Dixie Chicks top Grammys in spite of Bush snub
Monday, February 12th, 2007
In 2003, when the Dixie Chick Natalie Maines said she was ashamed that George W. Bush came from her home state of Texas she got in big trouble with their fan base (country music fans who tend to be conservative) but also with the national media who fanned up the event to milk it for all it was worth and with the music industry which was undoubtedly worried about the hit on the Chicks’ cash generation machine.
Yesterday the Defiant Dixie Chicks topped the Grammys by getting five of them.
To their credit Maines and the other two members of the band have never backed down on their statement and because of this, have had a shift in their fan base which they weathered. However, the music industry should be ashamed of itself, not for giving this band five Grammies but for not sticking with them when they stuck their collective necks out.
It’s easy to jump on the anti-Bush bandwagon now when he’s a known loser. Back in 2003 when Maines said what she did, she stood alone in the country music world.
Note: the movie Shut Up and Sing which documents how the band weathered all of will be out soon on DVD.
I’m with ya. I play “I’m Not Ready to Make Nice” every morning, just to irk my more conservative co-workers. Petty, but infinitely fun.
The question I kept asking myself when all that was going on was, “What happened to free speech…?” Toby Keith was certainly free to express himself, so why weren’t they?
I have always loved the Chicks and totally fell in love with this album. The title track “long way around” speaks to me on so many levels. I am *so* happy for their success and it was an honor to watch them accept their awards last night. I especially liked Maines’ “he hah” in Simpson’s speak :o). You really do need to check out the Weepies - I promise you, they’ll change your world.
Staggering. Had never heard about this until now Richard so thanks. I guess the majority of the US are now realising what a complete idiot he is after the rest of the world identified this a while back!
G: free speech is still being assaulted. Congress can’t debate the Iraq war without undermining the troops’ morale and aiding and abetting the enemy.
It just so happens that the far right is very well organized, better now than the left or far left. There are chinks in the armor like Christian fundamentalists becoming environmentalists because god doesn’t destroy the earth… but for the most part, the far right and Bush are a repeat of the Nixon years.
Nixon years: Love it or leave it.
Bush years: You’re either with us or you’re against us.
Either way, that’s not what democracy is all about. Bush should have been impeached long ago and the fact that he hasn’t been is an indicator of how low we’ve sunk.
Girl(friend): I’ve never been a fan of their music, just them and their style. I admire anyone or any group who gets rich and famous and uses (not abuses) their fame to do good in the world, including saying “fuck you” when it’s needed to important people. For instance, George Clooney, Steven Soderberg, Tim Robins, and Susan Sarandon. Even good old (Hanoi) Jane Fonda.
Jon: there’s a marginalized group of us who have never liked Bush, ever. I disliked him when he was governor of Texas and have never liked any aspect of him since.
The fact is, Americans elected this guy two times. The first time was close and the conservative Supreme Court annointed him. The second time he was elected by the people. He already had a dismal track record so it’s not just him, it’s us. We did it. And, now, the Democrats don’t have the balls to impeach him and take Cheney out at the same time. The entire administration are war criminals and need to be taken out of office and tried and put in jail. They’ve lied. They’ve killed a lot of people. They’ve messed with our human rights. They’re the worst administration in the history of the country.
Why it took so long for the country to wake up is beyond me. Thousands of people have now died for absolutely no good reason and the world is destabilized. Great. And, to top it all off, we’re working on going into Iran next.
Hey, you got a spare bedroom over there?
Well, I’m afraid I’m one of those Americans who was half asleep and I don’t keep a firm finger on the pulse of these issues. I’m not sure what’s taking the country so long to wake up; perhaps it’s temporarily deranged from 9/11.
However, when even I notice an unsigned NYT editorial spelling out the proof of how the administration lied to get us into Iraq, then I think chances are increasing that we will finish waking up, rub the sleep out of our eyes, put the Fair Trade coffee on and get behind the brave and committed folks who are preparing the case against the Bush Administration. Cynically, I suspect that this process will flower either during primary season or in the fall of 2008.
The awards given to the Dixie Chicks were simply one thing….sending a message.
As you know, these awards were not given by the people. This was not the People’s Music Awards, rather less than 11,000 members of professionals in the music industry. One writer brought up the idea that the vote for the various catagories was so split, that the largest chunk of votes left were the politically active members who had the opportunity to “make a statement” with what amounts to a lackluster album and a really boring song.
First of all, there’s no way a song like that would take song of the year at the Grammys unless it had help, through collusion or other means, or jury nullification, just like the O.J. trial. And for them to win 5 awards if just not only improbable, but impossible! It looks like the Grammys jumped the shark last night, allowing politics to influence the outcome of not one but 5 awards and I personally could never look at them in any kind of positive light again, though that’s been coming for a long time now.
I’ve been a professional musician for over 35 years, a session player on albums and a touring sideman. I’m hearing nothing, and I repeat nothing, but disbelief at what happened last night. Some are asking for an investigation to see if there was indeed any wrong doing in the “winning” of these awards. And all along, Natalie and the world still actually think that they really won those awards.
Sad. Hope they never realize what really happened. They were used!
Elise: thanks for your candid post. It simply amazes me that Clinton lies about legal sex in the White House where no one gets hurt and he’s impeached. Bush lied about WMDs, and a connection between Iraq and al Queda, gets us into a war, people die and he’s not impeached. How is this possible? The number of proglems this man has caused is too long to list here, he’s an absolute disaster.
rockerr: My only point, and it has nothing to do with their music, is that they stood their ground and came back after being wiped out by a music industry that seems to be unwilling to support folks who speak publicly about an administration that is destroying the country. The entertainment industry took it up the rear during the McCarthy era as well. You may be right, they might have been used (I really don’t know) but I do admire the fact that they’ve been publicly acknowledged for holding their ground in the face of ignorant neo-con adversity.
Hi Richard, I always had you pegged as someone with intelligence, wit, humour and a strong sense of decency…. hence knew you were not a dubya fan! ;-) I agree with your comments about Clinton vs Bush - why an earth is this imbecile not locked up!
Jon, the fact that Bush has not been impeached is almost worse than Bush himself. Meaning, our entire poliical system has sunk into the muck. Maybe we need to get rid of all of them. Grrrrrrr.
I hate to rain on the parade of the Dixie Chicks, but…
Merle Hasn’t Lost His Fightin’ Side
Dr BLT (c)2007
http://www.drblt.net/music/MerleVeryLast.mp3
somebody behind the Grammys scene was:
Playin’ Politics with the Dixie Chicks
Not Ready to Make Rice
Dr BLT (c) 2007
http://www.drblt.net/music/DixieChicks.mp3
and they’re
Not Ready to Make Rice
Dr BLT (c) 2007
http://www.drblt.net/music/MakeRice.mp3
So Doc, you’re into making political statements in your music too. Good for you. Good for them. It’s up to the rest of us to figure out what kinds of messages and which artists making them we want to support. I dislike George Bush enough so that I’ll support pretty much anyone high profile person who stands up to him. And, the Dixie Chicks did it when it was unpopular. My hat’s off to them, Grammy aside.