Are the Dixie Chicks still standing strong against political backlash?

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In summary: We mostly just listen to NPR and the occasional CD.In summary, the Dixie Chicks returned to the Austin City Limits stage to perform their new album and some of their old favorites. They have a strong political stance and were originally expected to be loyal Bush supporters, but chose to speak out against him instead. Their music is good but not great, and their fans are mainly people who like NPR and CDs.
  • #1
Ivan Seeking
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I'm not much for country but I love them for what they did - they stood up for what's right when it counted and came out publically against Bush. Welcome back Dixie Chicks!

After a couple of years spent enjoying their family lives and weathering controversy, Texas’ mighty Dixie Chicks return to the Austin City Limits stage with old favorites and new classics from their defiant, triumphant new album
http://www.pbs.org/klru/austin/artists/DixieChicks.html [Broken]

The crowd cheered when they sang "Not Ready to Make Nice". :approve:
 
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  • #2
I second that. I hate cowboy ****, but they showed some true social conscience and are being vindicated by the facts every day.
 
  • #3
I really enjoy their CD "Home". I should probably get more of their stuff, because if it's up to that standard, it's really good.
 
  • #4
Their political stance is no reason to praise them for coming back to make more mediocre music.
 
  • #5
loseyourname said:
...mediocre music.
Out of curiosity, what music do you listen to and is not mediocre?

Any bluegrass or Alison Krauss fans here?
 
  • #6
I love Alison Kraus. I don't feel like giving a full inventory of music I enjoy, though. I'm listening to "In a Gadda da Vida" right now, oddly enough.
 
  • #7
loseyourname said:
Their political stance is no reason to praise them for coming back to make more mediocre music.

I think it is as they put their careers on the line for what they believe is right. And indeed, Bush supporters tried to run them out of business for being country, but not loyal bushies.
 
  • #8
loseyourname said:
Their political stance is no reason to praise them for coming back to make more mediocre music.
Right. But then again I also do like some of the songs.
 
  • #9
MeJennifer said:
Any bluegrass or Alison Krauss fans here?

And another dichotomy arises. I had the hots for Alison like you wouldn't believe when she popped out that 'Steel rails' song on video, despite the fact that it was aired on a cowboy **** channel. She was something like 17 at the time, if the publicity is to be believed. More importantly now (to us Canuks) is that she's friends with Natalie McMaster and performs with her up here. (Natalie is one awesome Maritime fiddler/singer, and not bad looking to boot.)
 
  • #10
Danger said:
And another dichotomy arises. I had the hots for Alison like you wouldn't believe when she popped out that 'Steel rails' song on video, despite the fact that it was aired on a cowboy **** channel. She was something like 17 at the time, if the publicity is to be believed. More importantly now (to us Canuks) is that she's friends with Natalie McMaster and performs with her up here. (Natalie is one awesome Maritime fiddler/singer, and not bad looking to boot.)
I would love to here Alison Krauss in a duet with Norah Jones. :smile:
 
  • #11
Yeah. It was awful brave of them to stand up to Bush...In England. It's three moronic celebrities that I could care less what they think.
 
  • #12
FredGarvin said:
It's three moronic celebrities that I could care less what they think.

Come on, now, Fred. There's a distinct difference between some truly brainless jerk like Tom Cruise spouting his crap about (insert topic here), and the Chicks pointing out that their country is being ruled by a truly brainless jerk like Bush. The main point here is that they were expected, because of their cowboy **** affiliation, to be Republican sheep in the shadow of John Wayne. Cudos to 'em for telling the rednecks to stuff it.
 
  • #13
That's the point exactly: It is about their character. What they did took a lot of nerve given their audience.

Kind of like Obama denouncing the invasion of Iraq [before the fact] when he all but stood alone in a pen full of chickens.
 
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  • #14
Ivan Seeking said:
I think it is as they put their careers on the line for what they believe is right. And indeed, Bush supporters tried to run them out of business for being country, but not loyal bushies.
There is no such thing as 'running them out of the business' - it wasn't a push, it was a passive response. People simply stopped listening to them/buying their cd's and radio stations stopped playing them. Music is popularity-based.

As I've said before, my boss is somewhat to the right of Rush Limbaugh. He's' kind-of a Bush supporter, but Bush is far too liberal for him. Anyway, he talks politics a lot and it sometimes comes up in business meetings (there is a lot of tree huggery in construction right now). Architects are artsy types and tend to be liberal, so if he starts bashing energy conservation, he gets into arguments with them. I do my darndest to steer conversations away from this - sometimes flat-out interrupting him and changing the conversation.

Aside from choosing to not take part in ill-conceived projects, we aren't big enough to affect real social change - and neither are the Dixie Chicks. In the meantime, my boss's primary responsibility as the president of the company is to help the company make money so that his employees (me...) get paid every other week.

The Dixie Chicks seemed surprised by what happened to them. That just makes them naive and stupid for doing what they did. They simply bit the hand that feeds them. If you have the means to affect real social change (see: Bono), that's great, but there is no honour in what the Dixie Chicks did - just stupidity.


edit: btw, there is a little more to it than just being anti-Bush. One member made a comment directly against the concept of patriotism. That's a much more important concept (especially to those in the south) than support for Bush. Bush is just the President for 8 years - they trashed the country in it's entirety.
 
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  • #15
I completely agree with russ. What the Dixie Chicks did was stupid.
 
  • #16
Ivan Seeking said:
That's the point exactly: It is about their character. What they did took a lot of nerve given their audience.
That's not the point exactly. If they were "brave" as you put it, they would have done that at a show in the U.S. Blair had even less popularity in England than Bush did here, so that means Bush was very unpopular in England. I'll lay you dollars to donuts that they were surprised that the word got back to the U.S. on what they said.

It was stupid. The only smart thing about it was relying on the insanely short attention span of most of the U.S. citizenry.
 
  • #17
FredGarvin said:
That's not the point exactly. If they were "brave" as you put it, they would have done that at a show in the U.S. Blair had even less popularity in England than Bush did here, so that means Bush was very unpopular in England. I'll lay you dollars to donuts that they were surprised that the word got back to the U.S. on what they said.

I would disagree with that. Neither they nor their publicity staff are by any means stupid. If they were, you would never have heard of them in the first place. I'll put every donut in Tim Hortons' inventory against your dollar that they were very well aware of the fact that doing it in England would bring far more attention to it than if they'd done it at home. What could have been a minor publicity SNAFU in the US was guaranteed to make international news because of how it was done.
 
  • #18
Ivan Seeking said:
Kind of like Obama denouncing the invasion of Iraq [before the fact] when he all but stood alone in a pen full of chickens.
Good ole politicians,

ALWAYS there to say when they said something before it was more widely thought of, but also never admit they were ever wrong later on down the line.

But we also wouldn't like the ones that admit when they were wrong every time they were wrong, and we wouldn't vote them in.
 
  • #19
what did the dixie chicks do that was so politically loaded? i thought the big deal was them saying something like "we know you don't like bush here in england, and we don't like him in america either. as texans, wer ashamed he came from texas".

there must be more to the story because with my version i thought the big deal wasn't so much the moral fortitude of the chicks', but the patriotic ignorance of their conservative, pro-bush fan base (i.e. "bush may be sending this great country down the toilet, but by god he's our president and I'm going to stand by him no matter what!")
 
  • #20
devil-fire said:
what did the dixie chicks do that was so politically loaded? i thought the big deal was them saying something like "we know you don't like bush here in england, and we don't like him in america either. as texans, wer ashamed he came from texas".

there must be more to the story because with my version i thought the big deal wasn't so much the moral fortitude of the chicks', but the patriotic ignorance of their conservative, pro-bush fan base (i.e. "bush may be sending this great country down the toilet, but by god he's our president and I'm going to stand by him no matter what!")
Wasn't it the first thing that people didn't like was when she wore a shirt she made herself that said
Code:
FU
TK

And apparently, how that was thought of, was an insult to Toby Keith, another country star, who happens to have written several quite patriotic songs.
 
  • #21
Hmmmphhh... I heard a couple of his songs when I was working in that cowboy bar. If I ever met him, I'd also say FU.
 

What is the controversy surrounding the Dixie Chicks and their return?

The Dixie Chicks faced backlash in 2003 after lead singer Natalie Maines made a comment criticizing then-President George W. Bush and the Iraq War. Their music was boycotted by many and they received death threats. Their return has been met with mixed reactions due to this controversy.

Why did the Dixie Chicks take a hiatus?

After the backlash from their controversial comments, the Dixie Chicks took a hiatus from music to focus on their personal lives and families. They also faced legal battles with their former record label during this time.

What can fans expect from the "Welcome back Dixie Chicks" tour?

The "Welcome back Dixie Chicks" tour will feature the group's classic hits as well as new music from their upcoming album, "Gaslighter." Fans can also expect a visually stunning and energetic performance from the trio.

Will the Dixie Chicks address their past controversy during the tour?

While the Dixie Chicks have not directly addressed their past controversy, they have acknowledged it in interviews and performances. It is possible that they may address it in some way during the tour, but it is not the focus of the show.

What do the Dixie Chicks hope to accomplish with their comeback?

The Dixie Chicks have stated that their goal with their comeback is to continue making music and connecting with their fans. They also hope to use their platform to speak out about important social and political issues, as they have done in the past.

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