Althouse: "Beyoncé’s latest track is a spirited feminist anthem that sharply strikes at the patriarchy beginning with the opening verse, 'Ladies, don’t ever let your man tell you what to do'..."

April 26, 2016

"Beyoncé’s latest track is a spirited feminist anthem that sharply strikes at the patriarchy beginning with the opening verse, 'Ladies, don’t ever let your man tell you what to do'..."

"'... before offering potent validation to her predominantly female listeners by stating that "High-quality streaming audio was made for queens like you,"' wrote New Yorker music critic Carrie Battan in a review of the new track...."

From "Beyoncé Quickly Releases New Song About How Buying Tidal Subscription Most Empowering Thing A Woman Can Do" in The Onion, which takes off on the same New Yorker piece I was making fun of yesterday.

19 comments:

Darrell said...: The most empowering thing you can do is never pay for that dreck.; 4/26/16, 6:19 AM
wendybar said...: Tidal is owned by her pimp husband...just saying...the only woman it is empowering is Beyonce; 4/26/16, 6:21 AM
traditionalguy said...: The War on Men is recruiting.; 4/26/16, 6:30 AM
Brando said...: Feminism has come a long way when it now can be defined as "blame the other woman and not the man who made the commitment to you" and "shill for your husband's business so you can increase your net worth in the upcoming divorce settlement".; 4/26/16, 6:33 AM
MAJMike said...: Over the last 8 years, The Onion has become less of a satire and more of a news source.; 4/26/16, 6:44 AM
iqvoice said...: Gentlemen, don't ever let your woman tell you what to do.; 4/26/16, 7:20 AM
Sebastian said...: Corollary to Althouse Law: whatever can be presented as empowering women, will be.; 4/26/16, 8:01 AM
holdfast said...: If this is the best they have, winning the war on women will be a snap.; 4/26/16, 8:54 AM
Beth said...: What an opportunity Beyonce and Jay Z have - to talk about fidelity in marriage, staying together through tough time, what family really means. And to talk about the state of the black family in America. To really be a shining example. But I fear that's not where this project leads. And what a shame that is. Neither they nor Barack and Michelle want to have this particular "national conversation". Again, what a shame.; 4/26/16, 9:05 AM
mockturtle said...: Excuse me while I puke.; 4/26/16, 10:24 AM
MayBee said...: I like the way all the feminists in the Beyhive are beating up on Rachel Ray, Rachel Roy, and Rita Ora now, supposedly in support of Beyonce.

Meanwhile, Beyonce has no idea who any of her fans are and she and Jay-Z can plan their next vacation in France with an entourage of security people telling tourists they can't film.; 4/26/16, 10:25 AM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/26/16, 10:48 AM
Birches said...: Hilarious. Good form, The Onion; 4/26/16, 11:22 AM
Nyamujal said...: It's interesting that for people over a certain age, there's a lot about popular culture that might seem very alien. I grew up listening to Wu Tang Clan, Tupac, and other 90's rap artists, but even I have to look up the lingo kids these days use ( like "woke"), and have a hard time getting used to debstep.
I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for people who lived through the 60's, 70's, and 80's to wrap their heads around how genres like hip-hop and EDM have become such a big part of mainstream music.
So, there's something missing in our analysis of Beyonce's music and her music videos. People who are more plugged into pop culture have written well about some of the themes in her videos:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2016/04/25/is_beyonce_s_car_destroying_stroll_in_lemonade_based_on_this_pipilotti_rist.html
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2016/04/24/beyonc_s_mysterious_lemonade_is_a_stunning_visual_album.html
And maybe Bey released her album on Tidal to try and save her husbands business, which so far has been a dud:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2016/04/25/can_beyonc_save_tidal.html; 4/26/16, 11:31 AM
Nyamujal said...: "In other words, great art and juicy gossip are not mutually exclusive. This is one light in which to read Beyoncé’s Lemonade. The hour-long “visual album,” which hit HBO and the streaming service Tidal on Saturday night and immediately became the cultural story of the weekend/month/year, is absolutely a work of art. It is not a mere journal entry or a magazine interview; it’s a complex musical about monogamy that has been meticulously constructed with the help of dozens of artists and likely millions of dollars. It's certainly about themes larger than Beyoncé—and yet, it is also so totally about her personal life."
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2016/04/25/beyonc_s_lemonade_manages_gossip_with_incredible_skill.html; 4/26/16, 11:32 AM
William said...: The death of Prince is doubly tragic in that it has overshadowed news of Beyonce's latest epochal event.; 4/26/16, 11:36 AM
BN said...: The age we live in is so lovely. Why were we the lucky ones to be here in this time where men and women can't experience "true love"?

Oh. It was us, wasn't it?

I suspect it was you. Not me.; 4/26/16, 7:47 PM
BN said...: "It's interesting that for people over a certain age, there's a lot about popular culture that might seem very alien. I grew up listening to Wu Tang Clan..."

You know what else is interesting? Before the post-modern age (i.e., until post WW II), it wasn't like this. For thousands and thousands of years, it wasn't like this. Grownups related to their children and grandchildren and vice versa. How weird is that? It's so much better now that we can't relate to each other across generations, i think. Don't you?

"I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for people who lived through the 60's, 70's, and 80's to wrap their heads around how genres like hip-hop and EDM have become such a big part of mainstream music."

It will be easier to imagine it when you get older. We had trouble imagining the frustrations of those who loved Frank and Hank. Now we relate like shit.

But at least Prince is still alive. Oh, wait.

Well, at least Keefe's deal with the devil is still alive. And that is forever. So we'll always have that, eh?; 4/26/16, 9:19 PM
jg said...: On an individual level, no ordinary person should take advise from a celebrity. These are the most clueless people imaginable.

On another level, when it comes to "if we all did this, none of us would suffer a positional loss" (bra burning, hairy armpits, no makeup, bratitude, etc), there is an opportunity for high status celebrities to lead by example. Go ahead. Be like Beyonce.; 4/26/16, 9:43 PM