the perfection of every Midnights track (in order)
Track 1: Lavender Haze
the fact that it opens with "meet me at midnight", the tagline for this era. the pounding beats with drowned out melodies that makes it feel like you're hearing the song through the bathroom wall at a party winding down at midnight. the line "you don't really read into my melancholia." the narrative of pushing through the chaos of popular gossip and sexist social commentary, to be wrapped up in the soft 'lavender gaze' of a love and to surrender to falling down the love spiral.
Track 2: Maroon
the entire song reads like a narrative of a romance story, seeing vignettes of her falling in love with one connecting factor: various hues of red (the most romantic and bold color) bleeding into maroon. silly mistakes like him spilling wine on her shirt, passionate love marks left on her collarbones, rust that grew from telephones in between long distance calls, the blush on her cheeks. by the time the song ends and so does the relationship, the colors of these memories have faded from rubies and scarlet (remarkably more bright and happy colors) to maroon.
Track 3: Anti-Hero
brutally honest and self-reflective track, taylor's most sharp cutting lyrics yet. the insufferable passing of time, feeling at unease at every turn. how ease you feel doing self-destructive things (like staring at the sun) but then not being unable to face up to yourself and stare at the mirror. feeling like you're the problem at every turn, doubting your kindness as selfishness, acting out in unkind ways as a 'self fulfilling prophecy' because you already view yourself as the anti-hero.
Track 4: Snow on The Beach (ft. Lana Del Rey)
the soft strummings of instrumentals, taylor's delicate lyrics and pacing of her words mimic snowflakes slowly falling down, beautiful atmosphere on this track. the harmonies of Lana and Taylor's voices are absolutely heavenly, they complement each other's tones so well. the paradoxical image of there being snow on the beach to reflect falling in love in the most nonsensical, unbelievable and magical ways. feeling surrounded by a noiseless dream, not knowing if this is real - "it's weird but fucking beautiful, stars by the pocketful."
Track 5: You're On Your Own, Kid
after waiting eternities (watching fires wither into ashes, endless drip-drip of sprinklers and sitting through video phone calls with an unsympathetic lover smoking on the other end) - she realizes he's never cared and she's truly on her own. she yearns to escape this town and in an attempt to earn love, she's thrown meaningless parties and starved her body. it's all in hopes that she'll be saved by a magic kiss (as many princesses are saved in fairytales, notably). she endures it all, the jokes and fake friends and cruelty of the industry. but as she stands in a blood soaked gown, she sees it all for what it is: you may be on your own, as you always have been, but you can face it. such an incredibly relatable message and a harrowing yet comforting realization. you're on your own, but that also means you can save yourself.
Track 6: Midnight Rain
the distorted vocals and light synth rhythms work with the song so well, the reflections of why the relationship didn't work out are haunting her and replaying in her head. he's sunlight - nice, comfortable, comes from a picture perfect family with holiday peppermint candy. she's midnight rain - covert, hard to read, seeking out darkness and pain. it could've never worked out and she never thinks of him, except for on midnights like this (perhaps it was also raining when she wrote this song).
Track 7: Question... ?
Taylor's tortured by endless questions. she knows he's painted her nights with a color she's been searching for ever since. but with life, circumstances and miscommunications getting in the way she's ultimately been left with more questions than answers. the organization of the verses as different questions meant to unravel the failings of her relationship with this 'sad boy' is brilliant, showing us little glimpses into their history. her playful "it's just a question" after each biting remark, poking at the most sensitive and tense parts of their relationship, is exceptionally delightful.
Track 8: Vigilante Shit
the callback to reputation era is strong with this one! but whilst reputation revenge tracks were loud, unapologetic and messy, this track screams organized crime, meticulous planning and cunning games. the brilliant lyric ‘i don't start shit, but I can tell you how it ends'. the revenge storyline intertwined with the track of a coke addicted, high power businessman facing his downfall with his ex-wife and Taylor being on their 'vigilante shit' is just... some Bond level shit.
Track 9: Bejewled
the ultimate self-love, re-claiming your worth anthem. she's been letting him take advantage of her - walking over her peace of mind with shoes she bought for him - and she's tired of being too kind. "familiarity breeds contempt", being close to him has only drained her. so she's going to go out and polish up real nice because she's a jewel and a "diamond's gotta shine". i absolutely adore the twinkling sounds in the background, alongside with the peppy "nice" shouts in between verses and the upbeat beats underlying the whole track = it all beautifully constructs this image of Taylor shining bright like a jewel and it fits the happy emotive aspect of the track.
Track 10: Labyrinth
taylor's vocals are notably more muted, quiet and apprehensive on this track compared to the rest of the album. which makes sense, because she's lost in a labyrinth of her mind, facing her worst fears. like an elevator she knows will fall as quickly as it rises, she's frozen and lost in an endless maze as she realizes she's falling in love with someone who has the power to redirect the plane she previously thought was falling down. i also really love the cyclical imagery Taylor uses in this song to show her uneasiness at the situation, an attempt at repetitive patterns in order to calm herself: "breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, breathe out" and "break up, break free, break through, break down."
Track 11: Karma
For her enemies, karma is something to be afraid of (a bounty hunter, thunder, an agitating thought) but not for Taylor. instead, karma is a sweet cat, her boyfriend, the wind blowing through her hair on the weekends - it's a friendly force always on her side of the street. the concept of turning karma (this intacticle, inhuman concept) into a powerful force that she's friends with.... genius. Taylor's signaling her security and happiness, that ultimately karma will always be on her side and she's not worried. her sweet voice and glossy synths paired with these cutting lyrics are a pairing made in heaven.
Track 12: Sweet Nothing
the CUTEST love song ever, i adore how simple this track is. it starts out with a reference to a childish game - "i spy with my little eye" - and a pebble that she forgot she pocketed from Wicklow. the relationship is comfortable and sweet. Taylor sings about how so many people want her for fame and money, how there's immense pressure on her and endless demands and criticisms from all directions. but not her lover. he's content with just being with her, even when the world is banging down on the walls, he's humming in the kitchen and ultimately he doesn't want anything from her except sweet nothings. whisperings of love that are superficial in nature, sure, but contain and express so much affection and trust.
Track 13: Mastermind
the closing track to slay all closing tracks. the references to fate (stars aligning, lighting of a fuse) and meticulous planning (chess, dominoes falling in clockwork, being the wind in their free-flowing sails and liquor in their cocktails) add so much rich imagery to this song. this track touches a lot on the concept of control and self determination (a theme throughout the album be it lack of control, self destructive control or restrictive control) but the ending of this song makes it a little different. turns out, all along, he knew what she was up to. she didn't need to concoct all this Machevillian, mastermind level planning that she's been doing with all her relationships since she was a little kid because people didn't want to play with her. she's found her match.
idk what kind of crack miss taylor swift and mister jack antonoff put in “london boy” to make it literally unskippable but I be going 90 mph in the car screaming it at the top of my lungs.
Okay so I’ve been making her chai recipe since she first posted it on here (RIP to those days- taylor we miss you) buttttt I’m lazy and it takes forever to make sugar cookies from scratch and it can be super easy to mess up if you don’t get it perfect. Hate that.
Anywayssss here is how I make the best chai sugar cookies (second to Taylor’s no doubt) the quick and dirty way:
What you’ll need (this is your grocery list):
For the cookies:
1 Bag of Betty Crocker’s Sugar Cookie Mix
1 Egg
1 Stick of Butter, softened
1 Capful of Real Vanilla Extract (or 1/4 teaspoon)
2 Chai Tea Packets OR 2 teaspoon of Pumpkin Spice (the spice in the spice section) and 2 teaspoon of Allspice. I never measure it I just sprinkle it in until it ~feels right~ you do you.
For the icing:
1 Cup of Powdered Sugar
3 Tablespoons of Egg Nog OR Milk OR Chai Tea Liquid (like the one they use at Starbucks— I’ve used them all before and they all turn out great either way)
1/4 teaspoon of Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon of Cinnamon
Now for the recipe/how-to part:
First, turn on your oven to whatever the cookie mix packet says. Then add the mix, egg, softened butter, vanilla, chai tea packs or spices into a bowl. NOW if you have one of those fancy blender things for cookie dough you can use that but I don’t so I “knead” it like bread dough lol aka mix it with my VERY CLEAN hands.
Once everything is mixed together well, rub some butter or non stick spray on your cookie sheet (just a lil) then I like to take the tablespoon and scoop out the dough, roll it into a ball, then press it on the cookie sheet.
Okay now for the cooking times, every oven varies, and no one likes rock hard cookies. The bag says bake for 12-14 mins, and when you go to take them out you will think “These do not look done maybe a few more mins” DON’T. They somehow “cook more” once you pull them out on the hot pan. A good rule of thumb is to gently tap the top of once and see if there is any firmness (I know that doesn’t explain much but once you do it you will know).
If I’m in a hurry I’ll put them in the fridge or freeze to cool down before icing. For the icing, whisk the powdered sugar, your choice of liquid (see above), and the spices in a small bowl. I just take a spoon and drizzle or pour in on the cookies once they are cool. If you need to take them somewhere, like to a fun holiday party, put them back in the fridge after icing so the icing with “dry” and won’t rub off while traveling.
This is my favorite recipe to make and everyone requests it around the holiday and it’s super easy to make so go impress your friends/family!!!!
I put @taylorswift’s recipe below too! I used to have a link to her original post but I don’t know what happened to it 🤷♀️
I feel like you’re on your own kid is the grown up version of never grow up. It’s for the people who grew up listening to never grow up and are now 20 something year olds trying to figure out what they want to do with their life. It’s for the people pleasers, the dreamers, and the over thinkers. It’s for the people who feel too much, who have little dance parties on their own when no one’s watching, and the ones who sometimes feel alone in a room full of people.
