Between going to see Harry Styles in L.A. and getting a new album from Taylor Swift, October ended up being a month filled with pop music!
Another highlight was watching the Liverpool-Arsenal game while holding my niece, enjoying a big cup of coffee with my favorite doggies cuddled next to us on the couch. There were so many moments of indulgence and happiness in October, but I also had more down days than what’s usual for me in recent history. Cue lots of time journaling and being introspective, which happens to be the perfect transition to my thoughts about Midnights.
Midnights by Taylor Swift
I’ve been a fan of Taylor since Debut in 2006 (!!!). This line in “You’re On Your Own, Kid” killed me because I literally saw her perform in a parking lot when she was a no one:
I picked the petals, he loves me not
Something different bloomed, writing in my room
I play my songs in the parking lot
She’s also essentially my age, so it feels like we’ve grown up together in a way (despite her fame, her music is highly relatable to me). The heartbreaks, the let downs, the blame, the regrets, as well as the big loves, the wild nights, the quiet joys– her songs over the past 16 years cover it all and have been by my side through many chapters of my life. In my most hopeless days, I find solace in art, and hers in particular. I know it sounds dramatic but the prospect of getting new music from Taylor has always shone a light during my darkest times. And on my best days, it’s her take on love that I want blaring from my speakers.
And I absolutely love Midnights. It’s the first autobiographical album we’ve had from her in years, and it’s come at a really interesting point in her career and personal life. She’s in the midst of rerecording all her old albums, which means she’s living those songs again. But she’s now a woman in her 30s (just like me) who has enough hindsight on the past to see things with a little more clarity. Cue the introspection I talked about earlier. Midnights borrows sonically from previous albums which makes sense because of the rerecord process. But the lyrics and insights are totally new and are perhaps her most mature. They give us a different perspective about nights of her life we already have songs about.
I think when we’re younger, things happen to us. Life happens to us. Placing blame is easy. But with more experience and wisdom, we’re able to see our role in situations and take ownership of decisions we made. Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard talk about this a lot more eloquently in this podcast about Midnights which I HIGHLY recommend:
As an example, they talk about how the last release we got from Taylor pre-Midnights was the “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)(Taylor’s Version)” which apparently was written during the Red Era in 2012. We get the line:
Not weeping in a party bathroom
Some actress asking me what happened, you
That’s what happened, you
Contrast this with new lyrics we’re getting ten years later in 2022. Her single “Anti-Hero” has the line:
It’s me
Hi!
I’m the problem, it’s me
The blame goes from you to me. Not to mention we see Taylor flexing her skills as a wordsmith with quadruple rhyme structures in this song. I love this album, I love listening in on some of her growth and vulnerability, I love so many of the lyrics and all of the bops. Definitely listen to that podcast if you’re a Taylor fan because Nora and Nathan also go into how she’s the sharpest she’s ever been in her career and why. I don’t think there’s ever been a better lyricist in history lol bold claim but do you agree? Who else would be in that conversation?
I could literally go on and on about Taylor. She’s out for world domination, she’s getting it, and I salute her for being the force she is. There are some more nuanced discussions to be had about certain things that I won’t get into in this post (like her use of the word fat in her “Anti-Hero” music video and her lack of any words when Roe V. Wade got overturned). So just know that I’m not a blind fan, but I will always look forward to hearing her music about this “emotionally abusive” experience called life. I’m personally hoping for some “Lavender Haze” and “Snow on the Beach” of my own, sooner rather than later =P
Words
“Karma is a cat purring in my lap cause it loves me.”
–Karma by Taylor Swift
couldn’t help myself, how cute is that 🙂