The Dixie Chicks

[hottxboi16]

Im curious as to everyones opinion of them and the current situation they are in after their comment on President Bush.



In my personal opinion

I love them and I think America over re-acted. Personally i dont like bush and by approval ratings neither does around 70% fo the nation *although that wasnt the case when the comment was made* .

I read many comments by others stating that they were "entertainers" and their job was to "entertain" but if i remember correctly, they are american citizens too, and have an equal right to express their opinions.

Its not as if the Dixie Chicks were the only artists to bash on president bush, Im pretty sure the song "Megalomaniac" by incubus, and whatever eminem created was an equal bashing.

Thats not all i want to say but i will wait for more responses by others so I can return comments


and if this topic has been discussed before, which Im sure it has, OH WELL, im not using the search bar to read 2 year old boards kthnkz

 

[invisibleman]

I think that the Dixie Chicks have a right to say how they felt about our President and about the conflict in Iraq. They weren't just a bunch of pussies. Those chicks had balls. They said what they had to say. If "country music" fans had problems, then it was surely theirs not the Dixie Chicks. Those girls have a right to express their frustrations. Americans should be able to communicate. To express themselves freely. No matter what.

At least The Dixies know who their true friends are.:smile:

 

[Captain Elephant]

If they were standing solely on principle then I admire them for being open. Frankly, I think Natalie blurted out what was on her mind without thinking about it. If she had the time to think about what she said she would understanding that, from a marketing point of view, she was about to alienate almost three-quarters of her fan base. I don't think the Chicks will ever be a successful crossover, and they've already burned their bridges. Now the true country-music fans who like them will have to hide their CDs for fear of friends finding out.

I'm a music lover, a musician, in fact, and I like their music. They were just a bit ahead of their time with their views

 

[B_Hickboy]

I would do every one of them. Twice, if they'd let me.

 

[B_Lightkeeper]

Fuck 'em. YOU...not me.

 

[headbang8]

I hate country folky music like theirs, but back then, I bought their albums to show support.

 

[Ummagumma]

I don't care for their music at all (time wise my taste in country stops once garth brooks hits it big). And to be honest, I've always thought it was all one big publicity stunt to get supposed liberals who don't like country on principal alone (I know many who do/don't listen to it purely because of what they believe the genre stands for) to listen to a 'country style' act and see the music isn't so bad, prompting them to delve deeper and purchase more country albums down the line, thus making the genre on the whole more profits in the end.

...


...


/paranoia

 

[Rikter8]

I admire their honesty.

To have these americans say "Oh theyre so terrible because they said that" but yet they contributed to Bush's lowest poll ratings.

Stupid people.

Im glad the Dixie Chicks spoke up.
I would do the same.

It's no different than Madonna's comment about Bay City, Michigan.

She said it was a smelly dump. (Because of the Michigan Sugar Factory - cooking sugar beets)
People in Bay City don't acknowledge that she's from there because of that comment.

 

[JustAsking]

Love the Chicks

 

[invisibleman]

Frankly, I think Natalie blurted out what was on her mind without thinking about it. If she had the time to think about what she said she would understanding that, from a marketing point of view, she was about to alienate almost three-quarters of her fan base.

What good is the art if the artist isn't free to express themselves even if to offend? How are you going to know how someone is feeling if they aren't free to express it? Are we supposed to be squelched and be limited by what society dictates? Fuck that shit. How does one offend three-quarters of a fan base? By yielding to frustration and expressing herself and her feelings about the President and the Iraqi conflict. You go, girl! Maybe Natalie doesn't always go with the flow. So what. Truth is a multifaceted diamond. Think about it.

 

[Shelby]

Toby Keith should just bang 'em all, shut 'em up, and make 'em happy.

 

[ccss]

I completely agree with invisibleman.

The Dixie Chicks had the guts to speak out at a time when conservatives were doing everything they could to marginalize everyone who was speaking out against the war. I feel as a non-American that the last few years have been filled with mass hysteria by conservatives over many things. It happened to everybody, not just the Dixie Chicks, e.g., Madonna (with her "American Life" album), Bill Maher's show getting cancelled, etc., not to mention poor Janet Jackson and her nipple!

 

[D_Elijah_MorganWood]

Natalie is from Lubbock and the Bush Klan rule not far away. The new single Not ready to make nice seems to be direct commentary. I'd still fuck Natalie even if she gets stranger looking every year. I'm glad the new album is finally released.

 

[shadow28]

Good posts so far.

The one big mistake that the Dixie Chicks made was in not realizing that their particular genre of music does not lend itself to social criticism. As a country music act, you kinda have to stick to pickup trucks and unfaithful lovers... no matter how great a songwriter you are. And by the way, Natalie Maines is a fantastic songwriter.

Country music = Republicans = George Bush and his idiot policies.
Unfortunately.

What a shame that Americans can't let a "country" band express the same opinions that any other American artist might wish to express.

Anyhow, apparently the Dixie Chicks' new record and new tour has had far below the expected sales. They managed to alienate their core market of Idaho, Alaska, Kansas, Utah and other backward Red States. Whatever - those people won't even realize what they're missing.

But I, for one, will be there with bells on when they play my hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia, in July. We Canadians care about the politics, yes, but more about the music.

Long live the Chicks!

 

[B_big dirigible]

they are american citizens too, and have an equal right to express their opinions.

Yes, obviously, an American has every right to be as stupid as he/she can stand, and to tell everybody about it. No question there. But that wasn't the basis of the criticisms I've read. The problem was that the DCs were whining their silly-ass opinions in public and in Europe, not at home. That doesn't make them traitors but it's pretty low class.

Some people feel strongly about whining in the wrong place, even if the whine is legit. I remember working at a factory where the manufacturing manager was majorly POd at a QC guy, because the QC guy was whining to someone in electrical engineering. Schedules were very tight on that project and some corners were being cut, so the QC guy was right, and everybody knew it. But so what? The mfg guy thought it should be kept "in the family", meaning manufacturing. (He bitched to me even though I was in mechanical engineering and so not strictly "in the family" myself, but that was apparently OK as they thought I was an all-around cool guy - hard though that may be to believe).

As for the D. Chicks, I've never heard them myself.

 

[shadow28]

The problem was that the DCs were whining their silly-ass opinions in public and in Europe, not at home. That doesn't make them traitors but it's pretty low class.

I love it.
So the problem isn't that they expressed themselves, but that they aired the US's dirty laundry in front of the rest of the world?

I know we non-Americans can't blame individual Americans for the administration's policies, but then surely you Americans can allow for a little home-grown dissent, even if it does come from the Dixie Chicks?

 

[D_Martin van Burden]

Like others have said, I applaud them for the courage of expressing their views despite how negatively their fans would react.

I guess I never could understand how people can let a political disagreement somehow affect one's entire perspective. Seriously, I wouldn't be surprised if those same fans adored the Dixie Chicks to death, but just because they aren't fans of Bush, somehow that makes all of the music they've ever written suck. And certainly this wouldn't be the first time an entertainer has used their status as a musician and such to do some public speaking. Then again, I don't recall anyone giving Bono any crap for trying to speak up for AIDS in Africa.

Nowadays, I think a lot of national politics are nothing but knee-jerk party-line reactions to already biased enough media and news coverage. Now we just abuse words like "patriotism," "fairness," "war," and "democracy" if someone just doesn't happen to agree with our (majority, right, Right) point of view.

 

[Paladin]

I never have cared a flip about a bands/members political views in the past and I don't now.

I only wish the Chicks had said what they did in Texas, Ohio, or California and not out of country. I may have been able to acknowledge presence of huge balls on the bands behalf if they had done so. However, I think that any balls present under the current situation are only huge because they grew them to cover their ass. I don't think it was an *OOPS I said that* accident. I think it was an underestimation on their behalf on the reaction.

Again, I don't care what their opinions are even if I think they are wrong, which in this case I do. I dig Jimmy Buffett and he is about 180 degrees out of my views politically. The same can be said for many other people or groups.

I just wish they would just sing their little songs and take the money to the bank. Hell, give it away to anti-war groups or whatever makes them happy it is no skin off my nose. Save the speeches for interviews after the concert so the public hears what they paid to hear.

Just my .02 for what it is worth.

 

[JustAsking]

I love it.
So the problem isn't that they expressed themselves, but that they aired the US's dirty laundry in front of the rest of the world?

Thats right, shadow. If the Chicks hadn't said that, the rest of the world would not have noticed that we adopted a pre-emptive war on false pretenses in order to attempt to create a US protectorate out of a country that has the largest untapped oil fields on the planet. Damn, those Chicks spilled the beans.

I hope the Chicks don't go ahead and leak the fact that we failed in our mission. That would be really embarassing.

 

[mindseye]

I didn't care much one way or the other for their music before the controversy, but I admired the stand they took and their backbone for having weathered the backlash. Just a few weeks ago, they performed Not Ready To Make Nice on David Letterman -- and that performance blew me away.

AboutAverage speculated that this was a publicity stunt to recruit "liberal" fans. He speculated further that liberals "don't like country on principle alone", which is a really ignorant stereotype. Most of us understand that country music has its origins in American folk music: Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, the Weavers, Bob Dylan -- and in bluegrass: Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs. None of these pioneers could hardly be considered 'conservative' by today's standards.

Since these early days, there have been a lot of well-respected country artists who turn out good music without pandering to the radical right: Willie Nelson, Iris Dement, Johnny Cash, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Dolly Parton, and kd lang all come to mind.

The Dixie Chicks are not alone in being country artists who challenge the establishment; the difference is that they have done so during the reign of Bush, when the right wing have moved so far to the right that they can no longer tolerate diversity of views.