The curious case of the Dixie Chicks

I think it may have had to do with the nature of the expression. As Norrin alluded to, the location and timing smacked of publicity stunt more than conviction. And that type of thing is much easier to exploit than expressing one's beliefs through art. Hell, if I only listened to artists who agreed me with me, my whole musical collection would consist of two Darryl Worley CDs and some Jars of Clay.

 

So the best-selling artists of the time needed to pull a publicity stunt?

If you don't recall, very few people were speaking out against the obviously ginned up case for the war. Certainly not the New York Times.

England was one of the few countries that Bush hadn't pissed off, so they picked a poor spot on their world tour if their plan was to be showered with delighted applause.

 

No one ever accused Natalie Maines of being smart.

 

I've always thought Emily and Martie are much more interesting.

 

The run-up to the war pissed off citizens in every nation, even our allies. The political afterglow of 9/11 was long gone.

"Bush SUCKS!"

Easiest, cheapest cheer in showbiz at the time. Maines knew what she was saying. probably didn't anticipate the size of the windfall to follow, but she knew how to get that crowd to erupt.

 

Or, you know, maybe she felt that way.

 

BS, unless you were referring to Kate.

 

I think Green Day and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers were also against it, but they were going along with the thoughts of their base of fans.

The Dixie Chicks' base of fans was very pro-war and pro-GOP. They still are today, which made their announcement news. Green Day and Susan Sarandon don't like the war? Dog bites man. Dixie Chicks? Man bites dog.

 

Somebody mentioned the idea of not listening to an artist's music because of their political beliefs and whether or not most people would do that. I'm absolutely certain there are many, many musical acts on my iPod with political beliefs that don't jibe with mine. So what? As long as they're not going door-to-door in my neighborhood trying to change my mind, I couldn't care less. If they're spouting their beliefs on some cable show and I don't want to hear it, well, I can always change the channel.

That said, I once had a boss who was so militant about that stuff that he refused to ever watch a Tim Robbins or Susan Sarandon movie (among others) because they were liberals. When I reminded him that "The Shawshank Redemption" was one of the best movies of anybody's lifetime, he simply said, "I saw it once. I'll never watch it again" because of his politic."

As for the Dixie Chicks, meh. I didn't care for them before the Bush bashing. I can think of 100 better country acts off the top of my head.

 

I will say that I cannot stand the way Toby Keith seems to pander and wrap himself in the flag to sell albums, but he is the only artist I can think of that does this.

 

Was it the fans who demanded the boycotts or the radio stations who saw it as a way to score points with listeners?

I remember when it happened, promos from one Clear Channel station here about how it wasn't going to play Dixie Chicks songs. It was a classic rock format.

 

Seriously? Almost every mainstream country artist wraps themselves in guns, God, and Old Glory.

For many of us, it's not the political beliefs of the artists that are a turn-off. I mean, whatever. It's the schlockiness and earnestness of the presentation.