Posts

Showing posts with the label star-crossed

“Anything But Me” by MUNA, Thursday, October 24, 2024 (repost)

Image
  In 2020, MUNA was dropped by their label RCA for “ not making enough money .” The queer-identifying trio had modest success with their first two records,   About U and Saves the World , but they would actually achieve a higher level of success on an indie label. The key to this renewed success was partnering with an indie rock darling who had come to be known as a “serial collaborator” due to appearing on a range of projects from Paul McCartney to Taylor Swift . Phoebe Bridgers signed MUNA to her label Saddest Factory and functioned as the trio’s A&R person. MUNA quickly expanded their listener base with the hit featuring Bridgers, “ Silk Chiffon .” The song preceded  MUNA’s eponymous album by more than nine months and became the band’s most-streamed song. In March of 2022, MUNA released the second single from the album, “ Anything But Me .” YOU’RE GONNA SAY I ASKED FOR THE MOON. While MUNA is certainly overshadowed by Phoebe Bridgers and her own trio, boygenius , touring

“The Architect” by Kacey Musgraves, Saturday, August 3, 2024

Image
Deeper Well is an anthesis to the career trajectory Kacey Musgraves should be on if it follows the progression of her former two albums, Golden Hour and star-crossed . Her latest album is beautiful, dedicated to the path the singer is currently on, which is quite different from her former record. Unlike the previous album, Musgraves opts for stripped-back production and acoustic instrumentation. A hint of her Golden, Texas twang only barely qualifies the singer to remain in the Country genre, rather than moving fully into Folk. On a first listen, the album lacks the hooks of her prior albums, but on a deeper listen, the lyrics fill in what seemed like a musical void. When the listener is reconditioned to the new Musgraves sound, the album takes on its own logic and we realize it's the same Kacey we’ve come to love, even if there are some fundamental differences.  COULD I PRAY IT AWAY? AM I SHAPABLE CLAY? With her more liberal views than her genre of Country music particularly on

“Anything But Me” by MUNA, Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Image
In 2020, MUNA was dropped by their label RCA for “ not making enough money .” The queer-identifying trio had modest success with their first two records,   About U and Saves the World , but they would actually achieve a higher level of success on an indie label. The key to this renewed success was partnering with an indie rock darling who had come to be known as a “serial collaborator” due to appearing on a range of projects from Paul McCartney to Taylor Swift . Phoebe Bridgers signed MUNA to her label Saddest Factory and functioned as the trio’s A&R person. MUNA quickly expanded their listener base with the hit featuring Bridgers, “ Silk Chiffon .” The song preceded  MUNA’s eponymous album by more than nine months and became the band’s most-streamed song. In March of 2022, MUNA released the second single from the album, “ Anything But Me .” YOU’RE GONNA SAY I ASKED FOR THE MOON. While MUNA is certainly overshadowed by Phoebe Bridgers and her own trio, boygenius , touring wi

"cherry blossom" by Kacey Musgraves, Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Image
Only for one week cherry blossoms bloom. The sakura or 벚꽃 are a delicate flower that is quite a spectacle both where they naturally occur in East Asian and where they have been planted. The peach and plum trees and magnolia trees are also beautiful, but the cherry blossoms when they fall like snow are quite stunning. But unlike the other flowers, cherry blossoms are the most delicate. Heavy rains, winds, unseasonable hot or cold, improper pruning of the trees all could be reasons for an uneven sakura week. And if the weather permits, the week ends with the flowers blowing in the wind like snow.  EVEN IN NATURE TIMING IS EVERYTHING. The third track on Kacey Musgraves ' star-crossed , " cherry blossom ," compares the singer and her love to the delicate flowers that are supposed to bloom in "early April" but now earlier due to climate change. The cherry blossoms bloom for one week every year and then blow away in the breeze. Love too can disappear if it is not nurt

“there is a light” by Kacey Musgraves, Saturday, March 11, 2023

Image
  About a month ago, I was in America. It was a Friday night at my sister’s house. My sister’s wife had just made a delicious risotto and we had a bottle of wine. We had been talking about what music we had been listening to before dinner, and as we were sitting around the TV wondering what to watch. I said that at some point I wanted to watch Kacey Musgraves ’ star-crossed on Paramount+ because the film was not available to stream in Korea.   THERE IS A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL. One of the reasons I wanted to watch Kacey Mussgraves’  star-crossed was that I thought that the film would give me more context for the songs. Kacey*, my sister’s wife said, “The film provides less context,” and “You’ll probably be more confused after watching the movie.” And half a bottle of wine later, nothing was making narrative sense. Not every track on the album is illustrated in the form of a music video, but the songs that are are treated immaculately. The loose narrative follows an unhappy M