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rhys_'s review against another edition
2.5
Theoretically I did not find this ethnography very stimulating, but it gave a nice survey of queer country today. And some interesting music to check out, I suppose.
max_the_lesbrarian's review against another edition
5.0
This book is likely going to be the nearest and dearest to my heart non-fiction book I read this year. Goldin-Perschbacher does a beautiful job of describing the current state of country music and how queer identities and community have found their beautiful niche within the genre. As a queer person who generally quite enjoys country and folk music (and has a lot of issues with the misogyny, racism, homophobia, and jingoism that has become more of a mainstream within the genre) reading this book was like a breath of fresh air and a warm hug. It looked me dead in the eye and said, you belong in this community, there are others like you, and we love you.
Overall, it was an excellent analysis of current popular queer country icons and queer country music's history using a variety of sources from the music itself, interviews, and scholarly resources. The book itself is an invaluable source, but I am also excited to delve into the huge bibliography and other sources in the back of the book as well!
I cannot recommend this book enough to those who love country music, want to explore queer music history, and queer identity and community.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and the University of Illinois Press for the e-ARC. I loved this book so much I ended up buying myself a physical copy.
Overall, it was an excellent analysis of current popular queer country icons and queer country music's history using a variety of sources from the music itself, interviews, and scholarly resources. The book itself is an invaluable source, but I am also excited to delve into the huge bibliography and other sources in the back of the book as well!
I cannot recommend this book enough to those who love country music, want to explore queer music history, and queer identity and community.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and the University of Illinois Press for the e-ARC. I loved this book so much I ended up buying myself a physical copy.
kleonard's review against another edition
5.0
This is an excellent contribution to the academic literature on queerness and music. Goldin-Perschbacher interrogates how and why country music is labeled as it is, how queerness and otherness work in the context of queer music, and, especially, how queer women are driving country music to a progressive place. There's a good bit of repetition, but since most of the material appeared in articles prior to being included in the book, that's not really unexpected. Highly recommended.
iantaylor's review against another edition
3.0
As a gay man, and a country music lover, a study on the queer history of the genre gets a Texas sized 10-4 from Your’s Truly!
kirstenellang's review against another edition
5.0
Big smooch to NetGalley and the team behind this book for access to it !!!
In the final line of the book Goldin-Perschbacher states that
Queer Country shares that capacity for creating a radical shared space amid continued misunderstanding and exclusion, summoning useful, inspiring elements of a long history of music while creatively changing or omitting others, navigating the inner tensions between authenticity and invention with both the urgent need to be understood as human and share humour with kin, engaging its central themes to tell their own stories of self and belonging
This is something the text achieves writing a strong analysis of the queer country and surrounding genres, told with love, care, and respect. This is something that Goldin-Perschbacher has clearly highly researched and intimately studied. It would be impossible for her to write about every queer country artist but she covers a wide scope and has consulted with many of them in writing this book. A book for country lovers who want to learn something more about their history. (Also I need to make a playlist for the acts covered in this I need to hear their songs !)
In the final line of the book Goldin-Perschbacher states that
Queer Country shares that capacity for creating a radical shared space amid continued misunderstanding and exclusion, summoning useful, inspiring elements of a long history of music while creatively changing or omitting others, navigating the inner tensions between authenticity and invention with both the urgent need to be understood as human and share humour with kin, engaging its central themes to tell their own stories of self and belonging
This is something the text achieves writing a strong analysis of the queer country and surrounding genres, told with love, care, and respect. This is something that Goldin-Perschbacher has clearly highly researched and intimately studied. It would be impossible for her to write about every queer country artist but she covers a wide scope and has consulted with many of them in writing this book. A book for country lovers who want to learn something more about their history. (Also I need to make a playlist for the acts covered in this I need to hear their songs !)
kevinmccarrick's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
shannaconda's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.0
Some interesting discussion and history here.
This is definitely an academic publication and I'm no academic - though it's not nearly as dense as some, it definitely takes some focus and parsing that can lead to slow going. I think Goldin-Perschbacher overly focuses (at least in later chapters talking about more contemporary musicians) on the way queer artists use country music aesthetics to convey queer longing and lonesome journeys -- as opposed to queer country artists who are also from rural backgrounds. It seems like in the larger conversation around what does and doesn't count as authenticity vs. appropriation in country music that would factor in a little more. Some of the sections felt a little disjointed, like the section about filmmaking focusing on Joe Stevens, Rae Spoon, and the film Transamerica, which stars no trans or queer people and features a song by Dolly Parton.
My biggest takeaway from this book as a queer person and lifelong country listener is honestly going to be the discography in the back of the artists she references, many I know but many I owe a deeper listen.
This is definitely an academic publication and I'm no academic - though it's not nearly as dense as some, it definitely takes some focus and parsing that can lead to slow going. I think Goldin-Perschbacher overly focuses (at least in later chapters talking about more contemporary musicians) on the way queer artists use country music aesthetics to convey queer longing and lonesome journeys -- as opposed to queer country artists who are also from rural backgrounds. It seems like in the larger conversation around what does and doesn't count as authenticity vs. appropriation in country music that would factor in a little more. Some of the sections felt a little disjointed, like the section about filmmaking focusing on Joe Stevens, Rae Spoon, and the film Transamerica, which stars no trans or queer people and features a song by Dolly Parton.
My biggest takeaway from this book as a queer person and lifelong country listener is honestly going to be the discography in the back of the artists she references, many I know but many I owe a deeper listen.