Hey Swifties. It’s time. 🕰 As is tradition: my track by track initial thoughts and feelings for #TSmidnighTS (including 3am Edition tracks and Target edition bonus tracks). I’ll be doing it in real-time as I listen thru, so it’ll be gradual. (To those uninterested, I’m sorry!)
1. Lavender Haze - I love that “meet me at midnight” kicks off the album and love knowing she was inspired by Mad Men for it.
The vibe of this song does a good job to set the tone for the album, too. It’ll never replace State of Grace as best Track 1, but… it’s a good choice.
The vibe of this song does a good job to set the tone for the album, too. It’ll never replace State of Grace as best Track 1, but… it’s a good choice.
Favorite lyrics: “The only kinda girl they see is a one-night or a wife, I find it dizzying”
“And you don't really read into my melancholia”
“And you don't really read into my melancholia”
2. Maroon - In my v first listen to this song I loved it, then I felt disinterested in it after a couple listens, and now it’s back to being something I really vibe with. This is classic Taylor lyricism and I love that, plus it’s sonically pleasing.
Favorite lyrics:
“When the silence came, we were shaking blind and hazy. How the hell did we lose sight of us again?
Sobbing with your head in your hands- ain’t that the way shit always ends?”
“And I wake with your memory over me—that’s a real fuckin’ legacy.”
“When the silence came, we were shaking blind and hazy. How the hell did we lose sight of us again?
Sobbing with your head in your hands- ain’t that the way shit always ends?”
“And I wake with your memory over me—that’s a real fuckin’ legacy.”
3. Anti-Hero - One third of my Holy Trinity on this album. Anyone who has struggled with self-loathing can prob relate to this and I love how she doesn’t try to sugarcoat how shitty (and sometimes hilarious and ridiculous) the shame spirals and negative self-talk can get.
Favorite lyrics:
“I should not be left to my own devices, they come with prices and vices, I end up in crisis (Tale as old as time); I wake up screaming from dreaming, one day I'll watch as you're leaving ‘cause you got tired of my scheming (for the last time).”
“I should not be left to my own devices, they come with prices and vices, I end up in crisis (Tale as old as time); I wake up screaming from dreaming, one day I'll watch as you're leaving ‘cause you got tired of my scheming (for the last time).”
“Did you hear my covert narcissism I disguised as altruism like some kind of congressman?”
“I’ll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror”
“I’ll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror”
4. Snow on the Beach - The beginning instrumental of this sounds like a Christmas song which is fitting since it’s about snow. If I am being honest I wouldn’t know Lana was a part of it if I hadn’t been told… but that’s par for the course for Taylor collabs, I suppose.
That said, it is legit a relatable song for those of us who have a tendency to “feel out loud”…often more than we wish we did. It definitely paints both a visual and emotional image.
Favorite lyrics:
“Life is emotionally abusive.”
“My smile is like I won a contest and to hide that would be so dishonest”
“Life is emotionally abusive.”
“My smile is like I won a contest and to hide that would be so dishonest”
5. You’re on Your Own, Kid - Another third of my Holy Trinity, another song I relate to so much, stolen straight from my journal. No, seriously:
https://twitter.com/bellabee13/status/1583955563909902336
It is hard for me to articulate how this song makes me feel, tbh. It rings true on so many levels and I just… idk I want so badly to say something poignant about that and I just can’t, because the song says it all already. IYKYK.
Favorite lyrics:
The entire bridge.
The entire bridge.
6. Midnight Rain - Ok, so we all had that jarring WTF moment at the beginning, right? Cool ok. Once you get past that, this song is a poem. Like I know songs and poems are very similar but this one feels like it started as a poem before it became lyrics, can’t explain why.
Favorite lyrics:
“I guess sometimes we all get
just what we wanted, just what we wanted
And he never thinks of me
except when I'm on TV.
I guess sometimes we all get
some kind of haunted, some kind of haunted
And I never think of him
except on midnights like this.”
“I guess sometimes we all get
just what we wanted, just what we wanted
And he never thinks of me
except when I'm on TV.
I guess sometimes we all get
some kind of haunted, some kind of haunted
And I never think of him
except on midnights like this.”
7. Question…? - This song is such an earworm. I like it fine enough but it’s not one of my top five on the album AND YET it is one of the most consistently stuck in my head??? I cannot explain this. I also cannot fully explain what this song is about. But it’s fun, lol.
Favorite lyrics:
“Cause I don't remember who I was before you painted all my nights a color I have searched for since”
“Does it feel like everything's just like second best after that meteor strike?”
“Cause I don't remember who I was before you painted all my nights a color I have searched for since”
“Does it feel like everything's just like second best after that meteor strike?”
8. Vigilante Shit - We all love a Taylor revenge song, don’t we? Perfectly cutting and makes you root for our favorite songwriting protagonist as she takes matters into her own hands. It’s no murder ballad, but it’s still delightful and satisfying.
Favorite lyrics:
“I dont start shit but I can tell you how it ends”
“Ladies always rise above,
ladies know what people want:
Someone sweet and kind and fun—
The lady simply had enough.”
“I dont start shit but I can tell you how it ends”
“Ladies always rise above,
ladies know what people want:
Someone sweet and kind and fun—
The lady simply had enough.”
9. Bejeweled - Am I the only person that still plays the actual game Bejeweled? It pleases my ADHD brain. Anyway the song both sonically and lyrically lives up to its name and I love the sparkle. This is the glow-up from the narrator of Tolerate It!!!
Favorite lyrics:
“Baby boy, I think I've been too good of a girl, did all the extra credit then got graded on a curve”
“Baby love, I think I've been a little too kind, didn’t notice you walking all over my peace of mind in the shoes I gave you as a present”
“Baby boy, I think I've been too good of a girl, did all the extra credit then got graded on a curve”
“Baby love, I think I've been a little too kind, didn’t notice you walking all over my peace of mind in the shoes I gave you as a present”
10. Labyrinth - One of the simplest songs on the album both lyrically and sonically and it’s beauty is in that simplicity. Just confessional emotion that I’m sure a lot of us can relate to, which is classic Taylor. It speaks for itself, honestly.
Favorite lyrics:
“Break up, break free, break through, break down
You would break your back to make me break a smile
You know how much I hate
that everybody just expects me to bounce back
just like that.”
“Break up, break free, break through, break down
You would break your back to make me break a smile
You know how much I hate
that everybody just expects me to bounce back
just like that.”
11. Karma - I don’t believe in karma IRL so I didn’t want to like this song and yetttttt… it’s so catchy. Stuck in your head for days. It’s not that deep and it’s not meant to be (I mean, c’mon, “karma is a cat”? Girl shows us she def doesn’t take herself too seriously.)
Favorite lyrics:
“Karma’s a relaxing thought, aren’t you envious that for you it’s not?”
“It's coming back around and I keep my side of the street clean—you wouldn't know what I mean.”
“Karma’s a relaxing thought, aren’t you envious that for you it’s not?”
“It's coming back around and I keep my side of the street clean—you wouldn't know what I mean.”
12. Sweet Nothings - THE FACT THAT SHE WROTE THIS WITH JOE. 🥺🥺🥺 It’s just such a pure and lovely song, it makes me feel warm and fuzzy and it’s honestly hashtag goals. Taylor sure does know how to write a love song, I’ll tell you that.
Favorite lyrics:
“Industry disrupters and soul deconstructors
and smooth-talking hucksters
out glad-handing each other
and the voices that implore,
"You should be doing more"
To you I can admit
that I'm just too soft for all of it.”
“Industry disrupters and soul deconstructors
and smooth-talking hucksters
out glad-handing each other
and the voices that implore,
"You should be doing more"
To you I can admit
that I'm just too soft for all of it.”
13. Mastermind - I saw tweets talking about how nobody likes this song and I don’t get it because I love it??? It’s extremely interesting and pleasing sonically, and the lyrics are fun. And… I relate a little too hard to the bridge, so, there is that.
Favorite lyrics:
“No one wanted to play with me as a little kid
so I've been scheming like a criminal ever since
to make them love me & make it seem effortless
This is the first time I've felt the need to confess
and I swear
I'm only cryptic & Machiavellian 'cause I care.”
!!!
“No one wanted to play with me as a little kid
so I've been scheming like a criminal ever since
to make them love me & make it seem effortless
This is the first time I've felt the need to confess
and I swear
I'm only cryptic & Machiavellian 'cause I care.”
!!!
*3am Edition tracks*
14. The Great War - This song initially didn’t make me feel one way or another but it’s grown on me after a few listens. I love the poetic flow of the lyrics especially. This one’s dedicated to all the girlies with trust issues, cheers!
14. The Great War - This song initially didn’t make me feel one way or another but it’s grown on me after a few listens. I love the poetic flow of the lyrics especially. This one’s dedicated to all the girlies with trust issues, cheers!
Favorite lyrics:
Like I said, poetry.
Like I said, poetry.
15. Bigger Than The Whole Sky - A song about grief and grieving out loud. I’ll be honest I haven’t listened to this song much because it just kind of hits a raw spot. I know a lot of people have felt this way. If you know loss, this song will resonate for you.
Favorite lyrics:
“No words appear before me in the aftermath
Salt streams out my eyes and into my ears
Every single thing I touch becomes sick with sadness
'cause it's all over now, all out to sea”
“No words appear before me in the aftermath
Salt streams out my eyes and into my ears
Every single thing I touch becomes sick with sadness
'cause it's all over now, all out to sea”
16. Paris - My favorite city and second home, I am biased to love this. It’s a bop, as the youths would say, and lyrically it’s intriguing. This song quickly ended up on my running playlist. And now I miss Paris something fierce. Paris, tu me manques toujourssssss.
Favorite lyrics:
“I want to brainwash you into loving me forever”
“Romance is not dead if you keep it yours”
“I want to brainwash you into loving me forever”
“Romance is not dead if you keep it yours”
17. High Infidelity - I like this one a LOT, though I can’t exactly explain why. It feels like a diary entry and a video montage all at once, if that makes sense? Everyone is speculating about who it’s about and idk but I don’t know that I care, tbh. I just feel it.
Favorite lyrics:
“You know there's many different ways that you can kill the one you love; the slowest way is never loving them enough.”
“You know there's many different ways that you can kill the one you love; the slowest way is never loving them enough.”
18. Glitch - Maybe this song will grow on me, but at the moment it just… doesn’t do much for me? I don’t dislike it, it just doesn’t evoke any feelings in me in any particular way which is… very atypical for me with Taylor’s music. (I know that’s shocking news to y’all here.)
Favorite lyrics:
“And I'm not even sorry
Nights are so starry
Blood moonlit
It must be counterfeit”
“And I'm not even sorry
Nights are so starry
Blood moonlit
It must be counterfeit”
19. Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve - The other third of my Holy Trinity on this album. This song… wrecked me in a dozen ways. Most of which I’m not comfy sharing on main, which makes me sound like a tease and I don’t mean to, but. A combination of experiences both from
my young adult years plus some recent therapy work I’ve been doing around some childhood stuff just has this song doing a real number on me. Also, I’m actually for real emailing with a publication about this:
https://twitter.com/bellabee13/status/1588509573190942722
So it’s hard for me to just tweet about this because I have an essay in my head and a novel in my journal. But I will say, putting this as track 19 when she was 19 when it happened and recording it at 32 when JM was 32 when it happened… god, I love her mind, I really do.
Favorite quotes:
All of it? Like honestly.
But,
“If I was some paint, did it splatter on a promising grown man? And if I was a child, did it matter if you got to wash your hands?”
“And now that I’m grown I’m scared of ghosts, memories feel like weapons”
All of it? Like honestly.
But,
“If I was some paint, did it splatter on a promising grown man? And if I was a child, did it matter if you got to wash your hands?”
“And now that I’m grown I’m scared of ghosts, memories feel like weapons”
And, “Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first” made me sob the first time I heard it. I can’t hear it without tearing up. I have tears just typing that, actually. Which I don’t love admitting, but if Taylor can be brave enough to record this maybe I can be brave and say that.
20. Dear Reader - It honestly is hard to judge this song because it’s hard to escape the fact that it follows the most emotionally intense song on the album. But, it’s simple and pure, and it is a good album closer both sonically and lyrically.
Favorite lyrics:
“Never take advice from someone who’s falling apart”
“Dear reader, if it feels like a trap you’re already in one”
“Dear reader, you don’t have to answer just ‘cause they asked you.”
“Never take advice from someone who’s falling apart”
“Dear reader, if it feels like a trap you’re already in one”
“Dear reader, you don’t have to answer just ‘cause they asked you.”
*Target Edition bonus tracks*
21. Hits Different - Oh, this is such a jam. Added to my running and dancing playlist immediately. Catchy af and so fun. It gives me Speak Now vibes in lyricism with Red vibes in sound and production.
21. Hits Different - Oh, this is such a jam. Added to my running and dancing playlist immediately. Catchy af and so fun. It gives me Speak Now vibes in lyricism with Red vibes in sound and production.
Favorite lyrics:
“I pictured you w/ other girls in love then threw up in the street.”
“your stare & sense of belief in the good in the world, you once believed in me & I felt you & I held you for a while—bet I could still melt your world: Argumentative, antithetical dream girl”
“I pictured you w/ other girls in love then threw up in the street.”
“your stare & sense of belief in the good in the world, you once believed in me & I felt you & I held you for a while—bet I could still melt your world: Argumentative, antithetical dream girl”
The two remixes on the target edition are lovely, and I’m not sure I have any particular thoughts on them except I do like the piano version of “Sweet Nothings” better than the album version. I am sure this shocks everyone.
Overall I really love this album. It’s def my favorite of her pop albums, though it’s hard to say where it falls in comparison to my (up til this point) top 4 (Red, folklore, evermore, Speak Now). I love the theme of the concept album - obviously. #TeamNoSleep
Between the themes of the concept album and a lot of the lyrics, I feel extremely extremely seen by this album, in a way I previously have not typically felt seen by her super pop-oriented stuff. But I love this. A lot. And I think it’s only going to grow on me.
If you stuck with me this far for this monster thread I appreciate you. I know some people probably think it’s ridic I do this for every album but I’ve been doing this since Speak Now (the first album I stayed up til midnight and listened to immediately). It means a lot to me.
If you’ve followed me since then or only followed me a few days or anything in between you prob know- this is the kinda thing I live for. I truly believe music is therapeutic and makes us feel seen—even those of us who struggle to feel seen 99% of the time IRL.
That’s why I’ll always love music—and Taylor’s music especially. She’s been making me feel seen and understood (and reminding me it’s ok to feel things deeply) since I was 16 (we’re the same age) and it means a lot to me.
Anyway, it’s almost midnight. Try to sleep, y’all. 🕰✨🖤
Anyway, it’s almost midnight. Try to sleep, y’all. 🕰✨🖤
PS- extra love to people like @wildestdreams_3 @thesoccergk @tblanchfield @lizgonzalez2013 @DaddiWoof + anyone else always explicitly enthusiastic about this tradition - thank you for making me feel like people actually care about my thoughts on this like I’m not just TL spam 🖤
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