Taylor Swift - Midnights (October 21, 2022) Album • Page 56

oh yes, people really don’t like it

 

I’ve been living under a rock apparently. I’ll also go to bat for it

 

welcome to the team

 

That was probably my album of the year that year in that I don’t think I listened to another album more than that one at the time. It hit me very, very hard. I understand the criticisms people have, but I love it.

 

I’m an enormous fan of that record which almost makes how instantly bored by Weird Goodbyes I was feel worse? Idk, not rooting against them or even betting against them, but these are the lowest expectations I’ve had for a new National record.

Back to Taylor, coming around to all of this rules except Question and Vigilante. Pretty down on both of those. The Labyrinth -> Karma -> Sweet Nothing run is such a highlight for me. Also really love how Jack Midnight Rain is, super fun.

And Glitch kinda sucks I think

 

People are just so weird

 

Gotta raise my hand for the not liking IAETF team. IMO, an album in search of melody and good ideas.

 

Honestly it felt like it had a clearer idea of a big picture than the two before it to me, even if Trouble Will Find Me had more awesome songs by far

 

Huh, I felt like Sleep Well Beast had some really clear intentions about the sonic sandbox it wanted to play in. Trouble Will Find Me meanders in similar fashion to IAETF, I just like the songs a lot more.

 

IAETF rules

 

IATEF (and SWB) are the National at the height of their abilities IMO but there are a lot of National fans who, when they think of the band, think of heightened, sentimental epics like Bloodbuzz Ohio, Terrible Love, and Vanderlyle. The band pretty quickly recalculated the levels back down to a more grounded place on Trouble Will Find Me and then shifted even further away from that on SWB/IAETF. I think it’s been great but I see how people haven’t gotten more of what they may have wanted.

 

Light Years is probably one of my all time favorite songs

 

I don't recognize any of the Taylor Swift songs you're all talking about

 

After listening to hits different a bunch today it definitely sounds like it would/could fit on speak now, fearless, or red imo

 

After maybe 6 or 7 listens, this is where I'm at. It's the only real miss for me out of the 20 songs, which is awesome. I don't love "Glitch" yet either, but I wouldn't say it's bad. The other 6 bonus songs are fantastic, and there's no real difference in quality to me vs the album proper.

 

Me:



Taylor:

 

I’d never really listened to the National before IAETF and I adored it on first listen. it definitely has some skips but the highs are HIGH. Retrospectively listening to the older stuff as well I think it holds up fine.

As far as midnights, I’ve got a few listens in and I think it’s quite good. The mood is great and strong and the electronics sound lovely. Features some of her best choruses and I think much of the 3am tracks should’ve made the cut.

My main critiques though are it feels like a vast majority of the lyrics are long segments of quick 4-word rhyming sentences, it feels like a barrage of rhyming and it’s similar in most of the songs, it got a bit tiring and a lot of the refreshing breaks from that pattern have that classic Taylor clunkiness that take me out of it a bit. It also feels like a lot of the choruses are really long and are repeated too much. Idk, for all those reasons a lot of the songs just feel too long. That said, overall it’s a fun listen and a great unique entry to her discog.

The other is by Gretta Ray. Possibly my favorite song last year.

 

Paris

my opinion about the first part of this album kind of stands after a few listens. not enamored with the first few songs really. Maybe I need to listen to it at night lol.

 

High Infidelity is so evermore this one is good too

 

Dear Reader has some clunky lines.

Paris and Woulda Coulda could have been on the album imo yes. I'm kind of glad the album proper is a short/succinct tho

sorry for triple posting just dumping some thoughts lol

 

Listened to the main record twice so far and I’m definitely getting more “dark Lover” than anything. I can also hear the Melodrama comparisons, especially on You’re On Your Own Kid and Labyrinth. It’s more subdued than I was expecting and definitely a nighttime record

 

I’m not huge on this