by Nathaniel R
Do we have any Swifties amongst the readers? I personally rarely thought of Swift outside of liking a few hits but with the queer-ally song "You Need To Calm Down" followed by the double pandemic punch of the Folklore and Evermore albums, the common wisdom that she was a very talented songwriter finally pierced my consciousness where pop music is but a small niche (crowded out by cinema, tv, and theatre). Her new album "Midnights," which was immediately at the top of the charts giving her the most #1 albums of any woman (though she's tied in that with Barbra Streisand), is 20 songs long so it'll take a while to sink in.
But let's talk music videos. Taylor has always loved celebrity cameos (remember "Bad Blood" and its bevy of young actresses?) and the first two Midnights videos are star-studded fun...
"Bejewelled" features Oscar winner Laura Dern as evil "Stepmommy" to Taylor's Cinderella excuse me "House Wench Taylor" while in a funny casting joke, HAIM appear as her evil step-sisters. Taylor doesn't need a fairy godmother and gives herself the magical makeover while strutting through a room of ... you guessed it... jewels!
After which Taylor throws in a little something for cinephiles, lifting a bit from Nastassja Kinski in Coppola's One From the Heart, before joining background dancers for a 30s movie musical style stage routine.
If you've ever caught your inner saboteur in the act, and wondered why you can't get rid of them, you'll probably relate to the chorus of the brilliant "Anti-Hero". The video, as is Taylor's habit, takes things very literally and stages its hyper specific lyrical aside about her dream about ungrateful children killing her for her money. Comic actors John Early (Search Party), Mary Elisabeth Ellis (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), and comedian / storyteller Mike Birbiglia co-star with Taylor... and Bad Taylor... and Giant Taylor.