Musgraves' album Middle of Nowhere has the dramatic detail of good fiction. The same is true of Gary Stewart: I Am From the Honky-Tonks, Jimmy McDonough's portrait of a gifted but tragic performer.
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Ken Tucker reviews rock, country, hip-hop and pop music for Fresh Air. He is a cultural critic who has been the editor-at-large at Entertainment Weekly, and a film critic for New York Magazine. His work has won two National Magazine Awards and two ASCAP-Deems Taylor Awards. He has written book reviews for The New York Times Book Review and other publications.