During the whirlwind of chaos that is print night, the editors sat down at midnight to rank the long-awaited tenth album by Taylor Swift. This is a music edition after all, and what kind of journalists would we be if we did not jump at the chance?
1. “Mastermind”
This song ended the album on the perfect note. Swift ends this album by celebrating herself, confidently titling herself as a mastermind. After all that she has done for the music industry, the Daily Free Press office believes in her genius. This was Chloe and Tanisha’s favorite song on the album.
2. “Bejeweled”
Despite the cheesy lyrics such as “I want the penthouse of your heart,” we liked this carefree, empowering, going-out anthem. The techno-pop fit in well with the song. We felt that, unlike other songs on this album, the beat complimented her voice instead of drowning her out. Molly and Casey said to enjoy this song the most.
3. “Labyrinth”
One of our favorite songs on the album, “Labyrinth,” was refreshing from some of the previous songs. We agreed that Swift was her original self — not attempting to emulate current pop trends. Brendan and I ranked this song as our favorite from the album.
4. “Karma”
This song perfectly escalated the office’s mood after the andante tempo of “Labyrinth.” Although the rudimentary lyrics took away from the song, the beat raised positive vibrations around those huddled in front of the speaker.
5. “Lavender Haze”
This song sets up a fun, electro-pop tone for the rest of the album. Though the beat is positive and gets listeners into a good mood, we feel that the music takes away from the vocals — nearly drowning Taylor’s voice out. We also noticed that the title seems similar to a marijuana strand name. It could be due to her attempt to reach younger audiences.
6. “Anti-Hero”
Despite the somewhat cringe lyrics such as “a sexy baby,” we liked the feminine energy surrounding this song. Taylor nods to the idea that a strong female character is often seen as an “anti-hero” in society.
7. “Maroon”
This is a classic Taylor Swift song. The slower tempo mellows out the fast pace that we just witnessed with the previous song, “Lavender Haze.”
8. “Question…?”
This song speaks to the young adult fresh into the world. The overall message of the song is beautiful. However, the lyrics “good girl, sad boy” were hard to look past to enjoy the song. Molly, in particular, hated this lyric.
9. “Snow On The Beach (feat. Lana Del Rey)”
Taylor tries her hand at a Del Rey style. Despite featuring Lana, but in the background, we were disappointed at the lack of Del Rey’s presence in the song. We wanted a collaboration similar to “Nothing New”’ with artists Phoebe Bridgers and Swift. We were disappointed. However, this was editors Ava and Sangmin’s favorite song in the album.
10. “Sweet Nothing”
The sweet, slow beginning brought the office into a child-like trance. Some editors were returning to their dorms at this point in the night. Maybe it was the music or the strong sense of community we all felt, but sentimentality surrounded us like a warm blanket for a moment. Despite the low ranking, Clare defended this song as her go-to for this album.
11. “Midnight Rain”
This song exists in the intersection between “Reputation” and “1989.” The song was well-enjoyed by most of the office, despite the unnecessary autotuned vocal drops.
12. “You’re On Your Own, Kid”
This song’s melody fits in well with the context of the song. The editors agreed that the song was meant to have a childish feel, as she’s addressing her earlier life.
13. “Vigilante Sh—”
This song was a revisit to the “Reputation” album. We felt as though Taylor did it right the first time. This song felt unnecessary and unwelcome as we gathered around the speaker to review the album. No one in the office attempted to defend this song.
Despite the general consensus of the office that “Midnights” was not Taylor’s best album, we found a sense of community in ranking and critiquing her songs. From laughing at the odd lyrics that caught us by surprise to the magic that filled the air when we agreed on a rank for her song, we drew closer to one another. Although we were disappointed in some songs, we spent the night connecting over her music — which is arguably an artist’s ultimate desire. And if you didn’t stay up for her 3 a.m. additions, grab your friends to create your own rankings.
this is the worst review ive ever seen. fake fans