Niall and Andrea are talking about the A B, and Cs of Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé’s eighth studio album on Episode 246.
A for America
B For Beyonce
C for Country
(and D for Discourse)
This 80 minutes and 27 track album, serving as Act 2 in the Renaissance trilogy, was purported to be Beyoncé’s country album. That’s not what has bolted from the stables.
Cowboy Carter is not a country album, but it does feature a lot of country music sounds, references and personnel. it’s Beyonce kicking through the saloon doors of country and inviting whoever or whatever sound she wants alongside her.
It’s more of a cultural reclamation of black AMERICAN music, with the origin story being that night in 2016 when Beyoncé performed Daddy Issues at the Country Music Awards in 2016, and made the traditionalists mad.
Cowboy Carter is an odyssey through American music of black origin, black country heritage, with Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, opera, bluegrass, Beach Boys, Nancy Sinatra, Westerns, “real instruments”, Rodeo, Chuck Berry, Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, Jon Batiste, Rhiannon Giddens outlaws, shotguns and giddy ups and shotgun riders.
Join us for an very interesting chat about it.
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Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
