Switched on Pop

Kacey Musgraves' album Middle of Nowhere finds the country outlaw taking a break from exploring her inner life to look outward, back to her roots: the regional stylings of Texas. She says the album was inspired by a sign in her hometown that read “Golden, TX: Somewhere in the middle of nowhere.” The album’s sounds probe this same borderland mentality, encapsulating desert noir, Norteño, tejano, and soft rock. Plus, Willie Nelson.

The result is a collection of songs that are funny, moving, and reaching back to the sound Musgraves established in her debut record 13 years ago. But the world of country has changed since then – artists like Ella Langley have taken over the charts, cribbing Musgraves' sound while courting a more conservative audience. Can the genre encompass all these multitudes? Nate and Charlie explore this debate through Middle of Nowhere.

Links: ⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠

Songs discussed:


Kacey Musgraves – I Miss You

Kacey Musgraves – Merry Go 'Round

Kacey Musgraves – High Horse

Kacey Musgraves – justified

Kacey Musgraves – Deeper Well

Kacey Musgraves – Dry Spell

Kacey Musgraves, Billy Strings – Everybody Wants To Be A Cowboy

Kacey Musgraves, Willie Nelson – Uncertain, TX

Kacey Musgraves – Middle of Nowhere

Kacey Musgraves, Miranda Lambert – Horses and Divorces

Miranda Lambert – Mama's Broken Heart

Ella Langley – Choosin' Texas

Dolly Parton, David Hidalgo – Before The Next Teardrop Falls

Ella Langley – Be Her

Kacey Musgraves – Rhinestoned

Neil Young – Harvest Moon


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