Free Republic

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- George Strait led the nominees announced Monday for the Academy of Country Music Awards with eight nominations, including entertainer of the year and top male vocalist. Vocal duo Brooks & Dunn got seven nominations and Rascal Flatts had six. The announcement was made at the Country Music Hall of Fame and aired live on CBS' "The Early Show."

While the commonness of awards has contributed to diminishing their status, far more damaging is the blatant politicization of the process. Filmmakers, musicians, journalists and statesmen alike are all too often awarded prizes based not on merit but on political affiliation. Invariably, that affiliation tends toward the left side of the political spectrum. The Dixie Chicks' sweeping of the Grammys this month was a glaring example of this trend. Their new album, Taking the Long Way Home, won all five of the Grammys for which it was nominated, including best song for the petulant anthem "Not Ready to Make Nice"...

Almost lost in all the furor over the former country music group the Dixie Chicks' domination of the Grammy Awards was another major development. The knee-jerk vote by liberal Grammy members wanting to send the White House and Nashville and country radio a large middle finger about the alleged persecution and martyrdom of the trio also effectively poisoned the well for other deserving artists in the five categories the Chicks swept. In essence, all of the other nominees for album of the year, record of the year, song of the year, country album and country duo or group performance never...

Dixie Chicks to Split Up After Grammy's? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Jim Roberts Dec 13, 2006 The Dixie Chicks just scored the big trifecta with Grammy nominations. The one-time country band that turned their collective backs on the music genre, its stars and its fans cleaned up with the three majors, Best Album, Song and Record for “Taking the Long Way” and the single, “Not Ready to Make Nice.” The Chicks were one of eight acts with five nominations each, as it appears that the Grammy's are desperately trying to give the gals some love for their America bashing ways. Now a...

The Dixie Chicks cleaned up this morning with Grammy nominations. They received the big three: Best Album, Song and Record for “Taking the Long Way” and the single, “Not Ready to Make Nice.” They got two more, for performance in the country category, and their producer, Rick Rubin, was also nominated. Not bad, considering the flack they took in the three years leading up to the album’s release

ROY: If the Dixie Chicks grab a bunch of noms, the Grammys could turn out to be a referendum on the Bush administration, which might be interesting. LENNY: It simply is, in my opinion, the best album of the year. ROY: Maybe it's my own liberal bias, but the Chicks would provide some extra-musical oomph to the awards show... Give all the lefties a chance to grandstand.

"I find Natalie Maines, Emily Robison and Martie Maguire conspiring with manager Simon Renshaw to intentionally deepen the rift separating the group from its fans. They're clearly shown planning ways to get the media to buy into the group's pleas of right-wing victimization, and trying to turn the anti-Chicks phenomenon into the band's defining element. That's it. I'm appalled. I've had it with these Chicks. The most remarkable thing about "Shut Up & Sing" is that although it's not a hostile documentary taking shots at the band, it reveals its members to be smug, arrogant and manipulative, intentionally growing the...

An open letter to the Dixie Chicks Here are eight things you might consider if you want '07 to be better than your last coupla years Hello, girls. How are y'all? Well, never mind. We all know how you're doing. Pretty lousy, huh? We know the last few years have been tough for ya, that it's been heartbreaking to see a lot of your fans turn their backs, burn your records, toss you aside like you're Billy Gilman. Nat, we know you didn't really mean that you hate the U.S. or our troops when you said what you said about...

POP POLITICS Marketing the new Dixie Chicks after they left country By Armond White Shut Up and Sing Directed by Barbara Kopple & Cecilia Peck How many times can celebrities insult President Bush and then complain that their freedom of speech is being questioned? The inability of celebrities to accept criticism is a theme that gets lost in Shut Up and Sing, the Dixie Chicks documentary that Barbara Kopple co-directed with Cecilia Peck. Kopple, best known for the landmark documentaries Harlan County and American Dream—films from the era when documentaries had integrity—is expected to bring her wide-ranging, deeply humane social...

To those who think of the Dixie Chicks as "fascists" for putting down the ignorant fool whose "election" fell off a truck in true "Sopranos" fashion, I submit a quote from Huey Long in 1933: "Fascism WILL come to America, but perhaps under another name. It'll be called anti-fascism." If you voted for this guy, you're part of the problem. Look in the mirror and consider yourself responsible for the hatred we've rightfully engendered all over the world. Better yet, get out your passport (if you even have one!) and see for yourself!

TORONTO (CP) - Tell these feisty chicks to "shut up and sing" and they'll make a movie. The Dixie Chicks have rebounded from death threats, stinging political attacks and radio station battles with "Shut Up and Sing," a moving documentary that debuted this week at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was three years ago that front woman Natalie Maines told a London audience that the Texas band was embarrassed U.S. President George W. Bush was from their home state. Since then, the trio has weathered a firestorm of controversy to create a new album, discover new fans, have a...

Dixie Chicks flick flop When it is released to theaters this fall, a documentary about the Dixie Chicks is going to become an “election issue,” predicts hopeful news organizations who are desperately trying to wedge the film into cultural and political relevance. Perhaps they have overlooked public disinterest

KZLA Wrestles With Chicks" Star Power The Dixie Chicks’ Natalie Maines “made nice” with an L.A. radio station last week, but it wasn’t the station that’s played new Chicks music almost 225 times. Instead, Maines talked to the Jamie, Jack & Stench morning show at Clear Channel Hot AC KYSR (Star 98.7), which has played new tunes from the Chicks only 38 times. As you might imagine, this didn’t exactly thrill the folks at Emmis’ crosstown Country outlet, KZLA. What upset KZLA OM/PD R.J. Curtis is that his station has been very supportive of the Chicks. “The really frustrating part...

"A lot of pandering started going on, and you'd see soldiers and the American flag in every video. It became a sickening display of ultra-patriotism." "The entire country may disagree with me, but I don't understand the necessity for patriotism," Maines resumes, through gritted teeth. "Why do you have to be a patriot? About what? This land is our land? Why? You can like where you live and like your life, but as for loving the whole country… I don't see why people care about patriotism."

June 07, 2006, 10:30 AM ET Chicks' Ticket Sales Below Expectations By Ray Waddell, Nashville DIXIE CHICKS Out-of-the-gate ticket sales for the Dixie Chicks' upcoming Accidents & Accusations tour are far below expectations and at least three dates may have been cancelled. Initial ticket counts for the 20-plus arena shows that went on sale last weekend were averaging 5,000-6,000 sold per show in major markets and less in secondaries, according to sources contacted by Billboard.biz. Venue capacities on the tour generally top 15,000. In contrast, the band’s new album, “Taking the Long Way,” sold 526,000 units its first week, according...

DIXIE CHICKS SLATED TO RELEASE HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED FOURTH ALBUM - TAKING THE LONG WAY ON MAY 23, 2006 All Fourteen Tracks Co-Written by the Dixie Chicks and Produced by Rick Rubin New York, NY – March 10, 2006 – Superstars, renegades, innovators, heroes, villains, and moms - over almost a decade, the Dixie Chicks have grown from a band into a phenomenon. Now more than ever, the eyes of the world are on them, and with TAKING THE LONG WAY, they come out swinging, surpassing the pressures and expectations history has placed upon them. The nine time Grammy-Award winning Sony Recording...

Heart of Dixie Three years later, Dixie Chicks frontwoman Natalie Maines talks to Entertainment Weekly about why she's ''pretty much done'' with Nashville in the wake of her anti-Bush comments by Whitney Pastorek On March 10, 2003, the Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines stepped onto a London stage and announced, ''We're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.'' All hell promptly broke loose. A month later, she and bandmates Martie Maguire and Emily Robison finally addressed the controversy for the first time, posing naked on the cover of EW and candidly discussing the firestorm Maines' comment sparked....

A documentary film is being produced by Magnum Films/Cabin Creek Films about our favorite country music group, the Dixie Chicks. The feature length documentary film will cover a broad base of subjects, including their early years, their unprecedented success, the controversy surrounding their comment about President George W. Bush, and what they are doing today. The film will have a special focus on the last couple years, especially the aftermath and repercussions of the Bush incident. There are elements of the film that will "shock and surprise" fans. Cecilia Peck, daughter of Gregory Peck, and close friend of Adrian Pasdar...