Board 8 > Taylor Swift Midnights + 3AM Stats & Discussion

(+) Yeah! (+)

Come on, there are other Swifties here, how is there not a topic about this album

Holy shit theres a lot to process

On first listen I thought it was big hits and minor misses but it has grown on me very quickly, and the 3AM tracks are all top tier too.

Fuck, the things she admits to/reveals on here are wild (and in one case extremely tragic)

I watched the video for anti-hero first

um, fuck? Taylor are you ok?

I need to go through the new CRJ before I get to Swift, so I'm going to be a little behind the curve on this one

yeah hate to be that guy (nevermind, I love being this guy) but why would I listen to this when there's a new CRJ album out

Make a CRJ topic then lol.

Anyway my two favorite tracks off the beat are Anti-Hero and Mastermind, but I will consider this more.

High Infidelity is top 3 actually. Those are my first impression top tier

Of course right after I make this topic I pass out scrolling the Reddit threads about the album.

Im the problem; its me.

Some revelations from this album:
-Her relationship with Karlie Kloss was real and shes not over it
-She personally ruined Scooter Brauns marriage
-She had a miscarriage
-She cheated on Calvin Harris with Joe
-John Mayer took her virginity, shell regret it forever, and he better go into hiding when Speak Now TV hits

God damn it I didn't hear about the 3am version until now.

Anyway, my first reaction to the original release was the production and lyrical writing were 10/10, but the songs themselves were a bit meh for me. But new Taylor albums always grow on me over time! I liked You're on Your Own, Kid, Snow on the Beach & Vigilante Shit the best so far.

Also those revelations are insane.

jesus christ ulti who hurt you

anyway I've listened to it twice now and think a few of these songs are brilliant ("Question...?", "You're on Your Own, Kid", "Antihero," "Snow on the Beach"). Some of the songs feel a bit too reputation-era cringe lyrically, but I enjoy musically ("Vigilante," "Karma").

You gotta get to the 3AM tracks. Some people think theyre the superior set.

Haven't listened to the full album yet (I think I got up to track 8 or 9 in the car) but instantly I thought that Lavender Haze was one of her weakest tracks ever (musically it almost felt like a rewrite of I Think He Knows from the Lover album), Maroon was much better, pretty good, but still not classic Taylor territory, then Anti-Hero happened and my jaw hit the floor.

I'm a few songs in - it feels like her musical style hasn't changed at all for the last 5 years, which feels strange to me. Her first like 6 albums all felt like they were evolving each time. Is she settled in?

Folklore and arguably Evermore as well were definitely different but yeah so far this feels pretty stagnant in style from Lover (which was already not too different from Reputation).

Yeah I cant see how this is similar at all to Folklore/Evermore.

Even for someone known for their bridges, I think the one in Youre On Your Own, Kid is an all-timer

I'm 10 tracks in at the moment of my first full listen, and I think in 2022 I've grown a bit tired of what Jack Antonoff's production sounds like.

This album is a grower for me just like Folklore and Evermore were. Most of the magic is in the lyrics for me. For instance, first time listening to Vigilante S*** I thought it was one of her weakest tracks ever, but now that I've listened to the lyrics more and know it's about Braun, it's jumped from F to A tier for me. That, You're On Your Own Kid, Question, Karma, and Paris are the current standouts for me. Also Anti-Hero, which I think is instantly one of the most stand-out and important songs of her entire catalog. It already feels like a Swift classic and it's only been out for 2 days. Just fantastic

That brings up an interesting point

I wonder how much of the enjoyment lies in knowing (or at least heavily suspecting) precisely who shes singing about on each song thats about someone else

Fuck you, John Mayer

probably a lot because I couldn't give two shits about her personal life / whether or not these songs are autobiographical

I think the drama and personal stuff definitely gives the songs an extra edge but I personally care about having a good song first, and finding out the meaning second. This album flipped that too much for me personally.

Bigger Than The Whole Sky is heart-wrenching.

Yeah I havent cried that much since the death of a pet

It unlocked some empathy vault Ive kept locked

Few listens in on the background to get familiar with the tunes, and Lavender Haze and Bejeweled are both pretty good so far.

Two listens done. I find almost all of the 3am tracks superior to almost all of the Midnights tracks. That probably has a lot to do with my exhaustion with the cavernous glass jar underwater sound paired with an electronic drum beat that seems to be a hallmark of Jack Antonoff's production. I haven't looked through the production credits of the 3am (knowing Midnights is all Antonoff) tracks as well as evermore and folklore, but I wouldn't be surprised to see myself rating Aaron Dessner-produced tracks more highly overall.

Biggest standouts are Anti-Hero, Bigger Than The Whole Sky, and Could've, Would've, Should've. My least favorite tracks are Vigilante Shit and Labyrinth. Most everything else is solid enough though some are more prone to skips than others.

The song thats growing on me the most surprisingly(?) is Dear Reader

Possibly because the first time I heard it I had stayed up to fucking 3:30 AM and already had 19 other tracks to digest

Creeping closer to the top 5

Yeah, all of these songs are good. For now i still prefer evermore, but we'll see how i feel after a few more days of listening.

Bejeweled music video is out

And Speak Now (Taylors Version) is basically confirmed as the next project

How does this album compare to her others? I'm considering going through her whole library.

My gut placement right now (I need to re-listen to a lot of this and my ranking could change very drastically when I do, plus this one could sink in and hit differently later):

Fearless > Reputation > Evermore > Speak Now > Folklore > Red > Midnights > 1989 > Taylor Swift > Lover

Wow thats a very interesting ranking. All the pop albums near the bottom EXCEPT Reputation is hard for me to understand.

For me its

Evermore > Midnights > Red (TV) > Folklore > 1989 > Lover > Speak Now > Reputation > Fearless (TV) > Taylor Swift

But I only became a Swiftie in the 1989 era and all the older stuff is not nostalgic to me

Jakyl25 posted...

Wow thats a very interesting ranking. All the pop albums near the bottom EXCEPT Reputation is hard for me to understand.

For me the eight song stretch from Delicate through Dress is one of the best on any of her albums. I almost NEVER skip any of those (maybe there are times when I'm not in the mood for LWYMMD).

LWYMMD is possibly my least favorite song shes ever made, lol

Current Midnights Top 5:

1.) Maroon
2.) Anti-Hero
3.) WCS
4.) YOYOK
5.) Karma

Jakyl25 posted...

Evermore > Midnights > Red (TV) > Folklore > 1989 > Lover > Speak Now > Reputation > Fearless (TV) > Taylor Swift

Yeah I agree with this for the most part but would put Red lower.
I also only became a fan in the 1989 era.

For me:
Speak Now > Fearless > 1989 > Red > Folklore > TS > Evermore > Lover > Midnights

I have listened a lot. I think the bridge of YOYOK is very strong and the song is strong in general.

Mastermind made me burst into tears

Anti-Hero is just obviously amazing.

Think atm I am going

1. Mastermind
2. Anti hero
3. YOYOK
4. High infidelity
5. Dear Reader

Great album though. I am bad at ranking albums as a whole but those 5 are getting a lot of repeat listens for years to come and they aren't the only ones. Don't think there are any songs I absolutely hate just some I don't care for.

Really starting to love Lavender Haze now. Actually has some Cruel Summer vibes on closer inspection.

I am not a believer in karma IRL

But Taylor releasing that song, having the most successful week of her career, while Kanyes career is imploding simultaneously is giving me pause

https://twitter.com/tswiftnz/status/1585377796549152769?s=46&t=PyaxdkwelejwJB64y7ib7g

First ever live performance of Exile

A little treat for Folklore fans disappointed with a return to pop

I've listened to it a few times now. I think my favorites are Maroon and Karma.

A fresh example of Swiftian genius:

She just dropped an instrumental version of Bejeweled, for sale in her online store

Priced at 69 cents

So you would instinctually say Nice!

Just like in the song

https://www.npr.org/2022/10/31/1132889461/taylor-swift-becomes-first-artist-to-sweep-the-entire-top-10-on-billboards-hot-1

We did it, Joe

holy crap

All 13 of the base album tracks are in the Top 15

And all 7 of the 3AM tracks are in the top 50

Also for the first time ever, there are no men in the Top 10