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Alas, Taylor Swift’s tenth studio album Midnights (and the surprise release Midnights (3am Edition), which features seven additional tracks), the first new, non-re-recorded album since 2020’s double feature Folklore and Evermore, is here. For the first time, Swift didn’t release any singles ahead of the album’s release, so no one knew what it would sound like. Swift has reinvented herself several times, starting from her country days (Taylor Swift), to country pop (Fearless, Speak Now, Red), to synth-pop (1989), to a hint of hip-hop (Reputation), and indie folk and alternative rock (Folklore and Evermore), and she kept us guessing with Midnights until, quite literally, midnight.
I’m not gonna lie, at first I was disappointed with the album. I was hoping for a pure pop album similar to 1989 (the album I became a Swiftie), and Midnights wasn’t that. And it didn’t help that Midnights had no memorable bridges (something Swift is notorious for), and the songs were not lyrically as strong as past albums (I think Folklore and Evermore feature her best writing, but my friends say Red does).
However, after countless listens (I’ve literally been listening to this album and only this album nonstop for the last two weeks), I’ve grown to really like it. It combines elements from her previous work: the synth-pop soundwave and infection production from Jack Antonoff, some corny songs à la “ME!” and “Look What You Made Me Do,” the experimental sounds of Reputation, the boppy earworms of 1989, and the immersive storytelling of Folklore and Evermore.
This is a great album from a wildly talented artist who never phones it in (even her worst songs are better than other artists’ entire albums). Over the last two weeks I’ve been ranking, and re-ranking, all 20 songs from Midnights (3am Edition)—and the rankings have changed a lot. With each listen, I find a new song I appreciate, songs I neglected originally suddenly jumped ahead of songs I initially liked more, and so on. Listicles are never definitive—they’re a snapshot in time. I’m sure this list may change a few weeks from now. But, for now, after great consideration, here is my current ranking of the songs:
THE SKIPS
20. Vigilante Shit
It took me too long to realize that Taylor Swift is a cringe millennial (like me!), so sometimes she’ll release head-scratching songs (like “ME!”), and everyone will make fun of her for these “bad” songs, but it’s all intentional. I’d say it’s only a recent trend that started with “Look What You Made Me Do,” which hilariously interpolates Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy.” “Vigilante Shit,” the eighth track on Midnights, is the latest installment in this don’t-take-this-too-seriously series of songs. It’s a revenge track with tongue-in-cheek lyrics like “Draw the cat eye sharp enough to kill a man,” “They say looks can kill and I might try,” and “I don’t start shit but I can tell you how it ends.” I don’t haaaate the song, it’s cute, but it’s definitely near the bottom of her discography.
Favorite Lyric: “Ladies always rise above, ladies know what people want. Someone sweet and kind and fun, the lady simply had enough.” (I like this part for how it’s sung, not because of it’s lyrical meaning.)
19. Dear Reader
The final track of Midnights (3am Edition) is a letter to us listeners, advising us leave and reinvent ourselves, to never take advice from someone falling apart, to set boundaries and limits even if it’s not ideal for others. It’s a fine, but skippable, song.
Favorite Lyric: “Dear reader, bend when you can/ Snap when you have to.”
18. Sweet Nothing
The opening instrumental to “Sweet Nothing” made me expect a better song, but it’s ultimately just okay. It’s a sweet (no pun intended) track expressing gratitude for her boyfriend Joe Alwyn (who co-wrote the song under his pseudonym William Bowery) but the overall song is too minimal to stand out among other better and more memorable tracks on the album.
Favorite Lyric: “You say, ‘What a mind’. This happens all the time.”
THE “OKAY, FINE” TRACKS
17. Bejeweled
“Bejeweled,” a song about knowing your worth when your partner doesn’t value you, is another don’t-take-this-too-seriously track. The song sounds way too much like “You Need To Calm Down” from Lover, despite being produced by two different people (Jack Antonoff produced “Bejeweled” while Joel Little produced “You Need To Calm Down”). The “Nice!” that’s sung after each chorus just takes me out—it’s so childish, it reminds me of the “Spelling is fun!” lyric from “ME!” (which Swift curiously removed from all digital/streaming versions of the song). But I mean (and this is a common trend with even Swift’s worse songs) it’s kind of fun to still jam to.
Favorite Lyric: “They ask, ‘Do you have a man?’ I could still say, ‘I don’t remember’.”
16. You’re On Your Own, Kid
A lot of people love “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” including one of my besties, but I just don’t get it. I like the pre-chorus, chorus, and bridge, but there’s something about the way she sings the first and second verses that just gives me the ick. And as a Track Five song, it disappoints. (The infamous “Track Five” is a pattern fans have noticed with each of Swift’s albums. Apparently every fifth song on an album is a standout, cathartic, and powerful song.)
Favorite Lyric: “From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes/ I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this.”
THE GOOD BUT NOT GREAT TRACKS
15. Paris
It’s pretty much a fact that Taylor Swift is a masterful songwriter, but, like I explained with “Vigilante Shit,” sometimes she cuts herself some slack and just has fun with songs. “Paris,” a simple song about how in love she is with her partner, is sort of in that realm. The opening verse, “Your ex-friend’s sister/ Met someone at the club and he kissed her/ Turns out, it was that guy you hooked up with ages ago/ Some wannabe Z-lister/ And all the outfits were terrible/ 2003 unbearable,” is not exactly elegant but it’s fun to sing to.
Favorite Lyric: The opening verse
14. Glitch
I didn’t care for “Glitch” at first, but it’s grown on me. The song, about a relationship that wasn’t supposed to happen, still isn’t a favorite, but it’s a fun slow jam to jam to. The chorus, “I think there’s been a glitch, oh yeah,” is catchy (especially when Swift’s voice goes to a higher pitch).
Favorite Lyric: “We were supposed to be just friends.”
THE PRETTY GOOD TRACKS
13. Labyrinth
“Labyrinth” is a song I think is forgettable and skippable every time I’m not listening to it, but when I am listening to it, I like it. I think its minimal production and lyrics is what keeps it from being memorable when it’s not playing, but when I do listen to it, much like the song itself, I can feel myself falling. There are some lyrical gems, like “You know how scared I am of elevators/ Never trust it if it rises fast/ It can’t last,” which describes the fear of falling too quickly in love, or the pretty chorus, “Uh oh, I’m fallin’ in love/ Oh no, I’m fallin’ in love again.” It’s simply romantic. But the best thing about “Labyrinth” is its minimalistic production by Antonoff. There’s just something about the surprise piano part (I don’t know how else to describe it) that’s addicting to me. Rolling Stone ranked it the best track on Midnights (and the 17th best song in Swift’s discography), and while I may not rank it that highly, I can understand the love for it.
Favorite Lyric: “Uh-oh, I’m fallin’ in love. Oh no, I’m fallin’ in love again. Oh, I’m fallin’ in love.”
12. Karma
The spiritual successor to Reputation’s “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things,” “Karma” is about, well, karma. Swift confronts her enemies and how karma is always on her side. It’s not a masterclass in storytelling, but it’s a bop.
Favorite Lyric: The entire chorus, but especially the line “Karma is a cat/ Purring in my lap ‘cause it loves me.”
11. High Infidelity
“High Infidelity,” a 3am Edition bonus track, is the song Zoë Kravitz should’ve co-written with Swift instead of “Lavender Haze” (if you understand why, you’ve earned yourself four bonus Kent Points). The song finds Swift describing a failing relationship, implies her partner’s cheating (“high infidelity”), and suggests she was falling for someone else at the height of her partner’s neglect (“Do you really wanna know where I was April 29th?/ Do I really have to tell you how he brought be back to life?”). (You can read more about the theories surrounding the April 29th reference via this Bustle article.) “High Infidelity” is one of the few Midnights tracks produced by Aaron Dessner, and it’s a solid one (it’s better than some of the songs that made it to the standard version of Midnights), and it feels like a song that would’ve fit right in with Evermore (which Dessner also produced the majority of).
Favorite Lyric: “You know there’s many different ways that you can kill the one you love. The slowest way is never loving them enough.”
10. Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve
The follow-up to “Dear John,” “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” is allegedly about John Mayer, the singer-songwriter whom Swift may have-sort-of dated when she was just 19 and he was 32 (gross). I love the line, “Memories feel like weapons/ And now that I know, I wish you’d left me wondering.” It expresses an idea I’ve rarely heard in other songs, specifically that sometimes the idea of a relationship with someone is better than the actual one itself. The song’s description of regret and pain over the relationship, combined with Dessner’s excellent production, makes this yet another standout 3am track that’s stronger than the songs that made the actual cut. This is Track Five worthy.
Favorite Lyric: “Memories feel like weapons. And now that I know, I wish you’d left me wondering.”
9. Bigger Than The Whole Sky
I know this theory most likely isn’t true, but I subscribe to the idea that “Bigger Than The Whole Sky” is about a miscarriage. At face value, the song appears to be about losing a loved one after just a short time with them, and it imagines what could’ve been had they been together longer. But upon a deeper reading, the song perfectly describes the aftermath of a miscarriage (“You were more than just a short time,” “I’m never gonna meet/ What could’ve been, would’ve been/ What should’ve been you,” “Did some force take you because I didn’t pray?”). This track, produced by Antonoff, is, again, a 3am track that’s better than some of the songs that made it to the standard Midnights album. It’s also Track Five worthy.
Side note: The fact that this song is a 3am bonus track alongside “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” makes it a bit confusing since the bridge for “Bigger Than The Whole Sky” is “What could’ve been, would’ve been/ What should’ve been you.”
Favorite Lyric: “You were more than just a short time.”
8. Snow On The Beach (feat. Lana Del Rey)
“Snow On The Beach” is a pretty and catchy song about the rare phenomenon of two people falling in love at the same time. While there is a slight disappointment that the album’s sole feature, Lana Del Rey, doesn’t have her own verse on the song (there is a curious trend of Swift songs that feature women that don’t give them their own verses), but I kind of don’t mind since Midnights is a deeply personal album about what keeps her up at night, so it’s fitting that the album is solely her voice (with some backing vocals from others).
Favorite Lyric: “And it’s like snow at the beach. Weird, but fuckin’ beautiful.”
7. Mastermind
My favorite thing about “Mastermind” is its instrumental produced by Antonoff (and the swooshes!). When I’m listening to the instrumental, it makes me think of a montage of a movie. But I dig the message too! It’s a love song that’s not about fate bringing two people together, but, rather, how Swift methodically planned to capture her lover’s attention and heart (“What if I told you none of it was accidental/ And the first night that you saw me/ Nothing was gonna stop me”). Despite its calculating nature and an awkward line or two (“Just like clockwork/ The dominoes cascaded in a line,” and “I’m only cryptic and Machiavellian ‘cause I care” don’t exactly roll off the tongue), the song is still oddly romantic.
Favorite Lyric: “Saw a wide smirk on your face/ You knew the entire time/ You knew that I’m a mastermind.”
THE TOP TIER
6. Lavender Haze
“Lavender Haze” is a great album opener and “Meet me at midnight” is the perfect introductory line to Midnights. Swift first heard the phrase “Lavendar Haze” from an episode of Mad Men (she continues to have excellent television taste). The song is about the public scrutiny of dating as a public figure. “I think a lot of people have to deal with this now… because we live in the era of social media,” Swift explained on Instagram. “And if the world finds out that you’re in love with somebody they’re going to weigh in.”
“I just want to stay in that lavender haze,” Swift sings. The term means “an all-encompassing love glow.” Despite all the rumors and gossip about her love life, Swift wants to ignore all of that and simply stay in love.
Favorite Lyric: “I’m damned if I do give a damn what people say.”
5. Question…?
I love “Question…?” It’s a surprising bop that doesn’t sound like a bop. The lyrics are mostly sung in a talking fashion and the instrumental from Antonoff is fairly minimal, but the lyrics and sound effects are so playful it’s never not fun to jam to. I love that it interpolates “Out of the Woods” (one of my all-time favorite Taylor Swift songs). I love the sound of a crowd cheering. I love the way Swift reflects on her past relationship, how she hypothetically asks her ex if they remembers (or misses) their relationship (“It’s just a question,” Swift playfully says).
Side note: Many fans are theorizing this song is about Swift’s rumored romantic relationship with fashion model and former friend Karlie Kloss. I don’t see it but I’d be excited if it were true.
Favorite Lyric: “‘Cause I don’t remember who I was/ Before you painted all my nights/ A color I’ve searched for since.”
4. Midnight Rain
The warped voice used in the intro and chorus of “Midnight Rain” makes this sound unlike any other Swift song, and I love it. This is the rare and bittersweet song about Swift choosing herself—her career—over a relationship (“He wanted a bride, I was making my own name”). It’s a minimalistic song (There’s no bridge! Ugh!), but it’s so smooth and alluring I don’t mind.
Favorite Lyric: “My boy was a montage/ A slow-motion, love potion.”
3. Maroon
The color red has always been important to Swift. After all, she did name her fourth studio album after the color (“Loving him was red,” Swift sung in the album’s titular track). Red represented all of the powerful emotions she felt in a relationship. By the time we reach her seventh studio album, Lover, Swift’s view of true love changed (“I once believed love would be burning red/ But it’s golden/ Like daylight,” she sung on “Daylight”). She returns to the color red in “Maroon,” a variation of red, but more complicated. Like “Red,” “Maroon” still describes the powerful emotions, good and bad, that come with love, but it feels like “Red’s” darker, moodier sister (not unlike the color maroon itself); it’s less upbeat, more agonizing. And there are so many great lines in this track (“The rust that grew between telephones/ The lips I used to call home,” describing the failure of a long-distance relationship; “Carnations you had thought were roses, that’s us,” implying the relationship wasn’t as good as expected).
Favorite Lyric: “And I wake with your memory over me/ That’s a real fucking legacy.”
2. Anti-Hero
“Anti-Hero,” the lead single from Midnights, is proof that Swift is a genius and can make anything into a hook. “It’s me, hi/ I’m the problem, it’s me” is so fucking catchy I don’t even understand. Despite being a bop, the lyrics are a downer—it’s about self-loathing, self-destructive tendencies, depression, and anxiety (“I’ll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror”). And despite being a downer of a song, Swift still has fun with the lyrics (“Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby,” “I have a dream my daughter-in-law kills me for the money”). I don’t know what else to say, I love this song!
Favorite Lyric: “I should not be left to my own devices/ They come with prices and vices/ I end up in crisis.”
1. The Great War
The best song from Midnights isn’t even on the standard version—it’s a fucking bonus track! “The Great War” features Dessner and Swift at the top of their game, with gorgeous production and immersive lyrics. While it’s another song that describes a failing relationship (she compares it to a great war), it’s unique in that Swift comes off as the bad guy. “You drew up some good faith treaties/ I drew curtains closed, drank my poison all alone” suggests Swift’s refusal to talk to her partner about their relationship. “You said I have to trust more freely” and “Somewhere in the haze, got the sense I’d been betrayed” imply Swift has trust issues. “And maybe it’s the past that’s talking/ Screaming form the crypt/ Telling me to punish you for things you never did/ So I justified it” describes Swift’s trauma from past relationships harming her ability to healthily engage in her current one, leading her to unfairly lash out on her current partner. There are way too many great lines to mention here. “The Great War” is one of Swift’s greatest songs.
Favorite Lyric: All of the “Uh-huh’s” throughout the song.