Posted on 02/12/2007 10:52:53 PM PST by peggybac
So the Dixie Chicks won five Grammys last night, including the big trifecta (best song, best album, best record), and your reaction to that probably has more to do with your politics than with your taste in music.
The Chicks' big sweep Sunday night is being cast in the only light it deserves: as redemption for the abuse they suffered starting in March 2003, when Natalie Maines criticized President Bush. For that, the Chicks were censored by country radio and pilloried by conservatives in politics, entertainment and elsewhere. Likewise, they became heroines to liberals, like Michael Moore, who infamously invoked their names (along side the Pope) during his Oscar acceptance speech in 2003.
Four years later, all that fuss seems like excessive posturing from both sides. The Chicks' suffered more fear and ridicule than they deserved (including death threats) from politicians, fans and fellow entertainers. But they were also elevated to a stature they neither asked for nor deserved. They became, you could say, the Rosa Parks of country music: the outspoken women-folk who wouldn't budge when asked to shut up and move.
Sunday night was a huge moment for them. But it was for the wrong reasons. This is all subjective, certainly, but anyone would have a hard time making the case that "Taking the Long Way" was the best album of 2006. I don't even think it was the best country album of 2006 (better: James Hand, Sunny Sweeney, The Wreckers, Neko Case, Willie Nelson).
In the annual poll of music critics by Village Voice, the Chicks' album came in No. 20. In Metacritic's survey of dozens of reviews, it didn't even make the Top 30. Granted, the Grammys are a survey of music industry insiders, not writers, reporters and critics. And its standards are, at times, baffling. Example: The Chicks' "Not Ready to Make Nice" was song and record of the year overall; it was not nominated as song of the year in the country category. Even so, a sweep like this is typically reserved for albums that represent an artist's peak or a defining moment in music. "Long Way" is neither.
This landslide in their favor feels like the music industry commenting on not just the backlash against the Chicks from both the country radio establishment and the conservative wing of our culture but also a validation of their stance against the war. The Chicks won, it seems, for the same reaons they suffered all that abuse nearly four years ago: for their politics. HEre's how the writer at CMT.com framed it:
The wins at the awards show in Los Angeles serve as an indication of the music industry's respect for the rough road the Dixie Chicks have traveled since Maines criticized President Bush ...
It was a transparent indication. Look who was up on stage towards the end of the show: Don "Walden Pond" Henley and Al Gore, who thanked the audience in the hall for its stance on the environment. He sounded like he was speaking at a political convention in front of his own constituents. And, for the most part, he was.
In the end, unless you're Gnarls Barkley or another slighted group/artist, this is pretty much a petty matter (remember Lauryn Hill?). If you're smirking today over this, having the kind of last laugh that everyone assumes the Chicks are having, then enjoy the moment. No doubt over at Fox News and in other conservative media channels, they're rolling out their standard, blanket arguments about the liberal/Hollywood entertainment/media establishments. Only this time, those arguments will emit the faint scent of truth.
Silly me, thinking that the grammy awards were supposed to be about the MUSIC,not making a statement!
But I haven't really thought they were about music since, well, forever. Jethro tull best metal album?
The writer seems a bit confused on more than just punctuation.
What's a Dixie Chick?
The Twits won a Grammy...
...and Yazzir Arafat won a Nobel. I hope I'm never "recognized". The embarrassment might be too much.
The Chicks' slam against President Bush is old news. The fact that they slammed country artists and their fans over the past year or so is why their sympathy Grammys are so misplaced. I'm sure Nashville is seething.
I didn't think much of the song, but the video for Lauryn Hill's "That Thing" is a masterpiece. It also shows -- unintentionally -- how far the culture had slid in between 1967 and 1998.
As expected, the Grammycrat Awards found their way into the hands of Democrats.
"One question: why the apostrophe?"
It amazes me the errors often found in articles written by college educated journalists. My mother use to make corrections in red then mail them back to the writer(s). I also cringe when TV news anchors chop up the English language.
My pet peeve is when they use the word 'a' instead of 'an' before a word that begins a silent 'h'.
- i.e. A honest man.
What's a grammy, and why should anyone even care?<
No matter, because Miss Piggy drove herself and her pals over a cliff. They announced some time ago that the band would dissolve after the Grammy Awards.
I'm sure they won't be making any acceptance speeches at the People's Choice Awards any time soon.
The United States has become a place where entertainers and professional athletes are mistaken for people of importance.
Robert A. Heinlein
So very true! Heinlein is one of my favorite authors.
Has anybody actually seen any of the death threats? Are they in Mary Mapes' handwriting?
"Only this time, those arguments will emit the faint scent of truth."
ONLY this time?
You mean the fix was in? Surely you jest!/sarc
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