Anti-Hero

2022 - 10 - 22

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The Washington Post"

Why Taylor Swift's self-loathing 'Anti-Hero' already hit a nerve with fans (The Washington Post)

Taylor Swift revealed very little about her 10th studio album, “Midnights,” before it was released on Friday – she didn't sit for any interviews and just ...

In “Anti-Hero,” that honor went to the line, “Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby / And I’m a monster on the hill.” This was a new level of candor from an album that, as [multiple critics](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/taylor-swift-review-midnights-lyrics-b2207166.html) agreed in [early reviews](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/taylor-swift-midnights-1234611211/), was pretty dark music for Swift. “I’ll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror. “Not to sound too dark, but, like, I just struggle with the idea of not feeling like a person.” But you know, this song really is a real guided tour throughout all the things I tend to hate about myself. [usual cryptic hints](https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/10/20/taylor-swift-midnights-easter-eggs/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2) about what fans could expect.

Taylor Swift's Dream About Her Killer Daughter-in-Law Comes to ... (Vulture)

Taylor Swift released the music video for “Anti-Hero.” It also stars Mike Birbiglia, John Early, and Mary Elizabeth Ellis as Swift's sparring family at her ...

That vision comes to life in the “Anti-Hero” music video, with help from costars [Mary Elizabeth Ellis](https://www.vulture.com/2016/03/gilmore-girls-vulture-tv-podcast.html) (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), [John Early](https://www.vulture.com/2017/12/john-early-profile.html) (Search Party), and [Mike Birbiglia](https://www.vulture.com/2019/11/mike-birbiglia-new-one-netflix-comedy-review.html) (stand-up comedy) as Swift’s sparring family, left with nothing at her funeral. There is no secret encoded message that means something else.” It’s the first installment of [Swift’s star-studded visual album for Midnights](https://www.vulture.com/2022/10/taylor-swift-midnights-theories-clues-tiktok.html), which is also set to feature Laura Dern, Dita Von Teese, and the Haim sisters, among others. [As Taylor Swift told us on “Anti-Hero,”](https://www.vulture.com/2022/10/taylor-swift-midnights-album-stream.html) she has this pretty specific dream about her daughter-in-law killing her for the money, even though Swift didn’t even leave her any in the will. “Anti-Hero,” meanwhile, also stars a rowdy clone of Swift, a giant monster-on-a-hill version of Swift, and a bunch of ghosts. [Ranking Taylor Swift’s Swear-iest Midnights Lyrics](//www.vulture.com/2022/10/taylor-swift-sweariest-midnights-lyrics.html) [Everything We Know About Taylor Swift’s Midnights](//www.vulture.com/2022/10/taylor-swift-midnights-theories-clues-tiktok.html) [Taylor Swift Has Clocked In and Finally Released Midnights](//www.vulture.com/2022/10/taylor-swift-midnights-album-stream.html) [See All](//www.vulture.com/tags/midnights) “Yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s what mom would always do,” Birbiglia’s Preston agrees, before reading the postscript to her will: “P.S.

How Taylor Swift's “Anti-Hero” music video cashes in on Midnights ... (The A.V. Club)

Taylor Swift invites fans into the darkest part of her psyche in the "Anti-Hero" music video, starring John Early, Mike Birbiglia, and Mary Elizabeth Ellis.

[Midnight Rain](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MYZFOPgesg)”). In one scene of the video, her partying pop star alter ego gives a scolding shake of the head as she steps on a scale that reads “FAT.” Later, on the track “ [You’re On Your Own, Kid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cboN_o7CvU),” Swift sings, “I hosted parties and starved my body,” referencing the eating disorder she first disclosed in her documentary [Miss Americana](http://avclub.com/film/reviews/miss-americana-2020). On “Anti-Hero,” there’s something tragic about being too big to fail (“Pierced through the heart, but never killed”). “I wake up screaming from dreaming / One day, I’ll watch as you’re leaving / And life will lose all its meaning,” she sings. “I struggle with the idea that my life has become unmanageably sized,” she says in that same Instagram video. [Anti-Hero](https://www.avclub.com/taylor-swift-mad-men-midnights-track-inspiration-1849642378?_ga=2.198626031.1966672911.1666014527-1488648406.1652714420)” it becomes clear that the person she’s really desperate to have stay by her side is us, the audience. “This song is a real guided tour throughout all the things I tend to hate about myself.” “I just struggle with the idea of not feeling like a person,” Swift admits in an [that make me, ](https://youtu.be/TjLVEs9LHpw?t=149) [me](https://youtu.be/TjLVEs9LHpw?t=149),” as Swift herself would say: glitter, cats, multiple Taylors, an elaborately staged funeral, lots of wine. Club’s Saloni Gajjar writes in her [B+ review](https://www.avclub.com/a-review-of-taylor-swifts-album-midnights-1849681836), “Midnights is a giddy, buoyant, somewhat messy return to pop; a heartbreaking confessional gift wrapped with confetti.” It includes “all the things [Taylor Swift](https://www.avclub.com/taylor-swift-underrated-songs-obscure-tracks-1849666689?_ga=2.128354380.1966672911.1666014527-1488648406.1652714420) album is upon us, and the world has descended into Midnights mayhem.

Taylor Swift's 'Anti-Hero' challenge brings her new album to ... (Tubefilter)

Calling all Swifties: YouTube Shorts wants your submissions. The short-form platform has launched the #TSAntiheroChallenge, which is based around Swift's ...

She’s so popular on YouTube that she seems to bring views to channels [whose names resemble hers](https://www.tubefilter.com/2022/02/15/top-50-most-viewed-youtube-channels-worldwide-week-of-02-13-2022/). [#DoItLikeBaby](https://blog.youtube/creator-and-artist-stories/doitlikebaby-drops-today-only-on-youtube-shorts/) in order to celebrate the release of a new track from rapper Lil Baby. [reads a blog post published by YouTube](https://blog.youtube/creator-and-artist-stories/taylor-swift-youtube-shorts-tsantiherochallenge/). A YouTube Shorts campaign [headlined by Ed Sheeran](https://www.tubefilter.com/2021/10/25/youtube-teams-with-ed-sheeran-shorts-campaign/) led to [big viewership](https://themusicnetwork.com/ed-sheeran-equals-youtube-shorts/) for both parties. Like with short-form contests on platforms like Snapchat and Instagram, the #TSAntiheroChallenge will make use of a specific sound bite. As her tenth studio album arrives, the pop star is inviting her fans to share their most “anti-heroic” tendencies.

All The Easter Eggs In Taylor Swift's "Anti-Hero" Music Video (Seventeen.com)

Taylor Swift wrote and directed the music video for "Anti-Hero." Here are all the easter eggs we found in her new "Midnights" music video.

The lyrics of "The Archer" detail her insecurity about her relationships and experience with betrayal, as she sings "I've been the archer / I've been the prey." The 32-year-old musician pays homage to Marjorie with a photo of her hung on the wall behind her in "Anti-Hero," as pointed out by a fan on Twitter. ["The Archer"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KpKc3C9V3w) when a man shoots her with a bow and arrow in "Anti-Hero." If that isn’t enough, he's recording a podcast episode during the funeral on his phone, which fans think is a callout to Kim K recording her ex-husband Kanye's phone call with Taylor in 2016. "I just need to make a better record," she said in the documentary. In "Anti-Hero," her "daughter-in-law" is also named Kimber and could potentially be inspired by Kim Kardashian (whose full name is Kimberly, BTW). One of the first shots in "Anti-Hero" already seems to parallel Taylor's self-directed music video for her Lover track, "The Man" (which is also chock-full of Easter eggs, including one for her Midnights song, "Karma"). The latter is likely a reference to Taylor's own experience with her body image in the public eye, which she addressed in her 2019 documentary, Miss Americana. It's no mystery that Taylor is a highly respected award-winning artist, and in the past, she has been criticized for her success — notably at the Grammys. The sheeted ghosts all wear accessories that call back to Taylor's past eras, including a cowboy hat to represent her self-titled debut country album and cat ears and floral sunglasses that could be a direct reference to her original music video for "22." Part of Taylor's exciting release week festivities is the music video for "Anti-Hero," which was written and directed by the "All Too Well" filmmaker herself and features comedians Mike Birbiglia, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, and John Early. On top of that, her official fan page [Taylor Nation posted a calendar](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj0noTOr-1C) marked with important dates and fun Midnights events to look forward to, like appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and The Graham Norton Show.

Taylor Swift's "Anti-Hero" Music Video Is Now Out, So Here Are All ... (BuzzFeed)

"There's probably a secret encoded message that means something else."

A similar image popped up in her 2021 vault teaser and in the background for 2019's "Lover." It's likely that the beach house is referring to Taylor's real-life Rhode Island "Holiday House." The first music video of Taylor Swift's Midnights era is here!