A Phenomenal Career Suicide

National Review Online (The Corner feature) ^ | 3/15/03 | Rod Dreher

[WarrenC]

A PHENOMENAL CAREER SUICIDE [Rod Dreher]

This Dixie Chicks thing is getting very, very serious for the group. Mind you, I'm not a big one for boycotts; if I threw away CDs of artists whose politics I couldn't stand off my shelf, there'd be very little left to listen to (a reader wrote to say she'd taken her child to hear the great kids' musician Dan Zanes play recently, and he shared his anti-war politics with preschoolers. Asinine!). However, I completely understand country fans wanting to rebuke severely the Dixie Chicks for that disgraceful comment Natalie Maines made on foreign soil. This thing is turning into something huge. Read what reader Dave in Georgia wrote to me this morning:

Here in the Red Zone, the imminent demise of the Dixie Chicks is a topic of everyday discussion, not just a Internet thing. And every country radio DJ is being forced to take a stand. I came home yesterday, and my wife asked me if she was supposed to take her CDs to the radio station, or if I knew where she was supposed to mail them. Radio call-ins range for tearful pleas to pray for the Chicks, to heavily bleeped suggestion for new names for the group.

This thing is turning into a phenomenal case of career suicide. What on earth could Natalie Maines have been thinking, saying such an idiotic thing, given her fan base? Can anybody think of a similar case of a popular performer collapsing professionally virtually overnight because of something he or she said?

[MattAMiller]

He said "We're more popular than Jesus" and was totally misunderstood. He was lamenting the fact, not celebrating it.

[MattAMiller]

I've seen Vichy Chicks used on this forum. It's my favortie so far.

[slimer]

What on earth could Natalie Maines have been thinking?

What all trailer trash that gets a few bucks thinks, "I can do anything I want to now and it don't matter cause I got money." Well, you don't got no brains ya Dizzy Shack Hick Chick.

[flying Elvis]

My sad prediction: This will be merely a speed bump in their careers. Many of their fans are the soccer moms who voted for Clinton.

[Theophilus]

Mrs Maines makes good music and we will impovrish ourselves if we don't give her another chance. However, Mrs Maines (I know, it's not her husbands name) needs to know that we can only apreciate the beauty of the cheerleaders when they get out of the endzone while the game is being played. There is little a cheerleader can do for her team, namely Iraq, but be bruised and trampled when they stand in the way. Mrs Maines and her fellow celebrity cheerleaders need to stay on the sidelines.

[Sunshine55]

The Dixie Sh*ts?

[FITZ]

DUpers and other anti-American knuckleheads are mounting a modest pro-Chix comback at this poll.

But will those pop and rap music fans over there actually buy Dixie Chicks CDs? That's the vote that matters.

[Revolting cat!]

I believe the Ditsy C**ts have found themselves on the receiving end of a lot of frustration in this country, frustration with overfed, overpaid harebrained celebrities making up-in-your-face idiotic political statements they have no qualifications to make and suffering no consequences for it. It's hard to respond to or punish Martin Sheen who's protected by the mythical Nielsen ratings or Barbra Streisand who sells no records or concert tickets to speak of and who's not played on any radio stations.

But here comes a bestselling pop group making probably the dumbest statements one could make at this hour and making it in front of a foreign audience! Well Chickie Brains, say goodbye to record sales, concert venues and radio plays! And be sure to tell your Hollyweird pals about it! The message is clear and sorry you are the ones to have to carry it, but somebody had to, in the end!

[Atticus]

Les Chicks Dixie

[GeneD]

I post this picture:

because Mary Pickford once told the film historian Kevin Brownlow, "I will not have anything to do with politics. The minute a politician walks in the room, I'm finished." She also said, "To be entertained, we don't need to descend to the garbage can. Or to hang over it and think bad things of people and situations. Look to the sky and to the stars."

Well, we can all see what it got her -- perhaps the most successful career in the whole history of show business. These flashes in the pan would do wise to study Mary Pickford's words while the pan is still flashing.

[supercat]

a. Sell it on eBay and send the money to your favorite cause.

Or, better yet, hope enough people sell them on eBay to glut the market. A few $10 CD's on eBay won't take many sales from a $15 CD in the store. But dozens of CD's for $2 each might...

[Red Boots]

"THese girls are having thier career destroyed because they made a remark about the President. What are you going to do if one of them commits suicide as a result? Will it weigh on your conscience?" NO

[supercat]

I think that for the most part the "celebs" will get away with their antics, because the REAL moving force behind Hollywood is NOT simply "box office" (if that were so, there wouldn't be "R"-rated movies made, since they never do as well as more "family oriented" fare), but the acceptance of the Hollywood establishment.

I commonly read this, but must disagree. In order to pull any box office whatsoever, a G-rated movie has to be reasonably good. Producers realize this, and generally only release G-rated movies theatrically if they'll do well at the box office.

By contrast, a movie which shows some decent looking women naked has a certain guaranteed level of box-office draw (not as much now as in pre-video/Internet days, but still some) even if the movie itself is total garbage.

To put it another way, making a good family movie can net more money than making a cheesy skin flick, but making money on cheesy skin flicks is easier than making money on good family movies.

[danmar]

If you can explain to me why this never happened to Jane Fonda, but will happen to these folks, I'd be interested to hear.

Well for starters, may I suggest that Jane Fonda's carrier was not that stellar as you put it, eversince she pulled that "Hanoi" stunt. Can you name me any stelar movie performance, including any type of cinematografic award for Jane Fonda?

Granted she had some succes with her "Aerobic" tapes (my wife bought them things), but other than "Barbarella"( I have to admit JF is one hell of a good looking woman, her politics aside), she never hit it BIG on the cinematics.

To compare HER to "Dixie Twits" is like comparing apples and watermelons.
JF never reached "Dixie Twits" fame and fortune!

[Beck_isright]

"My sad prediction: This will be merely a speed bump in their careers. Many of their fans are the soccer moms who voted for Clinton."

One problem with that theory; their fans are us in the hinterlands and "boonies" more so than the soccer moms. And if they don't get airplay, they don't sell their crappola. And in the traditional country markets, they are not getting airplay, more like being blasted by pissed off DJs!

[Wolverine]

The fat chick Natalie has taken the buying public for granted. She killed the Golden Goose.

I'll bet the other Chicks just love the fact that their career has been mightily damaged, almost beyound repair!

Don Imus had it right...Dixie Pigs.

Oh, and another thing...Natalie wouldn't have the guts to make those comments in this country.

And, if you think you have curried favor with the hollyweird crowd, think again! They will throw you over in a heartbeat.

[Stage Fright]

The difference is, with Britney Spears demographic, an explanation of who Bush and Hitler are would be in order. If like, fer sure, they don't appear on the pages of Seventeen, the recognition may be lost.

Fer sure. :o)

[MarkL]

They're not your typical stupid actors/liberals. These girls are just singers/non-activists, one of whom happened to make an unpopular remark. Are you going to crucify them and ruin their career because of it? I wish you people would reconsider.

When I'm at work, out in the field, I represent my employers, and everything I do, good or bad, reflects on them. If I say something offensive to a client, I have to deal with the consequences of my statements. I know of cases where people have been fired for doing or saying something upsetting to a client.

Should a "singer/non-activist" be held to a lower standard?

Mark

[Theophilus]

They're not your typical stupid actors/liberals

weeelll, yes that's exactly what they are, and there's their trouble. And because of that, we and especially the President (who probably really likes their music) should forgive them...

...eventually, if they just keep holding on :-)

Should Have Been Different But
It Wasn't Different, Was
Same Old Story, Dear John, And So Long
Should Have Fit Like A Glove
Should Have Fit Like A Ring
Like A Diamond Ring
A Token Of True Love
Should Have All Worked Out
But It Didn't
She Should Be Here Now
But She Isn't

[Chorus:]
There's Your Trouble, There's Your Trouble
You Keep Seeing Double With The Wrong One
You Can't See I Love You, You Can't See Doesn't
But You Just Keep Holding On
There's Your Trouble

So Now You're Thinking 'Bout
All You're Missing -- How
Deep You're Sinking, Round And Round And Dragging Down
Why Don't You Cash In Your Chips
Why Don't You Call It A Loss
Not Such A Big Loss, Chalk It Up Better Luck
Could Have Been True Love
But It Wasn't
It Should All Add Up
But It Doesn't

[Repeat Chorus]

[supercat]

more like being blasted by pissed off DJs!

I don't know if there'd be any licensing problems, but perhaps a station could make a varitety of carts:

---

[8 seconds of Dixie chicks track] PULL! [shotgun blast] WXYZ, 98.7FM

---

[8 seconds of Dixie chicks track] [screaming] [smashing noises] WXYZ, 98.7FM

---

[8 seconds of Dixie chicks track] [toilet flushing] WXYZ, 98.7FM

---

[8 seconds of Dixie chicks track] [0.1 second static] [Homer Simpson]: "Boring!" WXYZ, 98.7FM

---

[8 seconds of Dixie chicks track] [electric zapping sound] [sizzling sound] [Homer Simpson]: "MMmmm... chicken..." Toasting America's Dixie Chicks. WXYZ, 98.7FM

---

I don't know if there'd be any licensing problems with doing those, but I think they'd probably be well-received by many listeners.