Voyage of the Dixie Chicks (Free Republic mentioned)

Montreal Gazette ^ | Thursday, September 14, 2006 | Katherine Monk

[kristinn]

After facing a barrage of insults, death threats and all kinds of broken records in the face of an offhand remark about the U.S. president, the Dixie Chicks are no longer chicks.

"It turned us into women," says Natalie Maines, speaking about the past three years in near media exile, facing one of the largest pop culture controversies in recent history.

On the eve of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Maines made an offhand comment about being against violence, and being embarrassed that the U.S. president, George W. Bush was from Texas, her home state. Despite their being a top-selling act, they soon faced fans who had turned into haters. Record sales plummeted. Some radio stations excluded them from their playlists. People said their career at the top of country was over.

The conflict was so rich in scope and meaning, it attracted the attention of two-time Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple and her colleague, Cecilia Peck (Gregory's daughter).

The result is Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing! - one of the hottest documentary titles of this year's Toronto International Film Festival.

Beginning the voyage with the actual comment of the title recorded in a London amphitheatre, Kopple and Peck take a full immersion tour through the post-Bush-slag landscape, and follow the Chicks - Maines, Martie Maguire and Emily Robison - as they attempt to understand what happened, and how to move forward without their sturdy net of a solid fan base.

"In watching this movie, it felt like I was watching myself mature," Maines says.

Robison echoes the sentiment. "I think, for the most part, when your career is going great, you don't really have the opportunity to soul search ... but we did. And we do think it happened for a reason."

At a Shut Up and Sing! press conference, the Chicks say they have absolutely no regrets about speaking their mind. If anything, the experience made them realize just how vulnerable to censorship we are in the world of consolidated media ownership and nationally uniform radio playlists.

"Consolidation means one guy at the top decides everything ... and I don't think the media has been successful in pointing out why it's so dangerous," Robison says.

"People don't understand why this is so important," Maines says. "But if you live in Lubbock, Texas, where I'm from - you just have one paper and one radio station and unless you're savvy on the Internet, that's it for you. If Bush said get a gun and kill an Arab, they would do that."

Maguire says if it had been just one - or even several - DJs who felt it was just too much of a hassle to spin Dixie Chicks singles, they would have been fine with the boycott. The problem was how the whole anti-Chicks campaign was orchestrated by a select few through a right-wing Internet site called the Free Republic.

According to the research done by Kopple and the Chicks themselves, the Free Republic sent out form letters to their 30,000-thick subscription list with market-specific information, saying if the station did not stop playing their music, people would cease listening to the station.

The campaign worked, and the Chicks' current tour for their new album is being booked at venues half the size of their previous tour. "What was wrong was that (the decision to not play Dixie Chicks records) was coming from the top ... and that (DJs) were not allowed to play the records, even if they wanted to. ... I think that kind of censorship is dangerous," says Maguire.

Kopple says what happened to the Dixie Chicks really struck a chord because it spoke to the changing times.

"In the ... '60s, there was a sense of a cultural movement that happened, and you really felt a sense of belonging to a community. They (Dixie Chicks) were on their own, and our hope is that people who see this film ... will become part of their community so the Chicks no longer have to stand alone," Kopple says.

Maines, who says she always felt the support of her bandmates and family, says she's still a little surprised by the whole journey. Though she's learned to really think hard about what she says to the press these days, she says she may well have said the very same thing - even with a little reflection. "Even if I had thought about what I wanted to say, I don't think I ever could have imagined what happened. What I said was just so lame."

Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing! is slated for a fall /winter theatrical release.

[Wallace T.]

I'm looking forward to seeing the Chick's "Where are they now?" episode ten years from now.

Ten years from now, Natalie Maines will be a waitress working the night shift at the Petro truck stop in Weatherford, Texas. The other two will be cashiers at Sears or Wal Mart.

[sneakers]

I wasn't a fan of theirs before Maines opened her big mouth. And I certainly wasn't aware of any coordinated effort on the part of Free Republic to stop people from buying their music. Maines doesn't seem to realize she did the damage all herself! She's just looking for a scapegoat - someone to blame for the damage done by her own lack of discretion!

[Mo1]

???? Still waiting for mine

Yea .. I didn't get one either

[RikaStrom]

So the chicks still haven't learned the definition of censorship.

Ignorant twerps.

[pgyanke]

"But if you live in Lubbock, Texas, where I'm from - you just have one paper and one radio station and unless you're savvy on the Internet, that's it for you. If Bush said get a gun and kill an Arab, they would do that."

Newspapers in Lubbock, TX:

Avalanche Journal
The Hispano Weekly
Southwest Digest
The Daily Toreador
El Editor
South Plains Catholic
West Texas Hispanic News
Golden Gazette

Radio Stations in Lubbock, TX:

KTXT 88.1 FM
KPBB 88.5 FM
KPMB 88.5 FM
KOHM 89.1 FM
KAMY 90.1 FM
KPHS 90.3 FM
KBAH 90.5 FM
KKLU 90.9 FM
KBKN 91.3 FM
KWLD 91.5 FM
KJAK 92.7 FM
KXTQ 93.7 FM
KFMX 94.5 FM
KLLL 96.3 FM
KSTQ 97.3 FM
KKCL 98.1 FM
KICA 98.3 FM
KYMI 98.5 FM
KQBR 99.5 FM
KMMX 100.3 FM
KOLF 100.7 FM
KONE 101.1 FM
KSNY 101.5 FM
KZII 102.5 FM
KMUL 103.1 FM
KAMZ 103.5 FM
KRIA 103.9 FM
KLZK 104.3 FM
KBTE 104.9 FM
KLVT 105.3 FM
KRBL 105.7 FM
KFLP 106.1 FM
KEJS 106.5 FM
KKYN 106.9 FM
KPOS 107.3 FM
KRFE 580 AM
KPET 690 AM
KFYO 790 AM
KFLP 900 AM
KJTV 950 AM
KIJN 1060 AM
KVOP 1090 AM
KLVT 1230 AM
KKUB 1300 AM
KKAM 1340 AM
KMUL 1380 AM
KREW 1400 AM
KJDL 1420 AM
KLFB 1420 AM
KBZO 1460 AM
KZZN 1490 AM
KCLR 1530 AM
KDAV 1590 AM

Obviously, they see their own home town as nothing but "hicksville". Now who's out of touch?

[Jeff Gordon]

New rules for 21st Century Liberals:

Don't sword fight with Zorro.
Don't piss into the wind.
Don't piss off FreeRepublic.

[mainepatsfan]

I hope I run into them at the checkout line. I'll make sure I'll have a big crate of water under my cart and ask them to scan it.

[Bassfire]

In the ... '60s, there was a sense of a cultural movement that happened, and you really felt a sense of belonging to a community. They (Dixie Chicks) were on their own, and our hope is that people who see this film ... will become part of their community so the Chicks no longer have to stand alone," Kopple says.

WEIRD!Is Kopple saying they now want to start a community (commune) with like-minded people who long for the days of tye dyed t-shirts, making love not war, long hair, drugs and rock and roll? Tell Natalie she's about 40 yrs. too late...... I didn't get my form letter either :-(

[BunnySlippers]

I didn;t get my form letter from FR. :(

[KeepUSfree]

I also despise the immature, purile, insults and piling on that have NOTHING to do with the issue at hand around here. Some threads (like this one) sound like 2nd graders yelling "you're a bigger poophead than me" .

It's embarrasing that such juvinile thought processes occur on an otherwise excellent forum.

They belong over at DU - as they have the same mentality - just a different cause.

Sometimes, I think there should be a sub-section of FR for the "under 10 mentality" crowd.

BTW "You Go Tit" is an excellent tagline ;-) (that's a joke for all you under10ers).

[grellis]

According to the research done by Kopple and the Chicks themselves, the Free Republic sent out form letters to their 30,000-thick subscription list with market-specific information, saying if the station did not stop playing their music, people would cease listening to the station.

Am I ever going to stop being a newbie??! I never get invited to the reindeer games!

[kristinn]

Can't post the article nor an excerpt, but here's a link to the Cincinatti Enquirer from March 18, 2003, ten days after Natalie shot her mouth off. Mash here.

The article reports on an e-mail sent by Sony Music and the Dixie Chicks manager blaming Freepers for their troubles.

[Asfarastheeastisfromthewest...]

According to the research done by Kopple and the Chicks themselves, the Free Republic sent out form letters to their 30,000-thick subscription list with market-specific information, saying if the station did not stop playing their music, people would cease listening to the station.

Can't be much research if they came up with 30,000 as a number. That clearly is in error right off the bat..... Mr. Robinson - Maybe you could comment on whether Barbara Kopple or the Ditzies contacted you? My guess is that I already know what you would say.

[fatima]

I remember when they first said this and we went over to post on their chat site.They shut it down the next day.

[kidao35]

I figured they resurfaced b/c the rent was due on the trailer.

[Sue Perkick]

According to the research done by Kopple and the Chicks themselves, the Free Republic sent out form letters to their 30,000-thick subscription list with market-specific information, saying if the station did not stop playing their music, people would cease listening to the station. The campaign worked, and the Chicks' current tour for their new album is being booked at venues half the size of their previous tour. "What was wrong was that (the decision to not play Dixie Chicks records) was coming from the top ... and that (DJs) were not allowed to play the records, even if they wanted to. ... I think that kind of censorship is dangerous," says Maguire.

Why didn't I get a letter? I wanted to be in on the conspiracy movement to censor the Chix too. LOL.

[bmwcyle]

"It turned us into women," says Natalie Maines

A woman that most conservative men will have nothing to do with.

[buck61]

It was a right wing conspiracy and FR that caused their demise, it could not have been their hate speech.
Just like a lib. blame someone else for your mistakes.

[sneakers]

"According to the research done by Kopple and the Chicks themselves, the Free Republic sent out form letters to their 30,000-thick subscription list with market-specific information, saying if the station did not stop playing their music, people would cease listening to the station."

OK, why was I left out? Are you guys dissing me?? I think I'm insulted!! Is it time for an opus? No, I think I'll stick around. This is WAAAYYYY too much fun!

[veronica]

The result is Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing! - one of the hottest documentary titles of this year's Toronto International Film Festival.

Shouldn't the title of that festival be changed to the "Bush Derangement Film Festival"?