Review on Taylor Swift’s Midights

Lola Heike, Reporter

On October 21, Taylor Swift released Midnights, a pop album, which is different from her last two albums Folklore and Evermore, but is it as good? 

The album alone has 13 songs, but there is an edition that is called Midnights ( 3 a.m. Edition), which offers another seven songs. 

You can listen to all 20 songs for free digitally, but what if you want a physical copy, like a vinyl? There are four editions of the Midnight’s vinyls and compact discs (CDs), and they all have something special about them. 

If you purchase all four of the vinyls or CDs, you can put them together to visually form a clock, which of course hits midnight. But are the songs worth the steep price? 

English teacher Melissa Grove said,  “Although I personally like Taylor’s indie/folk era the best, Midnights has quickly become one of my top three albums by her.  I really like a lot of the lyrics and melodies, but I do wish that some of the bonus songs from the 3 a.m. Edition, like ‘Bigger Than the Whole Sky’ and ‘Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve,’ should have been on the standard version of the album because they are some of her strongest songs.”

After listening to all the songs on the general playlist, here are the highlights worth checking out.

“Anti-Hero” is one of my favorite songs on the album. The lyrics can be interpreted in many ways, making them relatable. It’s also not a classic love story we’ve seen before by Swift; it’s new, which also makes it one of my favorites. 

I felt that the theme is about being out of place, for example, “ Sometimes I feel like everybody is a [….] baby And I’m a monster on the hill Too big to hang out, slowly lurching toward your favorite city Pierced through the heart, but never killed.”  

The whole idea of being out of place can relate to a lot of people including myself. 

Another song on the album that I love is “Maroon”. I don’t really know why I like it so much, I just do. It also has a similar tone to ‘Anti-Hero”, which might help make it one of my favorites. 

“ Vigilante […]” is another favorite; it’s so different than any of her other songs. It’s kind of like a dark soul song and the lyrics match. It’s definitely not the pop love song she’s known for. 

For example, the chorus goes,  “I don’t start it but I can tell you how it ends Don’t get sad, get even So on the weekends I don’t dress for friends Lately I’ve been dressing for revenge.” 

A lot of people loved when Swift released Reputation, which a lot of people thought of as new for Swift. I think people will love this song since it’s even darker and vengeful than Reputation.  

A song that I really wanted to like but ended up being a song I’m going to skip is  “Midnight Rain”. In the song, one of the choruses is in this low tone that’s not Taylor, and this makes me hate the song.  

The last song on the general album I wanted to talk about is “Question”. It’s a really catchy song and it’s similar to “Anti-Hero” and “Maroon”. 

It’s a love song that isn’t new to her or this album but the whole Indie pop is. “ Can I ask you a question? Did you ever have someone kiss you in a crowded room And every single one of your friends was makin’ fun of you But fifteen seconds later, they were clappin’, too? Then, what did you do?”  

I love that she added a love song, since she’s known for them. But the tone of the song is different, it’s not a normal pop love song. 

Midnights (3 a.m. Edition) is an extra seven songs, and in my opinion, one of the songs makes it all worth it and it should have been on the actual album. The song is “ Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve” and it’s my favorite. It has the same tone as “ Vigilante […]” but in my opinion, the lyrics are more meaningful.  

For example, some of the lyrics go “If clarity’s in death, then why won’t this die? Years of tearing down our banners, you and I Living for the thrill of hitting you where it hurts Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first” 

A lot of people can relate to this song, I personally can’t but it doesn’t stop me from loving it.

But I’m not the only one who loves her new album.. According to Variety, Taylor Swift’s fans crashed Ticketmaster’s website trying to get tickets.  

Another thing to mention is that Taylor Swift made history by filling up the Top 10 Billboard with all of her own songs, according to  NPR.