it doesn't sound like same trailer. the arrangements are way more relaxed
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Tuesday, 23 June 2015 19:47 (eight years ago) link
Song for song, it's catchier and richer than ST. Like lex, I have a problem with how on the nose these songs are, how she (sill) relies on the cutes. "Cup of Tea" is the nadir. It’s 2016, rural America’s changing, and changing fast enough so that Musgraves can be less indebted to a wink-wink conceit.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 23 June 2015 19:49 (eight years ago) link
*still
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 23 June 2015 19:50 (eight years ago) link
one-listen take: i am quite relieved that this is nowhere near as bad or predictable as i had feared it would be from "biscuits," which may be the worst cut on the album other than maybe "cup of tea." i haven't been unusually struck by any of its lyrics the way i was on hearing same trailer for the first time, but the songs are still quite a pleasant listen and many of its arrangements are gorgeous. yeah, i probably won't like it as much as same trailer in the end (which is kind of a high bar anyway), but it's certainly not enough of a step down for me to be disappointed either.
the two bad songs i mentioned aside i was also way off the mark in thinking that the album would just be a bunch of safe retreads. yeah lyrically she does sometimes rely on some of the same tricks which is getting eyeroll-inducing/tiresome but idk, otherwise (esp. sonically) she's definitely venturing somewhere new for her. whether others have done better in similar territory is another story (obv they have) but it still sounds good so i find it hard to complain ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
― dyl, Tuesday, 23 June 2015 23:15 (eight years ago) link
There's something happening in Biscuits that makes it work.
― rap is dad (it's a boy!), Wednesday, 24 June 2015 01:59 (eight years ago) link
Anyone worrying that hipsters will start listening to Kacey Musgraves has never lived in America.
good to see P4k is gonna start reviewing country records:
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/20679-pageant-material/
― alpine static, Wednesday, 24 June 2015 07:20 (eight years ago) link
A lot of country is about singing about what you aren't (or rather "ain't")
gross
― j., Wednesday, 24 June 2015 07:55 (eight years ago) link
circa-2004 hip-hop problem
wait hip-hop had a problem circa 2000?
feels like we've reached the point where if an artist is Important - which kacey certainly is - they need not actually be good, their existence is enough
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 24 June 2015 08:42 (eight years ago) link
Blah article in which Mugraves and Jason Isbell save country music because bros and countries and cars
http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/814-jason-isbell-kacey-musgraves-and-the-duality-of-the-southern-thing/
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 25 June 2015 20:58 (eight years ago) link
oh one of those
written by the exact person i expected
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Thursday, 25 June 2015 20:59 (eight years ago) link
We were without one for a week. Overdue!
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 25 June 2015 21:00 (eight years ago) link
all this stuff seems so prepackaged considering how poorly this narrative fits 'pageant material'
― J0rdan S., Thursday, 25 June 2015 21:10 (eight years ago) link
Yeah, if anything the album feels a tad wan for playing it too safe.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 25 June 2015 21:15 (eight years ago) link
wait hip-hop had a problem circa 2000?feels like we've reached the point where if an artist is Important - which kacey certainly is - they need not actually be good, their existence is enough― lex pretend, Wednesday, June 24, 2015 4:42 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― lex pretend, Wednesday, June 24, 2015 4:42 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
The problem was that nerds were drooling all over Madvillainy instead of Petey Pablo and Shawnna. Guess this is like 2004 after all...
― lil dork (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, 25 June 2015 21:15 (eight years ago) link
Timbaland should get on this country thing.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 25 June 2015 21:19 (eight years ago) link
"white tee" is an incredible song, too -- and it has a narrative!
― J0rdan S., Thursday, 25 June 2015 21:21 (eight years ago) link
xpost way ahead of u
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoYymnKUhZQ
― lil dork (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, 25 June 2015 21:21 (eight years ago) link
really enjoyed the sneak "white tee era was devoid of content" diss from the site slobbing on young thug's knob like it's corn on the cob
― lil dork (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, 25 June 2015 21:22 (eight years ago) link
Oh, shit, how did I forget about Bubba? Bubba, what happened, your second album was great, get back to me!
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 25 June 2015 21:27 (eight years ago) link
hey bubba was a buddy of mine in college! good dude.
― Heez, Thursday, 25 June 2015 22:13 (eight years ago) link
pics or it didn't happen
― Spottie, Thursday, 25 June 2015 22:18 (eight years ago) link
sry, we weren't super close, but this was pre-timbo and he used to play a song of his that sampled country boy can't survive at parties.
― Heez, Thursday, 25 June 2015 22:22 (eight years ago) link
hah, nice
― Spottie, Thursday, 25 June 2015 22:23 (eight years ago) link
http://www.stereogum.com/1810529/the-week-in-pop-instead-of-going-big-kacey-musgraves-goes-home/franchises/the-week-in-pop/
great piece
― lex pretend, Friday, 26 June 2015 14:53 (eight years ago) link
But Musgraves has refused to carry the burden that she was poised to assume
ehhhhhhh okay
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Friday, 26 June 2015 14:56 (eight years ago) link
hmmm yeah seems a little harsh
― dyl, Friday, 26 June 2015 15:16 (eight years ago) link
what I heard of the new Isbell really paled in comparison to his last album
anyway I am not familiar w/ Musgraves at all but I like a few songs on this, the bookends especially.
― the naive cockney chorus (Simon H.), Friday, 26 June 2015 15:19 (eight years ago) link
2/3 of that piece was really excellent but comparing the pageant imagery to lily allen's "hard out here" is bizarre and tone-deaf. also, at the risk of coming off "IT IS NOT A BEAUTY PAGEANT IT IS A SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM" the whole "pageant material" thing is as much about personality and class (someone's got to pay for those walking lessons and fees to actually do the swimsuit portion that earns 20% of your points and $1000 interview suits that you're never going to wear anywhere else because they're fucking light blue) networking than about looks.
― for sale: baby shoes, never worn your ass (katherine), Friday, 26 June 2015 16:55 (eight years ago) link
also, so what if kacey musgraves was in a pageant as a kid? lots of people in the south are, especially if they're remotely involved in the performing arts.
― for sale: baby shoes, never worn your ass (katherine), Friday, 26 June 2015 16:59 (eight years ago) link
Lex, you're tripping
― supreme problematics (D-40), Friday, 26 June 2015 17:49 (eight years ago) link
what because i said an article was good, pelase elaborate
― lex pretend, Friday, 26 June 2015 18:01 (eight years ago) link
like I said, the first two-thirds or so was good, it just sort of went off the rails with that IMO. (I never did pageants myself but my sister did throughout high school so I am very familiar with all the trekking and prepping and endless people singing martina mcbride
― for sale: baby shoes, never worn your ass (katherine), Friday, 26 June 2015 21:10 (eight years ago) link
I missed out on buying one of those smart Martina tomato t-shirts.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 26 June 2015 21:36 (eight years ago) link
Carl Wilson: http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/music_box/2015/06/kacey_musgraves_new_album_pageant_material_reviewed_the_follow_your_arrow.html
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 26 June 2015 21:55 (eight years ago) link
THIS article is excellent.
― Tim F, Friday, 26 June 2015 22:45 (eight years ago) link
Pageant Material looking to do 55k the first week, which is only a little more than Same Trailer did (although Same Trailer finally reached 500k this month).
― some dude, Friday, 26 June 2015 22:48 (eight years ago) link
i don't like that Wilson's lede suggests a false binary where she wasn't on track to be Country For People Who Don't Like Country thanks to "Merry Go Round," which was #25 on the Pazz & Jop singles poll before she had an album in stores.
― some dude, Friday, 26 June 2015 23:01 (eight years ago) link
I'd never heard of her before yesterday and listened to Merry Go Round just now which was okay I guess. Would I like these albums? idk but that whole Wilson piece makes me not want to care, not interested in picking sides in some culture war
― Οὖτις, Friday, 26 June 2015 23:10 (eight years ago) link
― Heez, Saturday, 27 June 2015 00:01 (eight years ago) link
Although yeah it seemed like there were two different issues he was taking on? Idk I read it quickly but there was pop country vs trad country and feminist country vs male dominated country? Although yeah all the country lovin dudes I try to get in to kacey or Miranda are just are usually writing them off bc their female despite their trad country sound
― Heez, Saturday, 27 June 2015 00:09 (eight years ago) link
If you're friends with Carl on FB, Chris Molanphy offers chart data re Musgraves.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 27 June 2015 00:09 (eight years ago) link
And damn this Chris Stapleton album he mentioned fucking rules
― Heez, Saturday, 27 June 2015 00:11 (eight years ago) link
I can't stand it but I'm quite alone on that one, I think.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 27 June 2015 00:14 (eight years ago) link
Weird that he was using Stapleton as an example of an album "real country" people would dislike. Cause I'm pretty sure I could get tons of those people into that
― Heez, Saturday, 27 June 2015 00:23 (eight years ago) link
this is a wonderfully produced record, so open and natural sounding, very polished but not overly slicki almost forget they can still make records like this
― kurt kobaïan (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 18:55 (eight years ago) link
no you didn't
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 18:57 (eight years ago) link
i guess i don't hear a lot of records that have a real nice major label sheen w.o sounding kinda flat
― kurt kobaïan (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 19:05 (eight years ago) link
this is a wonderfully produced record, so open and natural sounding, very polished but not overly slick
yes
― J0rdan S., Tuesday, 30 June 2015 20:07 (eight years ago) link
is it that much of a sonic departure from STDP? or noticeably better?
― lex pretend, Tuesday, 30 June 2015 20:45 (eight years ago) link