Beyoncé - Renaissance

some of the saddest people on earth for sure

country *is* working man cosplay afaict

I don't have a strong negative reaction to smith's piece, but I've been thinking about the suggestion that "texas hold 'em" is "working-class music for folks who can afford a Lexus" - more than the second part of that claim, it's the first that feels too easy, too quick to look past the fact that (as left notes) almost all modern country already is cosplaying some kind of working class authenticity.

I agree with j0rdan above that beyonce's attempts at relatability can perhaps be complicated by the fact that she has cultivated (and/or had cultivated on her behalf) this aura of untouchability. But I think her literal wealth is only a small part of that.

If you google the net worth of Miranda Lambert (someone who I don't think would ever be widely criticised for consistently flirting with working class tropes) the results say that she was worth $60 million last year but is also the "most frugal" country star, who eats at chain restaurants etc.

So, not to belabour the obvious point but, this is really about how people perform (or are perceived to be performing) their class status rather than anything else. What perhaps-inevitably flows from that is that music journalism which purports to offer a "class critique" is often just reheating and repackaging fairly superficial Walmart versus Trader Joe's distinctions.

I'm really surprised by so many ILM posters' love of Lambert, who is literally married to a cop.

it gets even worse check out who she was married to before that

So, not to belabour the obvious point but, this is really about how people _perform_ (or are _perceived_ to be performing) their class status rather than anything else. What perhaps-inevitably flows from that is that music journalism which purports to offer a "class critique" is often just reheating and repackaging fairly superficial Walmart versus Trader Joe's distinctions.

there’s also something with beyonce where people — and i include major cultural critics in this group — extend the persona of regality & virtuosity that we all cherish about her to the point of, essentially — this person does not make art that needs to be critiqued hard and, potentially, in a negative fashion. which is how we end up with the temporary nationwide psychosis that was pretending like that beyonce and jay z rap album was not even just merely good (which it wasn’t) but also equal to if not superior to the current rap of the time (as an insane an argument now as it was then). again not obliquely referring to ppl in this thread i think beyonce gets a fair shot on this wonderful message board. speaking about a larger critical phenomenon

part of that is PR and stan culture capitalism.and all the rest and part of it I assume is remembering all of the *really bad* critiques from over the decades esp from around 10 years ago of her and the things she was was taken to represent, and wanting to be more careful this time

her wealth and scabbing are fair game much like taylor's emissions but picking apart some basic lyrical signifiers that even I know are all over the genre anyway and flirting with a very loaded and empirically false line of argument is definitely the wrong way for people to go

even though I want better criticism of her I am wary of asking for it since I know there are a lot of people who have always been waiting for a chance to take her (and by proxy a lot of other people) down for various unsavoury reasons

you can compare her to taylor swift who is constantly being hounded over her wealth -- she's currently trying to prevent some twitter account from tracking her private jet etc -- but when she writes in character, people don't stop and say "hold on we don't believe you." and that's because her artistic and celebrity persona has long established her credibility in that arena. i would say that this is largely for artistic reasons -- taylor has been writing in character forever -- but also because she chooses to craft her celebrity in a way that maintains the veneer of accessibility i.e. fan meet and greets, standing on stage at her shows and speaking at length to the audience etc
― slob wizard (J0rdan S.), Monday, February 12, 2024 10:14 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Well even if you're right about the "persona", that's still a bit of a double standard isn't it? I expect even average Joe to be able to separate artistic figure from the actual artist. I'm not American and not following the cults over them, but one of the only times I saw Beyonce interviewed on TV years and years ago, I was positively surprised and charmed by her humility, and the one thing I remember her saying is that she had worked very hard to make it to where she was. And I believed her, and good for her if she made millions. "Working person cosplay" is just infinitely silly. As if we listeners know what it means to work, and she doesn't? Are people serious?

"We headed to the dive bar we always thought was nice"

this line is hilarious

it gets even worse check out who she was married to before that

― slob wizard (J0rdan S.), Tuesday, February 13, 2024 6:44 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

made me lol

https://pitchfork.com/news/beyonce-makes-history-as-texas-hold-em-tops-billboard-hot-country-songsandnbspchart/