Kacey's masterpiece
My favorite album of the year (so far), plus my weekly shareables: Oprah, Caitlin Clark and Beyoncé (a/k/a the holy trinity)
One quick question up front: I’ve been going back and forth about whether to post my end-of-the-week newsletter on Friday or Saturday. I know some people try not to look at the Internet much on the weekends, but I also feel like our inboxes are more cluttered during the week and Saturday might allow for a bit more space. Best I can tell, the readership is about the same either way.
Drop a line in the comments and let me know if you prefer one or the other and why. I need the collective wisdom of the Shedheads here.
I was having a tough day earlier this week and so I turned to one of my favorite natural remedies: listening to new music. I went for a drive and cued up Kacey Musgraves’ new record DEEPER WELL. It hit me like a sledgehammer. OK, a sledgehammer wrapped in a lavender-scented comforter. But still.
I don’t follow the ins and outs of Musgraves’ personal life, so I don’t know how any of this tracks with reality, but to me the album sounds like her slowly working her way out of one relationship and slowly working her way into another. The first few songs are about letting go. The last few are about holding on. It could be lovers she’s singing about. I guess she could be singing about herself.
Everything here is quiet, understated, mostly just acoustic guitar and her voice. A lot of it sounds like the softer side of Fleetwood Mac, and that’s not a dig. “Cardinal,” the opening track, reminded me of “California Dreamin’.” (The main musical exception is “Lonely Millionaire,” which has a cool R&B vibe—Ronald Isley could’ve sung that lyric.) But in between the notes, she’s struggling with everyday problems as well as big cosmic questions. “The Architect” is a plea to whoever built the universe, in a way you might ask to speak to the manager:
Was it thought out at all, or just paint on a wall?
Is there anything that you regret?
I don't understand, are there blueprints or plans?
Can I speak to the architect?
I don’t know if all of Musgraves’ fans will love this record. It’s not as witty or sharp as something like “Follow Your Arrow,” or as trippy as her album GOLDEN HOUR. But what it does, as well as any record I’ve heard in a while, is set a mood and tell a story. The lyrics are simple and direct and personal. At the beginning she’s not sure she can take on the day without a big hit on her bong; by the end she’s telling the object of her affection that there’s nothing to be scared of.
The TV writer Dan Harmon created a story circle that I think about all the time when I’m crafting a story. Basically, a character ventures out into the world in search of something … finds it … pays a price … and returns to the beginning, having changed. That’s what DEEPER WELL sounds like to me—the journey of someone who’s changed, or is changing, and looks back on how it happened. It’s just about the only story worth telling, and here it’s beautifully told.
10 things I wanted to share this week:
I would like to announce, before things get any worse, that I am currently 6th (out of 86) in one of my men’s March Madness pools and 10th (out of 112) in the other. This is by far the best my picks have ever done through the first round. I totally expect a collapse once the second round starts today, so I am going to bask in this for at least a couple more hours.
As I said earlier this week, though, the women’s game is where all the cool stuff is happening. My favorite story of the week was one heavyweight champ writing about another: Wright Thompson on Caitlin Clark, and what it’s like to be famous as you’re still figuring out how to be yourself. (ESPN)
My weekly for WFAE was a variation on that old saying about the poker table, except this time about sports betting: If you don’t know who the fish is, you’re the fish.
My friend Tom Haberstroh has similar thoughts on sports betting. (The Finder)
DOG NEWS: From now until DOGLAND comes out, I’m devoting this slot to dog stories. This week: The French bulldog is the #1 breed in America for the second year in a row. I will have much more on Frenchies in DOGLAND, which you might have heard is coming out soon.
The brilliant Tressie McMillan Cottom on Oprah, Ozempic and what it means to love your body. (NYT)
Zibby Owens with some truthful, and useful, thoughts on what it means to be a successful author. (Reminder: I’m part of Zibby’s book-lovers’ retreat in Asheville April 12-14. Come join us!)
Paul Simon invited a filmmaker to do a documentary on him. The filmmaker discovered that Simon is losing his hearing. (NYT)
Details on that Beyoncé country album I’ve talked about here recently. (NYT)
I mentioned above that “Lonely Millionaire” from DEEPER WELL sounds like something the Isley Brothers might’ve cut … that led me to dive back into their catalog, and especially “For the Love of You,” which for me is one of the all-time R&B ballads.
Have a great week, everybody.
Loving Deeper Well. I vote for Saturday!
You might also like the new Waxahatchee album.