Chicks: Out She-Daisy: IN!
Posted on 11/17/2006 10:44:26 AM PST by Chi-townChief
Natalie Maines has always been the Dixie Chicks' mouth. As lead singer, she not only fronts the band on stage but is often its spokeswoman. She was known for speaking her mind well before the now infamous comment that started a backlash against the popular country music group.
Back in 2003 at a London concert on the eve of the Iraq war, Maines was just being herself when she said: "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." The reaction that followed stunned Maines and bandmates Martie Maguire and Emily Robison. Suddenly, the country music darlings, who had sung "The Star-Spangled Banner" two month earlier at the Super Bowl, were pariahs.
"Shut Up & Sing," the new documentary by filmmakers Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck, daughter of film legend Gregory Peck, picks up immediately after the concert and follows the Dixie Chicks over several years as they deal with the backlash and get their career back on track. What emerges is an intimate and fascinating portrait of the three women who, instead of being "divided and conquered," stick together and build something new.
Kopple is an old hand at getting under the layers of controversial topics. She won Oscars for her unflinching look at Kentucky coal miners in "Harlan County U.S.A." and for "American Dream," a courageous film about the strike against a meatpacking plant in Minnesota. In "Shut Up & Sing," she and Peck build a strong case for freedom of expression and what happens when that is taken away.
As is her style, Kopple lets the events speak for themselves; the camera simply records the women's lives. No one sits for formal interviews; no talking heads expound on the situation.
After Maines' comment was printed in a London newspaper and picked up by the Associated Press, it quickly made its way to conservative bastions in the United States. The right-wing Web site, Free Republic, and its anonymous members fuel the campaign against the Dixie Chicks.
Longtime fans smash the band's CDs, country radio boycotts them and there is even a death threat against Maines. Their always optimistic manager Simon Renshaw does damage control, setting up meetings with representatives from Lipton, the tour sponsor.
Maines is surprised when the controversy doesn't blow over. Two questions are raised: Should she apologize? Will the repercussions damage the sisterhood? The trio give an emphatic no to each.
At times, Maines, Maguire and Robison look shell-shocked but they soon realize "this is part of who we are as a band now." Kopple and Peck emphasize the fact that life does not stop for the three women. They are all married and have seven children among them. As the bond of friendship grows stronger, so does the new music they begin to work on.
When they started their 2003 Top of the World Tour, the Dixie Chicks, with record sales exceeding 30 million, were the biggest-selling female group of all time. But as record sales plummet, the women wonder how to move forward without their once- solid fan base. The solution? Go in a new direction.
Before the backlash, the Dixie Chicks were seen as something fresh in country music. But they kept opinions and such on the back burner as their career took off. They played the country music game, pleased their conservative base and sold millions of records. Yet there was a feeling they were holding something back in their music.
The filmmakers capture the writing and recording sessions as the women write for the first time all the pop-rock songs for their most personal album yet, "Taking the Long Way," which featured the defiant "Not Ready to Make Nice."
It's obvious that Maines' off-the-cuff comment has opened the door for the trio to do as they please musically.
With the guidance of seasoned songwriters (Gary Louris, Sheryl Crow, Dan Wilson) and producer Rick Rubin, the songs become more sophisticated and the music takes on a new relevance.
"Taking the Long Way" is finally released in May 2006 and sells 1 million copies within three weeks. Ticket sales for an ensuing tour are closely watched in a scene that says much about today's concert business. When it becomes obvious that sales are weak in the South, plans are made to take the group to Canada instead.
The reaction to Maines' comment may have been a shock to the band, but it also helps push them to be true to themselves and the music they are meant to make. The film ends with defiant performances of "The Long Way Around" and "Not Ready to Make Nice." These performances exhibit a new vitality and affirm the promise that we haven't heard the last from the Dixie Chicks.
mhoulihan@suntimes.com
DITZY SKANKS SUCK
"The right-wing Web site, Free Republic, and its anonymous members fuel the campaign against the Dixie Chicks."
_______
I'm not anonymous. I am Right N. Themiddle.
Chicks: Out She-Daisy: IN!
NO DOUBT!
More biased mainstream media reporting: "These performances exhibit a new vitality and affirm the promise that we haven't heard the last from the Dixie Chicks. "
Noob. I got mine two days after. :)
Their concert in Ottawa was a wash.
Neither of the newspapers would say how many attended, but one reviewer mentioned the "thousands of empty seats", at the stadium that seats 18,500.
Wide Open Spaces: 12x platinum.
Fly: 10x platinum.
Home: 6x platinum.
Taking The Long Way: 1x platinum.
Given the fact that TTLW had a production budget that dwarfed WOS or any other album they've done, not only has it grossed only 8% of WOS' gross it has probably netted only 4 or 5% of WOS' net.
If their next album drops below gold certification, they may be looking for a new label.
This faux martyrdom is getting tiresome. No one stifled their freedom of expression, not once, not ever. Refraining from buying their records and boycotting their shows and encouraging others to do the same is as much free expression as anything the 'Chicks might say or do. Money talks in a very literal sense. Most importantly, it is a pernicious thing to associate criticism with censorship. The distinction is clear, and there is no hazy gray of meaning between the two. It's only to be expected, I suppose, that muddleheaded entertainers with an overwhelming sense of entitlement could confuse that distinction.
snip
After Maines' comment was printed in a London newspaper and picked up by the Associated Press, it quickly made its way to conservative bastions in the United States. The right-wing Web site, Free Republic, and its anonymous members fuel the campaign against the Dixie Chicks.
Well that wouldnt have happened if the Dixie Chicks hadn't taken away our freedom of expression! /sarcasm
If you have to ask then it's obvious you don't know the "secret hadshake"....
"Natalie Maines has always been the Dixie Chicks' mouth."
They lost fans all and sundry,
Across the entire country,
If they only had a brain
Beat me to it.
Good on you, mate.
Beat me to it.
Good on you, mate.
No worries.
"Natalie Maines has always been the Dixie Chicks' mouth."
Live by the sword, die by the sword.
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