COMM 380: Media Criticism
New Album, Same Great Sound
by Catherine Armstrong, '18
Major: Sociology
Country artist Kacey Musgraves’ new album, Pageant Material, skips the so-called “sophomore slump.” In fact, it is on-par or even better than her debut album, Same Trailer, Different Park. The songs and themes build upon each other. They are the story of a woman rejecting yet longing for the small town Texas culture which she grew up in. Career-wise, it is the furthering of an artist blazing her own, unique path.
Musgraves was praised in 2013 for her song “Follow Your Arrow,” and its infamous line“kiss lots of boys, or kiss lots of girls, if that’s something you’re into” (Wood, 2015). It became a mantra for LBGT rights. By extension, Ms. Musgraves was accepted as an LBGT advocate. It was seen as almost revolutionary, as country music is not usually associated with liberal causes. She did not seem to receive any blowback, either – unlike to her lyrical soul sisters the
Dixie Chicks, who were ostracized from the genre and a large part of the nation when they spoke out against President Bush’s invasion of Iraq in 2003 (Mitchell, 2013).
The album’s songs are a mix of longing and distaste for her small Texas hometown. The upbeat song “Pageant Material” is her proclamation against the Texan pageant culture she was raised in, saying, “I ain't pageant material / I'm always higher than my hair / And it ain't that I don't care about world peace / But I don't see how I can fix it in a swimsuit on a stage” (“Pagaent Queen,” 2015). Musgraves hints at her bucking the conservative town by mentioning she smokes pot. In addition, the song is a rejection of the unfair, silly beauty standards put on young women in talent completions. They are supposed to look “good” in certain outfits. They are expected to have coiffed hair and plastered-on make-up. They are expected to act “congenial” and perform well.
The album also shows the love Musgraves has for her home state and family. In the song “Family Is Family,” she sings, “Family is family, in church or in prison / You get what you get, and you don't get to pick 'em / They might smoke like chimneys, but give you their kidneys / Yeah, friends come in handy, but family is family” (“Pageant Queen,” 2015). This is a common theme among young adults these days. Many 20- and 30-somethings have rejected many of the
values they were raised with and adopted their own. In a 2014 Pew report, it was stated that people of voting age born after 1981 are more liberal and the most likely to vote Democratic (Frum, 2014). In addition, about 70 percent of Millennials support gay-marriage (Kingkade, 2013) and are the least likely to be traditionally religious (Cooper-White, 2015). Musgraves’ music seems to reflect this. Her music seems to be a harsh yet beautiful way of her rejecting the
culture she was raised in.In the song “Merry Go ‘Round” from her previous album, she wrote about women marrying young and the results of it (“If you ain't got two kids by 21, / You're probably gonna die alone”) and the hypocrisy that goes on in small town religious circles (“And it don't matter if you don't believe, Come Sunday morning, / you best be there in the front row like you're supposed to”). (“Same Trailer Different Park,” 2013).
The most distinctive part of Ms. Musgraves’ music and persona is how unique it is. There has not been a country music star like her before. She is not like the whimsical and girly country stars such as Martina McBride, Faith Hill, and Shania Twain of the late ‘90s and 2000s. Nor is she like the country-turned-pop princess Taylor Swift. In fact, some have speculated that her track “Good Ol’ Boys Club” is a diss at Swift and her megastar image (Lopatto, 2015). The
closest counterpart are the Dixie Chicks – one could argue that she is carrying on their work of progressive, feminist-themed country music.But other than them, there is not anyone else like Musgraves in the country music world. Her music is more reminiscent of 2000s and 2010s indie songwriter stars such as Jenny Lewis, Fiona Apple, Sam Phillips, and Aimee Mann. Those women, like Musgraves, sang slow, melodic songs laced with themes of women’s empowerment and liberal ideas.
Despite the comparisons, the sound and Musgraves herself are distinctively country. Musgraves wears her hair all puffed up, a la Dolly Parton on the album cover and to events. Her songs have a slow tempo. You can clearly hear Musgraves’ Texan twang while she is singing. She uses Southern colloquialisms such as “ain’t” and “God bless.” The background score includes a banjo, tambourine, and a male’s whistle. The songs have a mixed of themes.
“Pageant Material” is a ballad about rejection Texas’ beauty pageant culture, somewhat timely with the creation of TV shows about young girls performing in such shows. The songs “Late to the Party” and “Somebody to Love” follow the traditional country love song trope, though they are exceptionally well-done, as is the whole album.
Kacey Musgraves second album, Pageant Queen, is a triumph for herself and the whole country music genre. The album is a diary of Musgraves’ love-hate relationship with her home state of Texas. She loves her family and the traditions of her town, but dislikes their small mindedness. Her social commentary hints at her wanting the genre to get with times on issues such as LBGT rights. Most masterfully, however, Musgraves continues to carve out a distinct place in the country music world for herself. She rejects the Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood norm put forth by Nashville, and wants to align with the Indigo Girls and Toni Amoses of the world.
Works Cited
Cooper-White, M. (2015, May 27). Millennials Are The Least Religious Generation Yet, And Here's The Surprising Reason Why. The Huffington Post.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/27/millennials-less-religious_n_7452998.html
Frum, D. (2014, March 11). Why Are Millennials More Liberal, Less Trusting? Retrieved July 11, 2015. http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/11/opinion/frum-millennials-survey/
Kingkade, T. (2013, March 21). Millennial Support For Gay Marriage Hits All-Time High: Pew Research Center. The Huffington Post. Retrieved July 11, 2015.=
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/21/millennial-support-gaymarriage_n_2924993.html
Lopatto, E. (2015, June 25). Check out Kacey Musgraves' Taylor Swift diss track. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
http://www.theverge.com/2015/6/24/8841183/check-out-kacey-musgravestaylor-swift-diss-track
Mitchell, G. (2013, March 10). Ten Years Ago Today a Dixie Chick Dared to Hit Bush on War and a Hate Campaign Began. The Nation. http://www.thenation.com/article/ten-yearsago-today-dixie-chick-dared-hit-bush-war-and-hate-campaign-began/
Musgraves, K. (2013). Same Trailer Different Park. [DIGITAL] Nashville, Tennessee: Mercury Nashville.
Musgraces, K. (2015). Pageant Queen. [DIGITAL] Nashville, Tennessee: Mercury Nashville.
Wood, M. (2015, June 25). Review: Kacey Musgraves is Not Here to Flatter Your Progressivism. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 11, 2015.