act ii: She's a Clever Girl
Let's light up this juke joint and get into some of my favorite songs + takeaways from Beyoncé's latest masterpiece, Cowboy Carter.
Hey y’all.
As promised, act ii is (finally) here with some notes on Beyoncé’s new album, Cowboy Carter. I wasn’t able to just sit with it all day on Friday as I typically would and wanted to make sure I gave it its proper due on WHN.
I did arrive home to my vinyl + cute tee + CD (which I had to buy to get the tee). I’m nothing if not a merch whore.
I do think there’s a lot to the theory that she was going to call this album Beyince at some point given a lot of these visuals, but who knows. I don’t feel the need to question Bey’s decisions as I trust in her creative mind wholly and completely.
I love the images on the actual records too.
What? Beyoncé created amazing visuals? What a take, Ab!!!! I didn’t match my nails on purpose when I got my latest mani, but now it all makes sense1.
Then to actually have plans all weekend and work this week? I know, I know. Where are my priorities? Not that anyone is really dying for my takes, none of which are very hot (see the aforementioned one about visuals). But I tried to curate some others that I found interesting, as well.
Because of course the discourse is discoursing…
Giddy up!
As I always like to state—lest anyone be newer to these parts and less familiar with my fangirl style and voice—I am not a music critic by any stretch. My perspective is simply that of a music girlie who loves hard and big and gets all sorts of emotional and spun out by great artists making great art, but cannot carry a tune or play an instrument. Oh, and lives a chronically online life.
I am also not a Beyoncé scholar, though I’m a forever fan back to the Destiny’s Child days. I have her music in constant rotation in my life and feel deeply connected to countless songs. I’ve seen her many, many times live. Yet, I would never claim to know her career and catalogue as well as other members of the Beyhive. I respect them and fandom, in general, too much to make that claim. I am just happy to be alive in the time of Queen B.
And I’m a white woman. I know that Bey doesn’t make her music and her art for me.
Now, that’s not to say that I cannot love it with my whole self or that she wouldn’t want me to—or that one can’t make content about it. Just because something isn’t specifically FOR you doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy and embrace it fully—and learn a fuck ton in the process.
I think about this often, especially when I see white people (and especially white ladies) acting foolish on the internet about something or another, including Beyoncé.
My friend Tia has made a similar points in talking about her books, which feature unapologetically Black characters and themes and love stories. (Sidebar: I love that her fans have started calling her Book Beyoncé!!!!) And since I actually KNOW Tia, we’ve had these conversations ourselves. I pulled a couple quotes from her that I think illustrate this larger point.
From a recent Goodreads interview about A Love Song for Ricki Wilde:
GR: When you were reading those romances, did you feel represented, your friends and family?
TW: No, no, no, no, that was the other thing. The genres I liked to read were overwhelmingly white. I like to read historical romances and glamour fiction. So I was deep into Jackie Collins and Judith Krantz and Jacqueline Susann, these big, glamorous, interesting women that had cool jobs in cities like New York and Paris and London, and they had high-stakes love affairs and everything was ritzy. And everyone was always white. And that's just not what my surroundings reflected at all.
Even when I moved to New York, and Sex in the City was happening in the late ’90s, early 2000s, I was like, "That's me and my friends! We're at the exact same places. I have Miranda's umbrella. I have Carrie’s jacket."
From the time I was little, I always knew that I was going to write those kinds of stories but starring us, because what I had to do as a kid was I would recast all the characters in my head as Black people. And no one should have to do that because Black people aren't the Black versions of white people. We have our own stories. We have our own fabulosity. And so, yeah, it's very important to me that I show Black characters, especially in creative fields, because I'm a creative. They all have interesting, creative professions in my books, and a lot of times are doing things that historically people didn't think were professions that we belonged in.
From a Literary Hub piece about Seven Days in June:
“When we were shopping around for publishers, I was holding my breath. I was like, they’re going to get to the part with the panel where all the Black authors start telling the truth about what it’s like writing. The publishing industry—for those of you who don’t know—is very, very white, and historically has always been. And that’s posed a problem if you are any sort of writer of color, because if you’re writing in a genre or you’re writing characters that white book editors aren’t familiar with in real life, it’s hard for them to believe that it’s real or believe that it’s valid or believe that anyone will read about it. Which, you can imagine, makes it really hard to try to sell a fun, fizzy, rom-com about glamorous Black people, because if you don’t know any, and you don’t see any on TV, and what you do know about Black people is really that they’re symbols of oppression, what kind of books are you going to publish? You’re going to publish really academic tomes about racial inequities in America. Or you’re going to publish fiction about enslaved people or Civil Rights–era maids. I mean, this is what you learned at school. This is what you know. But anything in between—a Black fantasy novel, Black westerns, Black romances—it’s kind of a stretch.
And so there’s a panel where a bunch of Black authors are talking about what it’s like to be Black writers in 2019, which is when the book takes place. And they tell the truth of all of those things. And editors know this. They all know it. But no one likes to be called out on their shortcomings. So I was like, okay, this is going to be the end for me. But it’ll be worth it if this is the end because I had to tell the truth.
[Then talking about The Perfect Find, which was published in 2016 and was adapted as a Netflix movie with Gabrielle Union in 2023]
So from the outside, it looks like this total success story. But actually, it was probably the darkest moment I’ve had in my professional life, trying to get this book sold, because everyone rejected it. Every major publisher, every minor publisher. So it was published by this very, very indie publishing house. But the reasons why it was rejected, it was always like, “Oh, such fun writing. So, so cute. I really wish that you would touch on any sort of racial injustice that Jenna has felt as a Black fashion editor in a largely white industry. There’s got to be oppression, right? Can you touch on that a little bit? Was it hard for her?” There were some editors who didn’t believe that a Black woman could be a fashion editor, which was super maddening because I was one for 15 years! And even if I wasn’t one, why couldn’t we belong there? Why can’t you see me there? Or my character there? So I still had PTSD from that situation. So I was like, I’m just going to fully be very transparent in this book about the publishing industry. And if I get canceled over it, then at least I’ll feel good about the fact that I told the truth. And luckily, I wasn’t canceled.”
To me, that perspective is only additive to my life. I don’t love Tia’s writing any less because she isn’t approaching it with, “This is for the white ladies!!!” Quite the opposite. And thank goodness there are people who fight to make sure their creative POV is able to be seen by the world. I wish it wasn’t such a battle, though.
SNL honed in on this point with “The Day Beyoncé Turned Black” back in 2016 when B dropped the “Formation” video ahead of the Super Bowl.
If you want to put it in the simplest terms from that digital short, it’s when Bobby Moynihan says, “Maybe this song isn’t for us?” and the Cecily Strong character responds, “But usually everything is!”
Ding, ding, ding, ding!
None of that means that you are required to like Beyoncé’s music, or any other artists’ work in any medium. That’s always subjective. It’s totally fine for something to be not your style or what you enjoy. But context and perspective are important, for me anyway, in how I take something in and then how I talk about it.
If you’re on TikTok, you’ve likely seen this woman Sam Doll getting dragged for her terrible takes on Cowboy Carter. (She’s since deleted the original videos.) I think she’s under the impression (yes, it’s giving fragile white woman) that it’s simply because she didn’t enjoy the album.
But, sigh, she’s missing the whole point. SHOCKER.
I mean, the second you refer to anything Bey has ever done as “lazy” makes the rest of your words sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher. GTFO with that nonsense. You can not like B all you want, but there isn’t an overused internet meme about having the same number of hours in the day as Beyoncé because she’s LAZY.
And just because you don’t like something, that doesn’t automatically mean it’s bad or mediocre. This makes me crazy and is a common refrain in the extremely binary way many people discuss music and other art online these days. It’s the sister of the (false) idea that because you stan one artist, you must hate another.
You not being into it doesn’t make it mid and if you want to make an argument for something being such, you better come with more than that blanket statement of distaste. You might have a point, but simply saying, “I’m not into it, so it’s not good” isn’t one. That’s lazy. Critique is wonderful and necessary, just don’t be dumb about it.
A couple of responses to that woman and her terrible headband:
While this may sound hypocritical as I’m about to launch into many of my own opinions on the Substack I created so I could share said opinions and as someone who talks more than the average person (times infinity), it’s also okay to just…not say anything sometimes. That goes for a lot things in life. Or, as always, save it for your group chat. There is SO much that I don’t get into and have thoughts about.
To paraphrase Ice Cube, we must always check ourselves before we wreck ourselves.
Now, that I’ve said that, here are 394023748320093849302 words about how much I fucking love this album.
Previously on WHN: First Reactions to Texas Hold ‘Em + 16 Carriages
After the Queen dropped the first two singles out of the sky on us during the Super Bowl, I wrote a bit about how my relationship with country music has evolved over the years. So many of my favorite songs and albums are rooted in some aspect of folk or country or Americana and that’s always been true.
But I used to run away from the “country” label when I was much younger because I had this insecurity around people thinking I was a hick from Indiana. I was never embarrassed if people thought my love of pop was “unserious”, but that one stuck around for a second. It was silly, but it was real to me at the time. I’m very glad I got over that a long ago and it’s really cool to see people who have never embraced any sort of country sound doing so now because of Beyoncé. Or those who have been in that space feeling properly seen for, perhaps, the first time ever.
Now, to date, my personal favorite Beyoncé album is Lemonade. Again, look at these SEETHING hot takes 😉.
I loved Renaissance. I appreciate Renaissance, both sonically and its mission. And for what it gave to so many people around the world. I think it’s brilliant in ways that only Beyoncé could come up with.
House music, even Beyoncé’s spin on it, is simply less my personal preference for regular, repeated listening. That’s not to say I never throw on those tunes, that would be denying myself many pleasures and one thing I don’t do is that.
Country Carter, though, is straight up in my wheelhouse and might just take the crown from Lemonade. It’s like she put almost every musical genre I love into one place and waved her magic all over it to create a new genre all her own.
I’m no opera girlie, but THERE IS OPERA ON THERE.
Linda Martell—the first commercially successful Black female artist in country music—says in the opening to “SPAGHETTII”:
Genres are a funny little concept, aren't they?
Yes, they are
That Beyoncé Virgo shit
In theory, they have a simple definition that's easy to understand
But in practice, well, some may feel confined
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter.
Like, yes…what she said.
It’s crazy to think Cowboy Carter was meant to come first.
Obviously the pandemic shifted things in much more serious and unchangeable ways for so many people and that is not something I would ever view lightly. But I have been spending a lot of time thinking about how it shifted the art and artists I love. What we lost, what changed course, and also what we gained that would likely have never existed without it.
It’s some wild Sliding Doors shit and that ticks so many of my personality (and natal chart and stoner sensibility) boxes. But, I digress…
The reclamation of Black music that she started in act i with Renaissance continues through Cowboy Carter and it’s stunning to behold.
But as Beyoncé told us herself, “This ain’t a Country album. This is a Beyoncé album.”
It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history.
The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me. act ii is a result of challenging myself, and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work……I focused on this album as a continuation of RENAISSANCE…I hope this music is an experience, creating another journey where you can close your eyes, start from the beginning and never stop.
We’ll get to my favorite tracks in a second, but you cannot talk about this album without pulling back to look at the bigger picture. One of the first texts I sent my Bey group chat after hearing just the first few tracks was about the storytelling. That’s always the hook for me with music, but honestly just everything in life.
Beyoncé is a singular artist for a million reasons, but I am mesmerized by the very unique way she tells stories through her art.
There are a lot of tools and skills a musician can use to tell a story and they can all co-exist. Perhaps one speaks to you more than another. That could be based on many things from the stylistic to the sonic to the substance of the stories one chooses to tell.
Lucky us that we don’t have to choose just one if we don’t want to…bless.
Beyoncé tells stories with the words she writes and sings, but also the collaborators she brings in, the samples she incorporates, the production she chooses, THE TRANSITIONS, and ofc the visuals. (By no means do I think that is a complete list!)
This album is both giving me a history lesson (and sending me off into the world to educate myself more), but also complete innovation and modernity.
I often think about how incredibly gracious it is for these artists to put out this work and the levels of that kinda takes my breath away. To me, Beyoncé got pretty GD personal and vulnerable with this album, but as always she pulls back to tell others stories through her own. Often those that were never properly told in the first place.
Fucking Beyoncé, man. What a gift.
Let’s get to the songs, shall we? I know I always say that you should do the first album listen front-to-back as the artist intended, but this is even more important if you’re trying to understand Cowboy Carter and experience it fully.
You really, really don’t want to miss the nuances and interludes and transitions. I promise. It feels like it’s broken into chapters in a perfect way that never comes off choppy.
Below are my favorites as of Wednesday night.
I am guessing that a bunch CC’s tracks will fluctuate in and out of my top tier over time, with a core always remaining. But that is not to say there are skips involved. I do not believe there are. And I know from just being online that the favorite lists are so varied, which speaks to how excellent the work is. People are connecting in different places.
Sidebar: I have the new ep of Las Culturistas burning up my Podcasts app because I won’t let myself listen to it until this is published. But I’m dying to hear Matt and Bowen talk about this album.
Also, of course I love all the “II” action. Play with those words, B!
“AMERICAN REQUIEM”
Jesus Christ, what a thesis statement of an opener this is in every way possible.
B knew how much chatter would be happening around her decision to tell the old guard of country music to fuck all the way off. As she told us in “Formation”: “You know you that bitch when you cause all this conversation…Always stay gracious, best revenge is your paper.”
As with all things she puts out into the world, an enormous amount of thought went into each choice.
THIS. SONG. There’s something happenin’ here…what’s the sound? Everybody look at what’s going down.
It’s gospel and anthem rock and folk protest song and Beyoncé all at once. It is sweeping and ambitious, just like this entire album. It is a remembrance and a reinvention of what once was.
Her. Mind.
She is laying it right on out for us all, including those she knows are going to be Big Mad.
Nothin' really ends
For things to stay the same they have to change again
Hello, my old friend
You change your name but not the ways you play pretend
American Requiem
Them big ideas (Yeah), are buried here (Yeah)
AmenIt's a lot of talkin' goin' on
While I sing my song
Can you hear me?
I said, "Do you hear me?"
Looka there, looka there now
Looka there, looka there
Looka-looka, looka there, looka there
Looka-looka, looka there, looka there
Looka-looka, looka there, looka there (Oh, yeah)
Looka-looka, looka there, looka there
It's a lotta chatter in here
But let me make myself clear (Oh)
Can you hear me? (Huh)
Or do you fear me? (Ow)
Can we stand for something?
Now is the time to face the wind (Ow)
Coming in peace and love, y'all
Oh, a lot of takin' up space
Salty tears beyond my gaze
Can you stand me?
(Can you stand me? Can you stand me? Can you stand me?)
Ooh, ah
Can we stand?
(Can you stand me? Can you stand me? Can you stand me?
Can you stand me? Can you stand me? Can you stand me?)
Can you stand with me?
Can we stand for something?
Now is the time to face the wind
Now ain't the time to pretend
Now is the time to let love inLooka there, looka in my hand
The grandbaby of a moonshine man
Gadsden, Alabama
Got folk down in Galveston, rooted in Louisiana
Used to say I spoke, "Too country"
And the rejection came, said "I wasn't country 'nough"
Said I wouldn't saddle up, but
If that ain't country, tell me what is?
Plant my bare feet on solid ground for years
They don't, don't know how hard I had to fight for this
When I sang my song
(When I sang the song of Abraham)
(When the angels guide and take my hand)
(Oh, no)
Goodbye to what has been
A pretty house that we never settled in
A funeral for fair-weather friends
I am the one to cleanse me of my Father's sins
American Requiem
Them big ideas (Yeah) are buried here (Yeah)
Amen
“BLACKBIIRD”
The origin story of Paul McCartney writing “Blackbird” has been everywhere this week, so you’ve probably seen it, but just in case…
He was inspired by the Little Rock 9 and the “birds” in particular.
This was one bit of information that I did actually already know as I’m a pretty decent-size Beatles fan and this has always been one of my most favorite songs.
Now, did I think, “Oh Beyoncé will probably cover this on her country album and bring in four Black female country voices on the rise and ready to fly and shine her light upon them for the world to see and do so with the most gorgeous arrangement of this classic, etc etc”?
Of course not. My brain could never. But lucky for us, hers can.
ETA: Right after I originally hit publish, I saw that Paul had posted about the new version, so I’m dropping it in here.
If you haven’t checked out the other women on this song, I’d highly recommend. I’ve really enjoyed diving into their work over the past few days as I am one of those people who was not familiar with most of their names, but digging their sounds immensely.
I cannot freaking imagine what it must feel like to be asked to sing on a track by Beyoncé.
Tanner Adell
Brittney Spencer
Tiera Kennedy
Reyna Roberts
“16 CARRIAGES”
“PROTECTOR”
We talked about the beauty that is “16 Carriages” already but it takes on a whole new level as it transitions into “Protector”. Musically and thematically.
It’s a lullaby meets hymnal and it nearly broke me heading up the FDR on Friday morning.
And “Protector” all on its own will make you sob with Rumi2’s little voice and lines like:
And I will lead you down that road if you lose your way
Born to be a protector
Even though I know, someday, you're gonna shine on your own
I will be your projector
+
+
I first saw your face in your father's gaze
There's a long line of hands carryin' your name
Liftin' you up, so you will be raised
My heart. Dead Moms Club, hold on to yours. And just all the parents out there, too. It will hit you right in the feels if you haven’t listened to it yet.
“MY ROSE”
And…there goes my heart again. There is internet chatter that this song was called “Mr. Sir” at one point and awwwwwwww.
Gahhhhh, Beyoncé seems like such a great mom.
(Yes, I own the CD but not a CD player so I cannot confirm or deny whether this is the case with my physical version at the moment.)
This one’s a short, sweet ditty with a dash of “Laurel Canyon but make it Beyoncé”. I cannot.
“TEXAS HOLD ‘EM”
“BODYGUARD”
And now we’re gonna bop a little (after an intro from Willie!!!) with the full-on country banger that is “Texas Hold ‘Em” into “Bodyguard”, which is the first time, but not the last, I felt a bit of Fleetwood Mac’s influence. It’s such a smooooooooth song.
Just all the yes to these lyrics. I want an Old Fashioned right now, please.
Leave my lipstick on the cigarette
Just toss it, and you stomp it out, out, out
Inhalin' whiskey when you kiss my neck
We've been hurtin', but it's happy hour
“Sometimes I take the day off just to turn you on”? MA’AM. I love protective B who is about to “John Wayne that ass” looking at her man.
And…she just dropped a “Texas Hold ‘Em” remix.
“JOLENE”
Then, Dolly P. launches us into Beyoncé’s version of “Jolene”.
I wish I had a memory of the very first time I heard this song, but I feel like I’ve loved it my whole life. I am not alone in that and people’s feelings about it run deep.
Dolly is obviously extremely on board. And Stevie Wonder plays harmonica on it.
I love this nugget too.
There has been a lot of online conversation (from normies and critics) about the lyrical changes she made. Less so that she made it her own, but in how she did that. That she removed some of the pain and vulnerability in her lyrics. Or that she’s made this statement already in other songs. I can see some of the points that people are raising, even if none of that bothered me personally. Like I said a second ago, I love protective B and the POV in this version is a woman standing guard for her entire family.
I certainly wouldn’t want that smoke. Your peace depends on how YOU move, Jolene.
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
I'm warnin’ you, don't come for my man
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
Don't take the chance because you think you can
You’re beautiful, beyond compare
Takes more than beauty and seductive stares
To come between a family and a happy man
Jolene, I'm a woman too
Thе games you play are nothing new
So you don't want no hеat with me, Jolene
We've been deep in love for twenty years
I raised that man, I raised his kids
I know my man better than he knows himself (Yeah, what?)
I can easily understand
Why you're attracted to my man
But you don't want this smoke, so shoot your shot with someone else (You heard me)
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
I'm warnin' you, woman, find you your own man
Jolene, I know I’m a queen, Jolene
I’m still a Creole banjee bitch from Louisiane (Don't try me)
There’s a thousand girls in every room
That act as desperate as you do
You a bird, go on and sing your tune, Jolene (What?)
I had to have this talk with you
'Cause I hate to have to act a fool
Your peace depends on how you move, Jolene
Me and my man crossed those valleys
Highs and lows and everything between
Good deeds roll in like tumblin' weeds
I sleep good, happy
'Cause you can’t dig up our planted seeds
I know my man's gon' stand by me, breathin' in my gentle breeze
I crossed those valleys
Highs and lows and everything between
Good deeds roll in like tumblin' weeds
Good and happy
'Cause you can't dig up them planted seeds
I'ma stand by him, he gon' stand by me
(I'ma stand by her, she gon' stand by me)
I'ma stand by him, he gon' stand by me, Jolene
A lot of the early content and conversation was around this song and it was super fun. This tweet made me laugh and also nod.
People were also loving making fun of Jay too, after B sings that she can see why someone’s attracted to her man.
“II MOST WANTED” (with Miley Cyrus)
I have yet to listen to this song without crying—and I’ve listened to this song a lot. There is still often a choke sob involved.
Also, welcome to a new wave of people who just learned Miley, goddaughter of Dolly, is an insane vocalist.
This song is just so gorgeous I want to scream and we’ve got big Fleetwood and Stevie vibes rolling through it—some “Landslide” and maybe a lil “Leather and Lace” just to name a couple songs that immediately came to mind.
It’s absolutely the current hyper-fixation over here. Their voices are like melted butter together and this combo is everything I never knew I needed.
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I’ll be their shotgun rider ‘till the day I die…
The lines that especially slay me are “we’re both still young…one day we won’t be” and “Making waves in the wind with my empty hand, my other hand on you.” There is absolutely an air of melancholy and nostalgia drifting through the album and those are simply two of my favorite things in this world.
There’s a TikTok trend around making this song about you and your best friend(s) and that’s a gut punch too.
“LEVII’S JEANS” (with Post Malone)
Guys, I don’t care that there are some people out there who think this song is cheesy. I fucking love it and have since listen #1.
I adore a winking, cheeky, sexy Beyoncé and she and Postie sound awesome together. I will hear no arguments to the contrary and I know I’m not alone. The way he sings, “You’re my renaissance”? Come. On.
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Also:
“Ya Ya”
This is my new hype song. Period. It goes so hard. Plus, we’ve got Nancy Sinatra and The Beach Boys and some truly psychedelic ‘60s energy running through it. I die.
Linda Martell’s interlude sets it up.
We also love a burn like, “whole lotta red in that white and blue".
On top of all that, I might not be able to dance well, but when I am told to snap or clap on beat…I CAN DO THAT. And even look mildly cool in the process.
This QT made me giggle, but of course we are glad Nancy is indeed still with us and got to hear this song.
“TYRANT” (with Dolly Parton)
Beyoncé is such a Virgo, but this song feels sprinkled with a lil Scorpio, as well.
She's a tyrant every time I ride it, every time I ride it
Make it look so good, try to justify it
Boy, you know they're lookin' for me, how we gonna hide it?
Ride it like hydraulics, I am such a tyrant
Every time I ride it, every time I ride this
I don't like to sit up in the saddle, boy, I got it
Just relax, I got this, I got that exotic
Hips are so hypnotic, I am such a tyrant
“SWEET ★ HONEY ★ BUCKIIN'“
Okay, Patsy Cline but fuck it up. There’s a new kind of Horse Girl in town.
It’s truly magical what Beyoncé has done with icons and classics and lyrics and genres, etc with this album. I don’t think I’ll ever be over it.
Plus, she straight up calls out all the AOTY losses.
Again, there are no skips. “Spaghetii” is definitely rising in my playlist reps and there is no more beautiful way to end this album than “Amen”.
What are your faves?
Rodeo Appendix
Here are some extra bits I wanted to make sure to include…
You can read more about some of the other people Bey brought in on this album here.
As an Arlo Parks fan, this thrilled me.
Ditto on Cam.
One of my work friends is a huge Beyoncé AND Raye fan and this made so happy for him.
And some other TikToks I loved.
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Listen, I know how styling a shoot works and retouching and all that, but I would also like to inquire about this bra and how I can get one for myself.
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I did think, I can’t believe she’s doing signings at all…let alone in Japan on release day.
And finally…a TBR List
Here are some interesting reads about Cowboy Carter, some of which (rightfully) caused BIG conversations. Links are not endorsements of all ideas contained within lol!
“Jay Z and Beyoncé’s blank space: The endless social climb of pop’s royal couple” by Sheldon Pearce (NPR)
“The Violence of Cowboy Carter” by Spencer Kornhaber (The Atlantic)
“Our Sweetheart of the Rodeo” by Craig Jenkins (Vulture)
“Beyoncé Won’t Burn Down the Barn with ‘Cowboy Carter’” by Doreen St. Félix (The New Yorker)
THANK YOU FOR THESE GIFTS, BEY!!!!!!!
Talk to y’all later.
xA
For the possibly singular person who has been following along, my nail color choices have become a part of the witchy lore of my own brain because they keep being tied to something in my world that I don’t know about when Jamia (my brilliant nail artist) and I choose them every couple weeks.
Rumi is one of Bey and Jay’s twins. She and her brother, Sir, will be 7 in June.
When I hear Bodyguard, I hear "Kill You to Try" from Daisy Jones (that Fleetwood Mac bass line). And then Prince in the guitar solo. I ADORE it.
Upon first listen I thought “oh Abby’s gonna lose her damn mind over these classic rock flavors!”
As someone who never got deep into Beyonce, I gave it one listen and was like “idk… i guess its just not for me 🤷🏻♀️ “ But its getting more listens and the context you offer here truly helped me hear the POWER behind this record.