We Knew She Was a Mastermind: The "Midnights" Breakdown

This week, Ellie and Carrie continue their exploration of the Taylor metaverse by dissecting tracks 1-13 of the Midnights album. They discuss Taylor’s favorite images and leitmotifs — cages, towns, rain, the color gold, etc. — that recur throughout her discography and contextualize this album as part of a larger body of work. They mine her sonic imagery to examine how a song’s style might reinforce its substance and search for hidden meaning behind her poetic expression. But most importantly, they unpack the “sexy baby” conundrum and Taylor’s unapologetic embrace of both her carbon footprint and her cringe-y era. Topics discussed include the Lavender Scare and Gaylor theories, the body positivity movement’s reclamation of the word “fat,” Lana del Rey and the hyper-normative-feminine, and the enduring power of the inimitable Laura Dern.