Quick Hits, Vol. 308 (Wand, Arcade Fire, Sunflower Bean, Florence & the Machine)

Wand - Golem.  Are you ever just sitting at your desk, doing boring work crap, and then the song that is playing on your Spotify is so rad that you just have to spontaneously say "fuck yeah, that is IT!" before going back to work?  Well, that is the actual sequence of events that just occurred as "Floating Head" was playing.  Load that into a turkey baster and jam it into my earholes.  Now, this album is seven years old - this is not some new thing that you need to get into before it blows up.  This album has apparently already had its chance to blow up and failed, because the world just isn't ready for psych stoner sludge rock grinders.  I grabbed this album months ago when Wand was coming to play a show in Austin and the description I read on Twitter was appealing, and this is giving me all the vibes I was hoping for.  In the normally confusing way of the world, "Floating Head" is not the most popular song on the planet, or even on this album, but I suppose that we all knew that the world was a broken place.  It freaking rules, though.  The top track is one called "Melted Rope," with 6.1 million streams.

Yeah, that one is dope too.  But in more of a Tame-Impala-copying-Dark-Side vibe or an "I'm so high I can't get off of this couch" thing.  I'm very much here for the harder edged pieces they have on this album.  Also, the YouTube commercials that are already playing freaking Christmas carols are going to make me murder.  IT'S NOT EVEN HALLOWEEN YET YOU PRICKS!  But please, I need for you to forward to like 1:55 in this next song, and just let yourself bop along with the jam band groove for a minute, until 2:34 when Voltron forms out of all the fuzzy instruments in the world and they lock into a prehistoric groove that makes the hairs stand out on my eyeballs.

[Kent from Real Genius voice] LEMME HAVE IT!

Arcade Fire - WE.  Weird album that has grown on me over time.  The first few songs sounds like they are trying to make new synth-tinged Beatles songs, or maybe Pink Floyd, without any promise of radio play or popularity.  But then songs six, seven, and eight feel like we slotted back into their best music that have made me love them in the past.  I don't know what all is going on with the band, I remember a brouhaha after Win Butler was accused of sexual misconduct, which led to Beck bailing on their tour, and I thought someone quit the band.  So maybe this disc is reflective of some of that angst and confusion?  I don't know.  The song titles are definitely pretentious as hell.  But what I can tell you is that the exciting bits of "The Lightning II," which strangely builds out of "The Lightning I" but is actually a separate song, is when the disc gets interesting, and sounds like something that could have been taken from Funeral or Neon Bible.  And they're very pop rock forward, where the first few songs are longer, stranger, less cohesive.  I also really like "Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)," which means that maybe I just liked the second half of this album and not the front half.  "The Lightning II" is actually the top streamer, but I want you to hear "Lookout Kid" instead, so here you go.  Second-most streamed tune at 8.8 million.

Fun video too, and also just a really nice tune.  I want to play it for my kids.  And have them roll their eyes and tell me its terrible because no one raps.  I'M NOT TEARING UP, YOU'RE TEARING UP!  Too bad that the whole disc can't feel like the back half.

Sunflower Bean - In Flight.  They have an older album that I really liked, which is why this one ended up in my new music queue.  This one is just fine - they have a funny way of sounding British even when they are just some folks out of Brooklyn making poppy indie rock.  Strangely, this album is not even listed on their Wikipedia.  Not sure why that would be.  Oh, it is because it is a single!  Not sure how you call a five song release a single, but this is just a single.  The full album is called Headful of Sugar, and it is even better than this little single release.

Sunflower Bean - Headful of Sugar.  Let's try this again.  Human Ceremony, from 2016, that was my disc from these guys.  Had a cool mash of psych rock and indie stuff.  This one is in the similar space, and they do a cool job of mixing the vocals between the male and female leads.  But I don't love it all. Strangely, the last song, a bonus track, crushes the rest of the album for stream counts.  No other song cracks 800k, but "Moment in the Sun" fires up 10 million streams.

Very different from the rest of the disc.  Feels like they are going a different poppier direction.  But it's a sweet little love song.  I just wish it had more of the psych sound in it and not just that one little synth riff.  The title song has a good woozy bit near the end that I dig. "I Don't Have Control Sometimes" is a bright little nugget of sunshine.  I will admit that the album feels disjointed - the songs don't flow very well into each other.  I wish there was a little more continuity or flow to the track listing.  Or maybe I just prefer the songs with instrumentation more than the drum machine/synth tunes - like "Post Love," not digging that one.  Up and down on this album.

Florence and the Machine - Dance Fever.  In all honesty, I was semi-lukewarm about this album's singles the first few times I heard them.  But then I went to see the band live at the Moody Center, had an awesome time, and a bunch of these songs are imbued with so much more meaning and emotion and feeling that I find them significantly better.  There is just something feral and amazing about watching Florence belt these songs out like an animal caged on the stage, that brings a different prism to the tunes.  Not sure I would have even noticed the album opener, a slow burner called "King," except that the eruption about halfway through was so visceral at the show that it gets my attention immediately now.  "Free" is the big streamer, at 29.5 million listens.

Nothing like a good, random cry at your desk while you are supposed to be reading a loan agreement.  Yeehaw!  Thanks for that Florence!  If you didn't sit still to listen to the lyrics, this section in the back half is insanely powerful to me, after she's been singing about her feelings overwhelming her: "Is this how it is? / Is this how it's always been? / To exist in the face of suffering and death / And somehow still keep singing? / Oh, like Christ up on a cross / Who died for us, who died for what? / Oh, don't you wanna call it off? / But there is nothing else that I know how to do / But to open up my arms and give it all to you / 'Cause I hear the music, I feel the beat / And for a moment, when I'm dancing / I am free."  But there is nothing else that I know how to do strikes a real chord inside of me, as well as the freedom that comes from hearing the music.  Wonderful song.  "Choreomania" is also a good one, as is "My Love."  I don't love every minute of the album, but the combination of my in-person experience and the tunes is a strong tie that binds me to these tunes.

Predicting ACL 2023: Major Tours

I've been having some trouble motivating myself to start really digging in to the guessing games and sleuthing to figure out who I think will show up in the fall.  I think that is, in part, because it has been so very difficult to figure out who is going to be here.  I personally feel like I used to be able to figure out some big names early on, but with recent left-field picks like The Chicks, P!nk, George Strait, etc., I feel like I've lost my mojo.  But, I usually have fun digging in to this stuff, so let's give it a shot anyway.

With this post, I'll look at those artists who are supposed to have big tours this year, to see what their schedule looks like and if ACL can fit into those spots.  I'm using a few lists online of "anticipated" or whatever tours, so if you don't see your favorite in here, blame Google.  Or tell me what else is coming, and I'll dig in to that as well.

I also left out the more minor bands/artists - trying to think about headliner, or at least the big type people, so leaving out someone like Schoolboy Q or Angel Olsen.  Also, leaving out Zach Bryan or SZA or Paramore or others who just played ACL last year.

• Shania Twain.  I know that I already talked about this in an earlier post, but I am feeling really solid about this one.  The ACL bookers have leaned in to the feminine at the top of the poster, and Shania matches the cowboy angle they have been going with recently as well (King George, Kacey, The Chicks, etc.).  She plays Dallas and Houston in July, but skips Austin and San Antonio.  She has a gap for the entire month of August (when she could play Lolla on 8/3 to 8/6), and then comes back to play San Antonio on October 12 and Fort Worth on October 13.  ACL is 10/6-10/8 and then 10/13 to 10/15, so she could easily play the Sunday of both weekends.  Definite YES.
• Madonna.  DAMMIT!  If you have been reading this blog for a while, you know that she has been one of my wish list groups for ACL for a really long time.  I love me some classic Madonna.  And so when she was going to announce a big tour this morning, I was pumped to see a big ass gap in the October time frame, so that I could add her to the poster and get pumped for the Immaculate Collection classics.  But sadly, not going to happen.  Her tour swings through Austin to play the Moody Center on September 21, and there is no way that they'd bring her right back to play ACL two weeks later.  Also, she'll play London on Saturday of Weekend Two, so that is just not happening.  Sadness. No.
• Bruce Springsteen.  Another that I always hope to see on the poster, but not happening.  He is playing Austin in February and so I don't see a way that he comes right back for the Fest.  Would be DOPE though!  Nope.
• Taylor Swift.  And yet another annual pick for my wish list for the Fest.  Would be amazing.  But I just don't see it happening - for one because she can sell out any arena in a millisecond, but for two because she is booked during the Lolla weekend, and I don't see any way we would get her to ourselves here in Austin.  Would make much more sense for C3 to tie her up to a megadeal that would have her on both posters.  The dreamer inside of me sees that: (1) she played festivals last year (European fests like Mad Cool, Glastonbury, and Roskilde); and (2) her tour ends in August, so she'd have plenty of time to announce a new leg of the tour that included ACL.  But I don't buy it.  No.
• Arctic Monkeys.  God I hope not.  Their last time at ACL was entirely underwhelming, much like the new album that is chock full of more boring lounge music.  Oh thank goodness, they play the Moody Center on September 15.  Phew.  Their tour ends on 10/1, so it is theoretically possible, but not with a show in Austin that close by.  No.
• Big Thief.  I'd love to see them play music from that most recent album, but it looks like they'll be playing the ACL Live venue in February.  The tour ends in April, so theoretically they could come back.  And there have definitely been bands that have played pre-summer in Austin but still been back on the lineup, but I don't see it.  No.
• Morgan Wallen.  My gut says no, right away.  I just don't see ACL giving a guy with his past a shot to headline - feels too progressive to allow a hard 'R' user to get a headlining slot.  Also, he's playing the Moody Center in May, so I'm going to stick with my gut and say no.
• Olivia Rodrigo.  I have always been confused by the fact that she played the tiny Moody Ampitheater last year, when she easily could have sold out any venue in town.  My girls were sad to miss out as well.  So this would make up for that in spades.  BUT, whatever website I used to find tours was apparently full of duke, because she has no tour announced as of now.  Too bad.  No.
• Rihanna.  Would be huge, but this is another one where she hasn't actually announced a tour yet.  So, for now, going to say negative.
• Blink 182.  Another band that would make sense, but will be in Austin too close - July 7.  They'll also be in Europe during the Fest dates, so that is a NOPE.
• Coldplay.  I feel like this is another annual wish list item that just never comes true.  Also, I was fascinated to learn the other day that one of my sisters hates this band.  Wild.  That's like hating pasta or something.  Anyway, they are cruising around South America and Europe all spring and summer, and then the dates end in mid-July.  They already played the US on this tour, including a May 2022 date in Dallas.  No other US dates are on the calendar, but they tweeted yesterday that "more dates coming soon."  So, it could make good sense that they are holding off on an announcement of both Lolla in August and ACL in October.  I'd dig it, but I also don't know if I really believe it.  Lukewarm.
• Dead & Company.  Man, I bought two tickets to one of the dates in Boulder, right when these shows went on sale.  And I don't think I'm actually going to be there when I thought I would, which is lame-o-rama.  They are playing Jazz Fest, so they are up for festivals on this tour.  They play Dallas in May, but no other Texas spots.  The tour is done on July 16, so they definitely have time and space to announce Lolla and ACL together.  Again, though, not really feeling it.  I'd LOVE to get to see them play, but I don't feel like the masses would get excited for them to be a headliner, and it feels more like they just want to play out their string of final dates and move on with life.  Nah.
• Depeche Mode.  Their tour hits San Antonio on April 2, but no other Texas dates.  Tour ends on August 11.  I really don't see a need to have them back again, but I guess I would have said that about the Cure when they came back pretty quickly after their first show.  My gut says no.
• Elvis Costello.  They sold out of a VIP 10-Day Pass for his ten shows in NYC, starting in February, where that pass gave you access to all ten nights.  I like the guy, but ten shows in a row?  Criminy.  Super limited tour lineup announced so far - all in New England area and then Australia.  I'd imagine more dates are to come that would include the rest of the country, and he makes sense as a legacy act that they could tack at the bottom of the headliners to get some old people excited (and offset the pain of Bad Bunny or Calvin Harris or whatever).  Feels like it makes sense to me, even though I definitely need more info to give a real prediction.  Maybe.
• Harry Styles?  It would make sense for him to do a proper tour after only playing four cities last time.  As of now, he has a few shows in California before he heads to Australia, Asia, and then Europe.  The tour appears to end in July, but I could imagine another leg being added that includes South America and more US dates.  Is Austin still excited to see him after he already played six nights here in 2022?  I'd love to see it, but I don't really get a good gut feeling from this one.  Likely no.
• Lizzo.  I kind of hope not.  She's bad ass, but her last ACL show was a cluster.  It feels like she's been here too recently, and doesn't have big new releases to come back for.  Maybe that changes, but her tour ends in July and it feels like she'll just go into the studio then and come up with some new stuff.  Nah.
• Metallica.  Another that I hope not.  I loved their show, but it feels too soon.  They are doing a really weird tour this year, where they play each city for two nights in a row, with entirely different sets each night, in the round.  Sounds like fun.  In August, they'll be in Dallas.  The poster for it was created by a madman though, as the dates are not listed chronologically.  Annoying.  But, I definitely note that there is a big fat gap in the poster from September 29 to November 3, leaving a massive spot for them to hit both weekends of ACL.  I suppose that leaves the possibility open, but my heart still says it would be too soon to have them back.  Nah.
• Peter Gabriel.  Hmmm.  Would be fun - I love some classic PG tunes.  But as of now, his tour schedule is only listing European dates from May through June, and nothing in the US (or after June).  So, could be more clear once the full tour is announced.  For now, I'll just go with a maybe.
• The Weeknd.  I would not be excited about this in the slightest.  Luckily for me, he is playing dates in South America during both weekends, so that looks like a not happening.
• BlackPink.  Fascinating.  This band is one of the main three headliners of Coachella, and yet they are playing ACL Live in February?  Errr, that must be wrong.  But blackpinkmusic.com makes it look real, until I click on the buy tickets link and am redirected to Ticketmaster selling me tickets for S.C. Goodman.  Weird.  Must be a fake page?  When I click on BlackPinkLive.com instead, it shows that they already played seven dates in North America back in 2022, but have nothing new on the way.  And Ticketmaster only shows a few upcoming concerts in Abu Dhabi and London, without even mentioning Coachella. I have no clue what is real.  I guess for now I say no.
• Ed Sheeran.  I'd feel meh about this announcement for sure.  He plays Dallas and Houston in May, to kick off his tour.  Tour ends with a September 23 show in California, without ever going overseas, but pretty well covering all of the States.  That end date leaves him time to hit up ACL before embarking on a European leg of the tour, so I suppose he could be the big pop get for this year?  I have no good intel that would be useful here, so Maybe.
• Eminem.  I was on the sidelines of a kid's sporting event this last weekend, and a mom near me was positively electric with the idea that Eminem would be back at ACL in 2023.  Personally?  Ew.  His last time here was a deeply lame battle with lip synching, and he hasn't made any new music of any note in a long time.  And his website lists no upcoming events, so whatever website told me that he would be a big 2023 tour is dumb.
• Janet Jackson.  That would have been a pretty fun one, but she is hitting the Moody Center on June 4, so I very much doubt that she'd swing right back up to Austin a few months later.  Nah.
• Matchbox 20.  Their tour swings through Dallas and Houston in June, skipping both Austin and San Antonio.  It ends on August 6 in Chicago.  Which would be a perfect way for them to also pop on over to Lolla to play the 7th or 8th (if Lolla ever does that sort of thing, to book someone who is already playing in town at the same time?).  They could announce some more dates and include ACL in that new batch.  Not feeling it though.
• Billy Joel with Stevie Nicks.  That is a pretty freaking cool matchup right there, you could hear the two of them together and solo?  Sounds awesome.  That tour includes an October 7 show in Baltimore, so I'd doubt that they would hurry down to Austin for either of the other two first weekend dates.  I guess they could show up second weekend only, but I'm going to assume that is a no.
• Lynyrd Skynyrd with ZZ Top.  Another dope pairing, even if it would probably be sad to see ZZ Top without the full band.  Called the Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour.  Ha!  Skynyrd is playing the San Antonio Rodeo in February, then this tour hits Fort Worth and Houston in July.  The shebang ends in mid-September in New Jersey, so they have the time and space to come back to Texas and jam at Zilker.  No reason to believe it is true though...
• Muse.  I've given the new album a few spins and so far it is not good.  They play the Moody Center on February 28, so not very likely they'd come back (but possible!).  The tour ends in late July in Italy.  I have been repeatedly told that they put on a killer show, but I just don't feel any excitement about it today.  Going to go with a no here.
• Zac Brown Band.  Nope.  They have shows each night of both weekend one and two except for second weekend Sunday.  Not gonna happen.
• The Judds.  I honestly don't know if I think this is headliner worthy, but I'm not a big Nashville guy.  The tour ends up being a pretty small one with less than 20 dates, and none in Texas.  Which, you know, could normally mean that they were saving Texas for their big festival moment.  But the last day of the tour is Feb. 25, and so this doesn't feel like one where they are just holding back the big announcement dates.  Feels more like a short tour for the end of a career.  No.
• Beyonce.  Another where one website said that they were expecting an announcement, back in December, and nothing in out there for it.  Nah.
• Rage Against the Machine.  Dammit.  I still really just want to speak this into existence.  But everything on the Internet is still saying that the tour is cancelled because of ZDLR's leg injury.  So sad.

Very few things in this list felt like locks, beyond Shania.  A "maybe" vibe on Coldplay, Elvis Costello, Peter Gabriel, and Ed Sheeran (which would lead to the whitest-ass lineup this side of the Catalina Wine Mixer).  And lots of pretty definite "no" feelings.  Hmmmm.  I need to go through the Coachella/Bonnaroo/etc. lineups and see if I see any other thoughts.

Hailey Whitters

One Liner: A mix of old-school Taylor Swift, Natalie Maines, and Kacey Musgraves

Wikipedia Genre: Country

Home: Nashville (originally from Shueyville, Iowa)

Poster Position: small Type 
Sunday.

Thoughts:  Huh, I figured she would not be the most popular "Hailey" on Spotify, but she definitely popped up first.  Her first song brings a combined vibe of Taylor Swift with Natalie Maines all rolled up into one.  I also get a lot of Kacey Musgraves vibes in here.  I've enjoyed it for sure.

She got her start by writing for others - Alan Jackson and Little Big Town - as well as others.  She's also toured in support of some bigger names - Maren Morris and Jon Pardi.  But I think she sounds like she could do her own thing.  3 albums, 2015's Black Sheep, 2020's The Dream, and 2022's Raised.  And another from 2021 called Living the Dream that is a deluxe version of The Dream (and has several bigger tunes on it than the original).  The big hit in her catalog is from that new album, this is the tune that I think sounds like Natalie Maines singing on a Taylor Swift song.  "Everything She Ain't" has 38.9 million streams.

That opening lick is so very classic, early Taylor Swift.  I'd say that some of those lyrics in the chorus are a little too obvious.  "Lime to your Corona," etc.  It is a nice little tune, even with those little nits.  

"Dream, Girl" sounds like a John Mayer song.  Her top three other songs all feature someone else - Little Big Town, Ernest (?), and Jordan Davis.  Her first album is not a high stream counter, looks like it took her a little while to get her stride on that second album.  She also has two Christmas songs, and I like them.  But we'll do "Heartland" from The Dream for the other tune for you to hear.  4.7 million streams.

I don't know what the vocal quality is that she shares with Maines, but I definitely hear it when she sings.  And lyrically, this one makes me think of Musgraves.  Nice nostalgia tune.  She kind of looks like Miranda Lambert - even the cover of their most recently two albums has them in a similar position and wearing a big dumb hat.

I like her.  I'd go check this one out for sure.

Pam Tillis

One Liner: The chameleon child of Mel Tillis doing country, soft rock, blues, and more.

Wikipedia Genre: Country
Home: Nashville (but originally from Plant City, Florida)

Poster Position: small Type 
Sunday.

Thoughts:  Pamela Yvonne Tillis is the daughter of Mel Tillis, a country singer who was part of the outlaw country movement, and was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Obama (as well as many other awards).  

Literally none of these songs ring a bell at all.  Not even a little glimmer of remembrance.  But she has three platinum albums and one #1 song under her belt, so she's got some action.  Her biggest song is called "Maybe It Was Memphis," with 21.6 million streams.  I don't recognize it, and I don't love it either.  From her 1991 debut called Put Yourself in My Shoes.

Less country and more like soft rock.  Feels like just because she mentions the south and Memphis that they called it country.  Cheesy as hell.  The Internet says this is her "signature song."

At age 16, she was nearly killed in a car accident, and had to go through five years of surgeries, including facial reconstruction.  She went to the University of Tennessee, but then dropped out and moved to San Francisco, where she was in a jazz/rock band called Freelight.  She worked with her dad some, singing background vocals and helping write songs.  Her first solo releases were pop and disco songs, before shifting into country music in 1989.  But she got to sing with her dad, on stage at the Grand Ole Opry, at age eight, so that's pretty sweet.  While she was trying to break into the country music scene, back in Nashville, she sang advertising jingles for Country Time powdered drink mix, Coca-Cola, and Coors beer.

Her sophomore album included a hit as well, although with considerably less streams, called "Shake the Sugar Tree."  Which sounds like a euphemism.  8.5 million streams.

Kind of a violent message here, Pam.  "I'll shake the sugar tree / Till I feel your love falling / All around me / You've got to tend to what you've planted / And if you take my love for granted baby / I'll shake the sugar tree."  So, if I don't give you enough attention, you're going to beat me up?  Also, those first three lines definitely sound like a euphemism.  If this was a Red Hot Chili Peppers song, those three lines would have a different understanding.

Later albums continued to drop in stream counts, many sounds are just in four figures.  But several greatest hits collections gather up those two songs above any some others that crack a million.  None of those are particularly good though.  The duets disc with Lorrie Morgan is actually pretty good - sounds like actual country music.  Her most recent album, 2020's Looking for a Feeling, has a little country flair at times, but sounds a little more like a bluesy lounge singer disc.  Like a Susan Tedeschi thing.  "The Scheme of Things" is the most emblematic of that sound on here.

Because an associate in my firm claimed that this song was a banger, I'm also going to give you "Let That Pony Run," from 1992's Homeward Looking Angel.  1.6 million streams, so not in her top ten by any means, but it's pretty solid.

Not so sure about a banger, but it is for sure catchy and a good story-song.

A little disappointed here.  Nothing sounds vital to add to my collection, nothing sounds timeless like some of the other groups and artists I've discovered or re-discovered on this poster.  I don't think I'd go out of my way to see it.

Mavis Staples

One Liner: A Queen of classic R&B somehow on this poster.

Wikipedia Genre: R&B, Soul, Gospel, Americana

Home: Chicago

Poster Position: LARGE Type 
Sunday.

Thoughts:  Another deeply weird addition to this poster right here.  Wedged between a bunch of Nashville acolytes hollering about beer and hot chicks and red dirt, you get one of the Queens of R&B and gospel wandering in here.  83 years old!  She was part of the Staples Singers, and since then has collaborated with everyone from Ray Charles to Prince to David Byrne to Hozier to Aretha Franklin to Arcade Fire to Van Morrison to Dan Auerbach to Bob Dylan.  She has a freaking Grammy Lifetime Achievement award, for crying out loud.  One of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, per Rolling Stone.  In the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  A Kennedy Center Honoree.  Gospel Hall of Fame and Blues Hall of Fame, respectively.  She is legitimately a huge act, and yet she's tucked among the Clay Walkers and Tracy Byrds in some weird world.

So, obviously, she got started with the family band, The Staples Singers.  If you don't immediately recognize the name, you absolutely know some of their top songs.  They originally were performing at churches and a local radio show in Chicago, before they scored a hit in 1956 with "Uncloudy Day."  That old album absolutely sounds like a gospel family band, recorded in a shed somewhere.  After a handful of gospel and cover albums of folk songs (?!?), they became the soundtrack for the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s with several of those folky tunes, like "For What It's Worth," "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall," and "The Weight."  They hit the top forty eight times in this stage, including two number ones.  "I'll Take You There" is the top one of those, released in 1972, and rolling up 135.1 million streams since then.

Absolutely classic.  And it has been used in countless movies, commercials, samples, shows, and everything else since then.  Rolling Stone ranked it as the 276th best song of all time.  That funky groove in the back is money in the bank.  "Let's Do It Again" was their other top hit.

Her 1969 solo debut is a powerfully sung mix of soul and R&B songs, and it doesn't appear that she wrote any of them.  It's the immediately recognizable tunes that have the most streams - "Son of a Preacher Man," "You Send Me," and "A House is Not a Home."  It is a really nice album - solid musicianship behind her and a voice that is immediately noticeable.  1970's Only for the Lonely has a great cover, with a closeup on her eye with a teardrop rolling down her face.  That album also boasts her top streamer until her later career renaissance, with "I Have Learned to Do Without You."  3.8 million streams.

Rolling along with that bass line and those strings, this is a lovely one that again showcases her voice.  Big gap after that one, until 1979's Oh What a Feeling, which has more of a disco flair than the first two albums, it is pretty groovy!  Then another ten year break before 1989's Time Waits for No One, which legit has no streams.  Two tracks have barely over 1,000, and the others have no listed streams.  Weird.  After that, a few albums of religious songs (and also, it looks like some of her albums are not on Spotify, likely some label issues or something) before some more gospel/civil rights tunes.  In the midst of that, she sang the theme song for National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

Nice!  In my opinion, her resurgence happened in 2010 with You Are Not Alone, when she kind of leaned into the elder Stateswoman of soul thing.  She won the Best Americana Album Grammy with that album, which was a product of a collaboration with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy.  It has a little bit of the Americana rootsy sound of Wilco, but with Staples' weathered voice on top.  The top tune is the title song, with 4.4 million streams.

Lovely, right?  After this one, she did another album with Tweedy on the instruments again, 2013's One True Vine, which ended up as her highest charting album.  The top tune on there is great, funky and soulful while sounding like something from a Wilco and Black Keys influenced band.  "Can You Get to That."  Just over 2 million streams.

[Deepest voice of all time except for the Oak Ridge Boys]: "I wanna know."  Next, she shifted her indie rockers and worked with M. Ward on 2016's Livin' on a High Note.  A good album - very enjoyable tunes and her voice is still nice (even if not as powerful as it once was).  She apparently wasn't into it though, and went back to Tweedy for 2017's If All I Was Was Black.  Then she must have thought better about Tweedy, because she hooked up with Ben Harper for 2019's We Get By.  Most of the songs on these albums are chill, a little slight funkiness to them, but mostly relaxed Adult Alternative type tunes. And they are very good - I don't know of another 83-year old former R&B/soul/gospel singer who is out here making music like this right now.  Dolly is 75, but she is still generally doing country stuff.  Same with Willie.   Finally, Mavis put out Carry Me Home, with Levon Helm (of the Band) on every song.

We'll see how the schedule shakes out, as I have to see Clay Walker over anyone but Tyler on this day, but if I could see Staples do her thing, I'd love to witness it in person.

Madeline Edwards

One Liner: Powerful voice and questionably country pop music

Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but I'd call this country pop and R&B

Home: Nashville (originally from Houston)

Poster Position: small Type 
Sunday.

Thoughts:  I had this thought as I was working my way through Pillbox Patti yesterday, about what exactly makes music considered "country."  Because this similarly does not sound like country to me.  She's got the powerful voice of an R&B singer, singing rock songs and pop ballads.  So, just for fun, let's dig in to that question.

The dictionary says: "a form of popular music originating in the rural southern US. It is traditionally a mixture of ballads and dance tunes played characteristically on fiddle, guitar, steel guitar, drums, and keyboard."  Another definition, which I think is better, says this: "a style and genre of largely string-accompanied American popular music having roots in the folk music of the Southeast and cowboy music of the West, usually vocalized, generally simple in form and harmony, and typified by romantic or melancholy ballads accompanied by acoustic or electric guitar, banjo, violin, and harmonica.”

But there has to more to it than that, because I remember some hubbub last year when the Grammys said that Kacey Musgraves newest album couldn't be considered in the Country Music genre, or when Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" shot up the Hot Country chart only to get stripped from the charts by Billboard.  On the other hand, one of the most popular country chart songs of 2019 was Florida Georgia Line's "Meant to Be," which doesn't sound country in any way.  Taylor Swift shifted from pure country to arena pop, but the Billboard Country chart still let songs like "We Are Never Getting Back Together" reside in the charts.  Some of the articles I have pulled up today are blaming this on racism or sexism.  That Lil Nas X was yanked because he's black, or that Musgraves lost out on a potential win for Country Album of the Year because she had won two times before and the powers that be wanted a male to win (despite one of the album's songs somehow being up for Country Song of the Year).  Not sure I buy that last one, women won album of the year in 19, 20, and 21, and 3/5 of the albums nominated this year are women.

Anyway, regarding young Madeline, know that these songs are not especially simple, and while some of them have electric guitar, there isn't much in the way of fiddle, banjo, or harmonica.  I don't really get the idea of calling this country music in any traditional sense of the word.  And if you search for her name on Wikipedia, you get a Canadian ice dancer.  Which, it would be really funny if this singer was an ex-Canadian ice dancer...

She appeared on a single by the Highwomen, which feels like some country bona fides.  She also just recently sang at the CMAs.  An article I just read in the Tennessean claims she is in "country's mainstream."  SO maybe I'm just the one who doesn't hear it.

Her top song is "The Road," which comes off like a new-school Evangelical number over the top of a keyboard's jenkiest beat.  6.6 million streams.

Like, nothing in that at all makes me think country music.  Not the lyrics, not the instruments, not the style, just nothing at all.  It is a pretty song - I'm all about God helping me carry the load when I can't do it on my own.  But I'm still just confused how this is in the country mainstream.  

A couple EPs and singles, but just one real album, 2022's Crashlanded.  Some of the old stuff is straight R&B.  The big tune from it is "Hold My Horses," with 1.2 million streams.

Okay, guitar and lyrics about horses.  That seems like country!  I don't know why I am hung up on this issue, but yeah, this one sounds like country in the way that some of Chris Stapleton's soaring rock ballads do.  I could see this tune being used on Yellowstone while the cowboys try to break some new ponies.  Rock and roll, baby.  But yeah, that one is much more country-styled than most of those Pillbox Patti tunes that got me thinking about this in the first place.  "Why I'm Calling" is a lovely little piano ballad.  "Spurs" is a brash little threat of a song.  The album is up and down, but overall it is good.  Just not really my style of music that I'd aim for - like country pop & rhythm.

Elvie Shane

One Liner: Ex-American Idol guy representing all the stepdads everywhere!

Wikipedia Genre: Country

Home: Nashville (but originally Kentucky)

Poster Position: small Type 
Sunday.

Thoughts:  When I clicked on this name, I mentally asked myself if I thought this would be a guy or gal.  I was incorrect.  I figured that Elvie must be the female derivative of Elvis.  

My man is trying to corner the market on all step-father songs here, with his biggest hit "My Boy" followed up by "My Boy - My Girl Version."  Which I'm sure is lovely for the stepdads and mothers of stepchildren and maybe even the stepchildren out there, but it more reminds me of those shirts that say, "I'm Not The Step-Dad, I'm The Dad That Stepped Up."  Is that proper English?  Shouldn't it be the dad "who" stepped up?  Yep, I KNOW things!

Anyway, here is that big hit.  46.1 million streams.

Could this dude look any more like a hipster affecting a country lilt in his voice to try to change a style?  The sentiment of the song is lovely.  Same with the girl one - it is nice to think of a stepdad who cares that much about the stepson (even though he's definitely going to break up with your mom and leave you, despite all of those things he is saying in this song.  Sorry kid.  Thems the breaks.)

He grew up in Kentucky, singing at his church.  He attended Western Kentucky University, but ended up dropping out to follow his music dream.  That dream got him onto American Idol in 2016, and although he was eliminated in the first round, he got a record deal and started firing songs up onto the radio.  Just one album - 2021's Backslider - a 15 song album that almost gets to an hour long.  As an aside, I find his voice abrasive and don't love it - a little whiny, a little affected, a little purposely strained in the wrong ways.  Sorry if you love it, I find it annoying after a few tracks.  Most of the songs on his album are under 250k streams, with just a few that have popped with over 2 million.  The second-biggest is "County Roads," with 8.6 million streams.  NOT "Country Roads."

That one reminds me of Eric Church, trying to get a little rock and roll in a song dripping with nostalgia.  Something about it makes me think of when Kid Rock is trying to seem like a tough country bumpkin.  I don't love it.

Kathryn Legendre

One Liner: Local C3 employee getting to take the stage with some classic country flavor

Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but I'd call this Country

Home: Austin!

Poster Position: small Type 
Sunday.

Thoughts:  Very classic country sound - heavy on the steel guitar, fiddles, etc.  And that is a good thing in this case.  One album and two EPs - 2013's Old Soul, 2016's Don't Give a Damn EP, 2019's Making It Up EP - so not a lot of output over the years.  Very few streams for those tunes either (I mean, a ton more than I have!) but her top song is a 2020 single called "One Long Sad Song."  437k streams, and her only one with more than 100k.

Bluesy country tune.  Feels like something that would have been made in Austin, like someone who plays at Antone's one night and then the Spoke the next.  Let's dig in to who she is...  

Oh, wow.  She actually works at C3!  That is pretty sweet - they run the Fest and she gets a spot on stage!  She is the "Festival Marketing Manager + Production Lead" at C3 Presents.  So, she lives in Austin and is fully immersed in the music scene, and works a normal job in addition to pushing out some nice tunes.  Cool!  She's been able to play a few other festivals like Shaky Knees in the past, which is also beat to me.  I wish I was a side-hustle musician!

Her other top tune is from that 2019 EP, called "Sit Here & Cry."  71k streams.

There is that classic sound I was talking about.  The rim shots with the drums, the plucked bass line, the steel guitar moaning in the background, the intermittent fiddle bits.  Reminds me a little bit of an old Kelly Willis song.

Yeah, sure, I'd go watch this happen live.  Certainly more my speed than whatever Pillbox Patti is going to do on the stage in April.