miranda lambert

Did you see her last night on the CMA Awards? I really like the new album, but I thought her performance was off last night.

nope i don't believe they were broadcast in england

Oops, yeah, I hadn't thought of that. Forgot where you were. She sang that song last night.

I only recently noticed that little bit of tape-looped high-pitched something or other (flute) at the beginning and end of "Down." Nicely done.

It's half past ten, another six pack in

just kills me, it's rap-like in its internal rhyme and bluntness, it sounds like fat joe could say it

I need to hear this album. I was thinking of going to the record store and buying Britney Spears, Joni Mitchell, and Miranda Lambert.

put those women in a sack, throw them in the ocean, and see who survives.

also, you can sing these lyrics to the tune of "copperhead road"

also, you can sing these lyrics to the tune of "copperhead road"

which makes this at least the second time she's written a song threatening to commit violent revenge against her cheating man to the tune of a steve earle song. (and both of them are great.)

I love this album.

This album is great, especially any track where she goes all crazy vengeful fires-of-hell psychobitch.

Yeah, that's really novel.

those are my least favorite tracks!

(xpost) Boohoo. :_( Scary female country singers upset me.

Miranda Lamber is about as scary as a flannel shirt.

and as hot?

Initially disappointment that it wasn't a Stones covr, but it's pretty damn good.

disappointed

OFL the reliance on hot guitar riffs is a plus (not sure if the power chord-anchored John Prine cover is a minus though). Despite perfect lines like the one about the dog she buried in her backyard, "The House That Built Me" is a "Mama I'm Alright"-"Me and Charlie Talking" retread (I'd rather hear flinty-eyed autobiography from her than any other singer-songwriter her age though). I've warmed a little to "Dead Flowers."

The opening riff on "Maintain the Pain" (clunky title) is straight outta Rush, to these ears.

this rules, her best album by far

Yeah? Another one I plan on picking up tonight.

need to get this. i see she's covering one of my favorite fred eaglesmith tunes.

Better than Kerosene, almost as good as Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. I'm shocked, considering how lukewarm I initially responded to the singles.

Brilliant album, sceptical after singles as well. She's just doing the right thing here -- she couldn't possibly top Crazy-Ex on its own terms and seems to just play around here, vary her vocals, have a good time. Three superb albums in a row, where will it end?

I like it fine, but not nearly as much as the other two albums. (And "Maintain The Pain" actually reminds me more of Hole than Rush!)

My Spin review:

http://spin.com/reviews/miranda-lambert-revolution-columbia-nashville

And I say more (as do other people) here:

http://www.thesinglesjukebox.com/?p=1339

So chuck you'd rate them Crazy Ex-Girlfriend >>> Kerosene >>> Revolution ?

Probably. But really, the first two run about even for me; "Kerosene" itself is by far my favorite song by her, though the second album is slightly more consistent. Both made my top 10s the year they came out.

(Actually, Crazy Ex Girlfriend was my #7 album of 2007, and I'm pretty sure Kerosene was my #2 or 3 of 2005, though I'd have to dig out the list to make sure. It's possible 2007 had tougher competition though, who knows.)

After a couple of days spinning this it feels almost equal to the two others. I think 'Kerosene' is the prettiest and 'Ex-GF' the spiciest, and I take them both as different sides to her and wouldn't want to duel them. This is just so rich, though, I love the feel of her voice and the overall production.

Why was I crossing my fingers when I first put this on? Two excellent albums, can she keep it going? And she does. I feel the same with Brad Paisley's albums. This will end up in my Top 10 albums of the year, along with Paisley. It's funny, she's had only 1 Top 10 single on the Billboard Country charts (#7 "Gunpowder and Lead") but she's the most critically acclaimed female Country singer around.

My favorite tracks, fwiw (though definitely not in this order): "White Liar," "Only Prettier," "Me And Your Cigarettes," "The The Way The World Goes 'Round," "Time To Get A Gun." Pretty sure that none of these come anywhere near my favorite tracks on the first two albums, though.

I'm guessing the people who like the new album more than me also don't think it blands out toward the end (i.e., the last four tracks)? Curious what people hear in those, and in "Makin' Plans," which I also have basically no use for (at least not yet). Also think "Dead Flowers" is probably Miranda's worst (well, most mediocre) single ever.

I feel that way about "White Liar." It does tail off towards the end, but albums with more than twelve songs are, according to the Soto Book of Common Law, guilty until proven innocent. I'm also bored of her gun schtick.

To me, it's all about that middle part with the two-minute rockers: "Me and Your Cigarette," "Maintain the Pain," "Airstream Song."

"Maintain The Pain" is a little too grunge-draggy for me, I think, and "Airstream Song" a little too cutesy. Like them both okay, though, and I could change my mind. Do agree that the guns are getting old, but then again maybe she sticks with them because that's what she's good at.

I'm looking forward to hearing this.

Xgau in his new CG; I won't link to the MSN site, since whenever I go there I get virus alert messages:

Miranda Lambert: 'Revolution' (Columbia)
Grade: A MINUS

Of course she's quieting down as she grows up, plus covering her bases, so after half a dozen winners she levels off into a nine- song sequence that begins lame with "Makin' Plans," ends lame with "Virginia Bluebelle," and strides along quite nicely in between. And since growing up also means learning to hit your target without discharging your weapon, the grinning "Only Prettier" and the killer metaphor "Me and Your Cigarettes" establish a welcome lightness. In case you had any doubts, Lambert asserts her distance from Music Row by covering John Prine, Julie Miller, and Fred Eaglesmith, the last of whom buys her a gun. Which I guess is how it comes to pass that, in the one that she wrote with her squeeze, the girl catches the boy in bed with some other her and shoots that sinner dead.

Yeah, an A- is about right.

Yeah. Quite like this, although it does peter off towards the very end. The two minute blasts in the middle are the highlight (Me & Your Cigarettes and Airstream Song especially). Particularly like the Eaglesmith cover and Only Prettier for the ways they push my buttons and aggravate my oversensitive political dog whistle ears. Only Prettier is the first time I feel like the target of Miranda's evisceration and it stings.

This woman is a miracle of deliciousness!

Particularly like the Eaglesmith cover and Only Prettier for the ways they push my buttons

as an eaglesmith fan i think it'd be a mistake to hear that song as exactly pro-gun. it's really about a mostly futile reaction to powerlessness. "time to put something between me and the sun." (plus, it's funny.)

Her voice does a good job of mediating too.

Lambert asserts her distance from Music Row by covering John Prine, Julie Miller, and Fred Eaglesmith

Not sure I buy this, btw. Toby Keith's covered Eaglesmith and Paul Thorn before; Gary Allan's covered Todd Snider. And I'd be surprised if Miranda is the first person to cover Prine or Miller. So it's not as unheard-of a practice on Music Row as Xgau seems to imply. Nasvhille likes good songs, and singers often go outside the mainstream looking for them.

I do agree a lot of the album has a certain "alt-country" (whatever that means anymore) feel, though (and said so in my Spin review.)

George Strait had a country #1 with Prine's "I Just Want to Dance with You" in 1998.

btw I love Revolution but haven't yet gotten my thoughts in order about it.

Hell, didn't John Mellencamp in his Coog days co-write a song with Prine? (Coog's a roots-rocker too, but still, he was a pop star then)

Yeah, that sounds kinda familiar...

Anyway, it might be worth noting that, on her previous album, Miranda covered Gillian Welch, Patty Griffin, and Carlene Carter, who all share her gender.

Yeah that is lame

I mean, I don't blame that guy much. I get wanting to be excited, that said, his answer there was almost verbatim answer we got from the two spinners in the aisle behind us at Dead and Co. who kept smacking us in the back of the head while they danced and spun around.

For sure never be making contact with anyone unless it's a pit situation (even there, I accidentally elbowed the woman in front of me in the head at a Pavement show, and was absolutely mortified)

There are any number of things I'd expect to encounter at a Dead & Co (etc.) show that would drive me nuts, from the music on down.

i do think for an old school country person like her there is something sacrosanct about the idea of showing up in your tour bus with your band and putting on a great show.

It's a Vegas residency...

Does she have Willie Nelson's old tour bus parked outside of the MGM Grand to keep that authentic feeling?

Getting dressed down by the artist is hardly the worst thing that can happen to you at a Country show in Vegas.

There are any number of things I'd expect to encounter at a Dead & Co (etc.) show that would drive me nuts, from the music on down.

Yeah, I expected this, but it was a good example as to what we were talking about...

miranda hardly even dressed down those fans! she never raised her voice. she stopped the song, said she was a little pissed, motioned at the fans to please stop, said all she wanted to do was sing country music, basically remaining upbeat and respectful the entire time, and restarted the song. all in the course of 30 or 40 seconds. i can't imagine a fan being angry about that, no matter what they paid for a ticket.

cohost Sunny Hostin said that she's "going to take as many selfies as I want if I paid $757 for tickets,"

sunny hostin is a wealthy woman who lives in new york city. has she ever been to the theater? or the opera? 'cause you damn well can't take selfies there, and i'm going to take a wild guess that the average show on broadway or at the met costs more than miranda lambert in vegas.

fans who just want to stand up and dance, on the other hand, should be allowed, and encouraged, to do so at all times, unless they're being assholes.

At the theatre and stuff they generally do tell you to at least silence your phones, and often to turn them off entirely so they don't mess with mics (supposedly), but you're right, it would pretty funny to see someone stand up and take a selfie in the middle of a performance of "Hamilton" or something. When I saw Springsteen on Broadway they told everyone to just put their phones away or risk getting kicked out, but that at the end of the show Bruce would come back out and basically let people take as many photos as they wanted.

It's a Vegas residency...

― papal hotwife (milo z), Monday, July 24, 2023 3:50 PM (two hours ago)

did the following six words in my post -- "now, vegas is explicitly not that" -- render in invisible ink on your screen, or did you purposefully leave them out of your quote in order to pick a fight about nothing? cuz it seems like the latter! the next question would be... why?

to be fair, there's a difference between attending a show where the crowd needs to remain quiet to allow for spoken words (like stand-up comedy or Broadway) vs. a country/rock concert, where the crowd can sing along, shout, buzz even during the quiet times, etc.

i love Miranda and think she should do what she wants, but i also think probably the best move here would've been to ignore them. the best move at a concert - *esp* a loud concert - is usually to ignore if at all possible.

with regard to what cuz said, she was polite enough about it, but still, i would feel humiliated and, later, angry, and i think this woman is reasonable to feel that way.

i say all this as an old man who definitely sees concert crowds going in a very bad, self-absorbed/entitled direction.

xp - I just thought you gotta understand, she's an old school road dawg country tradition blah blah blah was silly given the context. She's a pop country superstar two decades into her career playing a Vegas residency. She can have whatever standards she wants for her audience but traditionalism has nothing to do with those standards.

But stages (and audiences) as big as Vegas' have always been a part of the country tradition: they want big audiences and they don't mind being as cornball about wooing them as possible. This is a genre of rhinestones and teased-up hair, etc. as much as it is about smaller gestures.

At the Metro for Yo La Tengo, there were these two dudes not too far away from me having a very loud conversation about bands they'd seen, which kept getting louder and louder and overpowering the more hushed songs YLT was playing. Multiple people, both kindly and very directly, asked them to shut up or move somewhere else, but each time one of the dudes launched into this "we paid for our ticket, we can do whatever the fuck we want" tirade. They never shut up for the rest of the show. A few people went to go alert venue staff, but none ever showed up to deal with them. It was obnoxious.

At one YLT show I saw there — May 31, 1997 — it seemed like most of the audience was carrying on conversations among themselves, nearly drowning out the mostly-quiet set. More people were talking than were irritated by it, and while YLT were visibly frustrated, they didn’t address it (though they would’ve been justified in doing so).

When I saw Pete Townshend in 1997 the audience was similarly acting as if they were at a party where Townshend happened to be providing the background music…even though tickets were $95 (very expensive for the time). At one point, Townshend moved over to a keyboard and put on a headset mic. He was telling his soundperson that he couldn’t hear himself and then said, “Of course, it could be because of this fucking audience,” then immediately said, “Sorry.”

He’d mellowed a bit since the ‘70s:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PixnWVee75Y

This is an interesting discussion that goes way beyond the Miranda Lambert incident and probably merits its own thread. Someone mentioned upthread that artists are actually interacting with fans who are facetiming their friends or doing IG live...that is super intriguing to me. Both the pros and cons, and how it impacts fan expectations at shows, etc. It is probably just an evolution to artists crowd surfing and going out into their audiences, which have generated some of my most memorable concert-going experiences (e.g., I once helped lift Tim Harrington into the air after he'd climbed into a garbage can at Pitchfork). But the old man in me thinks all of this needs to be artist-initiated and on their terms.

yeah, different acts are going to have different ideas about fan boundaries. Like when I saw a Soundgarden/Voivod show in 91, Chris Cornell walked across the crowd on our hands and shoulders, whereas when I saw Slayer in 1988 they would punch or kick anyone who tried to stage dive, including the singer from the opening act.

man jeff tweedy used to be super bitchy with fans. i saw a couple walk up in front of the stage at a theater show and try to take a selfie with him in the background and he tried to kick them and said he doesn't appreciate being treated like an animal at the zoo. at a different show some dude stood up and clapped along with a really quiet part and tweedy absolutely berated him after the song. i think he punched a dude who ran on stage one time

There was a clip of Steve Lacey stomping on a phone someone threw on stage

I mean anything thrown on stage / toward the artist is a different story

at a different show some dude stood up and clapped along with a really quiet part and tweedy absolutely berated him after the song.

I've never seen him berate an individual fan, but I've seen Tweedy/Wilco a couple of times and he definitely has a bug up his ass about people clapping along with his songs. It throws him off.

When I saw him live last month or so he told a funny story about playing a festival in Iceland recently and constantly getting recognized across the island. He said on his last day he went to the Blue Lagoon to relax and people kept coming up to him asking for selfies. He (half) joked that if he is in his bathing suit, that's a sign you really shouldn't ask him for a selfie.

I saw Tweedy get super pissy at a late '90s/early '00s show. The theater was only half full and he got in trouble with the venue management for smoking on stage.

ok enough of this jeff tweedy digression
you don’t gotta to go home but you can’t stay here etc

Relevant as to precedent, your honor.

But it does seem unfair to lump Lambert in with whiny guys like him. Apart from this I don't think I've ever heard drama about her audience relations.

if i didn’t say anything you nerds would drone on abt tweedy for a week so consider it precautionary <3

just me over here tapping the sign real friendly-like

ok enough of this jeff tweedy digression

thank you

Audience members have been throwing things on stages as long as there have been stages, and stage crashing is not a new phenomenon, but this recent cluster of incidents feels like a game of stuntlike one-upmanship, designed to go viral. Disrupting a celebrity — inserting yourself into their narrative — may now be the ultimate concert souvenir.

For fans whose primary engagement with culture is virtual — this feels particularly true post-pandemic, when polite concertgoing wasn’t an option — the sense of a performer as a human is less firm. And demonstrating this kind of proximity to a famous person is a logical next step of the evolution from autographs to selfies. The stars are no longer out of reach; they are backdrops. There was a flash of this in the recent kerfuffle at a Miranda Lambert concert, where the singer chided some women in the crowd for taking photos of themselves while she was singing. (At least those phones weren’t airborne.)

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/02/arts/music/crowds-throwing-objects-at-musicians.html

https://musicrow.com/2023/11/breaking-miranda-lambert-jon-randall-partner-with-big-loud-to-launch-big-loud-texas/

I'm not surprised by her politics, but ugh what a lousy bill to be on.

What the hell @mirandalambert ???

I thought you were one of the good ones. #hugedisappointment pic.twitter.com/pQDpNSIjFa

— Just Jeff (@AttorneyJeff) November 13, 2023

wasn't / isn't she romantically involved with a cop?

NARRATOR: She's never been one of the Good Ones.

Or, rather, it's foolish to expect political consistency from these people.

That Kid Rock/Aldean bill might as well be called the Double Down Picnic.

Nelly really sticking out there.

His first album is called "Country Grammar," that's probably good enough for the bill. But his most recent album was a country-collab called "Heartland:"
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7f/Nelly_-_Heartland.png

More importantly, with him on the bill assholes like Aldean can proclaim they're not racist.

lol at Big & Rich billing lower than Koe Wetzel, who is apparently "fusing country and grunge."

ugly politics aside, she should fire whoever got her third billing on a show w/kid rock and jason aldean.

Aldean is bigger than Lambert, but Kid Rock...

Hey now, Kid Rock was <this close> to getting a position in Trump's cabinet

Big & Rich ft. Gretchen Wilson, 2004 ILM country all in one pocket-sized slot for easy avoidance.

Horse of a Different Color forget it, just a White Horse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElVkQl55Zro

“Wranglers” video about scorned woman with bombastic pop country rock music

Awful song:

https://www.thesinglesjukebox.com/?p=31686

Co-sign

Co-co-sign:
https://www.countryuniverse.net/2024/05/08/single-review-roundup-vol-3-no-16/

Second pre-album track, "Dammit Randy," dropped yesterday and is also bad. "Smoking cigarettes like they're going out of style"-type writing from a generational talent is just such a bummer.

Third pre-release track is out now: Alimony

Best of the three by a significant margin and much more akin to her earlier output. New album, Postcards From Texas, is due on 09.13. Cover has her in a tee-shirt from Gilley's; not sure if that's an intentional throwback to the booklet from Kerosene, but here's hoping that's the case...