{"id":48981,"date":"2022-10-21T17:04:38","date_gmt":"2022-10-21T16:04:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/?p=48981"},"modified":"2022-12-17T19:49:05","modified_gmt":"2022-12-17T19:49:05","slug":"taylor-swifts-new-album-midnights-has-arrived","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/taylor-swifts-new-album-midnights-has-arrived\/","title":{"rendered":"Taylor Swift\u2019s new album \u2018Midnights\u2019 &#8211; Lyrically her best album yet?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u2b50\ufe0f \u2b50\ufe0f \u2b50\ufe0f \u2b50\ufe0f \/ \u2b50\ufe0f \u2b50\ufe0f \u2b50\ufe0f \u2b50\ufe0f \u2b50\ufe0f&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><strong>The newest addition to Taylor Swift\u2019s discography, <em>Midnights<\/em> showcases electronic pop-filled melodies with intriguing narratives. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Released at midnight, 21st October, it&#8217;s the 10th studio album of the 11-time Grammy winner.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp; <\/span><em>Midnights<\/em> is not only pleasing on the ears but lyrically worthy of a dissertation-length analysis.<\/p>\n<p>While this is a great contender for her best album, it comes in second to non-other than the Grammy&#8217;s 2021 album of the year, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/1pzvBxYgT6OVwJLtHkrdQK\">Folklore.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Midnights is a wild ride of an album and I couldn\u2019t be happier that my co pilot on this adventure was <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jackantonoff?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@jackantonoff<\/a>. He\u2019s my friend for life (presumptuous I know but I stand by it) and we\u2019ve been making music together for nearly a decade HOWEVER\u2026<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jjqUNkGSme\">https:\/\/t.co\/jjqUNkGSme<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/v7LboJJ9Ik\">pic.twitter.com\/v7LboJJ9Ik<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/taylorswift13\/status\/1583307631224987649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 21, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"p2\">The songs of <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/151w1FgRZfnKZA9FEcg9Z3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Midnights<\/em><\/a> are instrumentally reminiscent of each other, to the point where they tend to blend into one another. However, there is a charming quality to it as it creates a trance-like state for fans and listeners. This works in Swift\u2019s favour.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">However, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=R69aO3PJToo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Vigilante Shit<\/a>,<\/em><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>the most individualistic song, breaks the harmonic flow that listeners are hooked into further proving the point. All of this is to say that, the togetherness &#8211; cohesiveness is stunning. The whole album works together as an immersive piece, of being awake whilst the world sleeps, perfect for any melodramatic listener.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Arguably, the top four songs of the album are also lyrically and story-wise the strongest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">The four are as follows:<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=91hxtxtEEfg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Maroon<\/em><\/a> is the bittersweetness of memory. It starts with the beauty of mundane moments between lovers, and the cinematic feeling you get with <em>that<\/em> special person. But the ending of the relationship is felt much deeper due to this, his memory is one Swift can\u2019t clean from her mind; it has stained her view of love and her memories.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3YgtjHZyCIQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Anti-Hero<\/a> <\/em>showcases Swift&#8217;s depressive condition. It\u2019s a look into her self-villainising mindset, that places her at the centre of the problem because of other people\u2019s opinions of her. There\u2019s paranoia behind her words, that fear that her lover will leave her because of this.<em> Anti-Hero<\/em> is also currently the only track with an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=b1kbLwvqugk&amp;list=PLINj2JJM1jxP5aYiX47uBCRu9g8JItDWp&amp;index=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">official video<\/a>, released only hours after the release of the album.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">The only song with a featured artist on the album <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=REsc54NTz1A\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Snow On the Beach <\/a><\/em>lyrically plays as a simile for Swift\u2019s astonishment at her crush reciprocating her feelings. The featuring artist, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TdrL3QxjyVw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Summertime Sadness<\/a><\/em> singer Lana del Rey\u2019s voice acts as a dream-like apparition that is delicately placed on top of Swift\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">The fifth track of the album is the ultimate note to self. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=9cboN_o7CvU&amp;list=PLINj2JJM1jxP5aYiX47uBCRu9g8JItDWp&amp;index=6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>You\u2019re On Your Own, Kid<\/em><\/a> sees Swift advising her past self through the pinnacle moments of her life. From the relationships of her youth to her dreams of making it as an artist and her struggles of maintaining her fame. The result is Swift&#8217;s understanding of her self-worth and her power as an individual. This track also feels like the most personal entry of <em>Midnights<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">In conclusion, the narrative sees the awakening of Swift\u2019s new era. One where we see her more authentically, her fears and self-growth, accompanied by loveable instrumentals that transport listeners to Swift\u2019s new world.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: Midnights\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/151w1FgRZfnKZA9FEcg9Z3?utm_source=oembed\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Words: Ashreya Jimi&nbsp;<\/strong>| <strong>Subbing: Elitsa Maymareva<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2b50\ufe0f \u2b50\ufe0f \u2b50\ufe0f \u2b50\ufe0f \/ \u2b50\ufe0f \u2b50\ufe0f \u2b50\ufe0f \u2b50\ufe0f \u2b50\ufe0f&nbsp; The newest addition to Taylor Swift\u2019s discography, Midnights showcases electronic pop-filled melodies with intriguing narratives. Released at midnight, 21st October, it&#8217;s the 10th studio album&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":476,"featured_media":49046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,42],"tags":[387,4941,6100],"class_list":["post-48981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art-culture","category-entertainment","tag-album-review","tag-pop-music","tag-taylor-swift"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/476"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48981"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48981\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52159,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48981\/revisions\/52159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}