Posted on 02/09/2006 8:50:00 AM PST by WestTexasWend
The Dixie Chicks burst onto the music scene with hits like "Wide Open Spaces" and "Goodbye Earl". But after Natalie Maines` negative comments toward President Bush, they all but vanished from the limelight. But now they`re back, and it seems the Chicks have even more to say.
It`s been a "Long Time Gone" for the Dixie Chicks, three years to be exact, since Lubbock native Maines said, "We`re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas", at a concert in London, England. As a result, people all across the country, and here in Lubbock, nixed the Chicks. Local station KLLL-FM still won`t play their music.
But the Texas trio has a new album due out in about two months, and one song title is catching the eyes of many West Texans. It`s called "Lubbock Or Leave It."
"It will be interesting to find out what the song says, what it`s really about, if it`s tongue-in-cheek or a slam on Lubbock," says 99.5 The Bear deejay Rick Gilbert.
"I think it`s her statement, `Lubbock - Love It or Leave It`. It`s her statement about country music," says Jane Prince-Jones, who, along with Gilbert, hosts The Bear`s morning show.
Despite KLLL-FM`s boycott of the Chicks music, one local country station didn`t follow suit. The Bear continues to spin their albums. But for Gilbert, who worked at KLLL at the time of the ban, banning the band was part of his past.
"We didn`t play it over there and they had their policy not to play it because listeners didn`t want to play," he says. "But I`ll tell you what, there were some of us that really wanted to play it, but the listeners said no. But now, you come over here and the program director says `Sure, let`s play it.`"
The Mac Davis song, "Happiness Is Lubbock, Texas (In My Rear View Mirror)" sounds a little negative if you just hear the title. But if you listen to the lyrics, Davis is actually talking about coming home. No one`s heard "Lubbock Or Leave It" yet, so it may not be as negative as it sounds. But to some people, it doesn`t matter; the Dixie Chicks no longer "Fly" in their book.
"Initially, when you hear it, it`s like `Umph` that`s kind of cheap," says one Lubbock music fan. "I think there is a lot of immaturity there."
"After they made their big faux pas on the radio and on TV, I chose not to listen to them," says another music fan.
"I`ll probably listen, but I don`t know if I`ll buy the album," says a third music fan. "I don`t think I would spend the money ... it`s like giving money to bad people after they do stuff."
So are the Dixie Chicks, in the words of "Goodbye Earl", "A missing person who nobody missed at all?"
"I don`t think their career is over," says Prince-Jones. "I think they`ll continue making money and music. They`re just too talented."
But is Lubbock radio really going to play "Lubbock Or Leave It"?
"I think we will just to find out what it`s all about," says Gilbert.
Rick and Jane say they`ll continue playing the Chicks` music on The Bear. KLBK-13 spoke with KLLL and they say they might actually play the song, see what the listeners say, and then go from there.
Another song turning heads is "Not Ready To Make Nice", which addresses the Chicks` fallout after the comment. The group`s new album is described as more rock than country and is expected to be released in April.
NO!
No.
NOOOO!!!!!! from Kentucky
I live here and I dispise Natalie Maines. She is a snot who left country music. She forgot who brought her to the dance. And now she has moved off to Austin her and her dad have turned into liberal thugs.
I still switch stations when they come on the radio (which isn't very often).
Yup. I'm native Texan [Dallas]. We haven't forgotten their traitorous sucking up. Screw em.
She is a snot who was kicked out of coutry music.
Reckon it was papa Lloyd who remembered "Lubbock or Leave It".
BTW, he and brother Kenny both worked at KLLL back then.
Knowing of Natalie from way back.. she has never ever cared what anyone thought of her. I hope they flop!
Sorry DIXIE chicks. Loved ya once, hate ya now. You need me, I don't need you.
You'd better change your name!
I hope it bombs big time.
I'm looking forward to the noise made when their albumn is released. It's going to be "pop", no doubt and we'll see just who embraces it.
Incidentally, has anyone ever noticed, that just in a photograph, you can tell that this chick has B!tch written all over her??????
NO!!!
I prefer Gretchen Wilson's voice. Natalie always sounds so nasal and whiny.
Another straight-A student speaks.....
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