The music
Dave Paulson, Tennessean music writer:
Though we don’t venture out of twangy territory in the first episode of
“Nashville,” the series has already done a fine job at showing its audience
that modern country music takes on countless forms these days, from the sparse
and spooky folk of the closing number, “If I Didn’t Know Better,” to polished
pop (Hayden Panettiere’s “Love Like Mine”) and lonesome ballads (Charles
Esten’s “Back Home.”)
Those three songs are the first from the
show to be released this week as commercial singles on iTunes and ABC’s
website, thanks to a partnership with Nashville’s Big Machine Records. All
three are smartly assembled tunes that not only could blend into certain radio
formats, but also have a fighting chance on the charts.
“Nashville’s” music is being guided in part by super-producer T Bone
Burnett and local Americana star Buddy Miller, and it might be Nashville’s
rootsiest fare that makes for big hits. Folky acts like Mumford & Sons, The
Lumineers and Of Monsters and Men are suddenly staking a claim on the pop
charts, and “Better” (co-penned by the Civil Wars’ John Paul White) has
garnered the lion’s share of attention so far.
With future episodes set to feature music
by Elvis Costello, Lucinda Williams and the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, it looks
like “Nashville” will continue showing viewers multiple sides of Music City.
We’ll just have to wait and see which side will strike a chord with listeners.
The fashion
Cathi Aycock, Tennessean Shopping Diva: I
was supposed to watch the new ABC series “Nashville” with an eye toward
critiquing their fashion choices. But I got so caught up in the storyline, I
had to rewind a few times.
Basically, that means the fashion was so
true to Nashville it never distracted from the story arc. I never did a mental
hands-on-hips and thought, “Taylor or Faith or (insert country star here) would
never wear that.”
The only character that did not ring true
to me in terms of fashion was Powers Boothe’s character, the megalomaniac power
broker. He was dressed in a pretty flamboyant top coat, vest and fedora in one
scene. The look was much too fashion-forward for a Nashville politician.
But I am nearly giddy with relief that the
show portrays Connie Britton’s character, Rayna Jaymes, a 40-something country
artist, as a woman who looks amazing in boot-cut denim and a sequined tank or a
sleek pencil skirt and mile-high heels. No gingham. No Honey Boo Boo back-wood
Southern clothes.
Hayden Panettiere’s Juliette Barnes, the
young upstart crossover artist looking to replace Rayna, also rings true. Yes,
she is always in body-conscious clothes, but there are fashion references to
Barnes and a Vogue cover shoot
The role image plays in the country music
industry today is obvious throughout — further proof that in Music City, like
L.A. and New York, music and brand go hand-in-hand.
The food
Jennifer Justus, Tennessean food writer:
Even though we’re only one episode into ABC’s “Nashville,” I’m betting Rayna
James is an Arnold’s Country Kitchen kind of girl.
She’s probably not eating meatloaf, like,
every week (judging by her figure), but it’s an old-school and down-home place.
Very Nashville.
After all, Rayna wears a Loveless Cafe
T-shirt in an early scene. (And we’ll just look past the part where she
suggests a drink at Tootsie’s. ABC surely has to play to a few tourist
favorites. Otherwise I would hope she’d be drinking at Robert’s Western World.)
Rayna’s guitar player, Deacon,seems like a
burger-at-Brown’s-Diner kind of guy. And you’ll find her husband talking
politics in the pilot at a certain restaurant in a 100-plus-year-old hotel
downtown.
As for future episodes, I kind of hope
someone fuels up on a bean roll at the Gold Rush before a show at Exit/In. And
if the alt-country-indie character plays at the 5 Spot, will he brunch at
Marche?
Whatever these characters wind up eating,
it looks like it will be juicy. And I’m not talking about the fried chicken.
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