Saturday, March 25, 2006
God Bless America - And The Dixie Chicks
A few weeks ago, we neatly tucked into the text of another post a very small, tidy little reference to the fact that we were excited about the Dixie Chicks' new album, Taking The Long Way, to be released later this year.
Well, Not Ready To Make Nice has been released as the very logical first single from the album. PTF was going to save this post for later, but we have to go on record as stating that this is going to be the biggest year The Dixie Chicks have ever seen in their careers.
Unless you were living under a rock back in 2003, you heard all the uproar over a comment Natalie Maines made during a European concert. "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas...." The result? Boycotts. Death threats. Attempts to smear and silence these artists for voicing an opinion.
Little did this country know that just a short two years later, Kayne West would up the ante, so to speak. "George Bush doesn't care about black people." Live TV, spoken in the midst of a national disaster of epic proportions. No boycotts. No death threats. Opinionated voice still sounding strong as he poses for the cover of Rolling Stone as Jesus.
The difference between Natalie Maines' comment and Kayne West's is simple. A critical mass of Americans were not as sure about George Bush's incompetance in 2003. By 2005, the mistakes that the Bush Administration had made were apparent to a much larger majority of Americans. That number continues to grow and grow every day that George Bush remains in office.
This is one of the reasons why Not Ready To Make Nice and the new album are going to do so well. But it's not the only reason. The MAJOR reason is simple - the music is fantastic. Rick Rubin produced this album, and it will not only succeed on country music stations, but on a mainstream level over many different radio formats. The album is going to be huge.
(I'll save my post about Clear Channel, the politics of radio, and the delicious irony of country music stations playing this song for a later post.)
Check out the lyrics: I made my bed and I sleep like a baby
With no regrets and I don’t mind sayin’
It’s a sad sad story when a mother will teach her
Daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger
And how in the world can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they’d write me a letter
Sayin’ that I better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over
I’m not ready to make nice
I’m not ready to back down
I’m still mad as hell and
I don’t have time to go round and round and round
It’s too late to make it right
I probably wouldn’t if I could
‘Cause I’m mad as hell
Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should
I would encourage PTF readers to do everything in your power to support The Dixie Chicks as they release this album. Particularly if you've never listened to The Dixie Chicks before, or if you've never liked their music in the past, this may be the time for you to take a second look.
Tags: Dixie Chicks, Natalie Maines, Not Ready To Make Nice, Taking The Long Way, Rick Rubin, Bush, Kayne West
Posted by FleshPresser at 11:53 PM /
Meghan posted at 11:37 AM
I've always loved the Dixie Chicks, and am glad to see that speaking their minds (though it caused a big uproar about two and half years ago) has, over time, only propelled them forward socially and artistically.
I can't wait 'til the new album comes out in May!
L posted at 11:16 PM
I was so surprised then (and thrilled) to hear that country music stars, of all people, were willing to speak out against the administration. however, I was not surprised to hear about all the death threats, boycotts, and extremely misogynist name-calling they received.
TruthTeller posted at 11:35 PM
Enormous fan... huge supporter... best record yet! I posted about them too. Chicks rule...
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Unless you were living under a rock back in 2003, you heard all the uproar over a comment Natalie Maines made during a European concert. "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas...." The result? Boycotts. Death threats. Attempts to smear and silence these artists for voicing an opinion.
Little did this country know that just a short two years later, Kayne West would up the ante, so to speak. "George Bush doesn't care about black people." Live TV, spoken in the midst of a national disaster of epic proportions. No boycotts. No death threats. Opinionated voice still sounding strong as he poses for the cover of Rolling Stone as Jesus.
Meghan posted at 11:37 AM
