i went to the cutie club and everyone said they knew you
leaving march like a little lamb
Hi!
Thanks for opening this email / reading this post
I’m excited to announce that I am pivoting to become a lifestyle account. I’ll no longer be writing, but instead each link will be a new video of me learning Fortnite dances, reviewing “quiet luxury” hauls from Amazon and Skims (in a size too small), and surprising my husband with silly pranks like pretending I’m dead. Thank you for coming along with me on my influencer journey!*
Number one free speech fan, Elon Musk, has created a haven for other First Amendment heads with X, but only in vibes, not in practice. Meaning, you can tweet insane Nazi shit all day AND he will also sell your data to the government, in a worst of both worlds twist only alleged billionaires can pull off.
While she may not have as many Oscars as Harvey Weinstein, Lily Gladstone was presented with this gorgeous celebration from the Blackfeet Nation.
I don’t love making Taylor Swift the face of private aviation because I’m sure there are much more sinister people abusing it for grosser reasons than a stadium tour and football BF, but I’m starting to feel uneasy about her literal global impact.
Key Bridge disaster facts with lots of marine insurance details - fascinating from a relief and engineering perspective (a little something for the nerds).
*April Fools’ hehe
Tunes to start the week with:
Before getting into the Bey of it, Flo Milli put out a new album last month (“Lose Me” with SZA and Cardi B is all over TikTok) and it’s great - she’s such an underated rapper.
Now, COWBOY CARTER…
At this point, I have learned that Ms. Carter transcends a genre, and while some are perfect fits for her, others are a little harder to get on. COWBOY CARTER at times can feel a bit like a costume, but it’s one that she already owns, made for her personally by Dontella Versace, and stored in her primary closet. It goes without saying, Beyoncé is a fabulous and singular lyricist/vocalist/performer, so even when she’s new to it, everything is still true to it. And let’s not forget, country is a complicated place. Once a bastion for leftist rural rebellion, it’s now the music of Thin Blue Line freaks who are so terrified of existing within a community that they need an automatic weapon to get a fucking Big Gulp. It’s about performing toughness and having values that defy intellect (a deep, unwavering love of America plus the desire to murder everyone in it). Of course, that’s just popular country.
There are plenty of amazing, non-cargo shorted, country artists today, many of them showing up on COWBOY CARTER. These artists, like Tanner Adell and Willie Jones, are spiritually much closer to Loretta Lynn or Johnny Cash than that guy who recently made a song about killing strangers, or the one who loved lynching that just died. But none of them are there to validate Queen Bey. Instead, tracks like “JUST FOR FUN” and “II MOST WANTED” feel authentically Beyoncé, like she called up some friends to party and also lay down some tracks. The collabs are so organic, and definitely stand out. Interpolations of classics, like the stunning “BLACKBIRD” and super fun “YA YA,” as well as cameos from Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson glue the lengthy album together with a wink, a nod to the legends from the always respectful singer. There are a few misses, like a “JOLENE” reimagining that dares to ask, “what if someone other than Beyoncé was attracted to Jay-Z?” but what’s more contemporary country music than internalizing misogyny and fighting with someone who doesn’t exist?
Overall, I really love how natural a fit this genre is for the global superstar. With RENAISSANCE, there was a sense of careful intellectualism, like a survey course of dance music paired with a creative writing prompt on Afrofuturism. The deep footnotes added some excitement, but it wasn’t until seeing the music performed in a massive club-like atmosphere that I “got it.” On COWBOY CARTER, Beyoncé isn’t going for straight A’s. Over the five years of making the album, she rightfully redefined the genre in her own image. While country conjures a hardscrabble existence, one that should be foreign to Beyoncé, she is a true Texas girl, raised amongst open carry and rodeos. And in a genre where the groundwork was laid by prolific (Black) blues musicians, but the credit has been given to others, Beyoncé’s reclamation of the most American sound is a righteous and a very enjoyable hour and a half of music.
xx