Midnights, Pt. 2: Back for More

Well, I’m back by popular demand with the 3 a.m. tracks. If you haven’t read my first review, do that now!

I’m gonna rate each secondary track on Midnights, 1-10, just like I did the others; then, I’ll provide the official Emory-certified T-Swizzle Midnights tier list. Let’s get started.

1. The Great War

Strong start to this set of tracks. An interesting backing track features consistent brush-type percussion with nice synth pads, far more interesting than most of the tracks on the album. The lyrics are evocative, supporting the extended metaphor begun in the title. Even though the track doesn’t change too much, Taylor does a great job of providing some dynamic contrast with her voice, both in pitch and volume, supported with occasional drops and crescendos in the backing track.

Overall, it doesn’t get too much better than this song on Midnights. I definitely enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

Rating: 8/10

2. Bigger Than The Whole Sky

I’m not gonna pretend to understand or try to interpret the imagery that Swift introduces in this one. It’s definitely vivid, it’s definitely strong, and it’s definitely very depressing. Not really my cup of tea, but I can respect strong songwriting, even if the song itself isn’t particularly interesting. The backing track isn’t really there, with some occasional tambourine (?) and acoustic guitar-type effects.

Bigger Than The Whole Sky is fully focused on Swift’s lyrical ability only, which makes it difficult to rate. I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt, and let one of the many Swifties I know explain this one.

Rating: 6.5/10

3. Paris

I really don’t like this one, which, from what I’ve heard, is not the general consensus (could be wrong on that). The song feels shallow and the backing track feels cheap, like someone threw the baseline midi synth effect on a Yamaha keyboard into GarageBand and let Swift sing over it.

Props to Taylor Swift for rhyming “in Paris” with “somewhere else” I guess, but this song doesn’t have much to offer. At least it’s not atrocious.

Rating: 5/10

4. High Infidelity

Starting off with some Terraria music, it doesn’t get much more interesting. Another basic backing track, but at least the lyrics have a little more depth than Paris. Again, I’m not gonna pretend to understand them, but they’re definitely more interesting. The chorus is also somewhat catchier, but also very redundant, because she repeats it four times within three minutes with basically no verses or dynamic contrast to speak of.

It’s just boring. I’m sorry.

Rating: 5.5/10

5. Glitch

Short and not sweet. Glitch is just not a good song. The backing track tries to be unique, using some kinda “glitchy” sound effects or something like that, but it just comes off boring. The lyrics don’t do a good job at all of connecting the whole glitch metaphor to whatever sad love story she’s trying to tell (“love blackout” is a horrible verse). There’s just nothing to see here

Rating: 4/10

6. Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve

I’m gonna have to try my best not to be biased here, because I’ve had to listen to this song way too many times already. Despite being tired of it, I have to recognize that this is a pretty good song. The backing track is finally interesting again, with similar consistent percussion to The Great War, and a solid chorus with good imagery. Great crescendo and differentiation, even within the same chorus.

Probably the best overall out of the 3 AM tracks, in all honesty, but not my favorite. And since this is my blog, I get to do whatever I want!

Rating: 7.5/10

7. Dear Reader

Not gonna dwell on this one too much. Swift utilizes yet another uninspiring, even detrimental backing track, along with those horribly unnecessary vocal effects every once in a while (a la Midnight Rain). The entire back half of the song is pretty unlistenable; definitely not worth the time I wasted listening to it.

Rating: 2.5/10

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: Emory’s extremely informed Midnights tier list, based entirely on my personal opinion of each song. Here it is! From worst to best, and divided into categories:

Unlistenable

20. Midnight Rain

19. Dear Reader

18. Vigilante Shit

Not unlistenable, but not worth the listen

17. Glitch

16. Paris

15. Sweet Nothing

Mid, boring, or a bit of both

14. Labyrinth

13. Lavender Haze

12. Maroon

11. Question…?

10. Bigger Than The Whole Sky

Still boring, but respectable

9. High Infidelity

8. You’re On Your Own, Kid

7. Mastermind

I might actually listen to this

6. Bejeweled

5. Snow on the Beach

4. Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve

I would actually listen to this

3. The Great War

2. Karma

1. Anti-Hero

Well, there you have it. Hope you guys enjoyed hearing what I had to say about Taylor Swift, which I know just about nobody asked for. I’m planning on writing a free agency review at some point, and maybe even a Christmas song review, so look out for that. In the meantime, thanks for reading and Merry Christmas!

Emory