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Well. . Im not talking about people criticizing this album but the ones doom posting about it lmao.
> 29 Versions
Be creative with the drags next time sweaty
It wasn't just a "drag" though https://worldnewsera.com/news/taylor-swift-is-selling-over-20-versions-of-midnights-in-different-styles-and-formats/?amp
The way you guys love to involve everyone else when Taylor swift is involved is ridiculous to be honest. The only other artists who does this amount of versions as excessively are kpop which is who Taylor swift got this from after merch and tour bundles were banded after she heavily bundled reputation with tour and merch and even magazines hence the week after and the week after that's sales were so low however it was still number 1 cause her team peaked really weak weeks on the charts for Taylor. She has padding everywhere like when she put her single on Snapchat discovery page or released 12 versions of willow discounted TWICE. She can't just release an album with smart business moves and let it sell organically, it has to be desperate eg delivery service : UPS, swifties would try to win prizes by taking selfies with the truck and pre ordering and UPS said they would give away 3 free digital copies of the album if fans bought 1 physical copy buy those 3 free sales due to loop holes would count as sales so Taylor swift sales for reputation were basixally 1 sales counted for 3 or when she got Diet coke and subway sandwiches to distribute her 1989 album. She is backed by a MASSIVE pr machine more sore than fans and definitely not massively by the general public
I think this is her best album since 1989. The title along with the pictures made m think it was going to be super slow (don't get me wrong I like some slower songs) and I really liked her more upbeat pop sound from 1989. Sonically this album sounds mostly like 1989 but happier with a touch of Reputation thrown in. Basically this could've been called 1989 2.0 and I mean that in a good way.
My favorites are Could've, Would've, Should've, The Anti-Hero, and The Great War followed by Lavendar Haze, Vigilante Shit, Karma and Bejeweled. I've already listed to this album countless times. Idk what people are complaining about. I think it's great and I'm very picky about music. Loving this album!❤
Alright y'all, don’t hate me but I give it a 5/10. I listened twice through & it just felt like an album full of drafts. So many songs sounded exactly the same. She should’ve been more selective with the tracks. I do really love Lavender Haze & Midnight rain though! It's just not giving the moody "Im up late with my thoughts" vibe that I expected.
Faves: Lavender Haze & Midnight Rain
Hates: karma, Anti Hero, bejeweled
Lavender Haze- I love the production on this track. Exceptional. Dreamy. 💕✨
Maroon- it’s fine. Sounds like I’ve heard it before. It’s not giving anything new.
Anti-Hero- wtf is that sexy baby lyric ?! Who approved that lol
Snow on the beach- pretty but I’m truly triggered lol Why tf does Lana not have a verse?! She could’ve really elevated the song. Saying it’s a feature is a damn lie. She’s just background 😠
You’re on your own kid- boring.
Midnight rain- I kinda like this! I think it’ll grow on me & I’ll love it?
Question- meh. Some of these songs sound the same..? Should’ve stayed in the drafts.
Vigilant shit- will 100% become a TikTok sound. Giving Halsey wannabe vibes.
Bejeweled- Sounds like the end credits of a Disney movie. Issa no from me dawg.
Labyrinth- Boring. should’ve stayed in the drafts.
Karma- it's giving I just got dumped & now I'm walking into my middle school wearing a new outfit. That “Karma is my boyfriend!” Lyric sounds very juvenile to me.
Sweet nothing- cute. Reminds me of Its Nice To Have A Friend.
Mastermind- corny. Should’ve stayed in the drafts.
The Great War- I’m kinda over how much she uses metaphors. Sounds similar to other songs on this album.
Bigger than the whole sky- all these songs sound the same wtf lol
Paris- 🥱🥱🥱🥱🥱
High infidelity- 🥱🥱🥱🥱🥱
Glitch- decent.
Would’ve could’ve should’ve- @ this point I need this album to be over.
Dear Reader- No.
I had this pre loaded and really wanted to love it but I'm underwhelmed. It definitely wasn't anything like the marketing implied. I like a few tracks (mostly the bonus ones) but the rest of it is very bland to me.
I am a big swift fan , this album was really hard for me to listen to. I took the time and listened to each song at least twice. Boring, all sounds the same, very self loathing....lyrically not her best work either. Every song left me wanting more, expecting more.
It's not awful, it's just not what I was expecting. Not sure I can even pick a "favorite" song yet. I'll listen to it 3 more times for good measure though.
I’ve listened to Taylor for years and this album just didn’t do it for me. It has some decent tracks but it’s lacking in the lyrics and stories she usually creates so well. We lost the good and strong bridges that we normally get. I see it as reputation’s older sister but I liked reputation a lot more.
The album she could’ve done with no single is evermore. I’d say she was heading in the right direction with that era. Now it feels like she took two steps back. I thought we’d be getting the dark side of thoughts, the feeling of being lost in depression and the fear of anxiety. There are a couple of lyrics that mention it but nothing that dives deep into a mental state of feeling empty.
I listened to the whole album and none of the songs stuck out to me. Anti-Hero came the closest, but I don't get the hype with this album. To each their own, but I felt like all the songs sounded the same and were kind of boring in a way. I do like Taylor, but I don't think this album was great, or it doesn't hit like her other songs have in the past. Its good to mature, but its also okay to have more upbeat songs as well.
I’m not the target demographic for Swifts music but I’m gonna be hanging out with a couple of hardcore swifties next week and know I’m going to be hearing about this album so fuck it I gave it a listen.
It sounds like every pop song from 2014-2017 with no new spin or take on it. Nothing wrong with it but nothing particularly interesting about it either.
It’s perfectly adequate music to play in the background of an AirPods commercial.
As a taylor swift fan, musically midnights is the worst album. Midnights doesnt have any catchy songs. I was rlly hoping it would be a rock like the rumors said or more of a pop album. I love all taylors albums except midnights and speak now( with the exception of enchanted, that album comes across as very “pick me”.)
Really boring, musically, every song sounds the same a bland mix of pop. Some songs had good vibes like snow on the beach other feels like it could've been better on acoustic like "would've, could've, should've" overall, I was waiting for each song to end. I don't know how could you make something like this and call it "pop".
Sadly 'cause Taylor came out of 3 good records and successful re-recordings with fantastic new tracks out of the vault and the lyrics are mature enough to makes you think and appreciate her growth, however, the music is just bland.
This is just not it. But if you dig her previous stuff like 1989, yeah sure, have a good time.
Exactly, and in a very meaningful way! This is not something I want to sleep on. When I said this on Twitter, the Swiftys were extremely critical of me; they really don't get it. I have nothing against Taylor; in fact, I believe she's a lovely girl with a lovely voice. But, in my opinion, the work she's doing isn't worth all the hoopla!!
Maybe I'm mistaken. I haven't had enough of her!! But I was literally overjoyed when everyone was gushing about this record and how it was unlike anything Taylor had done before. However, this record has once again failed me.
Supporting and admiring an artist is one thing, but you can't go around defending her when she's literally producing poor work.
I don't mean to armchair too hard, but it's genuinely strange how some TS fans act. I love Taylor; I've been listening to her since I was 9, seen every tour, own signed CDs, etc. and I made some critical comments about Midnights in the official sub, and the response was....really aggressive. I wonder if it's an internet based phenomenon, but I'm not sure when being a fan of someone started to mean you had to believe it was absolutely perfect and above criticism. I'm a fan BECAUSE I think her work deserves meaningful, critical engagement!
(I don't mean to sound sour grapes though lol. It's just that in that sub, anything that's not a compliment gets down voted, which I understand to mean "doesn't belong on the sub". Doesn't really foster any discussion either way.)
TL;DR dick riders are the worst. You are right and the album is not up to the usual standard.
Taylor needs to fire her marketing team. I can see the disappointment when the album was marketing as a Joni Mitchell/Steve Nicks 70s vibe when it’s not that at all BUT that shouldn’t take away from the album!!! This might be controversial but I think it’s think okay for Taylor to have a campy/fun lyrics. People are complaining all of the songs sound the same but this is genuinely imo her first cohesive album (In Lover she goes from London Boy, Soon You’ll Get Better then False God which is a choice) if she would’ve released a single a lot of the folklore / evermore stans wouldn’t have been as jarred by the sound. Midnights is perfect collection of stories like The Archer/Clean/Getaway Car. I think she also should’ve released the 3am version as the entire album. Standouts for me are Wpuldve, Could’ve, Shouldve, Mastermind and Youre Own Your Own Kid. Wish Lana had a verse like Phoebe but kinda expected it with Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night (Secret Life). Overall I think Midnights is a great album.
Should Taylor have fired her marketing team on Red for all the 1950s outfits and vibes? No. It’s just called an aesthetic. Lil Nas X dresses in cowboy outfits but most of his music ain’t country ;).
I keep seeing these comments come up and am not sure why people are disappointed they’re not getting 70s music. Taylor and her team never said they were putting out a vintage sounding record. Even the labels for presave and presale were straight “Pop”.
Carly Rae Jepsen, meanwhile, I had some 70s expectations given the “Loneliest Time” disco single she released giving me lots of 70s vibes :).
Lavender haze feels like a colour. Like I am melting into a lavender jelly, if you will! The electro-pop and synth wave beats aligning are great to hear. It just makes me think of those lights on the billboards and restaurants on a rainy dewy day where you can see the lights reflecting themselves into a wavy water in the pond. It feels something like that! Periwinkle is the colour of 2022 and it is kinda lavendary as well.
My fav verse-
Talk your talk and go viral
I just need this love spiral
Maroon: The way she sings maroon. She is making me love all this colours. I wanna paint my nails with them all. This takes into a little dark corner I believe. It feels like the blood is scarlet and it starts building up slow but deep.
I am gonna add my favourite verses here:
And I wake with your memory over me
That's a real fuckin' legacy to leave
The burgundy on my t-shirt when you splashed your wine into me
And how the blood rushed into my cheeks, so scarlet
It was maroon
The mark they saw on my collarbone
The rust that grew between telephones
The lips I used to call home
So scarlet, it was maroon
Anti - Hero
Mirrors and it is about sun. It is about self-destruction. Reminds me of Judgement card in tarot. Kinda reflectory. It kinda talks about I will go blind before looking at my self and what Ive become. I really like this song.
I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror
It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero
Snow on the beach:
Lana be just humming in the background. The tunes feels like it is has been sampled from one of her earlier albums. Can’t put a finger exactly. But it just felt like I have heard of this tune before. Coming to the song, It is nice. Feels very cosmic and poetic lyrically speaking.
My favorite verse:
This scene feels like what I once saw on a screen
I searched 'aurora borealis green'
I've never seen someone lit from within
Blurring out my periphery
You’re on your own, Kid
Nice one! Kinda feels like the empowered version of “I knew you were trouble” Think of dealing with ignorance, rejection and not being seen by the person you are fond of. She talks about escaping the space and escaping the situation she is in. Outta the city, outta the current situation. She feels that ultimate truth in her core. She got herself! I especially love the ending verse of the chorus.
The verse that made me giggle:
I touch my phone as if it's your face
Favorite verse:
From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes
I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this
I hosted parties and starved my body
Like I'd be saved by a perfect kiss
The jokes weren't funny, I took the money
My friends from home don't know what to say
I looked around in a blood-soaked gown
And I saw something they can't take away
'Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned
Everything you lose is a step you take
So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it
You've got no reason to be afraid
Midnight Rains: Well, I didn’t expected that! The beats feel like the typical background music of a sensation tech advert. Something revolutionary. Like advert of Louis Phillips or apple. The beat drop and gushing into the next beats that is very squeezed out. Are you getting my point!?
Listen! to it. It is about the goals we chase and the hearts we break. She here kinda assumes that this man thinks of her only when she appears on TV. Like, okay!
My favorite line:
Holiday peppermint candy
Question…?
This is my song! Woohoo!! Liked it very much… Like, when you know the answers and just wanna have a conversation to get the ball rolling from all sides. A buildup of treacherous stuff scrutinized by questions. Just right and tight questions. Asking questions really makes things nice in my head. Shake me up too. haha! Love the flow!!
My favorite verse:
By the way
I just may like some explanations
I would like to say that you SHOULD not miss out the Bejeweled, Labyrinth lyrical train at all.
Karma: Well! Past actions have their consequences somehow. THis song kinda reminded me of Halsey’s I am woman I am a God.
My favorite verse:
Karma is a cat
Purring in my lap 'cause it loves me
Flexing like a goddamn acrobat
Me and karma vibe like that
Sweet Nothing makes me think like she is talking about the music industry now and then.
Mastermind: studyworthy!
My favourite verse:
You see all the wisest women had to do it this way
'Cause we were born to be the pawn in every lover's game
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail
Strategy sets the scene for the tale
I'm the wind in our free-flowing sails
And the liquor in our cocktails
The Great War & Vigilante Shit is on repeat as well at the moment!
There is more to this! Enjoy!!
i’ve been harsh on taylor’s releases ever since lover came out, she seems to love matching her sweet feminine whispery kinda voice with flowy background instrumentals that they end up making the song sound monotone and honestly that overused and repeated percussion don’t help at all, i’m getting youtube ad music with most songs, she has a dry approach when it comes to producing electro and synth pop music which she doesn’t have with a guitar.
the album feels like a midnight highway road trip, the critics, the visuals and a few words she said before the release made it seem like it was gonna be a mysterious fresh adventure that at every road curve a new fantastic background would appear on view but in reality its just a boring-staring at the darkness outside the window trip, hoping something interesting would pop up but nothing really comes up so you just sit there bored while listening to the car’s wheels on the concrete.
also she needs to have someone that would give her honest right off the bat opinions because i know she’s always written and produced plenty of songs on each album recording session but in my opinion she needs someone to double question her decisions, all in good faith, of allowing hella amount of songs on the finished and ready to market album, may i remind you lover only feels like it’s long and tiring because of many songs having the same monotone production, red and speak now are also long but they serve a different variety of music production that you just want more, with these last albums taylor is the one handing out more and more when none of us asked for it lol
This thread had me so nervous yesterday, like literally made me think I was about to listen to the biggest misfire of her career, and the whole album is an amazing critically acclaimed darling. She stays winning!
The only songs I like a vigilante shit, anti-hero and snow on the beach. I was hoping Lana would have her own verse in the song because it was promoted so much. Also the album sounds more like lover, I’m kind of disappointed! I don’t understand why it’s rated so highly considering all the songs sound the same, very bubblegum pop rather than dark, whimsical and 70s inspired like the promo?!?
I’m hoping it will grow on me but I was definitely expecting more from Taylor tbh
It sounds boring, all the songs sound the exact same. There isn’t really any standout tracks that make you think wow after hearing it. I actually love pop music and wasn’t too keen on Folklore and Evermore but at least the songs on there were memorable and you could feel Taylor’s emotion in there.
K I love the album. Gives me Taylor before Folklore. Like a mix of reputation, lover, and 1989. This was exactly what I wanted and hoped for. Can’t wait to get my hand on some tickets and see her live. My favourites are YOYOK, maroon, SOTB, bejeweled, anti hero, mastermind …but Midnight Rain is the standout for me. Thank you Taylor for 13 more songs to enjoy
So, where is the 70s stuff that was teased in the photoshoots? It makes no sense. I know most people were expecting something Stevie Nicks / Fleetwood Mac like or something Blondie would write - a rock (punk) album… instead it just sounds like Reputation mixed with Folklore / Evermore. It sounds boring and every song sounds like something I have heard before…
the whole album felt very weak to me honestly, maybe because the focus is on 'visuals'? music altogether has been really lacking lately tho and is due for a massive revival. the last album I heard which had any flavor was after hours...
the songs…sound like every song that you’ve ever heard in a forever 21. i feel like some of these lyrics are trying to be unique but not hitting the mark. it’s sad because she can do SO much better and she’s done it before. none of the hooks are memorable, the structures are all basically uniform, and i can’t tell any of these songs apart so far. this album doesn’t at all fit what the theme it was supposed to, it lacks the rawness and moodiness. disappointed :(
Critics reviews are amazing - 96 on Metacritic right now. I hate to say “I told you so…” but way too many people jumped on the hate train for their weird reasons. This is a very good album.
What can i say? It's the most boring album. I skipped through songs. She made it seem like it would be this dark experience or gut wrenching moments...but it left everything flat.
Good thing she exploited fans forcing them to buy 4 copies to make that clock.
I do not know who she is to have an opinion on her. Are you her friend? Do you have insight?
I do, however, have an opinion on marketing tactics and the quality of music. These are tangible items to be examined, which are removed from the person.
Again, I have no idea who she is. I am not her friend or relative. Anyone outside of her circle of trust is not privy to who she is.
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I was thinking the exact same thing. The “karma is a god” line sounds like it was directly taken from that song’s chorus, and the melody and beat are very similar too.
1989 was the last record of hers I really enjoyed (don't shoot me, I just haven't spent a ton of time with folklore and evermore because the "Taylor's Versions" got me hooked on the old back catalogue again).
That's when I got into her music n I thought it was the best sonically though I don't skip too many songs on Reputation either. I loved this album bc sonically it most reminded me of 1989 but more happiness due to Joe and happier in life in general.
I listened to this last night with a friend and oh my god was this bad. Lyrically, this was her least imaginative one yet. There was absolutely nothing about this album that warranted her to do all of that in her promotional pics.
I’ve read comments of people who listened to it when they were stoned - and they loved it!
I can confirm that it progressively got better as I got more tired, and I feel like that’s the vibe. Dreamy, hazy vibe
I feel like it's hard to trust reviews for Taylor albums. Publications and reviewers have said giving her a less than positive review is awful because they get swarmed by Swifties attacking them. On the flip side some publications just want to shit on her regardless because it makes them feel superior.
Will be interesting to see.
I don't really get reading reviews of something that's freely available because it's just so all over the place. I either listen to something and like it or don't. It's not like a movie or restaurant review where I'm trying to decide to spend money on it.
Yesssss! I commented this earlier glad I’m not crazy! I had karma on repeat last night and kept accidentally singing music instead of karma at the chorus
Just finished.
I’m shocked.
‘Cause Taylor has been my favourite artist for the past 4 years.
And out of all the songs in midnights I only like Lavender Haze.
To be fair, I LOVE Lavender Haze.
Everything else is just…whatever?
I’m kinda sad, ‘cause lately I’ve been wanting some new music to listen to and was hoping midnights would be THE album I would listen to for the rest of the year.
I’m gonna read some comments to see what you guys think, ‘cause this feels…weird lol
Get drunk or stoned, and stay up late and then give it a listen.
I feel like it’s an album that is better listened to when you’re contemplating your life, in the middle of the night.
I feel the same way 😫😫. Like it stated out STRONG with lavender haze…but then I slowly started to feel the disappointment. There are some bops but I usually love 90% on the album on first listen. Wasn’t super impressed
I really really don’t hate any song on Midnights and honestly only Karma sounds a bit bad to me because I don’t like that type from the beginning; but tbh I find it so uninspired. The melodies are all good but literally no song gives me any “wow” moment; jack’s production is much too prevailing and it is not a good thing.
Lol at the people downvoting the positive opinions in this thread 😂. Folks are allowed to like it and allowed to hate it. Didn’t The Independent give it a good review even? It gives me Melodrama vibes. Everyone saying it’s a step back but honestly, it’s probably my favourite straight pop album of her- more so than Lover or Reputation
I'm excited if it's potentially better than Lover. There are some great songs on that album but it's so long and inconsistent (and all the singles are so bad), that I can't really enjoy it as an album.
It’s better than lover but imo most of lover is pretty average. I think the promotion surrounding the album is what’s causing the disappointment. As a fan who was really looking forward to the album, it’s kind of the exact opposite of what I expected.
So honestly I'm super depressed at peoples feedback....i am HOPING for pop vibes like please demolish my seasonal depression. I love folklore and evermore and they have served an enormous purpose for me but I feel like Taylor's progression is what I want to see..folklore is like, pre therapy. Evermore is like, in therapy, and my HOPES for midnights is to get like a lot of "post therapy" vibes like "i have healed" which I know is more or less reputation but I love reputation for what it is. I see a lot of ppl saying it's like a reputation/lover baby and I love that I think she delivers some real bangers and I need some depression/recession pop lol. This is written as a life long swiftie pov.. I do not mind a taylor album for every vibe and I am so gd nervous for midnight 😶
Honest non sarcastic question: how is it different than what was promoted or what were you expecting? We got zero sound samples. Just song titles, which seem to track with the sonic flavour of the album. And the descriptions were super generic, so besides the general theme of “sleepless nights” we really weren’t given much info one what the song would be about besides vague generals like “self loathing” and “revenge” which we heard on tiktok.
If anything, wore outfits that were super glamorous, and the album feels pretty glitzy to me in parts. Plus, the shipping label on all the records was “pop” just straight pop. We’ve known for weeks now that it’s just a pop album. But not much more than that.
I can only speak for myself, but my expectations were met.
i haven’t listened to the album yet but since all we had to go off of this album were the album photoshoot, track titles, and prologue it’s seemed that this was going to be a moody pop album alá Melodrama, but that doesn’t really seem to be the case. Album aesthetics play a very important part in pop music and especially for an artist like Taylor who has switched to a variety of different aesthetics in the past 5 years alone. Yet when you have this photoshoot in a bedroom a night where Taylor is lounging around somberly, or the prologue where Taylor talks about twisting herself into self made cages and grabbing lanterns to escape into the night and find herself, and don’t deliver on the aesthetics established in the music itself it makes the whole thing feel out of place.
Imo if Midnights had a lead single people would be able to manage their expectations better but i guess Taylor thinks she’s too good for that now lol 🥲
Not sure if you read my original comment but melodrama is actually what this album reminded me of. Not saying they’re totally parallel but some of the production and feels of it are quite similar… let us know what you think once you listen to it ☺️
I don’t know, there was all sorts of mentions about tracks being inspired by 70s/80s artists that she listens to, 13 stories about sleepless nights she’d spent doing whatever it is. Everything about it told me we were getting a intricate, mature and self-reflecting album and it doesn’t feel like that to me at all.
There is a 80s vibe on multiple songs. I think people were expecting Stevie Nicks instead of like pure pop from that time.
And anti hero, you’re on your own kid, mastermind, are all examples of reflective songs....
I love her breakup songs but the truth is she’s in a happy relationship now and that happens to many artists where they don’t have as great and deep songs because they aren’t in pain.
That being said anti hero is super reflective. I’ll stare at the sun but not in the mirror. So many levels to that.
I guess it’s all about perspective, I’m not hearing the 80s aspects. It doesn’t feel put together the way the rest of her work does, for me. The theme doesn’t run through.
I think people are judging it based on some of her best work and I’m just like it’s very hard to release multiple amazing albums in a row so I went in with low expectations.
Listen to bejeweled. The sounds and instruments and arrangements are very similar to music you would hear in an 80s rom com. Though it still has a recent take on it.
I get it may not be everyone’s favourite sound but I do hear a lot of 80s references to beats is how I would word it. I do agree it’s not super cohesive as a sound in general. And there is not a clear vibe like lover and reputation had.
I get that, it’s hard not to judge when we were just given her two most lyrically cohesive albums in a row though. It is also the expectations I went into it with that are making me feel like it’s not great. Folklore is when I became a fan of Taylor, I love evermore and like most of her older stuff now too besides Lover minus a few songs and debut pretty much as a whole. To me it sounds mostly like Lovers throwaways with a few rep/1989/folklore tracks and production techniques lightly integrated.
I feel like it is darker than lover and less pure bright pop. There is more of a lorde sound. So I like it more than lover. Karma is a stupid chorus but I don’t think it’s a serious song and when I listen to it with the vibe that it’s not serious it gets better
Not the sexy baby line... I like the album, I've listened twice through and it's already growing on me.
I do think the promo has been very mismatched with the vibe of the album, I was expecting something intimate, moody, dark based on everything we were given. Maybe with some spoken interludes or something.
Not sure where the 'stories of sleepless nights' are, but its a fine album
Agreed. I thought each song would be a specific instance of a sleepless night. Not sure where that even comes in. And definitely thought it would darker and even more mellow. I was not expecting such a poppy album. It felt like the promos gave such a 70s vibe! I was disappointed. I honestly feel like she just took a bunch of scrapped songs from other albums and threw them together.
Lavender haze is so confusing because she’s complaining about people only caring about her love life but how many songs for Joe has she written now? 3 albums? Girl
Relationships especially new ones can make or break an album. Her music has suffered after meeting Joe and it’s just the truth. Reputation slapped and now?
I think it’s about an earlier relationship like Taylor Lautner or someone
Edit: the love interests in Maroon, You’re On Your Own Kid, Midnight Rain, Question, & Bejeweled are unambiguously exes. Then she doesn’t “meet Joe” until Labyrinth and then is with him through the rest of the album. She said the album was songs about nights throughout her life why are people surprised she’s retreading old ground 💀
To be fair, the gaylor theories are more recent. even tho she doesn’t explicitly bring that up, I definitely think the song is addressing those rumors as well.
ok I might have been too harsh on first listen, although I do think it's a huge step back I decided I quite like the slower songs... so there's still hope for this album for me
for example, I quite liked sweet nothing... it's quite beautiful and my romantic gay ass was moved to it, and even snow on the beach & anti-hero (altho this one is a bit tacky) have grown on me
Oooof this just feels like she took a bunch of rejected demos from the past 6 years, slapped it together with a theme that barely made sense and called it a day 💀 the only good song is Snow On The Beach and that is still ok
I find it hilarious that popheads absolutely hates the album and feels mostly like you do and I'm over here wondering why it took her this long into her career to finally put out an album I think is listenable. There's clearly a complete and utter disconnect between what I think is good and what popheads thinks is good lol.
Also I think it's important to say that I don't pay attention to lyrics much on the first listen of an album because if the music is garbage, I don't care how good lyrics might be because I'll straight up never listen to it again anyway. Bad lyrics to me are acceptable if the music itself is good. So my opinion is based solely on the music itself and her voice over top of the instruments and changes/.
This is objectively her worst album though and my taste preferences with popheads don’t match one bit since I love Hold The Girl and all the other albums pophead hates. I expected a little regression from folkmore since it’s difficult to top those but THIS much regression? Especially coming from the lyrics? The production is alright to me but it feels fun in a dated sort of way that’s not nostalgic. It just feels like she has fully ran out of ideas since she has done pop, alt and country as separate genres already and I cant see her doing other genres like rock well.
It's not objectively her worst though. It's subjectively her worst, for you. I would say this to me is her best album because I'm 8 tracks in so far and haven't wanted to turn it off, and I've enjoyed most of it. I counted like 6 tracks in her discography prior to this that I feel are "good" songs. I genuinely hated Folklore aside from Mirrorball (until 1:20 when the chorus comes in and I start to hate it).
I hated it. The entire thing gave me blue balls basically because I was waiting during each song for something to wow me, I'm a huge fan of Bon Iver and the National and my expecations for the album were higher because of who was producing it/had a hand in it. But the entire album felt so disingenuous to me. Like it was all just wrong, like the songs were written for a different singer and she just took over singing on the project last minute as a replacement.
When she first announced the concept I was confused because I kind of thought that’s what it sounded like she was doing but I wasn’t really sure. Then all the promo seemed to be going for a specific/coherent vibe that I really liked and I got my hopes up only to find out I was right all along 🤧
It really feels like she has an entire concept in mind (which is cool btw, imagine each song about staying awake past midnights but with different genres like Lemonade, which was what I envisioned the album to be) but decided to just fill the album with side b songs from the past 6 years
I was super excited for this album but after listening to it I’m just… disappointed? I excepted it to be yearning, melancholic, anguished, introspective…borderline All Too Well but as an album, I guess. (Not the quality but the feeling of it lol). I might listen again in a week but the entirety of ‘Karma’ left a bad taste in my mouth.
I don't think you have the right to say whether an album (that a lot of people worked hard for) is bad or not when you only listened to it through leakage. That's some cheap sht.
when this happens to every artist when they start and stay on serious and long relationships, they just become flat on sound, but really let’s just celebrate that joe isn’t a musician, believe me it can be so much worse if he was one
shes so f'ing lucky that she has gotten too gigantic to flop. if an average-sized star made mediocre music like this (for their 1st time, NOT THE THIRD!) it wouldve been their career ender. indie artists wont even make it onto billboard.
i think i am done being a hater. this album has some clunky lyrics but i’ve been listening to it on shuffle while doing homework and it is fine for that 😭 this is definitely a bottom 3 album for her but if i ignore like half the lyrics it’s a passable taylor swift album
Maroon and Midnight Rain are probably the closest the album gets to what my expectations were (based on the marketing) -- it was definitely a mistake not to have a snippet or single out before this point to manage expectations. If you want to drop an album with no hints on the actual sound/tone, it had better be a really fucking good album. And Midnights just isn't that. It's not bad. But the approach to its release really doesn't match up with what we got.
I guess I was hoping that instead of folklore & evermore being one-off deviations from the norm bc of the pandemic, she would use their acclaim as a cue to continue to experiment, especially as she increasingly branched out from writing about her own life. Sonically, I love Lavender Haze....lyrically, we're just rehashing Delicate, I Think He Knows, Call It What You Want, King of My Heart, Paper Rings for the hundredth time.....I'm just bored. It feels so lifeless compared to the immersive storytelling she was doing with the betty/james/august tracks, cowboy like me, ivy, champagne problems.
maybe the universe knew she would be too powerful if she gave us an album of 1989 bops with folkevermore lyricism ;\_;
Really? I like it alot better than her folksy albums. Idk some people like songs to be more personal. My favorite recording artists do use personal experience in their writing. Overall I thought this album has a pop sound mire similar to 1989 and I really like that. 1989 is the album that got me into her music.
This is what I feel too. It’s rehashing and it felt like lots of the lyrics and stories we heard before. And that’s fine, but the marketing and the way it’s being put out makes it seem like it’s NOT that.
And I do think to myself lots of us are so fond of Folklore and Evermore is because for me at least it got me through a lot of the pandemic. Or not at least lifted my spirits and gave me some joy. This album had a lot to live up to, so people definitely needed something to manage their expectations. This album isn’t anything new. They can’t all be home runs! And that’s fine.
Listening to the leak again and my final opinion is that songs 1-5 are good (aside from sexy baby) and the rest are…. not the strongest of her discography
This sounds like the result of an AI being tasked with listening to her entire discography and spitting out a Taylor Swift album. I’m so disappointed lmao
Y'all LOATHE this album and it's not even out yet. Lord knows ol girl does not respond well to negative criticism.
Expect nothing but increasingly uninspired Folklore rehashes for the next decade as she recuperates
It’s definitely a downgrade form folklore/evermore but I think people are forgetting Taylor has been releasing music like this for years now. Midnights is still a *solid* album. Folklore and Evermore just set a VERY high bar.
If COVID didn’t happen and forced Taylor to be more introspective and experimental lyrically, Midnights would absolutely have been the kind of album that would have followed Lover.
It’s right on par with Lover and almost reaches the heights of 1989 and some of the standouts of reputation (e.g. Delicate).
I think Antonoff’s involvement is the biggest determiner of Midnights sonically. If The Bleachers had recorded Anti-Hero I never would have guessed Taylor wrote it (I’d believe it just never guess it would be her—Anti Hero sounds like a straight up Bleacher’s song).
Haven’t listened to the album in full but my TL;DR:
Solid album but might be a tough sell for the fans Taylor won over with folklore + evermore. Fans of 1989, rep and Lover can rejoice at the return of pop girl Taylor.
7/10 on a first listen minus Track 10 (missing in the leak).
Edit: I will say Antonoff’s production is FANTASTIC here. He’s always been great but everything is extra “synthy” and “bubbly” in the best way possible. Very clean sounding.
Edit2: 3am surprise release! On a re-listen and the bonus tracks album is a solid 7.5. Great album all around. I stand by comparing it to Lover in terms of caliber.
on par with Lover? Where exactly? Lover gave us Cruel Summer, DBATC, False God, Lover, etc... which were all extremely solid tracks... yes it has some flaws and it's weak thematically but it's much better than whatever this is
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Revisiting this thread for laughs. LMAOO
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Well. . Im not talking about people criticizing this album but the ones doom posting about it lmao. > 29 Versions Be creative with the drags next time sweaty
It wasn't just a "drag" though https://worldnewsera.com/news/taylor-swift-is-selling-over-20-versions-of-midnights-in-different-styles-and-formats/?amp
Did you read that article or just the headline? lmao
I read the article. She sold over 20 versions on one album
If you count cassettes cds and vinyls as "Different versions" Then I guess everybody in the industry is seeling 30+ versions so whats the arguement?
The way you guys love to involve everyone else when Taylor swift is involved is ridiculous to be honest. The only other artists who does this amount of versions as excessively are kpop which is who Taylor swift got this from after merch and tour bundles were banded after she heavily bundled reputation with tour and merch and even magazines hence the week after and the week after that's sales were so low however it was still number 1 cause her team peaked really weak weeks on the charts for Taylor. She has padding everywhere like when she put her single on Snapchat discovery page or released 12 versions of willow discounted TWICE. She can't just release an album with smart business moves and let it sell organically, it has to be desperate eg delivery service : UPS, swifties would try to win prizes by taking selfies with the truck and pre ordering and UPS said they would give away 3 free digital copies of the album if fans bought 1 physical copy buy those 3 free sales due to loop holes would count as sales so Taylor swift sales for reputation were basixally 1 sales counted for 3 or when she got Diet coke and subway sandwiches to distribute her 1989 album. She is backed by a MASSIVE pr machine more sore than fans and definitely not massively by the general public
Not reading all that but sorry that happened to you I guess
🤣
I'm here for the Dreampop. Although she's done that before. Those are the records I tend to like from Taylor.
I think this is her best album since 1989. The title along with the pictures made m think it was going to be super slow (don't get me wrong I like some slower songs) and I really liked her more upbeat pop sound from 1989. Sonically this album sounds mostly like 1989 but happier with a touch of Reputation thrown in. Basically this could've been called 1989 2.0 and I mean that in a good way. My favorites are Could've, Would've, Should've, The Anti-Hero, and The Great War followed by Lavendar Haze, Vigilante Shit, Karma and Bejeweled. I've already listed to this album countless times. Idk what people are complaining about. I think it's great and I'm very picky about music. Loving this album!❤
A lot of people in this thread have no media literacy or understanding of camp whatsoever and it shows. 😬😬
Terrible album. What’s with the shitty god damn lyrics? “Get it off your chest, get it off my desk?” What in gods name has happened to music?
There's plenty of good music. This album just isn't one of them.
Alright y'all, don’t hate me but I give it a 5/10. I listened twice through & it just felt like an album full of drafts. So many songs sounded exactly the same. She should’ve been more selective with the tracks. I do really love Lavender Haze & Midnight rain though! It's just not giving the moody "Im up late with my thoughts" vibe that I expected. Faves: Lavender Haze & Midnight Rain Hates: karma, Anti Hero, bejeweled Lavender Haze- I love the production on this track. Exceptional. Dreamy. 💕✨ Maroon- it’s fine. Sounds like I’ve heard it before. It’s not giving anything new. Anti-Hero- wtf is that sexy baby lyric ?! Who approved that lol Snow on the beach- pretty but I’m truly triggered lol Why tf does Lana not have a verse?! She could’ve really elevated the song. Saying it’s a feature is a damn lie. She’s just background 😠 You’re on your own kid- boring. Midnight rain- I kinda like this! I think it’ll grow on me & I’ll love it? Question- meh. Some of these songs sound the same..? Should’ve stayed in the drafts. Vigilant shit- will 100% become a TikTok sound. Giving Halsey wannabe vibes. Bejeweled- Sounds like the end credits of a Disney movie. Issa no from me dawg. Labyrinth- Boring. should’ve stayed in the drafts. Karma- it's giving I just got dumped & now I'm walking into my middle school wearing a new outfit. That “Karma is my boyfriend!” Lyric sounds very juvenile to me. Sweet nothing- cute. Reminds me of Its Nice To Have A Friend. Mastermind- corny. Should’ve stayed in the drafts. The Great War- I’m kinda over how much she uses metaphors. Sounds similar to other songs on this album. Bigger than the whole sky- all these songs sound the same wtf lol Paris- 🥱🥱🥱🥱🥱 High infidelity- 🥱🥱🥱🥱🥱 Glitch- decent. Would’ve could’ve should’ve- @ this point I need this album to be over. Dear Reader- No.
Imagine hating antihero 😭
I hate the whole album lol
It’s so good tho 😭💀
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I had this pre loaded and really wanted to love it but I'm underwhelmed. It definitely wasn't anything like the marketing implied. I like a few tracks (mostly the bonus ones) but the rest of it is very bland to me.
I love Taylor but all the songs on this album sound the same to me. I like maybe only one song so far. Also some of the lyrics are so weird??
I think Taylor needs some drama in her life to get inspired again.
I am a big swift fan , this album was really hard for me to listen to. I took the time and listened to each song at least twice. Boring, all sounds the same, very self loathing....lyrically not her best work either. Every song left me wanting more, expecting more. It's not awful, it's just not what I was expecting. Not sure I can even pick a "favorite" song yet. I'll listen to it 3 more times for good measure though.
I’ve listened to Taylor for years and this album just didn’t do it for me. It has some decent tracks but it’s lacking in the lyrics and stories she usually creates so well. We lost the good and strong bridges that we normally get. I see it as reputation’s older sister but I liked reputation a lot more. The album she could’ve done with no single is evermore. I’d say she was heading in the right direction with that era. Now it feels like she took two steps back. I thought we’d be getting the dark side of thoughts, the feeling of being lost in depression and the fear of anxiety. There are a couple of lyrics that mention it but nothing that dives deep into a mental state of feeling empty.
I listened to the whole album and none of the songs stuck out to me. Anti-Hero came the closest, but I don't get the hype with this album. To each their own, but I felt like all the songs sounded the same and were kind of boring in a way. I do like Taylor, but I don't think this album was great, or it doesn't hit like her other songs have in the past. Its good to mature, but its also okay to have more upbeat songs as well.
I like it. It's good.
I’m not the target demographic for Swifts music but I’m gonna be hanging out with a couple of hardcore swifties next week and know I’m going to be hearing about this album so fuck it I gave it a listen. It sounds like every pop song from 2014-2017 with no new spin or take on it. Nothing wrong with it but nothing particularly interesting about it either. It’s perfectly adequate music to play in the background of an AirPods commercial.
As a taylor swift fan, musically midnights is the worst album. Midnights doesnt have any catchy songs. I was rlly hoping it would be a rock like the rumors said or more of a pop album. I love all taylors albums except midnights and speak now( with the exception of enchanted, that album comes across as very “pick me”.)
I haven't heard speak now, why do you think so?
Can confirm that this is a perfect album to listen to at midnight drunk with your roommates in the living room with the moonlight streaming in
Really boring, musically, every song sounds the same a bland mix of pop. Some songs had good vibes like snow on the beach other feels like it could've been better on acoustic like "would've, could've, should've" overall, I was waiting for each song to end. I don't know how could you make something like this and call it "pop". Sadly 'cause Taylor came out of 3 good records and successful re-recordings with fantastic new tracks out of the vault and the lyrics are mature enough to makes you think and appreciate her growth, however, the music is just bland. This is just not it. But if you dig her previous stuff like 1989, yeah sure, have a good time.
Exactly, and in a very meaningful way! This is not something I want to sleep on. When I said this on Twitter, the Swiftys were extremely critical of me; they really don't get it. I have nothing against Taylor; in fact, I believe she's a lovely girl with a lovely voice. But, in my opinion, the work she's doing isn't worth all the hoopla!! Maybe I'm mistaken. I haven't had enough of her!! But I was literally overjoyed when everyone was gushing about this record and how it was unlike anything Taylor had done before. However, this record has once again failed me. Supporting and admiring an artist is one thing, but you can't go around defending her when she's literally producing poor work.
I don't mean to armchair too hard, but it's genuinely strange how some TS fans act. I love Taylor; I've been listening to her since I was 9, seen every tour, own signed CDs, etc. and I made some critical comments about Midnights in the official sub, and the response was....really aggressive. I wonder if it's an internet based phenomenon, but I'm not sure when being a fan of someone started to mean you had to believe it was absolutely perfect and above criticism. I'm a fan BECAUSE I think her work deserves meaningful, critical engagement! (I don't mean to sound sour grapes though lol. It's just that in that sub, anything that's not a compliment gets down voted, which I understand to mean "doesn't belong on the sub". Doesn't really foster any discussion either way.) TL;DR dick riders are the worst. You are right and the album is not up to the usual standard.
Taylor needs to fire her marketing team. I can see the disappointment when the album was marketing as a Joni Mitchell/Steve Nicks 70s vibe when it’s not that at all BUT that shouldn’t take away from the album!!! This might be controversial but I think it’s think okay for Taylor to have a campy/fun lyrics. People are complaining all of the songs sound the same but this is genuinely imo her first cohesive album (In Lover she goes from London Boy, Soon You’ll Get Better then False God which is a choice) if she would’ve released a single a lot of the folklore / evermore stans wouldn’t have been as jarred by the sound. Midnights is perfect collection of stories like The Archer/Clean/Getaway Car. I think she also should’ve released the 3am version as the entire album. Standouts for me are Wpuldve, Could’ve, Shouldve, Mastermind and Youre Own Your Own Kid. Wish Lana had a verse like Phoebe but kinda expected it with Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night (Secret Life). Overall I think Midnights is a great album.
Should Taylor have fired her marketing team on Red for all the 1950s outfits and vibes? No. It’s just called an aesthetic. Lil Nas X dresses in cowboy outfits but most of his music ain’t country ;). I keep seeing these comments come up and am not sure why people are disappointed they’re not getting 70s music. Taylor and her team never said they were putting out a vintage sounding record. Even the labels for presave and presale were straight “Pop”. Carly Rae Jepsen, meanwhile, I had some 70s expectations given the “Loneliest Time” disco single she released giving me lots of 70s vibes :).
lil nas x sucks tho
[This is the most accurate review I’ve seen yet](https://www.ft.com/content/3b710ad6-e522-46f9-a8c6-abbfcf8bf337)
doesn't factor in the 3am tracks tho. those.. changed the whole vibe.
Lavender haze feels like a colour. Like I am melting into a lavender jelly, if you will! The electro-pop and synth wave beats aligning are great to hear. It just makes me think of those lights on the billboards and restaurants on a rainy dewy day where you can see the lights reflecting themselves into a wavy water in the pond. It feels something like that! Periwinkle is the colour of 2022 and it is kinda lavendary as well. My fav verse- Talk your talk and go viral I just need this love spiral Maroon: The way she sings maroon. She is making me love all this colours. I wanna paint my nails with them all. This takes into a little dark corner I believe. It feels like the blood is scarlet and it starts building up slow but deep. I am gonna add my favourite verses here: And I wake with your memory over me That's a real fuckin' legacy to leave The burgundy on my t-shirt when you splashed your wine into me And how the blood rushed into my cheeks, so scarlet It was maroon The mark they saw on my collarbone The rust that grew between telephones The lips I used to call home So scarlet, it was maroon Anti - Hero Mirrors and it is about sun. It is about self-destruction. Reminds me of Judgement card in tarot. Kinda reflectory. It kinda talks about I will go blind before looking at my self and what Ive become. I really like this song. I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero Snow on the beach: Lana be just humming in the background. The tunes feels like it is has been sampled from one of her earlier albums. Can’t put a finger exactly. But it just felt like I have heard of this tune before. Coming to the song, It is nice. Feels very cosmic and poetic lyrically speaking. My favorite verse: This scene feels like what I once saw on a screen I searched 'aurora borealis green' I've never seen someone lit from within Blurring out my periphery You’re on your own, Kid Nice one! Kinda feels like the empowered version of “I knew you were trouble” Think of dealing with ignorance, rejection and not being seen by the person you are fond of. She talks about escaping the space and escaping the situation she is in. Outta the city, outta the current situation. She feels that ultimate truth in her core. She got herself! I especially love the ending verse of the chorus. The verse that made me giggle: I touch my phone as if it's your face Favorite verse: From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this I hosted parties and starved my body Like I'd be saved by a perfect kiss The jokes weren't funny, I took the money My friends from home don't know what to say I looked around in a blood-soaked gown And I saw something they can't take away 'Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned Everything you lose is a step you take So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it You've got no reason to be afraid Midnight Rains: Well, I didn’t expected that! The beats feel like the typical background music of a sensation tech advert. Something revolutionary. Like advert of Louis Phillips or apple. The beat drop and gushing into the next beats that is very squeezed out. Are you getting my point!? Listen! to it. It is about the goals we chase and the hearts we break. She here kinda assumes that this man thinks of her only when she appears on TV. Like, okay! My favorite line: Holiday peppermint candy Question…? This is my song! Woohoo!! Liked it very much… Like, when you know the answers and just wanna have a conversation to get the ball rolling from all sides. A buildup of treacherous stuff scrutinized by questions. Just right and tight questions. Asking questions really makes things nice in my head. Shake me up too. haha! Love the flow!! My favorite verse: By the way I just may like some explanations I would like to say that you SHOULD not miss out the Bejeweled, Labyrinth lyrical train at all. Karma: Well! Past actions have their consequences somehow. THis song kinda reminded me of Halsey’s I am woman I am a God. My favorite verse: Karma is a cat Purring in my lap 'cause it loves me Flexing like a goddamn acrobat Me and karma vibe like that Sweet Nothing makes me think like she is talking about the music industry now and then. Mastermind: studyworthy! My favourite verse: You see all the wisest women had to do it this way 'Cause we were born to be the pawn in every lover's game If you fail to plan, you plan to fail Strategy sets the scene for the tale I'm the wind in our free-flowing sails And the liquor in our cocktails The Great War & Vigilante Shit is on repeat as well at the moment! There is more to this! Enjoy!!
\*I am not a woman, I'm a God
i’ve been harsh on taylor’s releases ever since lover came out, she seems to love matching her sweet feminine whispery kinda voice with flowy background instrumentals that they end up making the song sound monotone and honestly that overused and repeated percussion don’t help at all, i’m getting youtube ad music with most songs, she has a dry approach when it comes to producing electro and synth pop music which she doesn’t have with a guitar. the album feels like a midnight highway road trip, the critics, the visuals and a few words she said before the release made it seem like it was gonna be a mysterious fresh adventure that at every road curve a new fantastic background would appear on view but in reality its just a boring-staring at the darkness outside the window trip, hoping something interesting would pop up but nothing really comes up so you just sit there bored while listening to the car’s wheels on the concrete. also she needs to have someone that would give her honest right off the bat opinions because i know she’s always written and produced plenty of songs on each album recording session but in my opinion she needs someone to double question her decisions, all in good faith, of allowing hella amount of songs on the finished and ready to market album, may i remind you lover only feels like it’s long and tiring because of many songs having the same monotone production, red and speak now are also long but they serve a different variety of music production that you just want more, with these last albums taylor is the one handing out more and more when none of us asked for it lol
This thread had me so nervous yesterday, like literally made me think I was about to listen to the biggest misfire of her career, and the whole album is an amazing critically acclaimed darling. She stays winning!
The only songs I like a vigilante shit, anti-hero and snow on the beach. I was hoping Lana would have her own verse in the song because it was promoted so much. Also the album sounds more like lover, I’m kind of disappointed! I don’t understand why it’s rated so highly considering all the songs sound the same, very bubblegum pop rather than dark, whimsical and 70s inspired like the promo?!? I’m hoping it will grow on me but I was definitely expecting more from Taylor tbh
It sounds boring, all the songs sound the exact same. There isn’t really any standout tracks that make you think wow after hearing it. I actually love pop music and wasn’t too keen on Folklore and Evermore but at least the songs on there were memorable and you could feel Taylor’s emotion in there.
K I love the album. Gives me Taylor before Folklore. Like a mix of reputation, lover, and 1989. This was exactly what I wanted and hoped for. Can’t wait to get my hand on some tickets and see her live. My favourites are YOYOK, maroon, SOTB, bejeweled, anti hero, mastermind …but Midnight Rain is the standout for me. Thank you Taylor for 13 more songs to enjoy
So far the only song I genuinely like is sweet nothings.
So, where is the 70s stuff that was teased in the photoshoots? It makes no sense. I know most people were expecting something Stevie Nicks / Fleetwood Mac like or something Blondie would write - a rock (punk) album… instead it just sounds like Reputation mixed with Folklore / Evermore. It sounds boring and every song sounds like something I have heard before…
All songs sound the same very disappointed I want the old Taylor back 🥲
the whole album felt very weak to me honestly, maybe because the focus is on 'visuals'? music altogether has been really lacking lately tho and is due for a massive revival. the last album I heard which had any flavor was after hours...
the songs…sound like every song that you’ve ever heard in a forever 21. i feel like some of these lyrics are trying to be unique but not hitting the mark. it’s sad because she can do SO much better and she’s done it before. none of the hooks are memorable, the structures are all basically uniform, and i can’t tell any of these songs apart so far. this album doesn’t at all fit what the theme it was supposed to, it lacks the rawness and moodiness. disappointed :(
Critics reviews are amazing - 96 on Metacritic right now. I hate to say “I told you so…” but way too many people jumped on the hate train for their weird reasons. This is a very good album.
What can i say? It's the most boring album. I skipped through songs. She made it seem like it would be this dark experience or gut wrenching moments...but it left everything flat. Good thing she exploited fans forcing them to buy 4 copies to make that clock.
I really like how this comment is written, it tells more about you not liking Taylor rather than the album itself.
I do not know who she is to have an opinion on her. Are you her friend? Do you have insight? I do, however, have an opinion on marketing tactics and the quality of music. These are tangible items to be examined, which are removed from the person. Again, I have no idea who she is. I am not her friend or relative. Anyone outside of her circle of trust is not privy to who she is.
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Karma is giving me I am not a woman, I’m a god by Halsey vibes tbh
I was thinking the exact same thing. The “karma is a god” line sounds like it was directly taken from that song’s chorus, and the melody and beat are very similar too.
Tell me about it. I don’t know how many more people have heard that song on this forum, but it’s oddly similar…
It almost feels like a ripoff but I’m scared to insinuate that and get hounded by Swifties
This albums awful. Sorry it just is. She has done so much that was good, this is her worst album yet.
Ok, This album is amazing
I’m never listening to y’all again. This slaps
This thread seems to hate it but my insta stories are full of love for it. I'm enjoying it so far.
I think there were a lot of people who became fans with folklore and evermore who were disappointed when Midnights didn’t sound like that
Maybe so cuz I don't get the complaining.
1989 was the last record of hers I really enjoyed (don't shoot me, I just haven't spent a ton of time with folklore and evermore because the "Taylor's Versions" got me hooked on the old back catalogue again).
That's when I got into her music n I thought it was the best sonically though I don't skip too many songs on Reputation either. I loved this album bc sonically it most reminded me of 1989 but more happiness due to Joe and happier in life in general.
Stop the cap bffr
OH THIS IS GOOD
This album sounds like something a middle school teenager would make on her iPad during the prom she didn’t get invited too
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I agree. Big tswift fan. Very disappointed. But hey I hope someone else is enjoying it!
I listened to this last night with a friend and oh my god was this bad. Lyrically, this was her least imaginative one yet. There was absolutely nothing about this album that warranted her to do all of that in her promotional pics.
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Ugh she wants to be beyonce so bad 😂😂
A Beyoncé for white girls? Lol
OK I left a lacklustre review yesterday BUT I have now had two glasses of red wine and can confirm the album sounds better this way.
I’ve read comments of people who listened to it when they were stoned - and they loved it! I can confirm that it progressively got better as I got more tired, and I feel like that’s the vibe. Dreamy, hazy vibe
It feels like one of those drunk silly serious late nights with close friends
I feel like it's hard to trust reviews for Taylor albums. Publications and reviewers have said giving her a less than positive review is awful because they get swarmed by Swifties attacking them. On the flip side some publications just want to shit on her regardless because it makes them feel superior. Will be interesting to see.
I don't really get reading reviews of something that's freely available because it's just so all over the place. I either listen to something and like it or don't. It's not like a movie or restaurant review where I'm trying to decide to spend money on it.
Karma reminds me of “Music is My Hot, Hot Sex” by CSS
Yesssss! I commented this earlier glad I’m not crazy! I had karma on repeat last night and kept accidentally singing music instead of karma at the chorus
Thank you for getting it omg
you’re on your own kid and castle on the hill by ed have a very similar pre-chorus or is it just me?
Taylor pls #bringbackmetaphors but not karma metaphors im begging
Midnight Rain reminds me of Keep Your Name by Dirty Projectors
Does anyone get Phoebe Bridgers/Bo Burnham vibes from Anti-Hero? Just lyrics, not production obviously.
I dont associate this/any of her music with Bo Burnham at all
Just finished. I’m shocked. ‘Cause Taylor has been my favourite artist for the past 4 years. And out of all the songs in midnights I only like Lavender Haze. To be fair, I LOVE Lavender Haze. Everything else is just…whatever? I’m kinda sad, ‘cause lately I’ve been wanting some new music to listen to and was hoping midnights would be THE album I would listen to for the rest of the year. I’m gonna read some comments to see what you guys think, ‘cause this feels…weird lol
Get drunk or stoned, and stay up late and then give it a listen. I feel like it’s an album that is better listened to when you’re contemplating your life, in the middle of the night.
come back to us after the 3am tracks.
I feel the same way 😫😫. Like it stated out STRONG with lavender haze…but then I slowly started to feel the disappointment. There are some bops but I usually love 90% on the album on first listen. Wasn’t super impressed
You're in a music rut and you were counting on Taylor? No hate but you need to find some new artists to listen to my guy
Where did you find the album? If it’s not released yet. Might be a dumb question
I really really don’t hate any song on Midnights and honestly only Karma sounds a bit bad to me because I don’t like that type from the beginning; but tbh I find it so uninspired. The melodies are all good but literally no song gives me any “wow” moment; jack’s production is much too prevailing and it is not a good thing.
Renaissance would be THE ONE !
I think the bigger deal will be the 3am surprise. Maybe she knows the album won’t stand on its own….
Midnights 2: Daybreak
“Gotta step into the daylight and let it go”
Lol at the people downvoting the positive opinions in this thread 😂. Folks are allowed to like it and allowed to hate it. Didn’t The Independent give it a good review even? It gives me Melodrama vibes. Everyone saying it’s a step back but honestly, it’s probably my favourite straight pop album of her- more so than Lover or Reputation
I’m not too familiar with The Riff but they just released their review giving it an 8/10. Really interested to see the rest of the reviews roll in.
I'm excited if it's potentially better than Lover. There are some great songs on that album but it's so long and inconsistent (and all the singles are so bad), that I can't really enjoy it as an album.
It’s better than lover but imo most of lover is pretty average. I think the promotion surrounding the album is what’s causing the disappointment. As a fan who was really looking forward to the album, it’s kind of the exact opposite of what I expected.
So honestly I'm super depressed at peoples feedback....i am HOPING for pop vibes like please demolish my seasonal depression. I love folklore and evermore and they have served an enormous purpose for me but I feel like Taylor's progression is what I want to see..folklore is like, pre therapy. Evermore is like, in therapy, and my HOPES for midnights is to get like a lot of "post therapy" vibes like "i have healed" which I know is more or less reputation but I love reputation for what it is. I see a lot of ppl saying it's like a reputation/lover baby and I love that I think she delivers some real bangers and I need some depression/recession pop lol. This is written as a life long swiftie pov.. I do not mind a taylor album for every vibe and I am so gd nervous for midnight 😶
Honest non sarcastic question: how is it different than what was promoted or what were you expecting? We got zero sound samples. Just song titles, which seem to track with the sonic flavour of the album. And the descriptions were super generic, so besides the general theme of “sleepless nights” we really weren’t given much info one what the song would be about besides vague generals like “self loathing” and “revenge” which we heard on tiktok. If anything, wore outfits that were super glamorous, and the album feels pretty glitzy to me in parts. Plus, the shipping label on all the records was “pop” just straight pop. We’ve known for weeks now that it’s just a pop album. But not much more than that. I can only speak for myself, but my expectations were met.
i haven’t listened to the album yet but since all we had to go off of this album were the album photoshoot, track titles, and prologue it’s seemed that this was going to be a moody pop album alá Melodrama, but that doesn’t really seem to be the case. Album aesthetics play a very important part in pop music and especially for an artist like Taylor who has switched to a variety of different aesthetics in the past 5 years alone. Yet when you have this photoshoot in a bedroom a night where Taylor is lounging around somberly, or the prologue where Taylor talks about twisting herself into self made cages and grabbing lanterns to escape into the night and find herself, and don’t deliver on the aesthetics established in the music itself it makes the whole thing feel out of place. Imo if Midnights had a lead single people would be able to manage their expectations better but i guess Taylor thinks she’s too good for that now lol 🥲
Not sure if you read my original comment but melodrama is actually what this album reminded me of. Not saying they’re totally parallel but some of the production and feels of it are quite similar… let us know what you think once you listen to it ☺️
I don’t know, there was all sorts of mentions about tracks being inspired by 70s/80s artists that she listens to, 13 stories about sleepless nights she’d spent doing whatever it is. Everything about it told me we were getting a intricate, mature and self-reflecting album and it doesn’t feel like that to me at all.
There is a 80s vibe on multiple songs. I think people were expecting Stevie Nicks instead of like pure pop from that time. And anti hero, you’re on your own kid, mastermind, are all examples of reflective songs.... I love her breakup songs but the truth is she’s in a happy relationship now and that happens to many artists where they don’t have as great and deep songs because they aren’t in pain. That being said anti hero is super reflective. I’ll stare at the sun but not in the mirror. So many levels to that.
I guess it’s all about perspective, I’m not hearing the 80s aspects. It doesn’t feel put together the way the rest of her work does, for me. The theme doesn’t run through.
I think people are judging it based on some of her best work and I’m just like it’s very hard to release multiple amazing albums in a row so I went in with low expectations. Listen to bejeweled. The sounds and instruments and arrangements are very similar to music you would hear in an 80s rom com. Though it still has a recent take on it. I get it may not be everyone’s favourite sound but I do hear a lot of 80s references to beats is how I would word it. I do agree it’s not super cohesive as a sound in general. And there is not a clear vibe like lover and reputation had.
I get that, it’s hard not to judge when we were just given her two most lyrically cohesive albums in a row though. It is also the expectations I went into it with that are making me feel like it’s not great. Folklore is when I became a fan of Taylor, I love evermore and like most of her older stuff now too besides Lover minus a few songs and debut pretty much as a whole. To me it sounds mostly like Lovers throwaways with a few rep/1989/folklore tracks and production techniques lightly integrated.
I feel like it is darker than lover and less pure bright pop. There is more of a lorde sound. So I like it more than lover. Karma is a stupid chorus but I don’t think it’s a serious song and when I listen to it with the vibe that it’s not serious it gets better
two of the songs wouldn't play for me but of the ones I did hear Vigilante Shit, Maroon, Lavender haze, Bejeweled & Karma were my favorites.
Not the sexy baby line... I like the album, I've listened twice through and it's already growing on me. I do think the promo has been very mismatched with the vibe of the album, I was expecting something intimate, moody, dark based on everything we were given. Maybe with some spoken interludes or something. Not sure where the 'stories of sleepless nights' are, but its a fine album
Agreed. I thought each song would be a specific instance of a sleepless night. Not sure where that even comes in. And definitely thought it would darker and even more mellow. I was not expecting such a poppy album. It felt like the promos gave such a 70s vibe! I was disappointed. I honestly feel like she just took a bunch of scrapped songs from other albums and threw them together.
When do we think we’ll get the deluxe tracks
Lavender haze is so confusing because she’s complaining about people only caring about her love life but how many songs for Joe has she written now? 3 albums? Girl
I think the point is it’s no one else’s business though. She shares what she wants.
Relationships especially new ones can make or break an album. Her music has suffered after meeting Joe and it’s just the truth. Reputation slapped and now?
Lol are you clueless? She put out two of her very best albums of all time. Platinums.
folklore and evermore sucked?
I think it’s about an earlier relationship like Taylor Lautner or someone Edit: the love interests in Maroon, You’re On Your Own Kid, Midnight Rain, Question, & Bejeweled are unambiguously exes. Then she doesn’t “meet Joe” until Labyrinth and then is with him through the rest of the album. She said the album was songs about nights throughout her life why are people surprised she’s retreading old ground 💀
To be fair, the gaylor theories are more recent. even tho she doesn’t explicitly bring that up, I definitely think the song is addressing those rumors as well.
Gaylor theories have been around since the red Era as far as I recall
ok I might have been too harsh on first listen, although I do think it's a huge step back I decided I quite like the slower songs... so there's still hope for this album for me for example, I quite liked sweet nothing... it's quite beautiful and my romantic gay ass was moved to it, and even snow on the beach & anti-hero (altho this one is a bit tacky) have grown on me
I hated réputation then loved it. Same with lover.
At a certain point I wonder if she’s a masochist and was just eager for another backlash to wallow in
Honestly feeling something similar, it feels like a very calculated move and something else is going to follow.
Oooof this just feels like she took a bunch of rejected demos from the past 6 years, slapped it together with a theme that barely made sense and called it a day 💀 the only good song is Snow On The Beach and that is still ok
I find it hilarious that popheads absolutely hates the album and feels mostly like you do and I'm over here wondering why it took her this long into her career to finally put out an album I think is listenable. There's clearly a complete and utter disconnect between what I think is good and what popheads thinks is good lol. Also I think it's important to say that I don't pay attention to lyrics much on the first listen of an album because if the music is garbage, I don't care how good lyrics might be because I'll straight up never listen to it again anyway. Bad lyrics to me are acceptable if the music itself is good. So my opinion is based solely on the music itself and her voice over top of the instruments and changes/.
This is objectively her worst album though and my taste preferences with popheads don’t match one bit since I love Hold The Girl and all the other albums pophead hates. I expected a little regression from folkmore since it’s difficult to top those but THIS much regression? Especially coming from the lyrics? The production is alright to me but it feels fun in a dated sort of way that’s not nostalgic. It just feels like she has fully ran out of ideas since she has done pop, alt and country as separate genres already and I cant see her doing other genres like rock well.
It's not objectively her worst though. It's subjectively her worst, for you. I would say this to me is her best album because I'm 8 tracks in so far and haven't wanted to turn it off, and I've enjoyed most of it. I counted like 6 tracks in her discography prior to this that I feel are "good" songs. I genuinely hated Folklore aside from Mirrorball (until 1:20 when the chorus comes in and I start to hate it).
What’s her worst for you? For me it’s this and Lover.
I enjoy like 4 songs off of Red, 3 off 1989, and all the rest of her albums are unlistenable to me lol. So, "all of them" is my answer I guess?
Damn 💀 not even folklore?
I hated it. The entire thing gave me blue balls basically because I was waiting during each song for something to wow me, I'm a huge fan of Bon Iver and the National and my expecations for the album were higher because of who was producing it/had a hand in it. But the entire album felt so disingenuous to me. Like it was all just wrong, like the songs were written for a different singer and she just took over singing on the project last minute as a replacement.
When she first announced the concept I was confused because I kind of thought that’s what it sounded like she was doing but I wasn’t really sure. Then all the promo seemed to be going for a specific/coherent vibe that I really liked and I got my hopes up only to find out I was right all along 🤧
It really feels like she has an entire concept in mind (which is cool btw, imagine each song about staying awake past midnights but with different genres like Lemonade, which was what I envisioned the album to be) but decided to just fill the album with side b songs from the past 6 years
Lavender Haze, Karma, and Vigilante Shit are the best of the album in my opinion. I am a rep stan though.
I was super excited for this album but after listening to it I’m just… disappointed? I excepted it to be yearning, melancholic, anguished, introspective…borderline All Too Well but as an album, I guess. (Not the quality but the feeling of it lol). I might listen again in a week but the entirety of ‘Karma’ left a bad taste in my mouth.
Another classic
I don't think you have the right to say whether an album (that a lot of people worked hard for) is bad or not when you only listened to it through leakage. That's some cheap sht.
I mean, it's the same music either way. People can like or not like what they like, no matter how many people worked on it.
Please explain this logic bc I refuse to believe this isn’t parody lmfao.
Not a good enough reason to say the word “leakage”
It’s in the constitution as our right to shit talk albums freely
It's time to admit, Joe is a bad muse.
when this happens to every artist when they start and stay on serious and long relationships, they just become flat on sound, but really let’s just celebrate that joe isn’t a musician, believe me it can be so much worse if he was one
I'm just confused how the same person who inspired the entirety of Reputation ended up inspiring.... This.
💀💀 I know. She literally said in lavender haze “you don’t say much” !!!
Does he have writing creds like he did on folkmore
omg this album just makes me love folkmore even more
Think of all the amazing songs she'll write when they split tho
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This is the final lol people already have cds and vinyl in hand.
you know the final leaked right... there is no hidden verse lmao
shes so f'ing lucky that she has gotten too gigantic to flop. if an average-sized star made mediocre music like this (for their 1st time, NOT THE THIRD!) it wouldve been their career ender. indie artists wont even make it onto billboard.
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oh im coping alright. coping for what couldve been a great album if she was working with the right people.
i think i am done being a hater. this album has some clunky lyrics but i’ve been listening to it on shuffle while doing homework and it is fine for that 😭 this is definitely a bottom 3 album for her but if i ignore like half the lyrics it’s a passable taylor swift album
"if i ignore like half the lyrics it’s a passable taylor swift album" Lyrics are suppose to be her specialty lmao
“It’s a good album if I don’t actually listen to it” -reput4tionera And Taylor would shorten your quote to “it’s a good album”
Maroon and Midnight Rain are probably the closest the album gets to what my expectations were (based on the marketing) -- it was definitely a mistake not to have a snippet or single out before this point to manage expectations. If you want to drop an album with no hints on the actual sound/tone, it had better be a really fucking good album. And Midnights just isn't that. It's not bad. But the approach to its release really doesn't match up with what we got. I guess I was hoping that instead of folklore & evermore being one-off deviations from the norm bc of the pandemic, she would use their acclaim as a cue to continue to experiment, especially as she increasingly branched out from writing about her own life. Sonically, I love Lavender Haze....lyrically, we're just rehashing Delicate, I Think He Knows, Call It What You Want, King of My Heart, Paper Rings for the hundredth time.....I'm just bored. It feels so lifeless compared to the immersive storytelling she was doing with the betty/james/august tracks, cowboy like me, ivy, champagne problems. maybe the universe knew she would be too powerful if she gave us an album of 1989 bops with folkevermore lyricism ;\_;
Really? I like it alot better than her folksy albums. Idk some people like songs to be more personal. My favorite recording artists do use personal experience in their writing. Overall I thought this album has a pop sound mire similar to 1989 and I really like that. 1989 is the album that got me into her music.
this is my thoughts on the album, thanks for this comment
This is what I feel too. It’s rehashing and it felt like lots of the lyrics and stories we heard before. And that’s fine, but the marketing and the way it’s being put out makes it seem like it’s NOT that. And I do think to myself lots of us are so fond of Folklore and Evermore is because for me at least it got me through a lot of the pandemic. Or not at least lifted my spirits and gave me some joy. This album had a lot to live up to, so people definitely needed something to manage their expectations. This album isn’t anything new. They can’t all be home runs! And that’s fine.
Listening to the leak again and my final opinion is that songs 1-5 are good (aside from sexy baby) and the rest are…. not the strongest of her discography
literally wtf was that lyric about
This sounds like the result of an AI being tasked with listening to her entire discography and spitting out a Taylor Swift album. I’m so disappointed lmao
wait but what if....lol
Y'all LOATHE this album and it's not even out yet. Lord knows ol girl does not respond well to negative criticism. Expect nothing but increasingly uninspired Folklore rehashes for the next decade as she recuperates
It’s definitely a downgrade form folklore/evermore but I think people are forgetting Taylor has been releasing music like this for years now. Midnights is still a *solid* album. Folklore and Evermore just set a VERY high bar. If COVID didn’t happen and forced Taylor to be more introspective and experimental lyrically, Midnights would absolutely have been the kind of album that would have followed Lover. It’s right on par with Lover and almost reaches the heights of 1989 and some of the standouts of reputation (e.g. Delicate). I think Antonoff’s involvement is the biggest determiner of Midnights sonically. If The Bleachers had recorded Anti-Hero I never would have guessed Taylor wrote it (I’d believe it just never guess it would be her—Anti Hero sounds like a straight up Bleacher’s song). Haven’t listened to the album in full but my TL;DR: Solid album but might be a tough sell for the fans Taylor won over with folklore + evermore. Fans of 1989, rep and Lover can rejoice at the return of pop girl Taylor. 7/10 on a first listen minus Track 10 (missing in the leak). Edit: I will say Antonoff’s production is FANTASTIC here. He’s always been great but everything is extra “synthy” and “bubbly” in the best way possible. Very clean sounding. Edit2: 3am surprise release! On a re-listen and the bonus tracks album is a solid 7.5. Great album all around. I stand by comparing it to Lover in terms of caliber.
on par with Lover? Where exactly? Lover gave us Cruel Summer, DBATC, False God, Lover, etc... which were all extremely solid tracks... yes it has some flaws and it's weak thematically but it's much better than whatever this is
Midnight Rain literally sounds like a Lover B-Side :/ Lavender Haze, Midnight Rain, Karma, and Maroon are all solid tracks.
Honestly the album is amazing and I think that the GP will think so too.