#taylor swift midnights review

[taylornation]

We’re looking back on this year and feeling like we just lived 13 lives? 🤯

Thanks for making it best year yet! 🫶 Also, since today is 123123, we gotta say it… 1, 2, 3, let’s go (to 2024), bitch!

[agreyrose]

No because you bitches aren’t listening to her. She left the glitter gel pens in the Midnights room!! Watch the video!!! You sound so stupid! “Omg, my fave rn is So High School/The Alchemy/Guilty As Sin?/ etc!! love a glitter gel pen song!!!” WRONG! She left the glitter pen songs in midnights! There isn’t a single one on TTPD!! Idc if it’s good ass throwing music, I agree! Shake your ass! But it is a RUSE and it is NOT a glitter gel pen song I stg !!

[angeblancrose]

An Honest Brief Review Of TTPD

People are going to dive into the words and look for clues to try and string people and events together, but I'm not here to do that.

I'm here to talk about the brilliant tapestry of words she's woven into this album, THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT.

Twists of Modern Poetry weaving in and out in a musical symphony. This was THE Taylor Swift album.

The songwriting, symbolism, and the aesthetic of it all encompass who she is as an artist in the music industry.

The whole album was compact and well intertwined from start to finish. You can count on Taylor Swift to make an album that is not only sonically cohesive or aesthetically pleasing but also contains songs that can exist even outside of the tracklist, on its own, with no context, whatsoever.

The whole promo leading up to release day and how she didn't put out any singles until today kept everyone on their toes, anticipating and wondering what this album is going to sound like. She's a Mastermind, no one can deny.

[cyarsk5230]

The Tortured Poets Department official reviews so far (Via theswiftmuseum):

100 - American Songwriter

100 - Rolling Stone

100 - The Arts Desk*

100 - The Independent

94 - Variety

90 - Sputnik

90 - The Irish Times*

85 - Under the Radar

80 - Clash

80 - Dork*

80 - Los Angeles Times

80 - The Guardian

80 - The Line of Best Fit

80 - The Observer

80 - The Telegraph

75 - AV Club

73 - Northern Transmissions*

70 - MusicOMH

60 - NME

60 - The New York Times

36 - Paste Magazine

* = Doesn’t count for Metacritic.

[shitapril]

okay so I finally got around to hate-watching season two of the summer I turned pretty this weekend and amidst the myriad of things that are wrong with it, here’s what I’ll be complaining about in this particular post -

they really had a full montage set on the beach whilst it snowed and they picked a taylor swift song and yet it wasn’t “snow on the beach” ? how’d you go so wrong ? what am I missing ?

[swiftieinbrazil]

The Tumblr's 2023 Year in Review is out! According to @fandom in the new category Musical Acts Taylor Swift was the musical act most discussed on Tumblr. Ps: this category replaced the previously separate Music Groups, Kpop, and Solo Acts lists. In the previously Solo Acts list, Taylor was the most discussed solo act in 2021 and 2022 (click here to see it).

Also, in the category Top 23 of 2023, @fandom revealed that Taylor Swift was the only artist on the list, being the 9th subject most discussed on Tumblr:

"Taylor Swift had kind of a big year, what with the albums, the epic global tour, and the movie and stuff. Fantastic work, @taylorswift, the Swifties on Tumblr thank you for everything."

[maanvinderpilania]

midnights (my version)

today 2 years ago taylor swift or if i say with respect "mother" released her tenth studio album titled "Midnights", a collection of songs she wrote on all her sleepless nights. So this album is mine in terms of when i say my midnights are also haunting just like hers. This is basically the first review of Taylor’s album that is basically about what I think, which song I most relates to and other things or whatever you call it, i don't have the exact word for it yet. I just love writing . I love writing poems, songs, stories and sometimes I even writes a script of a short film but I always scrap that because its not like I’m gonna be a writer for a film. or maybe I will, that's all in the future. Whatever, this review is basically the result of the urge to write something because whenever I’m bored, I don’t feel like doing anything else except I wanna write something whether it’s a poem or a song. And that’s is how I ended up writing three album worth songs which in my head are part of a same universe like as a Trilogy. I have only shared those with my friend Vishal and he loved all those. Taylor has officially ended the Midnights era by releasing a new album in April titled-“The Tortured Poet’s Department”, which is another level of songwriting, I will share my views in a future post.

I wouldn’t start by saying this album is amazing and blah blah blah but I will say this album is one of the most amazing pop album i've ever listened. This title for me might change in future as mother loves to change genres and creating amazing music haha. The greatest thing about Taylor’s albums are like you just can’t have a one favorite album. That’s what I personally thinks about because it all depends on seasons, your mood, the whole mess of feelings you are feeling. So if someone says their favorite album is Midnights, make sure you check on them. We all are great actors in our personal lives when it comes to expressing what we are really going through. We don’t like others to know what is bothering us as it takes a lot to explain to them and their reaction to what we say to them is a whole lot scary thing to think about. So most of us likes to keep things up to us only. The hardest part in the 24 hours is the Midnights, when you know everyone else is sleeping and you just know it is your time. You are now free to Cry alone in your room, nobody will ask you anything. As the album’s concept itself is about the 13th sleepless nights, the album is a sea of emotions. You cry listening to THAT song which you relates to the most. Midnights is an escape from the feelings that is keeping a hold on you. You cries and you let those emotions out but still some things can’t be replaced so there’s obviously that will keep you hold onto the memories of a person. The most relatable song on this album are: You’re On Your Own Kid, Bigger Than the Whole Sky, Dear Reader. If you don’t know the last two songs, they’re from the 3 AM edition of Midnights which is different from the Standard edition of Midnights.

The song Bigger Than The Whole Sky reminds me of a person who was the most important in my life and I never got to say goodbye to her. I miss her in my dreams and I never got to tell her how much i love her. I think of my mother whenever I listens to it. The song You’re On Your Own Kid makes me wanna hug a pillow and cry myself out because its not just a song, it is basically a story of every person who was made feel bad, whose ideas were undermined or who was being hurt by the words of other’s. I had friends who were kind in front of others but loved to talk shit about me, spread rumours about me and made fun of me, always making me feel like an outcast when i was trying to fit in. I wish I had never known them but the scars are here to stay and all you can do is move forward and never let anyone bring you down again. The song Dear Reader, is clearly a letter from the Mother to her fans and there is no reason to hate it. It would be stupid of you to hate it. The line “greatest of luxuries is your secrets”, hits me every time. Do not share your deepest secrets with anyone, even if you trust them. That’s what I always interpret this line as. And the most amazing part of the song is the bridge, “so I wander through the nights……”. You always don’t need someone to dedicate a song to. The best time to listen the Midnights is obviously the Midnight when the songs blast in your ears like a book full of messages to learn from every song. The album is for everyone who made feel that they’re the problem, that they’re the villain of the story, everyone who was made feel bad about themselves, everyone who was hurt from other’s views. As I earlier said, Midnights is a sea of emotions.

The collaboration between Lana Del Rey and Taylor Swift on this album is like a dream come true. Snow On The Beach never fails to make you feel you’re in love while listening the dreamy voice of Lana & Taylor. The song is magical itself and you feel like standing on a beach with cold breeze of air touching your face and you feel happy from inside with that one person. This interpretation is all based on imagination because I don’t have anyone to stand with someone on the beach and also like beach is hundreds of kilometres from the place i live in, funny haha. If you are a real swiftie, you surely would have listened to all the remixes of the Lavender Haze just like me and it gives you a party vibe every time you listen to it, where you are dancing with someone. For a delusional person like me, it’s enough to feel those feelings in my imagination. Every song on the album is like a story and in your head you can see them happening like a movie. Like in the song Maroon, when Taylor sings, “and I chose you the one, I was dancing with in New York, no shoes” never fails to give the feeling of how much that person is in love at that time and at the same time bringing us out of the feeling by singing “The rust that grew between telephones”.

If you ask me which songs should have had a music video then on my list Midnight Rain is at the top. Imagine Taylor standing in the Rain and singing this song like in the Delicate music video. The song is magical in itself, it expresses all the feelings without having any music video. Another song that I think should had a mv is Maroon. I just love everything about this song. There are still so many songs on this album that are left for me to talk about but I won’t do that. Sometimes good things should always be left for the interpretation of other peoples. Taylor makes us feel things, even if you have never felt those before. I can go on and one but I feel like I’m expressing too much about love which is basically not under my own right. below is the playlist of my version of the album that contains 13 songs which sums up my haunting midnights perfectly!!

[blossomingbooks]

Taylor Swift eras as books

Whether you're a fan or not, you definitely know about Taylor Swift's massive The Eras Tour, a show conceived to homage each "era" — that is, each album — from the artist's discography.

With that in mind (and because I am, in fact, a Swiftie), I thought it would be fun (that is, I couldn't resist) to connect each of those "eras" to a book that I've reviewed here on the blog.

After much deliberation and trying to think of the albums conceptually, lyrically and aesthetically, here are the conclusions that I came to:

1. "Taylor Swift" — Anne of Green Gables

For her self-titled and debut album, I tried to think of the most naïve narratives I had read, and so I naturally gravitated towards children's literature. From all that I've read in that genre, Anne Shirley seemed to me like the most fitting character for this album. After all, Swift's debut work is not only permeated by her inexperience and innocence, but also showcases some of the most intense emotions one feels, unfiltered, in one's youth. The song "Picture To Burn" could easily have been written during one of Anne's most raging fits, while "A Place in this World" perfectly describes L.M. Montgomery's orphan:

"I'll be strong, I'll be wrong, oh, but life goes on Oh, I'm just a girl trying to find a place in this world"

2. "Fearless" — Romeo and Juliet

Taylor Swift's sophomore album was an easy one to compare to a work of literature: romantic, brave and hopeful, it instantly transports one to the setting of a love story. And that is, of course, the title of one of the main singles of the "Fearless" era. In the well-known hit "Love Story", Swift directly references one of the most famous romances in the history of literature: that of Romeo and Juliet, the titular characters in William Shakespeare's most famous play.

"Little did I know that you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles And my daddy said, 'Stay away from Juliet'"

3. "Speak Now" — Little Women

Swift's third album is her declaration of independence as a songwriter. Completely self-written, the lyrics are imbued with an intimate, confessional tone about the highs and lows of coming of age. Through this train of thought, it made sense to me to relate it to Louisa May Alcott's most famous novel, Little Women. The story of the four March sisters spans 10 years of their coming-of-age, much of it through the perspective of Jo (a very autobiographical character), the one who wants to become a writer and who eventually writes about their lives. "Never Grow Up" is a song that reminds me of this story:

"Take pictures in your mind of your childhood room Memorize what it sounded like when your dad gets home Remember the footsteps, remember the words said"

4. "Red" — The Scarlet Letter

"Faster than the wind, passionate as sin, ending so suddenly"

These lyrics from the album's titular song are a perfect summary for the affair between Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Apart from the obvious color parallelism, Swift's fourth album "Red" also deals with an intense and destructive romance. The story of the adultery committed by a married woman with a minister, which is considered sinful by the Puritan society which they inhabit, is very much "Sad Beautiful Tragic":

"And you've got your demons, and darling, they all look like me (...) What a sad, beautiful, tragic love affair"

5. "1989" — The Age of Innocence

Swift's fifth album brought a paradigm change for her music — just like Edith Wharton brought a paradigm change with this novel by being the first woman to ever win the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. 1989 is where Swift starts to address the repercussions of fame, which recalls the social performance and pressures of New York aristocracy in the Gilded Age. That's the setting for this novel, in which Newland Archer starts falling in love with Ellen Olenska, his wife's cousin. Seen by society as a "'Slut!'", Ellen is a very progressive free-spirit and their affair is very similar to the lyrics in "I Know Places":

"You stand with your hand on my waistline It's a scene and we're out here in plain sight I can hear them whisper as we pass by (...) Baby, I know places we won't be found"

6. "reputation" — The Phantom of the Opera

The rollout of Swift's sixth album was the most dramatic of her career. After a hiatus prompted by media scrutiny and celebrity feuds, she mysteriously blanked out all of her social media and created suspense by posting videos of snakes. The aggressive sounds and overall themes of rage and revenge in this album recall none other than "The Phantom" of the Opera himself, whose reputation precedes him. In Gaston Leroux's famous novel, the mystery of the Opera ghost keeps everyone on their toes, including singer Christine Daaé, who is haunted and kidnapped by the titular character.

"Knew he was a killer first time that I saw him Wondered how many girls he had loved and left haunted But if he's a ghost, then I can be a phantom Holdin' him for ransom"

7. "Lover" — Emma

In this Jane Austen novel, matchmaker Emma Woodhouse plays cupid for everyone around her but wants no romance for herself. Described as high-spirited and “an imaginist”, her lively personality matches the bubbly and dreamy aesthetic of Swift's seventh studio album. Containing some of her funniest lyrics, Lover is very fitting for this 19th century comedy of manners. Emma's ultimate self-discovery, about her feelings for long-time family friend Mr. Knightley, turns her into the one thing she never expected to be: a lover.

"I've been the archer I've been the prey Who could ever leave me, darling? But who could stay?"

8. "folklore" — Circe

Reading this book was a wild experience, because so many parts of this Greek mythology figure's story kept reminding me of folklore lyrics. It got to the point of me creating a Circe playlist with 12 tracks from the album, arranged in the order of where they fit in the narrative. It starts with her parents, Helios (personification of the sun) and the naiad Perse, and it spans thousands of years, including Circe's exile (!) to an isolated island (which in turn feels a lot like "the lakes"). Later, I couldn't help but listen to "august" and "cardigan" through the lens of her relationship with Odysseus. But it's "my tears ricochet" that resonates most perfectly with her plotline:

"We gather here, we line up, weepin' in a sunlit room And if I'm on fire, you'll be made of ashes, too (...) I didn't have it in myself to go with grace And so the battleships will sink beneath the waves"

9. "evermore" — To the Lighthouse

This Virginia Woolf novel is as melancholic and introspective as Swift's most wintery album. In the first part of the narrative, I couldn't help but think that Mrs. Ramsay would find some catharsis in the lyrics of "tolerate it"; while, parallelly, unmarried young painter Lily Briscoe does her portrait. In the final part of the narrative, on the other hand, "happiness" would echo in my mind, for reasons I won't spoil.

"I sit and watch you readin' with your head low (...) I sit and watch you I notice everything you do or don't do (...) Use my best colors for your portrait"

10. "Midnights" — Madame Bovary

This was the hardest album for me to choose a book for, probably because I find it to not be as thematically cohesive as the others. However, Gustave Flaubert's anti-heroine quite literally fits Swift's lead single for Midnights: Emma Bovary's actions are heavily scrutinized by her judging provincial neighbors. Moreover, the "antihero" trope was popularized by Romanticism, a movement embodied by the protagonist herself in this Realist critique.

"It's me, hi. I'm the problem, it's me At tea time, everybody agrees I'll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero"

11. "The Tortured Poets Department" — The Yellow Wallpaper

Ironically, for Swift's longest album I chose the shortest book of this list. That's because Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story perfectly encapsules the trope of the madwoman, which is the starting point of this album. The music video for its lead single, "Fortnight", portrays Swift in a mental facility, while in the album's prologue she mentions a "temporary insanity" and a "manic phase". The Tortured Poets Department also has some of her saddest, most heart-wrenching music; fittingly, the protagonist in "The Yellow Wallpaper" starts the narrative with a nervous depression that slowly turns into madness:

"You don't get to tell me about sad (...) You don't get to tell me you feel bad Is it a wonder I broke? Let's hear one more joke Then we could all just laugh until I cry So I leap from the gallows and I levitate down your street Crash the party like a record scratch as I scream 'Who's afraid of little old me?'"

[album-a-day-project]

10/20/22

Taylor Swift

Midnights

====

Songwriting is really shining in this album. The lyrics are really coming through for me. Absolutely no folk and has a lot of bass in tracks and even R&B influences with synths. Sounds a bit like a Billie Eilish album especially with the track 'Vigilante'.

9/10

[creativedifferencespodcast]

Taylor Swift is a solo act, but not a solo act. You know what I’m saying? Every music artist needs their band and background vocalists to support them and give us the full musical experience of their artistic vision. Taylor Swift happens to have one of the best teams in the business. What do you think? Check out our review of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert film.

[poppletonink]

TRACK REVIEW: Hits Different - Taylor Swift

★★★★★ - 5 stars

Following the success of Midnights as an album and amidst The Eras Tour, Taylor Swift released the Til' Dawn Edition of Midnights, including a much-awaited song from The Vault: Hits Different. It's a song that had circulated the internet for months before; short snippets created an instant need to sing and dance, with listeners basking in the relatability of their lyrics. On the 26th May 2023, it was released in full, showing once more that Taylor Swift is a master of her craft (not that this was a fact in question). Despite the happy facade the music creates, the lyrics of Hits Different completely juxtapose the upbeat nature of the song, telling a tale of heartbreak, of driving yourself crazy trying to get over someone. The guitar strings at the beginning of the song are the first indication of the depressing nature of it; still happy in a way but slowed as if something is weighing it down. The bridge, as ever with Taylor's music, is immaculate with "argumentative, antithetical dream girl" being one of the most inventive lyrics of the entire song. Not that this is the only creative lyric, what with the metaphors to describe the pain of heartbreak throughout the song as a whole and the incredibly clever use of double negatives (like "and I never don't cry"). Frankly, Hits Different is the perfect song for an English teacher to dissect - they would truly adore it simply for its use of linguistic techniques. It's the perfect summer song; the perfect dancing song and the perfect song to scream your lungs out to and it's one to add to your playlist without question.

[nourinareviews]

Movie: Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour

Watch Full Movie Free: https://bit.ly/taylor-swiftthe-eras-tour

[musicalthought]

album review; taylor swift's midnights

☆ 9.6/10

♡ electronica; chill-out; synth-pop; dream-pop

♡ released in october 2022

Every time Taylor Swift comes back, she manages to one up herself. Every track on this album feels like a “deep cut” in one way or another. Almost two decades into her career, and each release sounds as fresh and new as the current top 10 on Billboard. Maybe that’s why she’s dominating the first, what, 20 spots currently?!?

A song by song review can be found under the cut. My personal favorites are Maroon, Snow on the Beach, You’re On Your Own, Kid, Midnight Rain, Labyrinth, Karma, Sweet Nothing, Bigger Than the Whole Sky, Paris, High Infidelity. My least favorite is Mastermind, and Glitch.

Lavender Haze -> 9.5/10

Maroon -> 10/10

Anti-Hero -> 9/10

Snow On the Beach -> 10/10

You’re On Your Own, Kid -> 10/10

Midnight Rain -> 10/10

Question…? -> 9.75/10

Vigilante Shit -> 9.5/10

Bejeweled -> 9.7/10

Labyrinth -> 10/10

Karma -> 10/10

Sweet Nothing -> 10/10

Mastermind -> 8/10

The Great War -> 9/10

Bigger Than the Whole Sky -> 10/10

Paris -> 10/10

High Infidelity -> 10/10

Glitch -> 8/10

Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve -> 9.9/10

Dear Reader -> 9.5/10

Hits Different -> 8.8/10

[ecreau]

December 31: State of Grace

I wanted this blog to be the most special because it would be my last blog this year and next year. I decided to be on hiatus next year to rest, to regain my creative juices. Though every artist needs to recharge, I had the most fun doing my 365-day drawing challenge.

Do not worry, though, because I have scheduled surprises once a month to make this blog active! Until then, I hope you guys keep healthy, fun, and optimistic this coming 2023! It's the bunny year (in the Chinese zodiac sign)! I hope 2023 will be as cuddly and adorable as a bunny, haha; my fingers are crossed.

Anyway, I would divide this blog into three sections: announcement, recommendations, and message. I am excited to share my thoughts, so here it goes!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The first announcement

As I mentioned, I will be less active next year on my social media accounts. However, I would still post surprises once a month to keep a few of you who support my blog active. Yay!

Second announcement

I will close some social media accounts next year, specifically Twitter and YouTube, as I want to focus more on Tumblr, Deviantart, and Instagram.

Third announcement

I am still deciding whether to change my blog's name. Until then, let's see what happens from 2023 to 2024!

RECOMMENDATIONS

This has been a tradition for me to list everything I wanted to recommend to you guys.

Podcast

Talks in Class by Jenna Barclay

If you are a millennial like me, this podcast is perfect for you. Ms. Jenna is probably the mother of the early 2000s nostalgia for me! She's funny, creative, and witty! Listen to her podcast and reminisce about your cringe early 2000s memories.

The Bald and the Beautiful with Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamo

I am not a follower of drag race, but I love these two fabulous creative queens. Suppose you like listening to random and crazy topics about life, the internet, mainstream media, or anything. In that case, this podcast is totally for you. There are no boring seconds in this podcast. You'd cry while laughing so much.

Eons: Mysteries of Deep Time

Fossils, dinosaurs, cavemen, and whatever knowledge from the past you wanna know, Eons doesn't disappoint, as always. I love their YouTube channel I am glad they now have a podcast. I wish they would continue uploading more content on Spotify. Totally worth your time.

The Kit & Krysta Podcast

If you followed Nintendo Minutes on YouTube, you would recognize these two amazing people. Do you like Pokemon? Zelda? Or any games? This podcast is totally for you! I love how I also learned some tips about games because of them.

Series

That 70's Show

I just started this series and am now in season four going five. I love this because, as someone who wasn't born this year, I appreciate all the popular things in the 70s. I love the cast and the writing because the tone is similar to Malcolm in the middle. You won't know what's coming next, haha! My favorite character is Kitty Foreman! :D

Wednesday

I love this series. I was iffy to watch this because I thought it would be full of gore, but it wasn't! I also like the casting here. It's close to the comics! I love actor Hunter who played Tyler. He is so hot and talented!

Adventure Time

I know I am 10 years late or something, haha! But I really loved Cartoon Network in the 2010s; they had such good shows. I am glad I watch this series without commercials or a season break. If you like Steven Universe, Regular Show, Adventure Time would be your thing too! It's so good!

Albums/Songs

Midnights

My first Taylor Swift album. I have previously listened to her album but have yet to be this in-depth. I just turned into a Swiftie now. Almost all my liked songs on Spotify are from her! I love Karma, Hits Different, and You're on your own, Kid.

Red

I am 5 to 6 years late, but this is my favorite album this year. I love almost all the songs here. Taylor Swift, you are talented! My favorite songs are State of grace, Red, and Message in the bottle.

The Loneliest Time

I love Carly so much! This album is such a chill vibe for me. 10 out of 10 for me!

Celestial

Ed Sheeran doesn't disappoint! I was happy when he released a song for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. It's so nostalgic same with Post Malone's music for Pokemon.

That's all my recommendations this year that I have listened to and watched many times. I would love to have a book recommendation soon as well!

MESSAGES

I always say this, but I am genuinely happy even though I have few followers on my social media accounts. You guys still make time to respond, like, and share my artwork. I cannot thank you enough for doing this. I often feel emotional every time I get likes passed 10. It is silly, but your 'likes' and 'follows.' Make artists like I inspired and fuel me to do more creative stuff.

Thank you so much for being part of my 2022 adventure. It was not a perfect year, but we had fun learning from our mistakes, challenges, and goals. 2023 would again be our year together.

This blog's title it's inspired by Taylor Swift's song in the Red album, State of Grace. It's one of my favorite songs of hers, especially the lyrics, "This is the golden age of something good and right and real" I wanted to manifest this next year. Let's go, 2023!

Talk to you later!

- Please do not repost my artwork/design. Ask me first. ⁠

Thank you!⁠

-

Linktree(if the link does not work please remove href)

“Nostalgia is my favorite thing."

[daydream-averyjane]

This is my current ranking of Taylor Swift’s albums. My ranking changes all the time based on which album matches what I’m going through at the time, so I’m also going to include my previous album ranking.

1. Red

2. Speak Now

3. 1989

4. Folkevermore (I refuse to rank them separately but I do think Folklore is better)

5. Reputation

6. Fearless

7. Midnights

8. Lover

9. Debut

(Sometimes I place Lover above Midnights. When I’m feeling crazy like when in my previous ranking. I sometimes rank Lover higher than Fearless, based mainly on the fact that Lover contains the National Anthem aka Cruel Summer and the intergalactic slays that are False God, Death By a Thousand Cuts, Miss Americana, London Boy, and I Think He Knows.)

My Previous Ranking of Taylor’s Discography

1. Folkevermore

2. Red

3. Reputation

4. 1989

5. Speak Now

6. Lover

7. Fearless

8. Midnights

9. Debut

~💖

[discocandles]

So as I've continued my escapades through Carly Rae Jepsen's discography(read: I'm hyper fixated and making it everyone else's problem), I noticed something. A small overlap really, but I'm wondering if there's more, or if I'm just overthinking. It could be either.

So on the loneliest time, the second track is named Joshua tree. And it talks about someone leaving their home for Joshua tree, CA to have some freedom from their regular life, in reference to quarantine. Which is exactly what happened when 5SOS was making 5sos5. They all left LA for Joshua tree, CA to make their album by themselves with more artistic freedom and no set deadlines to make music.

And both things seem to have happened at about the same time, given both albums were in production in the same span of time(2020-2022) and were released about a month apart(5sos5 in September 2022 and the loneliest time in October 2022). This is the small overlap that I'm talking about, and it's making me question if one lead to the other, or if it's a coincidence.

So I did some surface level research on Joshua tree and musicians. And it's not uncommon for artists and musicians to visit Joshua Tree, California. This could be due to the symbolism the Joshua tree holds. Apparently, it is "a symbol of faith for thriving against adversity (...and) that beauty and life can still flourish in the most challenging of times and environments."

I can see why Carly would choose to reference Joshua tree, since the loneliest time is her hope for flourishing in a difficult time and environment. And I can see how 5sos decided to go to Joshua tree to make their album, as a way to grow themselves when it was nobody but them there to ease the terrain.

I highly doubt I'm the first person to notice this, but the fact these two things happened so close to one another is interesting to me. I wonder if one lead to the other, or if it was simply happenstance. If Carly heard that 5SOS was leaving for Joshua tree to make their album, decided to research it and found the Joshua tree symbolism fit well with her themes in the loneliest time or if one of the guys in 5sos heard that Carly Rae Jepsen made a track called Joshua tree for her album, decided to do some research, and proposed going there to make 5sos5, which the others then agreed to. I have no earthly idea how that would've happened, as they made the albums with entirely different producers and companies, but that doesn't mean the grapevine doesn't exist.

Anyway that's what has been occupying my brain for the last little while.