Noots Letter: 🤠NEW BEYONCÉ🤠

SPECIAL XXXTRA EDITION - March 2024

It’s Bey Day! The sun is shining, Cowboy Carter is out! 

I spent a minimum of 6 hours listening to this album today, reading every article and Reddit thread I could find, and noting my every coherent thought. While March’s general newsletter is coming in a few days, this one is a Beyoncé special. As such, it’s a great day to know that if you’re on a Mac computer, you have to hold down the “e” and type “2” to produce her signature accent aigu (it’s Creole). 

I haven’t felt this level of personal hype around such a mainstream album in some time, but I also want to note that hype-time itself has been so limited. A mere 47 days! And yet the publicity images and commentary she has bestowed upon us in a mere month and a half is, simply, legendary. However, we are missing one major announcement so far, which is when the red, white, and blue latex assless chaps fashion line is dropping??

“This album has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history.”

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1. AMERIICAN REQUIEM: Yep and I started crying around the 45 second mark. I can say without a doubt that this is one of the best album openers I’ve ever heard. You could teach a class on this song alone. The album could be this song alone and I would be satisfied. It instantly captures the vastness of its subject matter, and pays homage to gospel and classic rock predecessors in addition to country. It also bears resemblance to “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield, another iconic protest song.

2. BLACKBIRD: I feel like it’s been said that a truly successful cover should 1) honor the original 2) bring something new to the song. This is such a straightforward cover that is still distinctly her own. Loving the backstory here, as well as the features by Tanner Adell (who manifested this a mere 47 days ago), Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts and Tiera Kennedy—they seem simply agog and aghast to be here, which is so sweetie. Also I had to Google the source of the click (Paul’s foot on the original, maybe Paul’s foot in this too), because I thought Beyoncé somehow made metronomes listenable. Girlies better start practicing their riffs, because we’re just getting started.

3. 16 CARRIAGES: I think this is one of those big songs I will never tire of. It is still hitting on like Round 36 today. Also can we circle back to the fact that she dropped this during the Super Bowl? Do you know how close I was to not watching that damn program? Would I ever have forgiven myself if I had missed it? Sometimes God is good.

4. PROTECTOR: Shut up. Crying. Not the wuwwaby!!! Come onnnnn. Also, the way she sings about being a projector…I feel like she’s being real about nepotism. Like her offspring are going to be multihyphenates, we know this! This isn’t like some Dakota Johnson ass nepo baby territory, this is freaking Canonical American Songbook lineage. So here Beyoncé’s like yeah sure I’ll give you feature credits as toddlers, but also you’re going to be naturally talented yourselves. Go fly. Love that.

5. MY ROSE: Feels like an outro for the previous song, and what I would venture to call, pretentiously, chamber folk at moments! Y’all hearing those harmonics??

6. SMOKE HOUR ☆ WILLIE NELSON: This is so funny to me that Pappy is just hanging out here. Willie, who was just cited as readying his 152nd album (insane, chill out), scans through Son House’s “Don’t You Mind People Grinnin' In Your Face," Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s “Down by the River Side,” Chuck Berry’s “Maybellene,” and Roy Hamilton’s “Don’t Let Go”. And he says the c-word, basically, hehe.

7. TEXAS HOLD ‘EM: It should be noted that I was in Texas this weekend for the first time in my little life, and it really was a boogie and a hoedown, can confirm. Shouting from the rooftops once again that North Carolina gem Rhiannon Giddens is at the top on banjo and throughout on fiddle (check out who else is featured throughout Cowboy Carter here). Shoutout to the Franklin-truthers who claimed this track copied the theme song of Franklin (an animated children’s TV show) ((if you’re still thinking of this song as an adult what’s wrong with you)).

8. BODYGUARD: Initially I was hoping there would be some kind of relation to Ms. Houston here, seeing as I was just streaming “I Will Always Love You” (both Dolly and Whitney’s versions) last week. But my first impression was that its laidback vibe sounds a bit more like “if you’ll be my bodyguard” from Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al”. Furthermore, the line about “wheels in the gravel” brough Lucinda Williams to mind. The folks on Genius (WHO WERE NOT WORKING FAST ENOUGH THIS MORNING MIGHT I ADD) said Taylor Swift has been speculated to have done these vocals for the Ah’s on this track. There is also speculation that Beyoncé will be on Taylor’s upcoming album, which I will not be writing a Special XXXtra Edition Noots Letter for. Regardless of all of this digging, one thing’s for certain: Mrs. Knowles-Carter looooves a backseat.

9. DOLLY P: I’M SCREAMING. Like we knew this, because the old woman let it slip, but still! Her use of the word “hussie”...jesus christ. Real fans will also remember that “Honey Bee: was the name of Beyoncé's character in the “Telephone” video. Don’t worry, I’ll get to Gaga in a second. **

10. JOLENE: This is sO rich obviously because of the affair allegations. Can you even imagine another woman having the audacity to try to compete with Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter? I hope that woman is quaking right now, I hope she has lost her ability to hear music because my goodness. I am howling. She really said what she said on this track. She damn near called Jolene a tumbleweed. Truth be told, I was going to send this email out this morning, but I decided to wait in order to collect the relevant memes. Here you go.

11. DAUGHTER: No because the Italian Aria..? Vocal Performance majors understand! Going back to my voice studio roots and doing a full translation on Caro Mio Ben right now: it’s about a heart withering without love. Oof. This is an obvious nod to “Daddy Lessons” and also somewhat giving Catholic guilt (do note she was raised Methodist according to Wikpedia). Not only did we have a song about “Rose”, but this one references “the Titanic”?? What does it all mean???? 

12. SPAGHETTII: Lyrically, this is another that is so complex and therefore needs to be studied by scholars. There’s so much going on here: pioneer Linda Martell’s introduction. Shaboozey’s incredible one-liner, “That Beyoncé Virgo shit”. Sampling DJ Mandrake’s Brazilian funk beats from “Aquecimento – Vem Vem Vai Vai.” Most importantly, I was thrust into another dimension when I heard the line “C*nty, country, petty, petty, petty / All the same to me, Plain Jane, spaghetti.” THE POETRY IN THIS TURN OF PHRASE?!??!?!  

**I can’t continue without the theory of a new Gaga/Bey duet put forth by the Instagram stories of @OfficialSeanPenn, very haphazardly featured below.

“Genres are a funny little concept, aren’t they? Yes, they are,” she says. “In theory, they have a simple definition that’s easy to understand. But in practice, well, some may feel confined.”

13. ALLIIGATOR TEARS:  Can I just say I love the continuity of the double II throughout all of these titles? The lady doth commit to the theme. Really love this guitar in the intro and its “Wanted Dead or Alive” vibe. I don’t have any support for this but I’m vaguely getting Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill (“Mary Jane” or “Perfect”??) in the chords.

14. SMOKE HOUR II: This old guy again! He cracks me right up.

15. JUST FOR FUN: Oops I’m sad again…not really fun at all ha ha… What is fun, however, is this deep alto vocal in the intro! As we’ve seen on previous tracks, while she could have anyone she wanted on this album, the people she highlights most are people who are not yet but should be household names (and Willie Jones will be as a result of this release). Also what’s this noise in the background on the chorus/Willie’s verse? Spoon in a teacup stirring sugar? Another clue???

16. II MOST WANTED: Okay “Landslide” homage! The growl on “shotgun” omg. While I do wish The Chicks had a feature on this album, I guess they do with “Daddy Lessons”, and some might even say they partially inspired the album. No disrespect, but I also wish Miley could have thrown in a little “Hoedown Throwdown” here… I’ll be waiting for the deluxe version.

17. LEVII’S JEANS: It was the Gasp Heard Round The World that I gusped when she said “Let you be my Levi’s jeans / So you can hug that ass all day long”. Finally, a line to rival “You lookin’ good in them jeans / Bet you look even better with me in between” (Ludacris, 2006)! Post Malone’s unfortunate appearance on this track does beg the question, where did this musty man come from and how did he get so lucky in life? I do have questions about whether or not this was an ad placement, but today I am very proud of my brand loyalty to Levi’s jeans.

18. FLAMENCO: My favorite thing is when rich people intentionally release more unpolished tracks. Like it’s such a distinct choice. I love the authentic guitar and raw untouched vocals here. It brings up a topic touched on in this article: while Renaissance was made for dancing and celebration, this record allows Beyoncé to lean into the deeper emotion and sorrow that is so emblematic of country. 

19. THE LINDA MARTELL SHOW: I want her to have a full song, but thankfully I have 1970’s Color Me Country to fall back upon. Highly recommend.

20. YA YA: And in this very moment, I realized I will need to start saving my pennies for a Cowboy Carter concert ticket. This track is immediately my favorite on the record. I shan’t be taking arguments at this time, nor are there any because I am just stating facts. I also realized that this is how middle aged white men feel when they hear the second half of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird”. It made me want to toss my body around jubilantly in a room full of other bodies (some folks call this dancing). We’ve got references to “Good Vibrations,” “These Boots Were Made for Walkin’,” and sources also say it captures the build of Tina Turner’s “River Deep, Mountain High.” And that, folks, is what you call a triple threat. 

    

21. OH LOUISIANA: I do currently have my Spotify on the “fade” setting where one track bleeds into the next, but I think even with that switched on, Mrs. Beyoncé Giselle knows how to make a true album, where one song leads so perfectly into the next. What I wonder is if TikTok has influenced this audio: not only is Chuck Berry’s 1971 “Oh Louisiana” track sped up (classic Gen Z behavior), but the eagle sound effect—is this the same one on those American-themed TikToks?

22. DESERT EAGLE: Hello what is the name of the individual on bass, thanks. While I assumed Thundercat (“Them Changes”) here, others say bass is maybe an homage to “Tell Me Something Good” (Chaka Khan, Rufus). Several publications have cited this track as a member of the distinct category “sex bop” that Beyoncé is known for. Too short IMO! 

23. RIIVERDANCE  Caaaaaan we just note the amount of genres she has referenced on this album? It’s almost as if the South is not a homogenous unit as so often depicted, but rather a multitudinous landscape of rich variation? Hm. Some folks are calling this a country line dance-disco hybrid—a first of its kind. Please forward me vids of people dancing to this.

24. II HANDS II HEAVEN Uggghhh again this otherworldly transition. Weird, I’m randomly considering a new arc for my life where I believe in God again. Or maybe just true love. 

25. TYRANT Hi Dolly! This song is… hot. And famously not marked as explicit, as I discovered while listening with the child I babysit. Around 03:17, Beyoncé was so close to saying Dimmedome, as in Doug Dimmadome, owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome.

    

26. SWEET ☆ HONEY ☆ BUCKIIN’ Yeah okay sure I’ll take immediate club hit. And one that starts with Patsy Cline’s “I Fall To Pieces”? I’m shaking my butt and I’m hungry (à la “Jiffy cornbread, booty corn-fed”)!!! Apparently Pharrell is also on this track, because of course he is. And when she says “AOTY”? Damn right.

27. AMEN: By this point, I was not ready for it to be over. And I’m also not ready for whatever this full gospel laden song is about to be. Perfect in the way it brings us back to AMERIICAN REQUIEM—we loooove a full circle moment. The big question mark for me comes at the very end: we hear the same sound at the end of “Blackbird”, which resembles kind of a “recording” button sound. What does it mean? Fingers crossed for the visual album soon, so we can all find out. 🤠