Posted on 03/24/2003 7:09:47 PM PST by hispanarepublicana
NASHVILLE SKYLINE: Shut Up and Sing? Chet Flippo 03/20/2003
(NASHVILLE SKYLINE is a column by CMT/CMT.com Editorial Director Chet Flippo.)
So, what to make of the Natalie Maines mess? Because that's just exactly what it is, a big mess. Maines seems afflicted with chronic foot-in-mouth disease.
In her latest lecture, on March 10 at a Dixie Chicks concert in London, Maines felt compelled to tell the audience, "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." She could not have made a stupider mistake. First of all, if she really has strong convictions about the war, she should spell them out. And stand up for them. Most sensible people will respect her right to do that. But don't make what amounts to a personal attack on Bush.
And secondly, since she obviously has no strong convictions, she apologized. But, it took her four days -- after the implications of an audience groundswell of protest resulting in radio boycotts of the Chicks began sinking in and the commercial implications of career suicide became apparent. Then, the apology that came actually felt scripted, mealy-mouthed and insincere. Never mind all the clichés about arrogant, airhead celebrities mouthing off about foreign policy or anything else. Hey, Natalie Maines has the same qualifications to speak out on U.S. foreign policy as does Sean Penn, say. Or Martin Sheen or Madonna or Charlie Daniels. Which is to say: no qualifications at all.
What is really surprising is that the Chicks, their record label, their management and their PR firm seemed to have been caught with their pants down by the firestorm of protest and had absolutely no idea how to respond. Country music fans are largely conservative and patriotic -- as is well-known -- and the U.S. was only days away from a possible war. What do you expect country fans to say when a country star dumps on the president? That tells me that none of them -- Chicks, label, PR, management -- knows anything about the country music audience. That audience is usually loyal to a favored country artist for life. And that audience is tolerant of artists' mistakes and foibles: drunkenness, drug use, adultery, no-shows and any amount of indulgent behavior. What that audience will not tolerate is an artist turning on that audience. And Maines' attack on Bush was in effect a direct attack on the country music audience. And its values. And its patriotism.
The reaction was unprecedented in country music history. Listeners bombarded country radio stations with protests. Large numbers of influential country radio stations banned the Chicks' current single "Travelin' Soldier." Many stations organized public rallies to destroy the Chicks' CDs.
Just as many or more stations refused to ban the Chicks, laudably citing freedom of speech. One Houston station began playing Bruce Robison's version of "Travelin' Soldier" (he and Farrah Braniff co-wrote the song) to demonstrate the song's beauty and its relevance to the current war situation.
Chicks' manager Simon Renshaw suggested, in an e-mail that the Chicks' label Sony Music sent to country radio stations, that the protest against the Chicks was orchestrated by the Free Republic, a right-wing Web site. The Free Republic certainly had -- and still has -- its share of anti-Chicks postings. But I also have read literally hundreds of Chicks postings the last few days on a number of Web sites across the political spectrum, and they show a genuine consensus from country fans saying that Maines in effect filed for divorce from country audiences.
What I'm starting to wonder about is the actual career damage the Chicks have sustained. As I said, country fans are incredibly loyal. But how many angered country fans will once again embrace the Chicks? In the half-week of charting after Maines' sermonette, the Chicks dropped on Nielsen Soundscan sales charts: their current album Home dipped 22,000 copies in sales, although it's still No. 1 on the Billboard country album chart. The video sales of the Chicks' live An Evening With the Dixie Chicks dropped by 3,000 copies and the single release of "Landslide" dropped by about 1,200 in sales.
They also lost at least 15 percent of radio spins for "Travelin' Soldier" and it dropped from No. 1 to No. 3 this week on the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart.
And another lingering question is: how much of a steadfast country audience base have the Chicks actually built? A look at the Chicks' career suggests that much of their audience pull has been teenage girls, whose musical attention span traditionally has not been long and which certainly does not translate into the long-term loyalty that country artists have enjoyed.
Further, in looking over CMT.com reader polls over the last few months, I see a decided lack of support for the Chicks. In the most recent poll, on March 15, in response to the question, "How do you feel about the Dixie Chicks following Natalie Maines' comment regarding President Bush?," 68 percent of respondents said, "I don't like them at all." Even back on Feb. 21, when CMT.com asked readers if they would attend any of the Chicks' shows on their upcoming tour, 69 percent answered that they would rather stay home. On Feb. 8, a CMT.com poll question said that the Chicks' Home was selling well and asked readers if they had bought it. The response? "No way, I don't care for them," said 53 percent of respondents.
The Chicks' upcoming tour will be the litmus test. The tickets have already been sold and Ticketmaster, in its certain wisdom, gives no refunds. Will angry fans will tear up their tickets? Already, a talk show host on influential Texas radio station WBAP is talking about organizing a boycott of the Chicks' Dallas-Fort Worth show. And a conservative talk show host in South Carolina is organizing an alternative concert to the Chicks' U.S. tour kickoff date in Greenville, S.C., on May 1.
You know, there have been many activist artists who have made a difference. Two who come to mind recently are Bono, with his worldwide AIDS efforts, and Emmylou Harris, whose efforts to ban and remove landmines have been significant. And their good works speak for them. Unfortunately, there are many other artists who are patriotic blowhards, whose contributions consist mainly of issuing self-serving press releases -- and those are coming fast and furious in these war-torn days.
Memo to Natalie Maines: You're an artist? And you have a message? Hey, put it in a song. We'll listen to that. But, otherwise -- shut up and sing.
'Stupider'???
To make matters even worse, her paramour was French.
"Last week, the Shelby County Alabama Legislative Delegation hosted a "Stand Up for America Rally." More than 1,200 people attended including featured speakers Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, State Adjutant General Mark Bowen and State Auditor Beth Chapman. Attached is a copy of Mrs. Chapman's speech, which resulted in five standing ovations, tremendous applause and an encore. It's a short read and well worth it."
"Stand Up for America Rally Speech"
"I'm here tonight because men and women of the United States military have given their lives for my freedom. I am not here tonight because Sheryl Crowe, Rosie O'Donnell, Martin Sheen, George Clooney, Jane Fonda or Phil Donahue, sacrificed their lives for me. If my memory serves me correctly, it was not movie stars or musicians, but the United States Military who fought on the shores of Iwo Jima, the jungles of Vietnam, and the beaches of Normandy.
"Tonight, I say we should support the President of the United States and the U.S. Military and tell the liberal, tree-hugging, Birkenstock-wearing, hippy, tie-dyed liberals to go make their movies and music and whine somewhere else. After all, if they lived in Iraq, they wouldn't be allowed the freedom of speech they're being given here today. Ironically, they would be put to death at the hands of Soddom Husssein [or Osama Bil Clinton!!!]"
"I want to know how the very people who are against war because of the loss of life, can possibly be the same people who are for abortion? They are the same people who are for animal rights but against the rights of the unborn. The movie stars say they want to go to Iraq and serve as "human shields" for the Iraqis. I say let them buy a one-way ticket and go. No one likes war. I hate war! But the one thing I hate more is the fact that this country has been forced into war--innocent people have lost their lives--and there but for the grace of God, it could have been my brother, my husband, or even worse my own son."
"On December 7, 1941, there are no records of movie stars treading the blazing waters of Pearl Harbor.
"On September 11, 2001; there are no photos of movie stars standing as "human shields" against the debris and falling bodies ascending from the World Trade Center. There were only policemen and firemen--underpaid civil servants who gave their all with nothing expected in return."
"When the USS Cole was bombed, there were no movie stars guarding the ship--where were the human shields then? If America's movie stars want to be human shields, let them shield the gang-ridden streets of Los Angeles, or New York City, let them shield the lives of the children of North Birmingham whose mothers lay them down to sleep on the floor each night to shelter them from stray bullets. If they want to be human shields, I say let them shield the men and women of honesty and integrity who epitomize courage and embody the spirit of freedom by wearing the proud uniforms of the United States Military. Those are the people who have earned and deserve shielding!!
"Throughout the course of history, this country has remained free, not because of movie stars and liberal activists, but because of brave men and women who hated war too. However, they lay down their lives so that we all may live in freedom. After all - "What greater love hath no man, that he lay down his life for his friend," or in this case a country.
"We should give our military honor and acknowledgement and not let their lives be in vain. If you want to see true human shields, walk through Arlington Cemetery. There lie human shields, heroes, and the BRAVE Americans who didn't get on television and talk about being a human shield--They Were HumanShields!!
"I thank God tonight for freedom--those who bought and paid for it with their lives in the past--those who will protect it in the present and defend it in the future. America has remained silent too long! God-fearing people have remained silent too long! We must lift our voices united in a humble prayer to God for guidance and the strength and courage to sustain us throughout whatever the future may hold. After the tragic events of Sept. 11th, my then eleven-year-old son said terrorism is a war against US and Them and if you're not one of US, then you're one of Them!!
"So in closing tonight, let us be of one accord, let us stand proud, and let us be the human shields of prayer, encouragement and support for the President, our troops and their families and our country. May God bless America, the land of the free, the home of the brave and the greatest country on the face of this earth!"
Yep...MUD
I glanced around to see how the DCs were selling. For one thing, there were NONE missing. The rows were full. Another thing, someone had gone and turned them ALL upside down...
The songs they did that I knew at the time were "I Can Love You Better", and covers of "Stand By Your Man" and "Loving Arms." Sure were good. I saw them as the warmup act to Pam Tillis at the (free) Detroit Hoedown.
Natalie herself has a great singing voice...
And underrated at that. Try to think of any singer who could replace her as the third Dixie Chick, say, singing "Travelin' Soldier."
I can't think of anyone. Sure, anyone could sing it. But could anyone else match Natlies simple-but-complex effortless heart-tugging sentimental vocals? I really don't think so.
And, really, all this talk about her appearance I think is ridiculous. I wonder if anyone would ever say anything about it if she didn't have to work with two tall, thin blondes.
which makes it so sad that I won't listen to them again...
I'd plan to "boycott" Chicks songs, but I have to admit I gave up. I was going through the stuff I've got in order to give it away, and I changed my mind. I figure, I still love the songs even tho Natalie is a bird-brain.
Of course, I can still listen to and love Cat Stevens' songs.
OK, so Maines was an idiot - that's not unusual. Not a large number of musicians know anything much in depth but music - the same is true of actors. What is much worse than that is that her management does not appear to understand their market, and that is simply unprofessional.
Good point.
My guitar teacher, tho, does that dumb voice with *every* country song (which he only plays and sings along with because I ask). What's more, he can't change even if he tries. I keep stopping him and saying, "quit singing in that dumb voice" and he just can't help himself.
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