, Swift’s tenth album](https://www.vulture.com/2022/10/taylor-swift-midnights-album-stream.html). “I didn’t have it in myself to go with grace / ’Cause when I’d fight, you used to tell me I was brave,” Swift sang on “my tears ricochet,” seemingly to Scott Borchetta, her former champion who first signed a teenage Swift to his Big Machine label before later overseeing the sale of her catalogue to her chief nemesis, Scooter Braun. The provocatively titled “Vigilante Shit” seems to revisit [the Braun-Borchetta drama](https://www.vulture.com/2019/11/taylor-swift-scooter-braun-and-borchetta-feud-explained.html) head-on while also returning to the scorekeeping, revenge-seeking Swift we thought we might have seen the last of during folklore and evermore. Swift’s message to Braun, though, was even clearer: “I’m takin’ my time / Takin’ my time / ’Cause you took everything from me,” she sang on “mad woman.” Still, these songs were cloaked in the fictional haze of that era, far from a direct response.
Critics praise the "fantastic songs" on Midnights, but some add there is "not a smash hit in sight".
On the twinkly Bejeweled she announces that she's "going out tonight", but the beats remain sleepy and sluggish. Swift's always as elusive as she is allusive." Swift is currently gearing up for a busy few months. Otherwise Midnights sounds ready for bed." All the while she keeps things just cryptic enough to keep the tension crackling and the speculation buzzing. But it also sees her re-engage her pop sensibilities, with lyrics that explore more personal subject matters. "As Swift has returned to her archive for to undertake the project of re-recording her previous albums, it's clear slipping back into her past self has unlocked something brilliant and fresh in her songwriting," she wrote. "The subtle melodies of Midnights take time to sink their claws in," she added. "But Swift's feline vocal stealth and assured lyrical control ensure she keeps your attention. [the Guardian's Alexis Petridis said](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/oct/21/taylor-swift-midnights-review-small-hours-pop-rich-with-self-loathing-and-stereotype-smashing) Midnights "delivers her firmly from what she called the 'folklorian woods' of her last two albums back to electronic pop". Midnights is the 32-year-old's first original album in two years and sees her return to a more mainstream sound than the more muted, acoustic tone of her previous two albums. The Guardian said Midnights is a "cool, collected and mature" record which is "packed with fantastic songs".
U.S. music superstar Taylor Swift released her 10th studio album "Midnights" on Friday, as well as additional tracks made during the record making process.
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Last night, Taylor Swift unleashed upon the collective timeline Midnights, her 10th studio album. To build up a bit of extra hype for the album for those ...
Swift also revealed that you won’t have to wait too long for the reveal of the first video, “Anti-Hero,” which is supposed to arrive on the internet this morning at 8 a.m. (Sadly, neither Mike Birbiglia nor Laura Dern appear to have been invited to lay down a few bars; missed opportunity, if you ask us.) [30% offEarly Black Friday Deal - Samsung Bespoke 3-Door French Door Refrigerator](https://events.release.narrativ.com/api/v0/client_redirect/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.samsung.com%2Fus%2Fhome-appliances%2Frefrigerators%2Fbespoke%2Fbespoke-3-door-french-door-refrigerator--30-cu--ft-----with-top-left-and-family-hub--panel-in-white-glass---and-matte-grey-glass-bottom-door-panel-rf30bb69006maa%2F%3Fnrtv_cid%3D.nrtv_plchldr.%26cid%3Dopmc-ecomm-nrtiv-ref-042720-142022-theinventory-14751254%26utm_source%3Dtheinventory%26utm_medium%3Dnarrativ%26utm_campaign%3D14751254%26utm_content%3Dref%26nrtv_as_src%3D1&a=1789147804208887597&uuid=c71c1370-fa3c-4dbf-89fc-e79e0340840d&uid_bam=1780607800286527342&ar=1789148518861552547) (No sign of Zombie Taylor from the “Look What You Made Me Do” video, alas, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed.) The track was a co-write between Swift and Antonoff, because YOU CANNOT ESCAPE FROM JACK ANTONOFF. Last night, Taylor Swift unleashed upon the collective timeline Midnights, her 10th studio album. [the 10-minute short film/music video for the (Taylor’s Version) of “All Too Well.”](https://www.avclub.com/taylor-swift-is-releasing-an-all-too-well-short-film-1848003285)
"Midnights," Taylor Swift's 10th studio album, is a move away from folk-rock back to mainstream pop.
“For those already swayed by her craft, however, it may reasonably go on to be recognized as her best album to date.” “She’s playing with cadence and emphasizing the grain of her voice like never before … [Clash Music](https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/taylor-swift-midnights/)’s Matthew Neale writes that the album “feels both voyeuristic in its exposition and brash in its execution.” [Guardian’s Alexis Petridis](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/oct/21/taylor-swift-midnights-review-small-hours-pop-rich-with-self-loathing-and-stereotype-smashing) describes the sound as “pop rich with self-loathing and stereotype-smashing” and “misty, atmospheric and tastefully subdued.” [Rolling Stone](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/taylor-swift-midnights-1234611211/) writer Brittany Spanos, Swift’s new album “picks up where the pure pop triptych of 1989, Reputation, and Lover left off, a dazzling bath of synths complementing lyrics caught between a love story and a revenge plot.” “Midnights is a collage of intensity, highs and lows and ebbs and flows,” she told fans on
As pop fandoms go to battle on social media wielding data about their favorite stars, Metascores averaging critical opinions have become ammunition, ...
— where he previously worked — and its [Next Gen stats platform](https://nextgenstats.nfl.com/), noting, “There is a greater crossover between sports fans and music fans today.” [top artists of the decade list](https://www.metacritic.com/feature/best-music-of-the-decade). “People used Metascores as an argument settler, a metric to put in each other’s faces,” Doyle said. 2” ranked highest with a Metascore of 90, while Juliana Hatfield’s “Pony: Total System Failure” landed lowest with a Metascore of 25. “We’re a professional outfit.” The site makes money from advertising, licensing Metascores and affiliate revenue. Passionate fan armies keep careful track of the scoreboard, and one of the most fervent is devoted to Swift, who will release her 10th studio album, [“Midnights,”](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/29/arts/music/taylor-swift-new-album-midnights.html) on Friday. Before they are averaged, the scores are weighted according to the critic’s perceived prestige and volume of reviews. If it’s not a case of plagiarism or fraud (which usually is self-reported from a member publication), such appeals are generally unsuccessful.” “Once you get to four reviews, then you generate the Metascore, which is an average score.” For the games section, the site sends outlets a list of questions “so you can really get to know their scoring philosophy,” he added, a process it has only recently started “for potential movies section partners.” “Every time they publish a review, you throw it in the system,” he said. Metacritic went live in January 2001 with a film vertical and a rundown of how its staff calculated Metascores. “There’s nothing quite like Taylor Swift,” Marc Doyle, 51, one of the site’s founders, said in an interview last week.
In the lead-up to the release of “Midnights,” Taylor Swift herself said this 10th record of hers was inspired by haunting late-night thoughts and, ...
(Laura Dern, the Haim sisters and Swift wrote and directed the video, which follows a Swift tortured by monsters like ghosts, bathroom scales and judgey people at parties. There is a moment of silliness about midway through, after a verse in which Swift sings about a dream she had about a future daughter-in-law who kills her for money, but Swift left her out of her will.
Taylor Swift's "chaotic surprise" in the middle of the night turned out to be a deluxe digital edition of 'Midnights' with seven bonus tracks, ...
“Midnights is a wild ride of an album and I couldn’t be happier that my co pilot on this adventure was Jack Antonoff,” she wrote on social media. We’d been toying with ideas and had written a few things we loved, but ‘Midnights’ actually really coalesced and flowed out of us when our partners (both actors) did a film together in Panama,” she noted, referring to her significant other, Joe Alwyn, and his, Margaret Qualley. [Taylor Swift](https://variety.com/t/taylor-swift/) likes the number 13, which would be one reason why her “ [Midnights](https://variety.com/t/midnights/)” album runs at an economical 13 tracks, her first release to be that concise in many years. “He’s my friend for life (presumptuous I know but I stand by it) and we’ve been making music together for nearly a decade. In all, there are now 21 original songs that have been released as part of the project. However, she doesn’t love it so much that she wasn’t up for putting out a surprise 20-track “3 am” deluxe version of the album, which was sprung on fans at 3 a.m.
Is the new Taylor Swift song Lavender Haze about Joe Alwyn? Hear what she has to say about engagement rumors and their relationship in the "Midnights" song ...
“If I had a pound for every time I think I’ve been told I’ve been engaged, then I’d have a lot of pound coins. Note that the song title itself is a term borrowed from the '50s. And what the people are asking about is an engagement. Here's what to know about the song lyrics and what it says about Swift, Alwyn and how she feels about a potential engagement. “I think a lot of people have to deal with this now, not just like ‘public figures,’ because we live in the era of social media,” she began. "My relationship for six years, we’ve had to dodge weird rumors, tabloid stuff — and we just ignore it,” she said.
Ranking the swearist lines in Taylor Swift's new album Midnights which contains some of her strongest curse words including shit, fuck, damn, and cheap-ass.
The lean-back rhythm of her patter here is Taylor trying on her most world-weary “I’m washed” posture on the album. Taylor puts a “fuckin’” right in the center of this album’s biggest singsong pop chorus, pacing out words like a metronome so that she has to hit both syllables of “fuck-in” hard (and, yes, there’s no “g”). Okay, now we’re fucking — though, really, we’re only fuckin’ because Taylor is resistant to ever pronouncing the “g” at the end of the word. [inspired by Mad Men](https://www.nme.com/news/music/taylor-swift-reveals-mad-men-inspiration-behind-midnights-track-lavender-haze-3327307) (a show that is primarily set in the ’60s, but whatever), which puts Taylor in the position of a sort of Betty Draper raging against the feminist mystique or something. She’s easing up to the bolder swears later on in the album. And for all of her use of “fucking,” she tends to only use swears as intensifiers, not as descriptors of actually explicit acts.
On the heels of her highly anticipated album 'Midnights' and the world premiere of her new music video for “Anti-Hero,” fans around the world can now visit ...
Swift also has five music videos in YouTube’s Billion Views Club, two of which (“ [Shake It Off](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfWlot6h_JM)” and “ [Blank Space](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-ORhEE9VVg)”) are part of a small group of videos to have crossed the 3 billion views mark. For the first time ever, Swift is inviting her fans around the world to share their anti-heroic traits to the soundtrack of the newly released track, “ [Anti-Hero](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1kbLwvqugk),” only on YouTube Shorts. Her music has charted on YouTube’s Top Songs chart in over 50 markets, and her recent release of [“All Too Well [10 Minute Version] (Taylor’s Version)”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tollGa3S0o8) peaked at #1 on the Global and US charts. Once you’re ready, head over to YouTube Shorts to start your own #TSAntiHeroChallenge creation and follow these simple steps: An anti-heroic trait could be as simple as always grabbing the last slice of pizza, clapping at the end of movies, always putting your feet on the car dashboard, using the same word to start your daily Wordle, leaving your clean laundry in the basket until the next time you do it, pretending you didn’t already watch the next episode of the series you watch with your pals, or even treating your cat like a human. The #TSAntiHeroChallenge is inspired by one of Swift’s favorite songs ever written, track #3 on her new album.
After the magical and chaotic night that was the Oct. 21 release of "Midnights," Taylor Swift's tenth studio album, fans have thoughts and we're sharing ...
[#12amalarm](https://twitter.com/hashtag/12amalarm?src=hashtag_click) [#3amalarm](https://twitter.com/hashtag/3amalarm?src=hashtag_click) [#TSmidnighTS](https://twitter.com/hashtag/TSmidnighTS?src=hashtag_click)" [the tweet](mailto:If you live with a very devoted @taylorswift13 fan, you may need a little extra help from your favorite @TODAYshow mug this morning. [tweeted](http://Happy Taylor swift album release night. I haven’t listened to the album yet, but my gf did and now she’s giving herself bangs). my favorite religious experience" 21 release of "Midnights," Taylor Swift's 10th studio album (which crashed Spotify upon its release,) the Swifties have been deployed to share their thoughts on the internet. [@taylorswift13](https://twitter.com/taylorswift13) fan, you may need a little extra help from your favorite [@TODAYshow](https://twitter.com/TODAYshow) mug this morning. Turns out, Swift had another seven tracks up her sleeve, bringing the count of songs on the album to 20. Appropriately, Swift released the original 13 tracks on the album at midnight on Friday. Another user explained the ritual of listening to "Midnights" for the first time and the spiritual experience that comes with a new Swift album drop. [his tweet.](http://Taylor Swift's music is such a gift to the world, and the way she fosters community is so brilliant, and I love Midnights, and everyone should be able to love what and whom they love earnestly and without irony or cynicism or apology.) [now-famous salad dressing.](https://www.today.com/food/olivia-wilde-salad-dressing-recipe-rcna52939) [The tweet](http://Olivia Wilde listening to vigilante shit while making her salad dressing) reads: "Olivia Wilde listening to vigilante s--- while making her salad dressing" One of the songs people are having some of the biggest reactions to is "Vigilante S---" for its more sensual undertones, a departure from the sound of the remainder of the album.
Taylor Swift “Midnights,” (Republic Records) “All of me changed like midnight,” Taylor Swift confesses halfway through her latest album, the aptly named and ...
But Swift presents “Midnights” as something different: a collection of songs that don’t necessarily have to go together, but fit together because she has declared them products of late night inspiration. Track one, “Lavender Haze,” pairs a muffled club beat and high-pitched backing vocals from Antonoff with stand-out, beckoning melody from Swift. “Midnight Rain” could be a thesis statement for the project she’s described as songs written during “13 sleepless nights,” an appropriate approach to the concept album for someone who has long had a lyrical appreciation for late nights (think “Style”: “midnight, you come and pick me up, no headlights…”). [the 13 tracks of “Midnights,”](/article/what-to-stream-October-2022-midnights-music-movies-TV-f70b362a01e904e5b23adeb62c822dd0) a self-aware Swift shows off her ability to evolve again. It’s among the album’s most sonically interesting, an indie-pop beat that feels reminiscent of her producer Jack Antonoff’s work on Lorde’s “Melodrama,” but also fresh and captivating. The song’s chorus begins: “He was sunshine, I was midnight rain.” And continues: “He wanted it comfortable, I wanted that pain.
The best lyrics on Taylor Swift's Midnights, based on her five feelings she had when writing the album: self-loathing, fantasizing about revenge, ...
Since the track was announced, people were quick to make connections to last year’s Swift release, Red (Taylor’s Version), as she describes the various shades of red, all in a darker hue. Swift challenges the antiquated ideas of weddings here, addressing the “ She pokes fun at those criticisms by calling karma “her boyfriend,” her longest relationship to date. For someone who isn’t afraid to write songs about those important in her life, Swift shows a new vulnerability by being too afraid of admitting that she’s falling in love. She references her eating disorder that she revealed during her Miss Americana Netflix documentary, able to see her destructive behavior with larger clarity as a 32-year-old woman. It is our time to rise up and ask them a million questions knowing the answers will be painful no matter what. Swift has been battling marriage rumors almost as long as she’s been battling serial dater rumors. (Though careful, Taylor, with how you phrase it; you don’t want to become a meme like The ideal night of swimming in your own sadness and pity definitely includes calling yourself a narcissist and then considering every nice thing you’ve ever done a big evil scheme to make you look like a good person. Assuming this song is about her feud with Scooter Braun, she’s taking no prisoners by bringing up his divorce and Sexy baby has to be an inside joke, right? [has finally arrived](https://www.vulture.com/2022/10/taylor-swift-midnights-album-stream.html) and encapsulated all of our late-night thoughts.
Taylor Swift moves away from the experimental magic of folklore and evermore and delivers a giddy, self-reflective crusade with Midnights.
After multiple listens—and wishing that the 3 AM songs were part of the core album—it’s evident she embraces the chaos (what’s new, right?). The album illustrates the strengths and weaknesses of the Swift-Antonoff partnership—the duo tends to “regress” every so often but knows how to tap into their forte, too. As it turns out, Midnights is an eccentric blend of [Lover](https://www.avclub.com/taylor-swift-is-done-proving-herself-on-the-resonant-lo-1837578581) and [1989](https://www.avclub.com/with-1989-taylor-swift-finally-grows-up-1798181732), with a dose of [Reputation](https://www.avclub.com/taylor-swift-has-a-big-drunken-night-out-on-reputation-1820342108)’s retribution for good measure. There are more gems here like, “I’ll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror / It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero,” and the polarizing line, “Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby.” ( On three of the tracks, she collaborates with The National’s Aaron Dessner yet again, including on “The Great War,” which features poetic imagery and lyrics about surviving the battlefield of a tumultuous bond and is enhanced by Dessner’s production. And then there’s “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve,” a fiery but tragic indictment of the older man she dated at 19 who took advantage of her naïveté. An early standout, it charts her exhaustion from giving in to her worst thoughts and impulses (“When my depression works the graveyard shift / All of the people I’ve ghosted stand there in the room / I should not be left to my own devices”). The singer’s “sleepless nights” have spawned an odyssey that’s cutthroat and shimmery. Swift opens Midnights with “Lavender Haze,” a definite bop that celebrates her unperturbed love life (reminiscent of “Call It What You Want To).” And she closes the core album with a pair of tracks that cleverly confirm her relationship, starting with track 12, the amorous ballad “Sweet Nothing,” co-written by Swift and William Bowery (Joe Alwyn’s pseudonym). [Taylor Swift revealed she categorizes her lyrics](https://www.avclub.com/taylor-swift-new-insight-songwriting-process-1849562389) in three distinct ways: Quill, fountain pen, and glitter gel pen, conjuring the perfect weapon to rousingly convey her words. That’s immediately followed by track 13, “Mastermind,” in which a Machiavellian Swift confesses her schemes to secure his love. That’s not a complaint, of course, because Swift is the certified queen of serving up bangers.