Connecting Taylor Swifts Midnights With 13 Songs From Her Past
The New York Times Tracing the pop superstars evolution by connecting 13 of her newest songs to 13 from her past.
By Lindsay Zoladz
Dear listeners,
This past weekend, along with more than 200,000 people in the New York Metropolitan Area, I attended Taylor Swifts Eras Tour. I saw sights I will never forget: more than one person, in late May, dressed head-to-toe as a Christmas tree (an inside joke about Swift growing up on a Christmas tree farm I think?); a father proudly wearing a handmade shirt that read Real Men Listen to Taylor Swift; enough sequins-per-square-inch that, when the sun hit it right, MetLife Stadium could probably be seen from space.
But, of course, I also saw a generation-defining pop superstar performing at the top of her game, throughout a sprawling, near-three-and-a-half-hour set that highlighted her stylistic versatility, physical stamina and ongoing evolution as a songwriter.
Though Swift has long had a flair for both spectacle and intimacy in a live setting, what I couldnt shake (shake, shake) during this marathon 45-song set was how completely shes come into her power as a performer. She knows how and when to ham it up like the frequently memed moment when she gives her flexed biceps a kiss before donning a sparkly blazer for the synth-pop statement The Man but she also knows when to scale back, as she does during the beloved segment of the show when she accompanies herself on guitar and piano and plays two surprise songs. (Not to brag, but I got to see Holy Ground and False God.)
