Some Texas stations drop Dixie Chicks tunes

DALLAS — When it comes to President Bush, the Dixie Chicks are singing a different tune. But not every country radio station is playing it.

Natalie Maines, the Grammy Award-winning group's lead singer, apologized Friday for her criticism of President Bush and possible war against Iraq. That didn't stop some stations in Texas and other parts of the country from pulling Dixie Chicks songs off their programs.

Radio stations started getting angry calls from listeners after Maines told a London audience Monday, "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."

The Dixie Chicks are touring Europe, supporting their recent release "Home," where Maines said Friday they are "witnessing a huge anti-American sentiment as a result of the perceived rush to war." Maines said she is a mother and wants to see "every possible alternative exhausted" before lives are lost.

In her apology, Maines said, "As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful. I feel that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect."

Bush was born in Connecticut but grew up in West Texas. He has a ranch near Crawford, Texas and served as governor for six years. Maines is a native of Lubbock.

"We've had a huge listener reaction and movement against the statements," said Paul Williams, program director for KPLX-FM in Dallas-Fort Worth, the nation's fifth largest radio market.

On the Web site for KSCS-FM, also in Dallas-Fort Worth, was a photo of the three-member group, with black tape over Maines' mouth. The headline at www.kscs.com read: "Have The Dixie Chicks Gone Too Far?"

Ted Stecker, KSCS program director, said he had never had this kind of response from an audience during his 30 years in the music business.

"A lot could depend on how the Dixie Chicks respond and face their fans," he said.

In Kansas City, WDAF set trash cans outside the radio station for people to throw their Dixie Chicks CDs away. The station has boycotted the group's music on air, and its Web site displayed more than 800 e-mails from listeners. Most people voiced outrage about Maines' comment and praised the station for its boycott.

A few voiced support for the group and for their right to freely speak their opinions about the country and the president.

But Tom Fontaine, an on-air personality at KILT-FM in Houston, said, "We stand behind our president and we are proud he is from Texas."

"We have run polls and the overwhelming majority of the calls have been for us not to play the Dixie Chicks," said Fontaine.

El Paso station KHEY-FM has received complaints and won't play any Dixie Chicks songs this weekend, said Program Director Steve Gramzay. The temporary ban will "give everybody a chance to cool down," he said.

The Dixie Chicks' U.S. leg of their "Top of the World Tour" was scheduled to kick off May 1 in Greenville, S.C.'s Bi-Lo Center to a sold-out crowd. But attendance is now more uncertain.

Jill Weninger, the center's marketing director, said the first call she received Friday morning was from a woman who felt Greenville didn't need the group after its "anti-American" statements. She said she also received two e-mails but that was the extent of the complaints.

"One person that e-mailed said she had tickets but she wouldn't be coming," Weninger said.

The Bi-Lo Center sold out during the Dixie Chicks' first appearance and again this year on the first day they went on sale, Weninger said.

After more than 250 listeners called in a two-hour period Friday morning to complain about Maines' comments, WTDR-FM in Talladega, Ala., dropped the Dixie Chicks.

"The emotion of the callers telling us about their fathers and sons and brothers who are overseas now and who fought in previous wars was very specific," said Jim Jacobs, president of Jacobs Broadcast Group, which includes WTDR.

In North Platte, Neb., a radio station joined the boycott. "Due to un-American comments made by the Dixie Chicks very recently in London, we here at KXNP/KODY will be putting their music," Program and Operations Director Tony Lama said in a prepared statement Friday.

The Dixie Chicks, who performed their hit "Landslide" at the Feb. 23 Grammy Awards, won four Grammys at this year's show, including Best Country Album for "Home." Their next stop is Wednesday in Munich, where American policies against Iraq are widely criticized. They return to Texas on May 21 in Austin.

What a suicidal thing to say, career-wise, imho. Add the Dixie Chimps to the Frenchie boycott . . .

There are a couple more stories related to this bimbo's comments that I see on the Dallas Morning News that I'll post as supplements on this thread.

AP
The Dixie Chicks have drawn sharp
criticism for recent anti-war comments.

Here is the picture on KSCS's website the article references
(Click on the pic to go directly to the KSCS article):

Have The Dixie Chicks Gone Too Far?

Give Your Comments Here

Natalie Maines of "The Dixie Chicks" said at a concert in England and was quoted by a reporter from The Guardian "Just so you know," says singer Natalie Maines, "we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."

At 96.3 KSCS we disagree with her...we're not only proud to be from Texas, but we're proud of President George W. Bush and the fact that he is from Texas. In a follow-up quote from The Dixie Chicks, Maines was quoted as saying: "We've been overseas for several weeks and have been reading and following the news accounts of our governments' position. The anti-American sentiment that has unfolded here is astounding. While we support our troops, there is nothing more frightening than the notion of going to war with Iraq and the prospect of all the innocent lives that will be lost."

Maines further stated, "I feel the President is ignoring the opinions of many in the U.S. and alienating the rest of the world. My comments were made in frustration and one of the privileges of being an American is you are free to voice your own point of view."

***

In a statement released by her publicist late Friday Natalie said, "As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful. I feel that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect. We are currently in Europe and witnessing a huge anti-American sentiment as a result of the perceived rush to war. While war may remain a viable option, as a mother, I just want to see every possible alternative exhausted before children and American soldiers' lives are lost. I love my country. I am a proud American."

Do you accept her excuse? We thought we'd give you a chance to "sound off" and let the Dixie Chicks know if you are in agreement with them - or if you disagree. We will print out these messages and (unless content demands otherwise) we will get copies of your e-mails to the Chicks so hopefully they'll reconsider their opinions.

Remember...be Texas Proud, and keep it clean!

Few taking chance on peace songs

'60s sentiment may not play in modern culture

03/15/2003

By THOR CHRISTENSEN / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN - In the Vietnam era, popular music and the anti-war movement went hand in hand: "Bad Moon Rising," "Give Peace a Chance," "War."

But the prevailing tune today seems to be the sounds of silence. As war looms in Iraq - and as country stations play Darryl Worley's pro-war anthem "Have You Forgotten?" - many musicians wonder why they're not hearing more songs about peace.

"The culture starts getting more frivolous after years of peace and prosperity," says John Mellencamp, the first high-profile artist to release a new anti-war song, "To Washington."

Also Online

	Related: Dixie Chicks singer issues apology for Bush comment

	What do you think about Natalie Maines' comment. Will it affect how you feel about their music?

	Video: Gary Reaves reports

	Related: Mellencamp.com (official site)

	Related: BeastieBoys.com (official site)

"It's not Justin Timberlake's fault, but we're in an age now when the record companies groom you not to say anything that [ticks] anybody off."

The debate over activism and music is growing louder, with Friday's furor over Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines' remarks on President Bush. Earlier this week, she told a London concert audience she's "ashamed" that Mr. Bush is a Texan, but late Friday she apologized after some radio stations decided to boycott the Chicks' music.

While Ms. Maines softened her anti-war stance, others wish more musicians would take one. And it's not just the old-school lefties who are upset at the lack of protest songs. At last month's Grammy Awards, where anti-war statements were muted, 27-year-old singer India.Arie rhapsodized about the role of music during the Vietnam War - a war that ended before she was even born.

"At that time, music mattered," she told reporters backstage. "But my generation is outside of that ['60s peace] movement. The further we get from a time with that much political change, the more we forget."

"I think we've lost hold of the spirit," says 32-year-old singer Ani DiFranco, who attacks U.S. military policy in her songs and during her concerts. "Part of me feels shame that in such dire times, there's such a lack of activism."

In Austin, where thousands of musicians gathered for the 17th annual South by Southwest Music and Media Conference, a panel discussion Friday dug into the issue of "Activism and Protest."

"Looking to pop stars for leadership in today's world is a futile search," says panelist John Sinclair, ex-manager of the radical Vietnam-era rock band the MC5. "A lot of them are millionaires with shares in the oil companies, and they're gonna benefit from this war."

Yet others say it's simply too early to expect a new crop of anti-war songs. "You can't write a song and record it and make it all happen in the two months that it's become apparent we're getting into this war," says another panelist, John Doe of the punk band X.

The Vietnam War raged for years before stars such as John Lennon and John Fogerty began singing about peace. In fact, the first war-related Vietnam-era hit was Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler's patriotic "The Battle of the Green Berets," which went to No. 1 in 1966.

"Anti-war songs didn't make it above ground until the war had gone on and on and on," says folk singer Barbara Dane, who helped compile The Vietnam Songbook in 1969. "Early on, I'd sing a [peace] song and people would wince and say 'Why are you doing that?' "

Today, there's a different sort of skepticism.

"I'd be a martyr and throw myself out a window if I thought it would do any good, but nothing's going to stop this war, and everybody knows it," says 31-year-old Chan Marshall, a South by Southwest performer who sings under the stage name Cat Power. "War is not gonna stop if the 10 people who run the world say it isn't gonna stop."

Others aren't so pessimistic. Although most tunes written after Sept. 11 dealt in grief, confusion and anger, a few expressed the need for peace instead of retaliation: Sleater-Kinney's "Combat Rock," hip-hop artist Michael Franti's "Bomb da World" and System of a Down's "Boom."

But those tunes didn't get airplay, and other anti-war songs have yet to show up on the pop-culture radar. The world's most media-savvy singer, Madonna, hopes to change that with the upcoming video to her single "American Life." The tune is not about war - it deals with celebrity life and rhymes "pilates" with "hotties" - but in the video, fatigues-clad models lob hand grenades at a fashion show as a crowd applauds.

"I am not anti-Bush. I am not pro-Iraq. I am pro-peace. I hope this provokes thought and dialogue," she said in a statement.

Protest songs date back further than pop music itself, from turn-of-the-20th-century union tunes to Depression-era folkie laments. But it was Vietnam that forged them into the pop consciousness - and made "Green Berets" and Mr. Worley's "Have You Forgotten?" look like exceptions to an unwritten music-world policy.

Country singer Worley's pro-war hit features such lyrics as "Some say this country's just out looking for a fight/After 9-11, man, I'd have to say that's right." And in the sentimental tradition of World War II songs, the Dixie Chicks hit No. 1 on the country charts last week with "Travelin' Soldier," a Bruce Robison-penned tale of puppy love that ends with the soldier dying in Vietnam.

But if a major artist wrote today's equivalent of "Give Peace a Chance," would it stand a chance of becoming a hit?

During Vietnam and the heyday of free-form FM, radio courted the booming counterculture. "But now just about every radio station in the country is owned by giant corporate conglomerates who have a very good interest in not rocking Bush's boat," says R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills, another South by Southwest panelist.

Mr. Mellencamp doesn't have high hopes for "To Washington," his rewrite of an old country-folk tune. The song - which will be on his next CD and can be heard at www.mellencamp.com - features new lyrics about Mr. Bush and ends by asking "What is the thought process to take a human's life? What would be the reason to think that this is right?"

"I can assure you, 'To Washington' is not going to be played on the radio," the singer says. "If Justin Timberlake wrote [Bob Dylan's] 'Masters of War' today, nobody's gonna play that either."

This week, Beastie Boys issued a new peace rap, "In a World Gone Mad," on their Web site, www.beastieboys.com. With its Bush-bashing lyrics and clanging rhythms, the song seems an unlikely candidate for tons of airplay. Still, the trio "felt it was important to comment on where the U.S. appears to be heading now," band member Adam Yauch wrote on the Web site.

Even if today's radio did play anti-war songs, it's debatable what impact they'd have in an age where rock songs help sell every imaginable product. In an unintentionally ironic sign of the times, Wrangler's new patriotic TV ad uses snippets of Creedence Clearwater Revival's 1969 hit "Fortunate Son." (Mr. Fogerty, the song's author, signed away the rights to the tune early in his career.)

"It's hard to get people to take songs to heart," Mr. Mills says, "when they know that the next time they hear it, it'll be pushing salad-oil or cars or chicken."

While pop music's impact may be diluted by its commerciality, protest music can still be a key tool for anti-war forces, he adds.

"After the sheer shock of 9-11, it was unseemly to start harping on anti-war stuff right away, but I really hope people will start writing protest songs. Certainly, we're writing a few."

And even if the new protest songs never make it to the radio, "There's still a real hunger for them in the underground," says Ms. Dane, the folk singer. "The pop world might be insulated from all this, but there's tons of new stuff being written and sung in the coffeehouses."

"Maybe we can't change the world," says Ms. DiFranco, "but we can engage and inspire a roomful of people to leave that room feeling stronger. It's that old saying: 'Each one, teach one.' "

E-mail tchristensen@dallasnews.com

Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews/stories/031503dnent1Awarmusic.5cf2d.html

Dixie Chicks singer issues apology for Bush comment

03/15/2003

By MARIO TARRADELL / The Dallas Morning News

After a day filled with heated fan and radio reactions against Texas' multimillion-selling country trio the Dixie Chicks over anti-Bush remarks Natalie Maines made to a sold-out audience Monday in London, the Chicks lead singer issued an apology to the president late Friday.

"As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful," she said. "I feel that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect. We are currently in Europe and witnessing a huge anti-American sentiment as a result of the perceived rush to war. While war may remain a viable option, I just want to see every possible alternative exhausted before children and American soldiers' lives are lost."

Also Online

	What do you think about Natalie Maines' comment. Will it affect how you feel about their music?

	Related: Few taking chances on peace songs

	Video: Gary Reaves reports

Ms. Maines started a backlash against her group by saying, "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." The Lubbock native prompted country radio stations in Dallas, Arlington, Houston, Kansas City, Nashville and even Colton, Calif., to ban their music.

The apology, already on www.dixiechicks.com, may not have arrived in time to stop the temporary moratorium on Chicks music. KPLX-FM (99.5) "The Wolf," which announced Friday afternoon that it would stop playing all songs by the band, is taking a wait-and-see approach.

"We're probably going to let it go through the weekend and we'll post it on our Web site and deal with it Monday," said Paul Williams, program director for "The Wolf."

Some damage has already been done. MSNBC aired footage Friday of people in Kansas City, Mo., throwing Chicks CDs into a garbage can. A whopping 80 percent of the comments from Dallas Morning News readers posted Friday to DallasNews.com were against the group.

The reaction at Arlington's KSCS-FM (96.3) was equally harsh. Most of the more than 2,100 listener comments on the station's Web page were against the Grammy-winning group.

"I haven't seen reaction like this ever with such intensity," said Ted Stecker, program director for KSCS-FM. "I think most people do believe that everybody has their right to their opinion. But a lot of it hits a little more home in Texas."

In Austin, where Ms. Maines and fellow Chick Martie Maguire reside, there wasn't much need for political correctness. Chicks tracks stayed on the air at Americana station KGSR-FM and mainstream country dials KVET-FM and KASE-FM despite overwhelming negative response from listeners.

At the South by Southwest Music & Media Conference, Asleep at the Wheel co-founder Ray Benson defended the Chicks: "I applaud the Chicks for saying what they believe. If radio stations think they need to censor musicians for their political beliefs, those stations should move to Iraq."

Since 1998's Wide Open Spaces, the once-Dallas-based Dixie Chicks stirred controversy as they sold records. With their flamboyant fashion sense and in-your-face mix of country, bluegrass, rock and pop, they quickly scored critically and commercially.

On 1999's Fly, songs such as "Sin Wagon" and "Goodbye Earl" rocked the conservative country genre. In the last year, Ms. Maines was vocal about the group's $4 million lawsuit against Sony Music and country artist Toby Keith's post-9/11 single, "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)."

Pop Music Critic Thor Christensen contributed to this report.

E-mail mtarradell@dallasnews.com

Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews/stories/031503dnovedixiechicks.5c0a3354.html

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