#like people talk about how one of the themes is don't pursue aesthetic for aesthetics sake

[thefantasticaldianadiane]

you ever read a book and look at the fandom and think “wow so I am the only one who understood this correctly”

#this is about the secret history #donna tartt #for me its multiple things #its the uwu ification of the greek class #its the complete lack of understanding of the themes #like people talk about how one of the themes is don't pursue aesthetic for aesthetics sake #but I haven't seen anyone talking about the whole point of the plot #which is that these people #are so insulated in their own power and privilege #that they are just fine with having mutilated a man #like the novel has every indication that the only feelings they have about the first murder are selfish ones #how the sight of the gore makes them feel #and there is no sympathy for this man #at least not genuinely #I just think it is so funny how the book sets up this excellent comparison #between bunny's death and the vermont guy's death #and how the system on so many levels treats things differently #and how the greek class reacts differently #and no one wants to talk about it #because even when they are critiquing the book they cannot divorce themselves from the fact that the aesthetic dictates they care only about #bunny corcoran #idk #i wish there was more genuine discussion online about class and morality in this book #and less flooding of pictures of tweed

[popstarryeyed]

second impression of midnights (more favorable)

lavender haze - i think i would've liked this better as a track off reputation. like now taylor writing about her reputation is overdone but the idea of falling in love while the world hates you is actually compelling. i love "delicate". objectively it's not a bad concept for a song. it's also very jack antonoff-y production wise and i don't mind that but it is very noticable.

maroon - still can't get over "so scarlet it was maroon". not the same color! also one of the things i find fun about taylor swift is her continuity with imagery and theme, and in "daylight" she talks about how she used to think love was burning red (like the song and album red) but it's golden. i don't know how maroon fits into that established color imagery.

anti-hero - the first few lyrics are a bit too hashtag-relatable (saying the word depression directly instead of just describing the experience) but overall i really like the song. i feel like people might think the sexy baby/monster on the hill line is cringe but i actually really love it bc i can totally see tall 30-something taylor swift feeling odd and ungainly next to younger music industry girls. and as a fat woman in my late 20s, i definitely feel that way sometimes about college students on the train. the music video skit IS cringe though

snow on the beach - it's pretty, but saying it's featuring lana del rey is laughable. if i didn't know she was on there i wouldn't have noticed.

you're on your own, kid - kind of growing on me. i've certainly felt alone a lot of the time. i like that this album is giving some insight into taylor swift as a kid being kind of lonely and weird. when she first got famous, i saw her as a very normal popular girl but a) i don't know what she was like pre-fame and b) getting famous at a young age would make you weird.

midnight rain - i really want to love this bc the lyrics and concept are so good. taylor swift thinking back to someone who wanted a more stable life but she wanted to pursue her music career and how they just had such wildly different priorities. i love the imagery of sunshine and midnight rain to convey this distance, reminds me of that verse from "your best american girl" ("you're the sun / you've never seen the night / but you hear its song from the morning birds"). and i can totally imagine that she still thinks about it sometimes because pursuing her fame has also fucked her over. BUT that pitch-shifted voice. it's not the worst pitch-shifted voice i've heard but i don't like it and i think the song's lyrics would hit harder if delivered more directly.

question - this is good, asking a past fling for closure makes sense with the whole midnights thing. i like when taylor gets pointed

vigilante shit - it's so...revenge as aesthetic. like she does some interesting stuff on the song, revealing her ex's crimes, teaming up with his ex-wife, but the way it comes back to how she's dressed makes it so hollow. like it's not a story about her getting revenge, it's about the aesthetic of being a vengeful woman. like scary scary sexy lady from crazy ex-gf but not a joke. "mad woman" does the "aren't you tired of being nice? don't you want to just go apeshit?" theme better, and "no body no crime" has an actual revenge storyline. this does neither.

bejeweled - i like it. flex on that loser

labyrinth - not particularly memorable

karma - sounds lovely but i don't love the smugness

sweet nothing - i think this is about how the world expects so much of her but this partner expects nothing and it's so comfortable. but idk. something rubs me the wrong way about it. especially the bit about people asking her to do more but she's too soft for it. like obviously i get the appeal disconnecting from the world to be with your partner but that's not a solution to the world's problems

mastermind - i like this one. i get it, trying to orchestrate things because you don't get things if you don't.

the great war - i still like this one a lot. maybe my fave overall.

bigger than the whole sky - still good.

paris - again with the whole "i'm totally disconnected from the world with my boyfriend" thing. except paris is, in fact, a part of the world.

high infidelity - i like this one better on second listen. rolling eyes at a jealous lover like do i have to tell you every detail of my life? ugh!

glitch - i like it. the idea that falling in love is some flaw in the plan, some electronic glitch in your programming - i feel it.

would've could've should've - i totally understand why this relationship is still bothering her over a decade later. i still listen to dear john and feel homicidal.

dear reader - i don't like songs where the singer just gives you advice. it's always so trite.

overall i am far more positive on it than i was. still think there's some filler and weak songs, but hey, that's typical for a taylor swift album

#nina's musical log #taylor swift