Midnights

Kalie dives into Midnights, the new album by Taylor Swift and shares her favorite songs- as well as giving updates on some of her own

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey guys, this is Kaylie Short and you're listening to
too much to say have questions it out you? Okay,
So I promised this last week. This is my episode

(00:22):
on Midnight's by Taylor Swift. Um, we're going to be
talking about the three Am edition because I have to
comment on those songs too. Also there's some of my favorites,
so that is the version we will be talking about today. Um.
I'm I love this so much. Um, I just like,
I mean, all of y'all know I'm a huge Taylor

(00:44):
Swift fan. Like, but this is a really really cool
album and it definitely feels like a huge step for her.
Although I will say, um, and this isn't a criticism,
but this is like my critical observation, but there's not
really that much different sonically than stuff that she's done before.
But it does feel like an album full of like

(01:06):
the best electropop moments that Taylor Swift has had in
her career. So she's not reinventing the wheels sonically, but
these are a turn and lyrics for her. I feel
like she took the best parts of her writing on
Folklore and made them very personal because Folklore was a
lot of characters, and you know, I'm sure there are
things pulled from her real life. I mean there's ones

(01:27):
that are obvious, but this is special because it really
feels honest to her and obviously, like we all want
to peek behind the curtain and know what's going on
in Taylor's life, and her songs are the best way
to do that because she's a rather private person, which
I respect. But it's nice to be letting, you know,
it's nice to be letting. So I'm going to start

(01:49):
with my top five, which is hard to narrow down. Um,
this is okay. I'll do my top five including three
M edition, and then I'll do my top five with
out it so um, including the three AM edition, so total,
You're on your Own Kid number one, number two, Anti Hero,
number three, Bejeweled, number four, The Great War, number five,

(02:13):
could have, should have, would have. So without three AM songs,
it's You're on your Own Kid, Anti Hero, Bejeweled, Midnight Rain,
and Karma. So I love them. I think they're so
strong lyrically. The reason I picked Your on your Own
Kid as the first song is because well, I relate

(02:34):
to it. It's written about Nashville and her like you know,
moving there and having these dreams and being in the
music industry and whatever. Like the sing my songs in
a parking lot. I have sang my songs in many
parking ones. Um. It was just a very specific line
that I really related to. And I love the turn
at the end because it's like, I'm I need to

(02:54):
hear that sometimes that like I have myself, like just
because I'm alone doesn't mean that it's a bad thing. Um.
But I also am happy to see her come to
that conclusion as like someone who is way too personally
invested in Taylor soss mental health for someone who doesn't
know her. Um, I just love it. Anti Hero is

(03:14):
so honest. And she said this when she was like
doing the teasers. But she was like, this is some
of the most like vulnerable, honest writing I've done before.
And I was, you know, whenever an artist says that
myself included, sometimes it's like okay, and then you listen
to the song and it's like a song, you know,
But this one really really was what she said it was,
which is like definitely a she pulled the curtain back

(03:39):
a lot more than she normally does. I mean, this
one feels like she's breaking fourth wall and I just
love it. I love the honesty. I relate to it. Um,
the It's Me high, I'm the problem. It's Me is
so hilarious. And I love all the TikTok's I've seen. Um.
I don't think Taylor Swift ever would write a song
with TikTok in mind, but if she had, this one
was genius. Um. But Jeweled is like, I love it

(04:03):
because it's like you're in a relationship. You know, I'm
in a relationship, and sometimes you feel taken for granted,
whether you are truly or not. Um. I have many
perceived slides that might not be slights, but it's nice
to remember that, like, you know, like I still got it,
Like I don't need to go cheat on you to
prove that. At my ex boyfriend, I wish she could
have taken the shortcut there, but um, it's just nice

(04:26):
to remind yourself that, Like you know, I've always been
of the mindset where I don't need the person i'm with,
I just really want them, um, And I think that
that's more important. And actually, my ex boyfriend needs to
get really mad when I would say that, because he'd
be like, well, I need you and like you don't
need me, and I'm like, well, I'm just saying like
I'm not gonna die if you leave. Clearly I didn't,
but I was like, you know, I want to be here,

(04:48):
and I feel like that's better because like, if I
need to be here, I'm dependent on you. You can
need something and not want it, and you can want
something and not need it. And so I really like
that song. I feel like it's super empowering for anybody
who just needs to remember that they got a little sparkle.
And I love that Dita Vonte's was in the music video.
She's like one of my favorite um I don't know

(05:10):
what you call her, like a personality, but her her
whole aesthetic is so cool. Um The Great War. I
love this one because, uh, my boyfriend Sam and I
went through a really, really tough period last year and
we hung on through all of it, but it was
like hard, like we were both growing and felt feeling

(05:31):
growing pains, not even necessarily within the relationship, but like
with ourselves in the way that we interacted with the
world and the way that our values are kind of different.
We grew up really different, and so I am a
you know, wartime child, and he is a sun sunshine child,
and sometimes he has to tell me that the world
isn't all bad. Sometimes I have to remind him that

(05:53):
the world isn't all good. And it took us a
long time to get to that simple of a fucking conclusion.
But UM, I love this song because it's like, that's
how I feel about about him. So I feel about
Sam and just like what we've been through, and it
just was a really really beautiful love song because it's real.

(06:13):
I've talked about this before, but like, I don't want
to write love songs that are just one dimensional. I
think that love deserves more than that. And we write
about multifaceted love when we're talking about it ending, So
why don't we talk about multifaceted love when it's happening.
So this is just like a beautiful song, and I
think a lot of people who've are in long term
relationships relate to it. Um last is because I should

(06:36):
have would have um give me back my girlhood it
was mine first, like broke me. Um. This one is
reminding me a lot of like the topics that people
have been talking about recently, like twenty nine by Demovatto.
I fucking love that song. I'm still obsessed with the album.
I went and saw them play with them my bestter

(06:56):
and Candy at the Rieman in Nashville last week and
it was amazing. Um, But like that song was such
an emotional moment for people, and I know that this one,
if Taylor plays it on the Era's tour, will be
a really emotional moment because it's something we don't talk about, Like,
I mean, I talked about it all the time. I
have my song eighteen, which I wrote about something similar,

(07:17):
but it's like the like someone doesn't have to be
a pedophile to take advantage of your age. Like I
don't think that my ex boyfriend is a pedophile. I
don't think he would ever be attracted to a child
and someone who looked like a child. I don't think
that's like his thing. I do think that he like

(07:39):
gets off on the power and balance and if you're
in your thirties and you're dating a fucking nineteen year
old and getting mad when she writes songs about it,
like come on, you know. And so this song was
just like I mean, it's so it's so sad because
it has been so long since what I assumed Taylor's
writing the song about. But it's been a long time

(08:00):
since I've had my stuff happen. It's been a long
time since Demi Botto had their stuff happened. And it's
still impacts you and the older you get. And you know,
she's she's the age of the person she was dating
at nineteen now and she has to like look at
an nineteen year old and be like what the fuck? Like,
I mean, that's how I feel when I even when
I was like twenty two, I'd look at eighteen year

(08:21):
old and I was like, you're a literal child. I
mean one time when I was twenty three, I had
a nineteen year old literally throw themselves at me, and um,
I felt so bad and I didn't want to hurt
their feelings, so I pretended that I had to vomit,
which highly recommend if you're ever trying to get out
of like an awkward situation. But I felt so weird.

(08:42):
I was like, that's a teenager, you know, like, and
that was the same age difference between me and my
ex boyfriend. So I think that the for or like
the hindsight that Taylor has in this song is what
makes it so fucking amazing And like this song couldn't
have been written on speak Now because she wasn't far

(09:02):
enough away from the situation. Um. And then the honorable
mentions Karma. I mean, I just love that and like
Karma is a cat purring on my lap because it
loves me. It's just it's so good. I mean, I
have so many people that I would like want to
add in that song, and it's just like a nice,
fun revenge bop, which I love. I'm a big I'm

(09:25):
a big revenge gal, you know. Um like revenge by
success prefably um. And then Midnight Rain, I mean, I
just relate to that so deeply. That feels like the
story of me and any boyfriend before sam Um, I
knew I was gonna end up with a songwriter who
was I ever freaking kidding. We're gonna take a break
and then we'll be right back with more. I'm Kaylie

(09:45):
short And this is was to say, so an observation
I've had about this album is and this might just
be me, but I kind of had it in my
head that Taylor Swift was that morning person, Like she

(10:06):
seems like she has her ship together and like would
wake up really early and like you know, journal in
front of the window with the cats and like you know,
make a sensible breakfast. But Taylor Swift has been screaming
at us that she's an insomniac since her first album.
I mean, like everything is like screaming and crying, kissing

(10:29):
in the rain, too am, cursing your name and um,
like when we're fighting in the street at two am
and the Mind music video, like, I mean, it's just
all very like late night things. And so this album
is like, you know, a collection of late nights over
her entire career, and it's like, oh, there's probably been
a lot of late nights and Taylor Swift does not
have a normal sleep schedule, and just because she seems

(10:49):
like she has it all put together. But then what's
interesting to me is like, because if Taylor Swift an insomniac,
Taylor Stiff probably sleeps in and I just can't picture that.
And I know I probably not a little crazy right now,
but this was like my big takeaway. I was like,
oh my god, Taylor Swift is not a morning person.
Like she's giving morning person energy for sure, but she's not. Um,

(11:11):
I'm so excited about the tour to um, I have
a Capital One card, which is the only way I
can afford these tickets, so um, but I get the
pre sale access so we will see. Wish me luck. Um.
She just added another Nashville Day, which is great in
another l a date, so I have like many options
for which one to go to, but I would really

(11:33):
like to go to the Nashville one to see my
um my friend Gail play. I'm so proud of her.
I know this is such a huge deal for her.
She's always fucking love Taylor Swift, and I mean her
playing in a stadium is so big and exciting and
I'm just so proud of her. Um. But yeah, it's

(11:53):
gonna be a really cool tour. I'm so excited to
see what she does. I mean, she's never done like
a sent really like Greatest Hits tour, which is sort
of what this is without being that it's cooler. Um.
I think it'll probably still have a lot more to
do with Midnights, and she might if I had to guess,
I think she might end up like picking her Midnight's

(12:15):
type songs to play on here, so like out of
the Woods from like for sure, um, like, okay, let's
see I mean last kiss from Speak now, I mean
like stuff like that, like songs that have similar themes
as midnights. Um, I'm so excited, obviously all too well,
I mean, if we don't get the ten minute version,

(12:37):
which I realized is probably a lot for her to
perform every night, but like, it's so good. The only
other ten minute song that I listened to willingly like
frequently is Constantine by Something Corporate, which is also a
great song, but I mean usually ten minutes is too
fucking long first song. So um, it's impressive when someone
can pull it off. But I really, I really want

(12:58):
to see that live. I know we got that so
all performance, and I know that I should be thankful
that we got the time and aversion at all, but
I want to see it live. So we're gonna take
another quick break and then we'll go back. I'm gonna
fill you guys in on what I've been doing, um
since I've been back in Los Angeles, since I'm back home,
and tell you about some exciting things. Okay, so a

(13:31):
couple updates, one of which is not little best thing.
But if you guys could send some well wishes to
my kittie cat Monkey. He's sleeping on the bed behind me. Um,
he's my best bud. We don't know exactly how old
he is, mostly because we just don't remember. And my

(13:53):
house burned down when I was nine, so we lost
like pictures and videos and so like, there's no like
paper trail of when he was born. But he was
I descendant of one of our very first cats. So
my cat that I that was around when I was born,
her name was Willie. Willie had a cat named Princess

(14:13):
Lily of the Valley. Princess Lily of the Valley had
a cat named um Powder Gray, and then Powder Gray
had Monkey. And he's a boy and he's fixed. So
he is the end of the line. But it was
I mean, his great great great grandmother was a great cat,
so were the other two. I mean they were always
my favorites and so UM, I think he's roughly twenty one.

(14:39):
I think I got him. I think I had him
when he was when I was seven, he was born,
So I've had him since like literally the day he
was born. Um, and he's gone all over with me.
He's gone Nashville. Um. I took him from Maine, from
my dad's house back in twenty nineteen, so we had
a period of separation. But he's he's the best, and

(15:01):
he has not been feeling super well. He's really stressed
because at our house in Nashville, one of my roommates
has a younger cat who was like, I'm obsessed with
this cat. Like his name is Squid, he's blind, he's precious.
He literally just ran in the house one day and
she facetimes me and was like, uh, what do I
do with this cat that just ran in the house.

(15:22):
I was like, well, I think you just got a cat.
So this feral cat just like picked her um, and
I just adore him, and he adores me back. He
also really adores Monkey. I don't think he knows how
old Monkey is either, because he's blind, um, and I'm
assuming they don't communicate those things, but he just wants
to be Monkey's best friend and play with him all

(15:42):
the time. And he's like Monkeys started jumping up on
the counters to like get away from him, and then Squid,
this fucking blind cat, figured out how to jump on
the counters and it's like hilarious to watch, but um,
it's been stressing Monkey out, so he's lost like a
lot of weight and he has a bald spot now
out and I just don't like seeing him look old.

(16:03):
He's I mean, I always remind myself the oldest cat
ever lived to be thirty six years old, and he's
only one. I mean, he seems really happy now. But
just send some good vibes because I'm pretty stressed about
that and I I just I just can't, I can't

(16:23):
think about it. Also, send some good vibes for Candy's
cat because Candy's cat is having some them health problems
as well. So Candy and I are a fucking collective
mess right now. Uh yeah. So anyways, but on the
good news front, my creative bug has returned. I have
ideas again. I know what I want to do for

(16:46):
the next project. I know what it's going to be called.
I know at least three of the songs that are
going to be on it. I don't know if it's
an eap here an album. I wanted to be an album,
but obviously albums cost more anyps. But I'm really excited.
It's not like anything I've ever done. The visuals that
I have in my head are going to be so

(17:06):
freaking cool. And I just like, over the past year
have just been so disconnected for myself as an artist.
I'm sure you guys have been able to sense that
from social media and my podcasts and whatever. Like I
just haven't felt like Kaylee. I felt like Kaylee Anne like,
and I've really enjoyed writing for other people and I've

(17:27):
been able to stay close to music and you know,
not had to do other stuff. I still have my
publishing deal, but I have not felt like myself and
so like playing shows, it feels weird because like, I
just don't I don't know, I haven't. I haven't felt
like myself. I haven't felt confident. Like I played a
show in l a and January and I like, I

(17:48):
had to have like three drinks before I went on stage,
which is not my normal vibe because I was so
nervous and you know, I'm sure I could have found
a healthier way do that, but that was what I
had on hand, and I did what I had to do.
Um and uh, I just like I was on stage
and I felt so nervous and I was like, everybody
hates me. I'm bad. And I think that it's stemming

(18:09):
from I played this gig during COVID at a like
in a hotel bar with Candy, and I didn't post
about it because I really just needed to do it
for money because I was I wasn't touring. I mean,
it's COVID, but I was just playing cover songs and
having to like play these like greated versions of things

(18:31):
because I don't get it because it was a bar
and there were never kids there, but like hotel guests
would get annoyed, and so like it really eliminates the
songs that you can sing, like it really does. And
one time this woman tried to have candy and I
fired for singing a clean version of wop because someone
tipped us hundred dollars to do it, and um, we

(18:52):
didn't even say We just said wet and gushy, like
we didn't even say like wet as bussy. And so
I think like all of that kind of turned into
me feeling insecure about writing authentic lyrics and that people
were going to be uncomfortable. And then I listened to
What's on the radio, you know, I mean the fucking
Dealer's Left album, you know, I mean, I will never

(19:12):
stop being so stoked that Taylor Slift says, I, well,
it feels so good and so like it's like Taylor
Sliff can do that, why can't I? Um, And so
playing the songs on the UK tour like that was
one of the only times I felt like an artist recently,
So that was really special. Um. But it feels good
to be like returning to some sense of like normalcy

(19:36):
with how my brain is functioning. I don't have a timeline, um,
I have to have some meetings next week about this,
but I mean I have ideas. I just recorded the
first song, like recorded recorded. I'm so fucking proud of it,
and I want you guys to hear it so badly. UM.

(19:56):
So we'll see TBD. I'll keep you updated on the podcast.
But the good news is I feel like I'm emerging
from whatever fucking cocoon I've been in for all of
twenty two and most of one. So UM, I love
you all, Thank you so much for listening. I'm Kaylie
shot and this is too much to say. We'll see
you next week, but don't go asking questions. Yes, I've

(20:20):
got to say, now tell it out you